anyone bought something from this online business ?

[catlove15]

hi everyone

i'm starting to wonder about this biz online that i ordered from: the site is katwallks. it's supposed to take 6 to 9 weeks to get your order and i figured it would take a bit longer cuz things mailed to canada seem to take longer so i was ready for that. 

that was in february so it's been 6 months. when i emailed, he said first that the carpet supplier hadn't got his order so he put in a new one (may), then that they were almost done and he'd put them in the mail the next week (end of june), then that he'd never been so far behind before, thanked me for my patience and he'd put them in the mail the next week (end of july) and now when i pointedly asked if there was any chance they were in the mail, he replied saying they were packaged and ready, that he had to fill out customs forms and he'd email me when they ship. i replied saying, instead of my usual 'hey no problem i'm just excited to get them' or 'i know good work takes time so that's okay', any chance that shipping could be this week and then that i'm sure he could appreciate patience wearing thin after six months especially when i'd been told twice that they'd be in the mail the next week and two months later, still nothing. 

so i'm starting to wonder if he's a fraud. he billed me right away when most places bill when they mail your stuff. and i'm getting tired of excuses. i think my problem is that i assume people are telling me the truth cuz they're mature adults and professionals, which it appears lots aren't, and i'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt. 

so anyone ordered from him before? or know anything about him? and if i'll get my stuff before the end of september? or the end of the year? 

thanks

 

[Kat0121]

Hi. No, I have never bought from them. How did you pay for your order? Paypal? Credit card? I ask this because if you do not get it, you can always dispute the changes with either the CC company or PP. Did they give you a tracking number? You have been waiting too long for this item. Is he weaving the carpet by hand?

 

[Norachan]

They sound a bit dodgy to me.

Just checked out their website and it is full of typos. (Always a bad sign)

It looks like you can only pay for stuff through Paypal or Visa/American express though so you stand a good chance of getting your money back.

Good luck, I hope you didn't get ripped off.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

@catlove15 -- i'd dispute the charge on your credit card or paypal immediately. i simply wouldn't waste any more time or effort on trying to get the company to fulfill an order that is already way, way overdue.

 

[fhicat]

 
@catlove15 -- i'd dispute the charge on your credit card or paypal immediately. i simply wouldn't waste any more time or effort on trying to get the company to fulfill an order that is already way, way overdue.

Agreed. It sounds like you have done some effort communicating with the seller yourself. 6 months is unacceptable for anything. Go to your financial institution or paypal and dispute the charge immediately. Bring copies of your email correspondences.

 

[natalie_ca]

I did a google search for reviews and complaints.  It sounds like the guy is running a scam. Either that, or he isn't very professional.

http://sphynxlair.com/community/threads/katwallks-pet-furniture.5142/

The person in that forum did get their stuff after about 6 months, and only after he threatened to dispute the charge and get a refund from PayPal.

 

[catlove15]

thanks natalie. if you read the whole post of that complaint, she did finally get her stuff, got a ups tracking number beginning of december that year but then didn't post until march the next year. she did get it and said it was very well built. i did a criminal record check on this guy and found nothing. checked bbb of oklahoma and nothing. but i'm wanting to call the cops, and fbi fraud and cnn and tell them all about him. or even fly down there, get all these people, show up on his front door and say katwallks now or  you're going to jail for fraud and everyone's going to know all over the world. and pay for my travel costs etc. no excuse for six months of waiting! and in an email to me he said he'd never been this far behind before. geez. maybe at one time he was good and has since got lazy but if he doesnt' want to work then don't.

 

[pinkdagger]

The thing is, especially with online purchasing, it is up to buyer beware. If a site is unpresentable (poor grammar, poor spelling, typos, broken links, outdated information like how his copyright says 2001) or if reviews have not always been in favour of the seller, it's up to the prospective customer to do their homework and weigh the pros and the cons of purchasing from someone. Any average person can build a website to sell stuff, from a 13 year old kid using their parents' information to a 40 year old grown adult. Maybe the kid is more reliable than the adult and they're bound to be a strong business person with excellent followthrough, and the adult is looking for a quick buck without any effort. Make all the assumptions you want - this is the internet, and anyone can claim to be or present themselves as whatever they want. Doesn't mean it's true. I think this website has quite a few "red flags" for me.

In the end, customers may (someday) get a nicely made platform, but if they've had bad business in the past, it's always a possibility that the item won't be received and that he'll just make a mad dash with your money. If you've already been waiting some time, don't waste your time namecalling and making a personal vendetta against someone hours away. Make your life easier and dispute the charges with your payment method and leave reviews online about your experience so others won't continue supporting him. Keep in mind that disputes are also time-sensitive, so you don't want to get stuck with the charges if you didn't receive anything for them.

 

[catlove15]

pinkdagger, you're absolutely right about buyer beware and i get that. you're a realist which i'm guessing saves you a lot of aggravation and stress unlike the rest of us. i'm all about honesty and fairness so when something or someone isn't either, it makes me crazy. and it's not so much vendetta as i want everyone to know so they don't get into the same predicament. and that's what fairness is in my mind too. i think another good indicator of a bad business person, legitimate or not, is that they cash your cheque or bill your credit card immediately. online places that don't bill you until they mail your order seem to be the quickest likely because they want to get paid. and it keeps them up to date with orders etc. i want to pretty much let him know that i know about him but that could make him more likely to b.o. with my payment and i get nothing. i'd rather get something out of it but then again, at least i'd get to state my case and see if that makes him care at all if he knows that others know and that he's not stringing someone along. or not anymore. then again he'd be stealing my money if he doesn't come thru with my order. and cops etc take a dim view of that. anyway, my mom says that my grandpa always said 'hope for the best and expect the worst.' it's getting that way with people in that you can't trust anyone anymore even if they look like they were legit at one point. sad state of affairs with the world today. 

 

[pinkdagger]

I remember before I had a credit card and my parents wouldn't let me order online, I ordered through a friend and sent money orders. A lot harder to dispute when you get them at the post office, too. I've been ripped off plenty of times (not in the sense of not receiving stuff, but receiving something that differed from the description, like a "wall scroll" turned out to be an 8.5x11 print out, a water bottle with a loose lid wound up being "for collectors" and "not for practical use". Alright, whatever) and I'm just done with it now. Since I already got my products and back then, to some degree I also didn't know better, I didn't make anything of it other than a bad review. I won't buy from eBayers or Etsyers who have less than 100% - 99.8% won't cut it.

I definitely follow that same "hope for the best and expect the worse" mantra.

 

[catlove15]

so paypal has a limit of 45 days to file a complaint but said i can contact the internet crime complaint centre, ic3 which is the fbi and white colour crime centre who together work on internet related criminal complaints. 

so wondering if i should just send ic3 my complaint and see if they can get some satisfaction or if i should email the guy, tell him i'm onto him, and to send my order this week and email me a ups tracking number asap with an estimate of number of days until it arrives or i'll contacting ic3. either way i'm tired of waiting patiently and being seen as a sucker. of course he could pack up shop and move etc which could make him more difficult to track down, although i think he's on facebook and posts there daily so he has more than enough time to ship orders. from the other person who had trouble with him in 2009, it sounds like once she got her stuff, she let it go so he hasn't likely got into trouble for being a lazy cuz he manages to send it in time once the person's patience runs out. 

what do you guys think ?