View Full Version : Need Help. Got Scammed For A Body Kit


ChronoJ1
06-26-03, 06:26 PM
I desperately need help as to how to solve a problem I have.
Here's the story.

I came across a T&E Vertex body kit for SC3/400. The starting bid was 1000. I e-mailed the seller to ask whether he would take 1450 dollars for the kit including shipping before the bidding closes. I got his e-mail in less than an hour and he was down for the deal.

I sent him the money through paypal (June 2nd), and was promised that I'd get a tracking number the next day. Guess what. I got an e-mail saying that the kit he has wouldn't fit my car but only 97+ SCs. WHAT? The description on e-bay add says it is for 92 - 00! But I went easy on him and agreed to wait for another T&E kit that was on the way from Japan. Since I never had done transaction over the internet with such large sum of money, I was very anxious and e-mailed him almost every day. And of course I asked him whether he was sending me a VIS kit or not. And his answer was that he wasn't even aware of a company named 'VIS Racing'

Here's one of our numerous e-mail conversation.


Hey Kerry,
Just wanted to get some more info... So, what exactly is different between pre-97 between 97+ vertex kits. I mean the 97+ kit should fit onto my car without a problem right? Also, this is not a Vis Vertex, but real JDM T&E vertex kit, right? Thanks.

His response.
the difference is the front bumper and the rear bumper, where the front bumper attaches to the body the bolts are positioned differently, also the fog lights on the 97 and up are bigger, so they are positioned on a different place, the kit i have at home will not fit thats why im having your cars year shipped to you, the frieght alone takes a week to ship and the prep i spoke of is clearing the kit through american customs when it comes over on the container from japan, the vertex t&e is the kit you are recieving i dont know what vis vertex is, my boxes say carmake t&e vertex on them, and that is what you should recieve. so the eta on this thing is about 14 to 21 days straight from japan, i was going to send you mine until i found out this wont even bolt up! and you would have to replace your whole reinforcement system to get it to fit, just be patient and ill have you good to go, oh here goes the pics of my old paint and kit, note that the engine is a 2jz-gte twin turbo YEAH! just so you know, im workin on a 1jz in my garage with a turbo kit, i just finished stripping the turbos off of it, so if you are interested in an engine swap let me know and ill keep you in mind when the engine is comletely revamped! thanks for the biz and ill keep you updated.

He was so concerned with my thinking that he's a scammer, he told me numerous times he's selling me the real stuff and how he's in the army so he won't lie.

the process is very complicated and expensive, and the problem was that i had 3 whole kits at my home when i listed it on ebay, two of them were bought within the 10 day listing (why people never bid i dont know) and the kit i have left over is the 97and up kit, i understand that you made an appointment and that it will have to be rescheduled, my apoligieg but i had no ideah that you r car would be a younger year, put it this way, you would much rather wait the coulple weeks to get the right kit than get the wrong kit any day (to redo a 94 to a 97 and up requires an extra 12-1700 dollars in parts and then theres the labor, dude i just sold a 6000 turbo kit for the acura rsx on ebay, you think you are nervous! he sent 3100 for the kit throught paypal!, i understand that the wait is long and unplanned but thats what has to happen, also the paypal system will allow me to refund money for 30 days after a transaction, so if you havent gotten your kit by that long amount of time i can just refund the money! but im sure everything will be fine. i have excellent feedback on ebay, you have my home address full name and both numbers , im a soldier in the army and tuning is my partime business, so be at ease that i am not gonna scam you (thats not enough money to go to jail over!) lol. ill keep you updated on the progress of your shipment. kerry hughley

Well, after numerous more e-mail exchanges and phone calls, yesterday the kit finally arrived at the bodyshop I directed him to send to. I WAS IN SHOCK! There was a big print on the box reading 'VIS' The kit had numerous cracks and uneven surfaces, and for some reason it was already primered.

