Hello!
Yes, I too have been ripped off by Charles. What a very nice, personable, CON MAN he is! I got a package off ebay. Received the kite but does not have non-return bladders! (Nearly impossible to inflate!) The board is a damaged piece of crap without foot pads or straps. Charles said he sent me a new board & replacement bladders in early December 2004. I just can't understand why I have not received them & he won't respond to my emails? (Please note the sarcasm in my voice!) Unfortunately this was my first kite. I was very excited about kiteboarding, but now I'm just very frustrated. Oh yeah, & out $573 US ($800 AU)!
If anyone has a beginner kite at a very cheap price let me know!

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Originally posted by John P

Thanks for all this feedback. What I find a little strange is that nobody seems to have seen, riden or really know the XTC kites. For an Australian brand that's strange!

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Hi, bought an XTC 10mtr kite and board package for 550 delivered. Charles is the guy who sells them and told me that they are entry level kites for a price. I ride one, here is a few of the pro's and con's. P.S. I don't work for the guy and this is an honest opinion. I am a novice and have a 16m RRd and a 10m Naish X3.
Pro's. (1.) The easiest kite I have ever had to water launch. Basically launches itself. It seems to 'fly' itself into the launch position. No **** it is a bit amazing and a lot easier then the Naish. (2.) It was really cheap and has taken a fair beating and is not showing any signs of stretching etc. (3.) It has even pull through the power window.
Con's (1.) The bar is ok but the line for the chicken loop goes through a bracket, not the bar. This ****s me. (2.) The safety on the chicken loop is a pin through a rope loop and in my experience doesn't want to release under tension. (3.) There are no ball stops in the bladder valves so you have to pinch them. (4.) There is no stop on the outer line so when you let go of the bar it runs all the way to the kite making it a real bitch to relaunch.
Now to the board.
It is cheap and has little flex. Mine came with two left foot bindings which I need to call about to get fixed. Basically its ok for the money.
I use the kite regularly but use my Naish bar and lines. The kite flies ok and so far seems to be pretty tough. To tell you the truth if you want to get into the sport on the cheap get one but before you use it change the chicken loop. I found that the service was ok. I had some hassles with the bar and stuff not arriving and called him. He soughted it straight away and as it turned out it was the transport company who stuffed up.Hope this helps.

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Originally posted by sheba

I don't think the issue is so much the quality of the XTC kites but the fact that so many people have paid for kite & surf boards and not received them. The first 10 or so people get them and then he forgets to keep the deliveries coming but at least you will hear some wonderful excuses.

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I had delivery trouble as well but I just kept hassling him. The kite arrived without lines etc that he claims to have sent and were lost in the post. I queiried this and he gave me a tracking number that was incorrect the first time.I kept hassling and they arrived a week later. I was sent the wrong board but wasn't too fussed. He said he would send me a replacement but it hasn't arrived yet (6 months ago?). He seemed ok on the phone and I got my gear in about a month. I paid by depositing a bank cheque into his account in person and asked the bank to supply details of the transaction. I also asked the bank to record that the transaction was payment for an item and gave them the ebay number. They recorded this on my reciept. I did this so that there was no question what I was paying for. I told him I had these details in writing from the bank. All I can say is that I got my stuff, it was kinda what I ordered and it took a while. I paid $500 for it and its ok. Then again I paid $800 for a Naish X3 that had been flown twice and $600 for a 16m RRd that had never been flown...................by the way what happens to all the stuff the freight companies seem to be loosing?

The reason he can sell his mini mals & kite boards so cheaply is simple, he doesn't pay for his freight too often or to his suppliers of blanks, resin, etc. The story that non delivery is always the freight companies fault is rubbish; normally he has sold the goods to someone else and yours was never sent.Like all good con men, he is very believable on the phone and a nice guy when you meet him. The problem is it is all a front to soften you up to be conned.
That simple,,,,,, unfortunately.

also another warning... Avoid dealing with the revamped 2005 EHkiteboarding company. The company split last year and now it is just one guy selling kites from stolen kite files. This guy (who use to be the board designer only not kites) has never left the island, been to a factory, and now is just pumping out kites now pretending that he was the master designer all along... watch out - corruption through and through... now the company is doing international internet sales and already there have been claims of no service, no warranty, poor quality as there have been moderations made with no prototypes.
Along with the corruption of someone trying to cover their superannuation based on stolen property.
Just a valid warning.... hate to read more stories like the one above..
Windy days!

i was a victim of that scamming F#@&er too. same story as most people were i payed by credit card, and after 8 weeks........nothing. I found his home details, called him at home and unfortunatly had to thtreaten him with some of my "friends" who lived in his area paying him a visit to his family home... i was one of the lucky ones who recieved my goods... but even then, they were nothing like was promised

An update.
The computer fraud squad is trying to contact all those people on Ebay who have been ripped off by Charles Werb/XTC; i.e. you have paid your money & not received your goods.
If you haven't been contacted, please contact me asap if you believe you are a Werb victim.
Many thanks.

i was this close (click of a button away) from buying one of these kites when i was beginning, something just didnt seem right, glad i paid a bit more and bought from a shop. good luck to those who this guy ripped off. Lets tow him out and use him as shark bait!

If anyone wants his home address, put B. Werb, Bonogin into the whitepages under residential & you will find his address & phone number. I'm sure he will be very happy to have anyone drop in for a friendly chat over a morning cup of coffee.

Tonko
If you look at my post above, you can see that the police are still looking to find the best way to get him. Until they can colate sufficient evidence, they won't prosecute but when they do, hopefully Werb will end up in jail which is why I'm trying to get all his victims to contact me.