Hall of Shame

A few people tried to screw me on deals involving automotive parts or supplies. As it tends to be difficult or impossible to get my money back from these individuals, I've decided to start this Hall of Shame to at least try and ruin their reputation on internet and warn others not to do business with them. I will include full names and adresses for those where I have no further hope of recovering my money.

Please be aware that simply having a disagreement about a deal doesn't get you a place here. If everything is resolved amicably, that's fine. We've all made mistakes occasionally, myself included. It's only when you seem to intentionally deceive me, and then compound that with an absolute unwillingness to make good on it, that you're listed here.

At the moment there are two candidates for this hall of shame. As I don't think I've reached the end of the line with them yet I'm not listing their names and adresses just now. They can always be added later...

First there's T. He advertised about 2500 used tools, in good condition. These were standard sized spanners, left over from a batch he bought from the Fokker bankruptcy auction. We agreed on a price of 1 guilder per item. When I arrived there to pick them up, I expressed doubt about the quantity, but he assured me there really were about 2500 items. We agreed on a price of 2250 guilders (about $900). It was freezing cold so there wasn't too much attraction in counting them out in the parking lot. When I got them home and counted them there turned out to be only about 675 tools. After some time I managed to get hold of him (he was on holiday) and eventually agreed to return those tools for a full refund on february 11th 2002 around 2040 at his workshop. I had tried to reach him to confirm the time during the day, and was unable to. When I arrived at his workshop he wasn't there, the gate was locked. He wasn't at his house either, and I was unable to reach him on his cellphone.
I managed to reach hin the next day, when he claimed I could've walked past the gate, and tried to go back on the agreement. He was doing the "what are you whining about, you bought it didn't you" and "these tools are 20 or more guilders each, it's still a good deal" spiels. Yes, I bought it, based upon his information that there were really, honestly, about 2500 items. Contrary to what he seems to think, I do believe that if the seller is substantially incorrect about what he's selling there is an obligation to make good, either through a refund or by supplying the correct item. While I agree that these items when new may carry a substantial price tag, these items first of all aren't new, and secondly there is a mix of items that is of limited value for the intended purpose, namely working on cars. Of the 665 items (approx) there are for instance more than 50 identical ring spanners of a size so small you won't find them on any car I know of. There are other such sets as well in there, so there may be only 300 useful tools. In the advertisement the tools were described as "ideal for for example a car club". If there had in fact been 2500 tools, or even 2000, that ratio would have been pretty reasonable, there would've been about 1000 useful tools. There being only 665 or so tools, they're vastly overpriced. I've calculated resale value to be around 950 guilders, a far cry from the 2250 payed for them.

In the end a partial refund was made, and I managed to sell the batch off at about what I payed for it minus the partial refund. While dishonest, he's not worth the potential hassle of a full name-and-shame anymore, I still managed to come out slightly ahead (if you discount the trouble).

The second contestant for entry into the hall of shame is R. We originally made a deal that I would sell him a car for a sum of money and three reasonable to good engines. Two of those engines are at least complete, but one, described as "may need new valve stem seals", turned out to have worn bearings, a ruined crankshaft, missing front oil seal, missing head bolts and timing cover bolts, no pushrods or rockers, in short a piece of junk. I have yet to contact him. The reason for nomination is that he is someone I've known for some time, a fellow club member, and someone who really should know better than to screw me on a deal like this.Outcome Pending

Despite repeated promises to make good on it no resolution has been reached as of 20020923. I'm selling off the engines with full disclosure, and shall decline to do business with this person in the future.