QTH.COM Swap Chat

Fred and I made a deal for me to buy his Alinco DX-70, 2 microphones, and power cord for $350 shipped. The radio arrived without the power cord and now that Fred has cashed the money order he's not answering emails. I've been trying to get hold of him for 2 weeks now to get this deal fixed. I ended up buying a new cable from AES for $40 and have asked Fred to reimburse me, but he's not responding. A simple email rsponse would have fixed this deal. I'd advise others to be careful if they do business with Fred.

THERE ARE ALWAYS TWO SIDES TO EVERY STORY..I MYSELF HAVE DONE BUSINESS WITH FRED FACE TO FACE..I WAS VERY HAPPY DEALING WITH THIS GENTLEMAN..HE WAS VERY PLEASANT,THE ITEMS WERE AS DESCRIBED AND REASONABLY PRICED..HOPEFULLY WHAT EVER IS GOING ON HERE CAN BE RESOLVED AND EVERYONE CAN WALK AWAY HAPPY..AUTHOR OF THIS POST IS KW4FXD

I hope that's the case. I'd like nothing better than to be able to post a message here saying that the deal has been fixed.

Jeff
N0WJP

I'm don't know Fred so I'm not defending him but e-mail is not without faults. I recently had a problem with my server where I was not receiving many of the e-mails that were sent to me. This went on for almost a month before they got it straightened out. This is why it is always imparitive to get a phone number and address from someone you are dealing with also. Do you have his address? It should have been on the carton the radio came in. If not look him up on QRZ. Maybe drop him a note. It's possible he just forgot to put the cord in with the radio and isn't receiving your e-mails.

Good luck, Tracy KB9VXQ

I have had bad dealings with Fred also. I purchased a laptop from him and he shipped it but didnt pack it properly. The laptop, battery, power supply and disks were all loose bouncing around in a box. When I turned it on it didnt come on. I tried again and it came on long enough to load a program and would never turn on again. The latch on the lid was broke, laying in the box. I called him and he said it was my problem and would not make it right. So I ended up buying another laptop (new). So I got screwed by Fred.

Got an email this morning from Fred which said he had been having computer problems. He also said that if the cord was missing then I would have to deal with UPS on my own and that he put the cord in the shipping box. In a previous email he said that he dropped off the radio at a "pack and ship place" which is a different story than I got today. Fred still refuses to pay for the cable and told me in an email tonight that things are sold "as-is" on web sites. I agree, but in this case "as-is" was with a power cord according to the description he wrote in his ad.

I'm glad others have had better luck dealing with Fred, but I'd still advise staying away from him unless you can do the deal in person.

According to the picture Fred has posted on QRZ.com...he
appears to represent himself as a cop (policeman).
You might be able to find out what department from his
shoulder patch. Maybe his captain might be interested
in hearing your charges.

I guess that would be a last resort. I'd really rather not trash the guy's professional reputation over a $40 cable. Hopefully he'll reconsider and make the deal right. If not, then I guess the 480+ people who have read this thread so far will think twice before dealing with him.

Yea, you may be right concerning his reputation. I guess I would
expect a higher level of response to your issue with him (and the
guy with the laptop) because he apparently prides himself in
"reputation" with him posting a picture of himself in a policemens
uniform in his patrol car on QRZ.com.

I am a law enforcement officer and I completely agree that you should be able to expect a high level of integrity form a LEO/HAM especially when that individual posts a picture of himself in his department uniform on QRZ. His department would be very concerned that the postiing of that picture could implicate the department in any unethical or illegal activity. One other option you have is to file a complaint with P.O.S.T.(Peace Officer Standard and Training). Each state has P.O.S.T.. In our state If P.O.S.T. investigates you then there is the possibility of losing your certification which could effect employment with any agency. Before I did any of these I would send him another e-mail explaining the options that you are going to be pursuing. Then print out the e-mail along with the other negative post and send it to him certified mail. Doing these things would help protect you if he should file a libel suit against you in the unlikely event his call sign has been hi-jacked.
73 Jeff N4JJP

Truth is truth regardless of opinion or popularity

I have had two dealings with Fred one on a henry amp he said had new finals 3-500 well when i got it home guess what they were not at all new until i replaced them the second was on a yaesu ft-101zd that he claimed was in excellent condition that well your right it was not after me putting out another $175.00 it was in excellent shape so it all goes back to once a fool shame on you twice a fool shame on me.
and for his employer he is a deputy for port St lucie county florida.

thanks for reading and 73s

n4jjp wrote:I am a law enforcement officer and I completely agree that you should be able to expect a high level of integrity form a LEO/HAM especially when that individual posts a picture of himself in his department uniform on QRZ. His department would be very concerned that the postiing of that picture could implicate the department in any unethical or illegal activity. One other option you have is to file a complaint with P.O.S.T.(Peace Officer Standard and Training). Each state has P.O.S.T.. In our state If P.O.S.T. investigates you then there is the possibility of losing your certification which could effect employment with any agency. Before I did any of these I would send him another e-mail explaining the options that you are going to be pursuing. Then print out the e-mail along with the other negative post and send it to him certified mail. Doing these things would help protect you if he should file a libel suit against you in the unlikely event his call sign has been hi-jacked.
73 Jeff N4JJP

Truth is truth regardless of opinion or popularity

Jeff, I really appreciate your suggestions. I'm going to follow up and send him a certified letter explaining the options I'll be pursuing. And thanks for the info on P.O.S.T. I found some info on the Florida P.O.S.T. web site:

"Any officer who fails to comply with the requirements of Section 943.13 (4) or (7), F.S., by engaging in conduct that constitutes a felony or a serious misdemeanor involving perjury or false statement, or is not of "good moral character," as defined in Rule 11B-27.0011, F.A.C., is subject to disciplinary action. "

I guess as a last resort I can document the situation, including all of the emails to and from Fred and send it all to them. Maybe that will get Fred's attention.

