WB5XX - Dishonest and unresponsive after sale.

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kk9a
Posts: 90
Joined: Tue May 18, 2004 7:06 pm
Location: Midland, NC

WB5XX - Dishonest and unresponsive after sale.

Post by kk9a »

George Wellborn Jr - WB5XX had an Elecraft factory built KPA500 listed for sale on this site. The ad stated that there were no scratches or dents and that he was the only owner. I replied asking the age of the amp and if he would take PayPal. He quickly responded stating the amp was a year old and that he would take PayPal if I send him the money using a no fee method. Asking me to send the money using the no fee friends or family method should have been a red flag however I had previously done business with him and there were no issues. Since the amp was described as almost new and in pristine condition it met my criteria perfectly and I decided to purchase it. To make the buyer happy I added the PayPal fees to my payment so I actually paid 2.9% more than his asking price. I received the amp a few days later and when I opened the box I was astonished to discover that the amp was significantly older than described. I immediately sent a polite email to WB5XX informing him of the age issue, thinking that he made an honest mistake and that we could work out something. He denied my age estimate which was based on the serial number and manual revision level. He emailed that he would look for his receipt so I gave him a few days to find it and he never replied. I sent more emails during the following week and he remained unresponsive. Since I paid a premium for a newer amp, I was unhappy with it being fraudulently represented and I was even more unhappy with WB5XX’s lack of response to my complaint. With no communication I saw no way to fairly resolve this so I shipped the KPA500 back to the seller. I hoped that he would do the right thing when he received the amplifier back and refund my money but incredibly he did not! Now he had the Elecraft KPA500 along with my money and he remained unresponsive to my emails and emails sent though PayPal. Sadly I had to file a claim with PayPal and write this unfavorable post. Fortunately I did not send money using the no fee method that the seller suggested and PayPal did a wonderful job of quickly returning my money. I am still working on getting reimbursed for the return shipping charges however at this point it seems unlikely. Should the seller step up and do the right thing I will amend my complaint but I will never buy from WB5XX again.
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