Problem: Buyer reports problem with purchase
12-18-2001: Rjtimmerman initiated process
12-18-2001: Goodguys submitted response
Rjtimmerman describes the events as follows:
6/21/01. The ad in Audiogon item # 996261593. Advertised as a MKll with Mklll upgrades-This was not upgraded ($700.00 lie) Ad also states in " superb & excellent condition"-It arrived with face plate deeply scratched the power supply cord has a short. After I recieve this Pre-amp and notice this scar in the face plate I contacted Mr. xxxx. he said he was sorry-he was in a hurry. He had just gone thru a divorce. He said hewould pay for another. I asked about whey the phono section tubes do not work-only when you twist the power supply cable at an angle-the tubes came on.
He told me not to worry-it is not that big of a problem. I contacted VAC and talked to Mr Kevin Hayes-president. I asked him about the cost of the face plate. He said he would have a new one made. I told him Mr. xxxx will pay for the faceplate-(they are in the same town). I asked about the cable problem-he toldme there problable a cold soilder joint inside the preamp. I then asked him, what do I look for-to know if it has been upgraded? Mr. Hayes said the eaisiest way is open the bottom and see if the old GE caps on the inside are replaced with Infa caps-(this is just part of the $700.00 upgrade). I did as he said - sure enough-no upgrades were ever done to this preamp to make it into a MKlll. I contacted Mr. xxxx about this. He said he "sorry about the advertised mistake". That indeed it was not upgraded. I told him, I send you 2500.00 for this item # 996261593 on Audiogon. All I get is a sorry? He said he would pay for the face plate. I telephoned VAC once again...The plate was ready to be shipped July 1st-They needed my credit card to send. I told them Mr. xxxx was going to pay. Mr. xxxx did not contact them-they did not here anything about this? Mr. Hayes of VAC, did not want to get in the middle of this situation. I e-mailed Mr. xxxx-since he would not return my telephone calls. I e-mailed July 30th. Please call Kevin to ship the face plate and manual, I thought you were a trusting person, What kind of feed back should I leave you no Audiogon? (I sent this letter to you-this morning) I have not heard nothing from Mr. xxxx until this morning. He has sent 5 letters of treats, foul langage, law suits to myself through Audiogon server. He is upset that I left negitive feedback for him. He even sent me letter which I forwared as well to you -stating the preamp ws never upgraded! I printed a copy of his ad at that time, it is in front of me now. Conclusion.. at this point is I have a VAC preamp with a bad power cord/soider joint/ a deeply scratched face plate/ and a MKll not a MKlll. I am the VICTIM HERE-Mr. xxxx is worried about his feedback, what about my $2500.00? I have over 200+ positive feedbacks on e-bay. I am I supose to pay for a $700.00 upgrade/soldier joint and a $100.00 faceplate with my credit card? I just gave up with Mr. xxxx-and took the lose. But now he is going to sue me in civil court in NC in this matter of his negitive feed back I posted. As e-bay has it, it is not liable to sue unless you have discloded this persons identity in your feedback. This is why we pick a user name.
Rjtimmerman is requesting the following resultion:
refund/no negitive feedback posted/no more foul, nasty letters (6 total-now)from this person-as I had sent you earlier in an attachment e-mail form this person!
Goodguys describes the events as follows:
Rj Timmerman had a legitimate complaint about the faceplate.
He originally complained about several things when he received the unit(that he states so clearly at my feedback that he never received.How can this be?)
he complained of a scratch in the faceplate and a power supply that he said was intermittent. On his behalf I called VAC and arranged for him to be able to ship the unit directly to vac and have it checked out and I would pay any costs incurred.(was that fair?) He told me after I called him back telling him this, that the unit was working fine and he didnt feel like sending it back.. Resolved....why are we still discussing it?
He says that I ripped him off for $700 because I claimed it was a cpa mk II w/ III upgrades. I thought it was. I had the unit reworked by VAC because when I first got it there were some faulty caps in it. When I received it back , TIM Ristow who had done the work on it ,told me he had given it the "New " upgrades. I was uncertain as to what those were but was in a hurry that day and didnt discuss it with him. When I needed to sell it, I assumed (wrongly) that he had added the mkIII upgrades which i believer are inifini caps.I discovered after mr timmermann received it, that he had actually only upgraded the power supply and not the preamp caps as I had supposed. I wasnt charged anything for the mods when I had it there and as a result when I sold it, I asked $2500 which is the going price for a mkII(without any mods). VAC recently sold a mkIII used for $3500. MR timeremen is not out $700 as he is claiming.
we also discussed this at great length during his APPROVAL PERIOD. He was satisfied then with my explanation. Why are we discussing it again now?