Thanks again and 73,
Jeff

I know Fred in person for years and in spite of he has been fear and clear in all the deals we have done in the past,I wonder how this last two bad deals happened,he works as a deputy sheriff for the city of Pt St Lucie in FL,I hope things could be solved between him and the affected persons,its sad to see people unhappy for bad deals specially when the person involved is a law enforcement officer.

Hector
AD4C
West palm beach.
FL

Had an email from Fred on Thursday that basically said once again that he's not willing to do anything since he had the radio packed up a pack and ship place. He also stated in his email that he thinks I actually got the power cord. I think I would have recognized a power cord if one had been in the box with the radio. Fred also asked where I work in his email. Not sure why he would need to know that as he has my home address and could certainly send a mail order there.
I'm following the advice of one of the other posters and sending Fred a certified letter with printouts of these posts and some of the emails we've exchanged. If he doesn't respond favorably I've decided to go ahead and contact the Florida P.O.S.T and describe the situation and ask them for some help.

Jeff

From what I have read, the last time the missing power cord was seen was when it was in the hands of packing and shipping company. Could it be Fred is telling the truth? Think about it; what reason would he have not to?

Why not ask Fred to call his packing and shipping company and ask where the missing cord might be. Still there at the company? Found but tossed because the minimum wage earning worker could not remember which customer it belonged to? Who knows.

If they say " I donno..." then Fred would be correct to ask for the company to reimbuse the $40 for to pay for the item they lost. They are the ones who lost it, right?

Worth a shot...

AL

If the box and the packing the equipment was shipped in is still
available...the box, the packing and just the equipment shipped
can be weighed. Add a power cord and notice the additional
weight. Check the weight of the box shipped. At least that would
prove if the cord ever got shipped to begin with.

UPS weights are always rounded off to nearest pound, rendering it useless for detecting such a small item.

AL

K4ICL wrote:From what I have read, the last time the missing power cord was seen was when it was in the hands of packing and shipping company. Could it be Fred is telling the truth? Think about it; what reason would he have not to?

Why not ask Fred to call his packing and shipping company and ask where the missing cord might be. Still there at the company? Found but tossed because the minimum wage earning worker could not remember which customer it belonged to? Who knows.

...

AL

I've done this. Fred is so far unwilling to do anything besides tell me "it's your problem. You will have to take it up with UPS."

Now he's not even answering emails.

Jeff

K4ICL wrote:UPS weights are always rounded off to nearest pound, rendering it useless for detecting such a small item.

AL

The replacement cable I got from AES by itself weighs almost a pound. I did weigh all of the original packing materials, the radio, and the 2 mics. The weight matched the UPS shipping weight which was 8 pounds. Adding the cable to the box would have pushed the UPS weight to 9 pounds, which leads me to believe that the cable was never in the box.

In one email Fred told me he had packed the equipment up himself and in another he said he had the shipper pack it for him, so I'm not sure which version is the truth. At any rate, he won't help track down the cable and insists that it's my problem, not his.

Jeff

To K4ICL. Being just a little familiar with shipping, being in the shipping
business (and being familiar with power cords for Ham Radio gear, not
one for a CB radio and concerning the radio in question) this is a not a
useless method.

Also, Fred supposedly being a police office doesn't seem too interested
in solving this case...
I just wonder how this whole scenario would be playing out if it were
reversed.

Clearwater AL wrote:
.......

Also, Fred supposedly being a police office doesn't seem too interested
in solving this case...
I just wonder how this whole scenario would be playing out if it were
reversed.

I can tell you that if the situation was the other way around I would have bent over backwards to make sure my customer was happy. I've made probably a hundred deals over the internet. Two of them didn't go as well as I expected, but I worked with the buyers on both of them until they were happy. That involved refunding some money in one case (I scratched an amplifier when packing it and notified the buyer and refunded some money before shipping it) and buying a 3-500Z tube in another case (tubes were a little weak in an LK-500ZC amp and would only output legal limit, not legal limit +++). The bottom line is that if there's a problem with a deal you can't just walk away from it and expect the buyer to be satisfied with what he/she got if it wasn't as described or there were parts missing.

Jeff

Well said...

He hangs out on 3.945 Draw your own conclusions.

I sent Fred another email this afternoon asking for payment and outlining my options for collecting either some money or a power cord from him and he actually responded to my email this time. His one line response was:

"NOW YOUR STARTING TO BOTHER ME"

Doesn't look like he's willing to work with me at all on this one, does it?

Jeff

To me, the unique aspect of your problem with Fred is that he has
eagerly posed himself as a police officer, picture and all on QRZ.com.
Unfortunately, many like Fred become police officers to wear the
uniform and bully their way thru life or to mask the person they really
are. Fortunately, many become police officers to answer a true
calling. I just hope Fred is not so cavalier to the community he
supposedly serves as he has been to this case. A case he could
have so easily solved.