Please help me with this bidder… This newbie with 0 FB won one of my auctions ($120 BIN) on May 15. Payment reminders were sent on May 21 & May 27. I received a reply from his assistant that payment was sent a week ago so on May 28 I replied “As soon as we receive your payment we will let you know and send the item”.
On June 12 I received this message from his assistant “I am just writing to inquire as to the status of delivery”. I immediately replied that I did not received the payment but my email bounced back (AOL address) so I sent the message from my Yahoo account.
I received the following message this morning:[i]You have been paid and have sat on my money without sending me the item for too long. Get off your duff and send it now or I will write the auction company tomorrow and take whatever action I need to take.
You should be ashamed of the way you conduct your business affairs.
If I do not hear from you tomorrow that the goods were sent or a refund is coming, you will hear about me and my actions very soon.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Attorney at Law[/i]
I certainly don’t like threats. I am an honest seller with over 500 positives feedbacks and no neg.
I would like to respond in a polite and professional way just in case his payment was lost in mail but I don’t know what to say… Any suggestion would be much appreciated.
posted on June 16, 2003 05:16:47 AM new
I seriously doubt that an attorney would use "duff" in an official correspondence.
But just reply factual and unemotional,
"I have not, as of this date, received your payment for this item. My Terms of Service do not allow shipping without payment in hand.
Please check your mailing address to ensure that payment was sent to the proper address, which is:
XXXXX
XXXXXXXX
XXXXXX, XXXXX
If payment is not received by June, 30th 2003, then I will begin Non-payment procedures as laid out by eBay in this situation."
your name
posted on June 16, 2003 07:43:42 AM new
I probably would pull his contact information and give him a call. Was his letter sent on a letterhead?
There is a way to find out if he is an attorney. Search the city that he is from, then I think you should beable to search for attorneys in that city. I have done that with physicians. Good Luck....
posted on June 16, 2003 07:46:50 AM new
I forgot one thing. Most cities of a Better Business Bureau and probably a web site and you could contact them for attorneys. By the sound of this email I really doubt that he is an attorney but if he is he is a arrogant one...
posted on June 16, 2003 09:42:27 AM new
Thank You very much for your responses, I really appreciate!
He never emailed me his shipping address, only his name. I did a Google search; He is a real Attorney at Law. I pulled his contact information via eBay; the name, city and phone number are correct exept his eBay email address is not the same as the one on his website. I emailed him something similar to what Twelvepole suggested and asked him to call me tomorrow at my store.
I have no idea if he or his assistant sent a check or money order but I am 100% sure that we did not receive the payment. My company is in Canada so every time we receive payment via check/mo, I have to go to our bank to deposit the money. I hope there is a way for him to verify that we did not cashed his payment.
posted on June 16, 2003 09:59:05 AM new
When I get a payment or shipment status request, I send out this note:
"We are happy to track your payment or shipment for you; however, to make sure we give you an accurate response we need some information from YOU:
1) First and last name on your payment
2) Ship-to address
3) Method of payment (PayPal, check or money order)
Please respond including the text of this and the previous message so we may assist you quicker.
Thanks!"
About 1 out of 10 times I never get any response and ultimately the item remains unpaid-for. But at least I have stated clearly what information is required from them.
As for your customer, a law degree does not confer sainthood. Indeed, some would claim quite the opposite. At any rate, there are at least as many bullies in the legal profession as in others...and the awe or terror in which the general populace holds lawyers makes it too damn tempting for them to be abusive.
Your customer is one such bully.
Handle him the same as you would any other deadbeat. I think there's at least a 50% chance the "assistant" is fictional.
--
California voters: Be a part of the first-ever successful gubernatorial recall! Defy media pundits! $21 million of our money is going down the tubes daily because of our incompetent corrupt governor. Visit http://www.recallgraydavis.com to download your recall petition.
posted on June 16, 2003 10:36:17 AM new
Quit messing with emails. YOU do the calling, so it is going to cost you a buck or two, but I see this as the quickest, cleanest way to handle the situation.
posted on June 17, 2003 09:19:04 AM new
Just my opinion, but I never ever call anyone. I consider this to be a mail order business, and if they wish to pull my contact info and call me, then I will speak with them.
Otherwise, lawyer or not, it is all handled via emails.