I tried calling this SOB, but he won't pick up the phone. I e-mailed him about the situation and this is the answer I got.

dude first i didnt send you anything and i didnt order you a vis kit, i orsered the same kit i have on my sc, its not cheap its 1200 straight from japan, i made 200 dollars when i sold you the kit, and i paid 50 for the customs fees!!!! vis racing doesent even have a kit on thier web page for the sc i just looked, my kit isnt cracked at all! ill call the company to see whether they ****ed up or what since first my boxes say vertex, not vis i didnt order a kit from vis racing!!!, i call and see what the **** is up, dude i didnt scam you at all, you never asked my was it vis or not, i didnt even know who they were till now! give me some time to get to the bottom of this crap and send me some pics of the kit and stuff so i can rip off someones head at the wholesale office, and when i just called vis racing thier kit is 749 plus shipping! so i am in no way scamming you , im just mad because the product sucks, tell me what is wrong withh it and let me get to the bottom of it. kerry

Just an hour ago, I got a hold of him through his home phone, and again, he gave me all this BS about how the Japanese bodykit company messed up. I asked him for a full refund so I can send the kit to his place at my own cost, but he denied. I asked him for the phone number of the company and stupidly enough he did give me the number and told me he would first call him and give me a call back in 15 minutes.

30 minutes passed, and I called the company myself. As I imagined, it was a company located in California that sold VIS and Wings West bodykits. I talked to this nice guy named Richard, and I told him the whole story. He was in shock too. This SOB, Kerry, payed 700 dollars for a vis Kit, and put it on ebay as T&E kit, and lied to be all along.

40 minutes passed, and there was a call from Kerry. He gave me the same BS. I told him to shut up for a moment and listen. "I just talked to a guy at this bodykit company. If you don't give me a refund by 9 pm easter time through paypal, I'm going to have your ass tracked down and f$#k your credit up." And he said, "Aight" and cut me off.

It's 9:20 pm and havne't gotten my money back.



WHAT SHOULD I DO? I have he e-mails, cell phone number, home phone number, address, invoice from the bodykit company, etc. I just filed an electronic complaint to paypal, but I don't think I'll ever get an answer in near future. Plus I had 1000 word limit.

I desperately need help.

O. L. T.
06-26-03, 06:30 PM
chrono, simply go to the paypal website and file a complaint. you only have 30 days from the date of the transaction so get there NOW and file a fraud complaint. they will get your $$ for you. now boogie!

O. L. T.
06-26-03, 06:35 PM
THEN for Snaps and giggle's i'd call the police in his area and have him arrested for fraud. :thumbup:

ChronoJ1
06-26-03, 06:37 PM
Originally posted by onelasttry
THEN for Snaps and giggle's i'd call the police in his area and have him arrested for fraud. :thumbup:

No, seriously.

I just want to get my money back, and never hear from him again.

BuyERTS
06-26-03, 06:39 PM
Then I'd post all of his contact info on as many messaging forums as possible so that everyone I know can harass him!!!

DISCLAIMER: I in no way condone behavior of this type. Unless I'm severely pissed, that is!

///MDex
06-26-03, 06:47 PM
Originally posted by onelasttry
i'd call the police in his area and have him arrested for fraud

Starsky & Hutch his azz

ChronoJ1
06-26-03, 06:50 PM
People, please.
I appreciate that you are angry for me, but I need some guidance.

I just talked to a person at Paypal and was told that my complaint through paypal is only going to give him a negative feedback, like the one on e-bay. They are not going to help me settle the dispute.

boredguy77
06-26-03, 06:58 PM
seriously you have to watch those e-bay fraud artist. like the others are saying file the paypal papers asap, not only is there a limit, but the quicker you do it, the quicker the transaction is settled. For me paypal claims were not enough, when I got ripped off on a stereo I contacted the district attorney for my area, and for the sellers area. 6 months later cops were knocking on his door, and he was reimbursing me. Since it took 6 months for me you might want to consider contacting a D.A. (district attorney) sooner. Guys like this will continue doing this until someone makes them realize it is wrong!!! If you pass this guy up, he will do it to someone else, Maybe even another sc300 enthusiast. Make sure to get him, and get him hard.

boredguy77
06-26-03, 07:00 PM
you also might want to remove this line from your description
(T&E Vertex kit coming this month)

///MDex
06-26-03, 07:07 PM
Originally posted by boredguy77
you also might want to remove this line from your description

OUCH

Emerald
06-26-03, 07:32 PM
I dont think his is real either.

