Timothy E
Reviewer
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2007
- Messages
- 1,522
- Real Name
- Timothy Ewanyshyn
I am glad to hear that your experience worked out due to your efforts!Respectfully, I don't know why you've decided to present this as a saga. I can't think of a good reason why the seller should remain anonymous. Although there appears to be an inside track where some here already know who it is, others [like me] do not and could be conceivably making a huge mistake at this very moment.
With that out of the way, here is what I did when I had a somewhat similar experience with Paypal and UPS. I won't bore you with the details but the bottom line is you'll have to shame this retailer and/or carrier into behaving honorably. In my case the item was a gorgeous pair of tower speakers that UPS destroyed. I'd originally sold them using Paypal and personally delivered them to the buyer. I offered to wait while he demo'd them but he declined. Two weeks later he filed a claim with Paypal saying the speakers were damaged. I knew they weren't damaged when I delivered them. When I pressed him he revealed the amp he was using to drive them and it was rated well below the speakers minimum power requirements.
I offered to work with him to get a new mid driver from the manufacturer, even agreeing to absorb the cost, but Paypal insisted I return his entire purchase price of $3500.00, so, being honorable myself, I reluctantly did. When I received the speakers back they had been poorly packed and thus suffered significant cabinet damage to the point of being virtually worthless. I relentlessly filed appeals with UPS and Paypal, having documented every step of the transaction. I even threatened to contact the CEO of UPS, sharing her name and contact information with the person I spoke to. It took a full year but I eventually settled with both Paypal and UPS, receiving a full refund and an apology from UPS.
This retailer needs to know you mean business and you're not going anywhere until they act in good faith.
Hang in there. You'll win if you're persistent enough.
You make a good point that the seller does not deserve anonymity, and the reasons that I have decided to present this in chapters will become apparent by the end of the story.
There is a possibility that VERN is a decent and honorable person who has made some mistakes and has received some bad advice in his handling of my situation. I have made some efforts to resolve this privately, which will become evident in upcoming chapters. At this moment, I cannot say for sure whether VERN normally follows the Home Theater Forum, but I have made certain that he is aware of this thread, which is my final effort to appeal to the sense of decency inside him.
It is also possible that VERN is the type of person who will give you an amazing deal if he believes that you can help him with publicity and connections, but will screw you over at the first opportunity if you are a nobody living in another state, like me. If this is the case, then I probably have not been the first one to be taken advantage of by VERN, and I will be doing a public service by sharing my experience. If anyone reading this is contemplating a large online purchase, it is for you to decide the timing of that purchase. It will also be up to anyone reading this thread to decide for yourselves which type of person VERN might be. In the next chapter, I will present every communication by VERN and me in transcript form, word for word precisely as it happened, and you may decide for yourselves.
I will tell you that there are some unexpected twists and turns in this story, and those of you who have read post #1 may be surprised by the end of chapter 2, and wonder how the end of chapter 2 can lead to the ending described in post #1.