The faceplate was a legitimate gripe. His was scratched and I said I would take care of it. I called Kevin Hayes at vac and asked him if he could get one made . He said no problem, it would be $75.
RJTIMMerman didnt get the faceplate and called me back threatning me in his usual ,oh so pleasant manner..
and said he wanted it right away. I recontacted Kevin and said ,"Look this guy is really ballistic about this. Can you send him the faceplate?" Kevin said he would.
I havent spoken with Kevin since he moved back to florida but I think in retrospect,he assumed (and here I am assuming)I would pay for the faceplate upfront, whereas I was thinking (since we are friends) I would just give him the $75 the next time we had lunch together or I stopped by vac to say hello. Obviously, I was wrong...
I never heard anything more about it. I didnt really assume anything about it, I lead an incredibly busy life(like most of us) and just forgot about it. Meanwhile RJTimmeremann being the good soul that he is , posts on my feedback site ,and I quote,"takes money and doesnt send product...a fraud"
Yes , there is fraud here , but it has more to do with a nasty underhanded lie than a faceplate that was forgotten about. If mR timmereman had called once more I would've been reminded and irritated enough by his abrasive persona to have wanted to resolve it. Instead he chose to lie in a public forum so he could get"EVEN"
that act speaks volumes about this guys character, moreso than I or anyone else ever could. I am curious though , How can he know that a preamplifier has problems if I kept his money and didnt send it?
You can tell a lot about an individual from their history.
If you go to gbase.com you will find my history with them stretches back several years and involves hundreds of transactions and there is 0 negative feedback....
This speaks volumes about my real character, certainly more than some petty individual, lying to get "revenge"
Goodguys's proposed resolution:
I do not believe that rjtimmerman deserves a resolution. He wanted to cause trouble and he certainly has.. I have been going through a divorce and have been forced to close my guitar shop because of the sad state of retail. I have been or rather have been attempting to sell my stereo stuff to take care of bills and to pay for xmas this year. I havent been able to sell a thing for months on this site because of his feedback. I think the process should be changed so that email is sent to a lister when they get feedback so they can respond to it. I certainly wouldve done that in august, had i known.... all of that aside, he now wants a refund? I think he should be kicked off audigon immediately for posting a lie that he has admitted by his own complaint is false. It is true he did not get the faceplate . I did contact Kevin Hayes at vAC repeatedly (this can be corroborated w/ a quick phone call)and made an effort to get it to him. Whether he received it or not does not give him the right to go to a public forum and publish lies. Whatever I would've done is in the past...He has cost me a lot of money that i have desperately needed(and need). I was counting on the sale of this cd player to buy xmas presents for my 4 and 6 yr old boys....this isnt a pity party, but it is the reality i am currently struggling with and this guy is all upset because he didnt get his faceplate....I think he had a legitimate complaint and it would've been resolved reasonably had I simply been reminded,. I think the underhanded action he chose to take instead,and how it resulted in my inabilty to sell anyrthing, precludes his right to any settlement from me.... he has already gotten what he wanted...
Rjtimmerman's rebuttal:
I am sorry about the Christmas gift problems. I have only known of "one item" C/D player you tring to sell on Audiogon- Please check your records!
I have children as well, a 1 1/2 year old + others. If you would have sold the item I bought from you as your discription stated this problem would not be. It has taken you 4 months +, for you to be upset, of my feed back. Law suits and your foul letters do not set well as a seller of Audiogon. The preamp does not have the "class A triode line stage modifictions with newer Infacaps". You are are a cheat and and a lier-I will not change my feedback. I did not recieve what I paid for. I sent a VISA check to you # 8326-dated 5/29/01. I tried to reclaim my money as a charge back of fraud. Capital One said it was not possible-a Visa check is like cash. (I requised a copy front and back).
As of 12-19-2001, Audiogon is requesting input from members regarding this dispute. |