I also know that there is no way in hell he could get a real T&E at anywhere near that price....trust me!

I thought the auction was fishy.....I'm really sorry :(


You have PM

r00kie
06-26-03, 07:40 PM
Sorry to hear about your situation. Not sure if this advise has been given, but if you paid with credit card through Pay Pal, just call your CC and tell them to do a chargeback. That would be the easiest thing to do, since the CC will credit your account and they will go after PayPal. Don't deal with PayPal, they won't do cr@p for you. Now, if you paid through your bank account, then I'm not sure, but I would call your bank and tell them what happened and see what they do.

Hope everything works out for you.

TGRich
06-26-03, 07:57 PM
Yeah, paypal doesn't do shoot for you. I'd be surprised if you got your money back, although I am hopeful for you. I had someone rip me off once by saying they never received product although I had receipt and witnesses and paypal wouldnt hear it b/c in my early ebay days I didn't send with a tracking number. I had to do some scandalous stuff myself to get my money back which paypal had yanked and put in limbo.

I'd recommend keeping in touch with paypal and they -might- be able to get your money back- your situation is different than mine. Do the cc thing to if you paid that way.

Good luck!

Tim

VSsc400
06-26-03, 08:14 PM
1. I would call the local police (where the guys lives)
2. I would call ebay and tell them that you will be filing a lawsuit against the company for being an accessory to fraud (you bought it using their system). (ebay owns paypal so you can sue ebay/paypal for facilitating fraud and deception over interstate means of commerce)
3. I would then call the postal police (since its technically mail fraud since he was going to send it to you via mail and it was an interstate transaction) postal police also investigates UPS/FEDEX etc etc.
4. I woul get in touch with the FBI. They have a interstate commerce fraud division and they DO take it seriously.

I would do the above things quick!

good luck.

O. L. T.
06-26-03, 08:44 PM
People, please.I appreciate that you are angry for me, but I need some guidance.


that's what you can do. file a fraud dispute. it takes 3 to 5 days to process. i don't think you did.

I just talked to a person at Paypal and was told that my complaint through paypal is only going to give him a negative feedback, like the one on e-bay.

and the emails take 12 to 36 hours to process and return. they dont have a phone number.

now, file the REAL fraud complaint and call the credit card company you used to pay with and get this taken care of. Proper handling of a paypal dispute will get you money. improper handling will get you a nice formal email of rejection.

THE_CEO
06-26-03, 09:18 PM
hey chrono since your my neighboor i can see what kinda penalties there are to this type of scamming...and worst case senario ill call up the Squad in detroit and it will take them about 4 days to get this guy. I am awaiting your response.

CEO

and yes im still a CEO....with friends in low places.

LeXGs43Rx3
06-26-03, 09:32 PM
Chrono here is a little insight...
Well first of all I think there was another thread about your situation where I told you to PM me and I could have def. helped you, but you never PMed me, I know quite a bit about this stuff. Paypal is not going to do **** for you, they only would if the guy didn't send ANYTHING at all, Paypal doesn't dispute the "quality" of the goods from the seller. Next, I hope you used your Credit Card through paypal and not your checking account. Immediately call your credit card company and tell them to perform a chargeback...this is the only way Paypal will go ahead and get the money from that guy, you won't get in any mess for this, trust me. Any other things, like calling the FBI, his local police etc., usually won't do anything for you, it becomes a totally different situation if he didn't send you anything at all. What I first suggest you doing is writing him one final email or phone call, and basically scare the **** out of him. Get his local police's phone number and tell him that you are prepared to call them and actually state the phone number and even an officer's name if possible (he will be pissing on himself). Then go ahead and tell him that you will be contacting your credit card company, etc. BTW, if he used USPS to send the kit, then tell him that he is going to be facing charges of mail fraud as well (no joke). If he used UPS or Fedex, etc. just tell him you are going to be contacting them as well. Just give him a good scare and see if he tries to make things right, if he doesn't do anything within a day, then go ahead with my suggestions. If you need any more help or anything, just let me know, I hope everything works out well for you.