AOL is getting to be one big pain! I am getting customers writing saying they never receive EOA notices, and then when I reply through Ebay system trying to get it to go through since mine obviously did not, I get another email from them telling me I should run my business better.
This has only been happening over the last 3 days so I think they must have set up even more spam guards.
I think I will build something into my auction stating if you use some ISP servers such as AOL my emails may be blocked. All information you need to complete the sale are shown here should you not receive my EOA notice.
[ edited by lindajean on Jun 17, 2003 09:19 AM ]
posted on June 17, 2003 09:50:34 AM new
lindajean,
you may want to go thru your email to see if any word or phrases trigger the spam block??
like enlarge??like cute ??like ??
posted on June 17, 2003 10:00:57 AM new
sounds like a bully lawyer looking for some rent money or free merchandise.
i would just ignore him,he will move on to his next victim.
posted on June 17, 2003 10:10:36 AM new
I think you simply have a complete ass on your hands. He knows that his check has not been cashed but he is trying to intimidate you. He is also getting your mail but playing dumb.
Send him a new piece asking him to please provide proof that you have recieved his payment optherwise you will consider any future emails implying fraud on your part to be harrassment and will deal with it as such.
I would also let him know that as a lawyer he hould know that he must actually prove his case and that basless accusations are meaningless. Any reputable attorney would have provided you with proof of payment by now - i.e. - deposit date and account number.
Oh yeah -if he keeps this up and you really want to have a little fun - since he decided to bring his profession into play in this - write a lovely little ltter to his state board complaining about personal conduct.... he opened the door for that one himself.
Mario Andretti - “If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough.”
[ edited by neonmania on Jun 17, 2003 10:13 AM ]
posted on June 17, 2003 10:39:45 AM new
Stop - does not matter - if he sent a money order he can get the same information
Mario Andretti - “If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough.”
posted on June 17, 2003 01:03:33 PM new
Stoop - Actually - so am I. That is why I said that she should demend that he provide proof of a cashed payment or shall consider any further accusations as harrassment. This deals with the situation without making an actuall accusation which could only make him more difficult to deal with.
Mario Andretti - “If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough.”
posted on June 17, 2003 02:31:03 PM new
If you call his office, you're going to get a receptionist and/or secretary and may have no hope of getting through to him. If his website lists a fax number, then a faxed note might be more effective.
HE may honestly think the payment went out, when in fact his assistant, or bookkeeper or whoever he delegated that to, may be sitting on THEIR duff. A fax will get EVERYONE'S attention, as it moves from the machine to the secretary to the assistant to the attorney.
I worked at such an office once (Ulcers-B-Us), and I still get an eye twitch when I think about it.
posted on June 17, 2003 03:27:15 PM new
Skip all of the BS and file for NPB. You have already sent enough e-mails. Time to get tough with this person. Most likely it was one of your competitors trying to get rid of your item so they could sell theirs.
posted on June 17, 2003 04:25:11 PM new
I did not heard from him today... I wanted to call but my voice is too soft and weak, not really impressive.
My associate, who has a big strong voice, was unfortunately not with me.
I am patient because I had previous aggressive customers.
While being nice and patient these customers became very polite, grateful and especially faithful.
He probably communicate from his home, his emails were sent during the night (2h41am & 2h34am PDT)
It may be possible he has a secretary and/or an assistant. When I made a Google search, using only his name, he
appears everywhere, has much experience and seems well-known.
I am happy to learn that it is possible to verify if a money order was cashed. I also like the fax idea but I will not loose too much time with him if he doesn’t change his attitude.
Thank you very much for your comments, they are of a great help! I will keep you informed and sorry for my spelling, I had a long day!
posted on June 17, 2003 08:11:05 PM new
Unless he can tell you what type of payment he claims he sent, how can you help him? Even Wal-mart would require proof.
posted on June 17, 2003 08:28:03 PM new
If you pulled his contact info, then he has your telephone number. File an NPB alert on him. He'll be calling you. Let him pay for the phone call. If he's a big time lawyer, he can afford it. It really makes no difference what profession a person is in, if he doesn't pay for an auction win, he's a deadbeat bidder. Treat him as such.
The light at the end of the tunnel will turn out to be an oncoming train.