Mr_PimP
06-26-03, 09:46 PM
man, i was checking that auction out... i knew something was wrong... if you need some help...PM me.. i have an idea for you

ChronoJ1
06-26-03, 09:47 PM
Thank you everyone.
I've never felt more heartwarming in this community. I was feeling so alone and desperate, but now with your help I might get through this.

Emerald, I tried to PM you, but your pm box is full.
CEO, any help at all is greatly appreciated. Just tell me what you need, and I'll provide all the evidence.
LeXGs43Rx3, thanks also for the guidance.


Here's one problem. Many of you told me to file credit dispute through the credit card company first. However, the payment was made from my checking account.

Last time I called, (about 4 hours ago)I told him he better send me the refund or else I'm going to contact legal agnecies.
He said, "whatever" and hung up on me.

For the last few hours, I sent him multiple e-mails about how I'm ready to contact the IFCC (sponsored by FBI) and how he can get criminal charges. Again, no response.

ChronoJ1
06-26-03, 09:58 PM
Does anybody know any police officers near

6121 garden ct, fayetteville nc 28311

?

Grimpy
06-27-03, 01:23 AM
damn thats a rip off.. .sorry to hear it bro....

This may make you even more pissed but I use to get the VIS kits for only $500.... Which means he is making alot more off of you than he says he is...

You can try to use the buyer complaint on paypal like I did with a set of taillights I won.

Heres my situation..

Seller was from Fresno, I'm in Los Angeles... Took him 3 weeks to finally send me the lights when he said he would DHL overnight it the next day that I paid. I paid with paypal using my checking. I think they freeze the account when a complaint is filed. But in your case, he sent you a kit I'm not sure if it would apply to you.

Also you bought it off eBay I assume so they wont be anyhelp. Check with your bank and see if they have some sort of online fraud protection...

Good luck bro...

Grimpy
06-27-03, 01:29 AM
Originally posted by ChronoJ1
Does anybody know any police officers near

6121 garden ct, fayetteville nc 28311

?

hope this helps

http://yp.yahoo.com/py/ypResults.py?stp=y&stx=8104710&city=Fayetteville&state=NC&country=us&msa=2560&slt=35.052631&sln=-78.878487&cs=4&qtx=police

ChronoJ1
06-27-03, 08:31 AM
THIS IS UN- FREAKEN-BELIEVABLE.
He's warning me about how I threatened him and how I'm unable to act in a civilized manner. Here are his e-mail responses. I can't believe this crap.

e-mail #1

dont send me te bodykit because im not the one who sent it to you, ship it back to the company so they can send a refund and i can send you your refund, im not taking the kit though! when i called the manufacturer , (not the seller) he stated that this complaint had never been made before and that the cracks and stuff are all the same on any body kit, he says the shop is supposed to remove the primer , prepare it and finish it and then reprimer it, thats the way all bodykits are installed. i asked him about the fitment problem and the sideskirts, and he said that he will need pictures of it, so thats why i need those pictures! as soon as possible, im trying to get your money back but i cant pull it out of my ass, i have to get a refund from a company, and as far as you wanting a refund because you found out that the kit was 700 plus shipping and you paid double that, thats what business is all about, buying for cheaper selling higher, i never had any problems with mine and mine has been on for a while, hell i had more problems with the bomex kit than i did the vertex as far as fitment is concerned. but i dont need the hostility and all of the drama, all i need you to do is help me so i can help you. i need those pictures and i need you to chill so i can get your money back. thats what i need on your part, once i have the pics i will arange for the kit to be picked up from you and shipped back to the seller (vertex). my intentions were to send you the same kit i have in the picture, so im going that route first, if they sent the wrong kit then i can fix that but im not accepting a refund if you just want to get it cheaper now that you know where to get it! so i need to see that the product is flawed. oncei can show them what is wrong then we will get it moving. dont make demands and dont threaten me, i not saying you have but it would behove you tostay professional about the situation, and just let the problem resolve itself, everything is not going to go your way just like its not going my way either, so ill see whats up, and that kit is vertex!!! we have to find a middle grond and an understanding so that we can get this fixed for the both of us. ill give you a call after ive recieved the pics. if you send it to my address i wont get it because i dont live there anymore (miltary moves alot) so if you do youll be wasting money, ill get you straight as soon as we can get to the bottom of this, ill be awaiting those photos. kerry

e-mail #2


get the **** outta here, i didnt defraud you, fraud is if i said hey im sending you a bodykit and i only sent abumper, or i had no intentions of sending you the kit at all, what you fail to understand it that the company sent the product to you not me and it was described tome as the kit i showed you, hell the pics i used whre from them, im trying to get your money back and stuff but you are saying now now now and there is no money now now now ther will be as soon as the kit is returned to them, so now i need the pics, and dont threaten me again, tell the fbi to give me a call my phone if you dont mind, and ill give them the number to the company who shipped it to you and got it from japan. then we can resolve this since you cant seem to be civil about anything, all i asked of you was to take som pictures so that i can try and get arefun, i dont do refunds, it was on my ad as well no refunds but im trying to make youthe exception and you still wont help me help you.!! and this is your second warning about threatening me

Jmai22
06-27-03, 10:02 AM
don't install the kit or else they will not take it back. it might be a trick?

RalAegidius
06-27-03, 10:17 AM
Don't do anything with the kit. Leave it in the box.

Stop threatening the guy and DO something. File a police report where you live and also contact police in the seller's area (and the District Attorney). File a fraud complaint with the FTC on their website.

File a fraud complaint with eBay (eBay owns Paypal, btw); eBay does have a policy against lying about the nature of the item under auction, which is what appears happened to you. The auction described a T&E Vertex kit that would fit a 92-00 SC300, and that isn't what you got.

The seller is responsible for delivering what he auctions. If his vendor or a manufacturer makes a mistake, it is the seller's responsibility to make it right. An honest person would have refunded your money immediately and taken the item back (and then raised hell with their outsource vendor).

You could also have an attorney write a letter to the seller threatening legal action. Some attorneys will do this for free or a nominal charge, and it's often enough to scare people into issuing a refund. But until the seller sees you are serious about more than just sending him angry email, he won't do anything.

Ral

THE_CEO
06-28-03, 01:09 AM
chrono im gonna call my attorney on monday...and see what the laws are and see if we cant resolve this peacefully....if not god help this fool!

CEO

Lsportline43
06-28-03, 10:51 AM
It sounds like the guy doesn't know that there are two kinds of kits. The knock off VIS Kit and the real T&E Vertex one from Japan. Basically he said he was selling a real T&E Vertex Kit and you got the fake one, but maybe he doesn't understand the difference.

bitkahuna
06-28-03, 11:28 AM
Just finished reading this whole thread so far...

ChronoJ1 - hate to say it, but I think you're gonna have to write it off to experience. You sent him money, he had another company send you a kit he ordered for you.

Yes, I know it wasn't the brand you thought it was going to be (or what was advertised) but maybe he's no rocket scientist either and thought they were the same, or just isn't that detail oriented. It's just a risk with remote transactions. I don't know if the eBay auction had clear pictures of what you THOUGHT you were getting. If so, then that might help show how he didn't deliver what he claimed he would. But if this situation ever gets into litigation it will be a pissing contest with more wasted on legal fees than what's involved. He made, what, $500 in the transaction?

ChronoJ1
06-28-03, 12:04 PM
Originally posted by Lsportline43
It sounds like the guy doesn't know that there are two kinds of kits. The knock off VIS Kit and the real T&E Vertex one from Japan. Basically he said he was selling a real T&E Vertex Kit and you got the fake one, but maybe he doesn't understand the difference.

He clearly was aware of both T&E and VIS. Because when I told him I didn't want VIS but T&E, he claimed to not know of a brand name VIS. But at the time of my asking this question, he already ordered a VIS kit from a company in arizona, dragracing.com.

Bit,
I'm starting to give up on getting my money back. More time passes, I feel less hopeful.

Well, here's the e-bay link.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&category=36475&item=2416565287

The sideskirt i recieved looks nothing like it. it looks like the picture attached.

O. L. T.
06-28-03, 01:05 PM
WHOA !!!!!!! Look who's picture's he's using !!

Grimpy
06-28-03, 04:21 PM
looks kind of like the do-luck

O. L. T.
06-28-03, 04:35 PM
i can't remember who's car it was, but it was this car from here. http://www.lexuspros.com/gallery3/scd2.jpg

lexcoupe
06-28-03, 06:28 PM
Sorry to hear about your problem! i am very skeptical about using ebay and paying large sums of money to people i dont know at all... from reading all this, i have learned my lesson.

thats soarer007 's car, i havent seen him around lately? whats the deal?

Kevin

One HoT
06-28-03, 09:21 PM
May I inform you that BOTH OF THE CARS IN THE AUCTION BELONG TO THE SAME OWNER, CL member Soarer007....IT IS THE SAME CAR!!...But just in differen't colors...Rims and such...Maybe in a way it is affliated with the CL member Soarer007...Maybe this is a CRITICAL CLUE or maybe not...The end result will tell...

O. L. T.
06-28-03, 10:05 PM
If it isn't him, using it for profit is serious copyright infringment. which is why i was stunned.

LeXGs43Rx3
06-28-03, 10:07 PM
For all you guys who plan on purchasing stuff from ebay in the future, just based on that specific listing alone, here are a few things to be a little cautious about...
1) Stolen Pics (already mentioned in this thread)
2) The guy's grammar is pretty bad...I don't know about you guys, but I have a problem with purchasing an expensive item from someone who can't use proper grammar and uses "k" to represent "okay", it is very un-professional.
3) If you take a look at his feedback, there are hardly any comments in which he was the seller, only a few.

The only advice I can give to anyone purchasing ANYTHING on ebay is to use either your CREDIT CARD via paypal or you credit card directly. Some sellers will try to be clever and say that you can use your credit card via westernunion.com, but this is a pure scam. The charge on your card will be basically a cash advance and you have no way of disputing the charge. Another way to detect a scam in case you are still concerned (this won't work for all cases) is to send an email to the seller from a different email address and tell him that you are only 20 minutes away from him so check if you can pick up the item instead of having him ship it, but this will only work in cases where the item is on hand. Be cautious people, and btw, judging by how defensive this guy is getting, he is indeed getting pretty scared. At least as soon as you told him that you plan on contacting all those places, he began replying, that is always a good sign. Make sure you save the e-mails as well (I am sure you are), including the headers so that you have his IP address. Unless he is on a proxy or a dialup connection, it is pretty easy to trace him through his IP if for any reason you need to.

Dx3
09-02-03, 09:01 PM
Sorry to bring up old threads but was this situation ever resolved???

Jonny
Dx3

Iron Chef
09-02-03, 10:31 PM
Originally posted by Dx3
Sorry to bring up old threads but was this situation ever resolved???

Jonny
Dx3

Haha I just read the whole thing and I'd like to know as well.

O. L. T.
09-02-03, 10:42 PM
go to the sc classifieds for an answer

ChronoJ1
09-03-03, 08:42 AM
I never got my money back from the ****. He threatened to sue me for my threatening to call the FBI or the local police. His ebay ID is killadamu25. Watch out for this crook.

Dx3
09-03-03, 09:25 AM
Hey man,

Firstly, he cannot sue you for threatening to bring legal action. As far as I know that is pretty legal. Secondly he cannot sue you for slander unless your statements are untrue - which I am guessing they are not. I would continue to call the FBI etc. and get this *******. Don't give up so easily on this one. He has no case - u have all the evidence. He committed fraud and he should be punished. Bring him to court - have him subpoenaed.

Good luck with whatever you decide, and don't sell the thing until you are 100% sure that all avenues have been reached.

Good luck man
Jonny
Dx3