FedEx nightmare with K7FX, Bob Cornell

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W6TN
Posts: 31
Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2009 10:10 pm

FedEx nightmare with K7FX, Bob Cornell

Post by W6TN »

I decided to post this writing after I explored all avenues to deal with K7FX.

On Jan. 15, 2010, I responded to an ad here by Devin Cornell KC7SHF for an amplifier. After few e-mail exchanges it turned out the amplifier belonged to his father Bob Cornell K7FX.

I then talked to Bob and sent him a USPS money order to his friend's address in Lake Havasu, AZ. Bob told me he lives in Yucca, AZ nearby. I took his words. The money order was cashed out and the amplifier was sent to me using FedEx with an insurance.

When I received the amplifier I opened it up and found its tube fell out of its socket with few bent pins. I immediately took few pictures and filed a claim with FedEx online same night. I also alerted Bob with the claim with all pictures and paperwork. I decided at that point NOT to ask Bob for the refund. I could but I didn't. And I didn't blame Bob for the shipping mishap, either.

Couple days later, FedEx picked up the amplifier and made its inspection, then refused the claim. Bob encouraged me to stick with my claim, and he contacted FedEx to provide his information.

I again contacted FedEx few more times and found they would not want to deal with a buyer. They prefer to deal with the seller, who uses their store and buys its insurance. I assume that is reasonable. However, I continued pushing for my claim and eventually I was successful to have the claim partially reimbursed. FedEx agreed to pay for one half of the original insured amount. But that's not the end of the story.

FedEx requested that the seller, in this case Bob Cornell K7FX to either file his own claim or waive his claim. In the first instance he will receive the money and the amplifier back. In the second case I will receive the money to fix my amplifier. I conveyed this agreement to Bob several times by e-mail and left several voice messages on his phones. He didn't respond. I even e-mailed to his son, Devin Cornell KC7SHF and asked him to contact his father. I asked another ham acquaintance to contact Bob on air, but Bob refused to talk to this gentleman's request and scolded him on air. His son didn't respond to me, either.

Another irony that I contacted FedEx to ask them since Bob didn't contact them so could they send the damaged amplifier back to me? It turned out the assistant is a wife of another ham in OH. She told me after a little research that Bob already picked up the amplifier.

So as of this writing, after more than one weeks without any communication from Bob, he now has my money and the amplifier. But he refuses to contact or deal with me. I am at loss of what happened along the way. I always thought the ham brethren group is trustworthy, but not sure now.

What options do I have? Any helpful suggestion is greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your reading.
73
Trung W6TN
Last edited by W6TN on Sat Feb 20, 2010 4:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
lhk0pd
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Post by lhk0pd »

First off i would try to contact FEDX main office and see what they say and if that does not help you can file a small court claim in Arizona against him. I would assume your in California so suing maybe your best bet but no matter what i would not let him get away with it,even if i had to hire a lawyer as there are some things such as honor we must fight for.
Larry Huff K0pd
w8jn
Posts: 619
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2003 1:21 pm

bad shipping

Post by w8jn »

trung, unfortunately you did not ask enough questions up front. an amp should never be shipped with the final in place. the fact that it fell out is not fed ex fault. it is supposed to fall out if not shipped in a separate box. next.... fed ex or ups does not have a relationship with you. they only deal with a shipper. you are not the shipper. you have tied in to a dishonest crook who sold you an amp. your only recourse is to harass him on the air, or start posting about his criminal deeds everywhere you can on the internet. call the police in his local area, file a complaint against him with the fbi internet fraud division, hire an attorney in his area. you need to let him know you are not going away. it will probably cost you more than you paid for the amp however you cant let him get away with this.
good luck paul w8jn
W6TN
Posts: 31
Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2009 10:10 pm

Post by W6TN »

Larry and Paul:
Thank you for your suggestion.
Bob appeared to be very nice guy on the phone until I asked him to take either action: file a claim or waive a claim with FedEx. Then everything was off, no more e-mail, phone or acknowledgment.

FedEx or UPS does NOT have a relationship with a buyer. I found that out in a difficult way. However, I was able to talk to them after filing my claim and negotiated with them for a partial, but not yet paid, settlement. The next step is for Bob to do. But he refused to take any action.

I trusted him because he has been around for 30+ years as a ham. I thought that shows a commitment to the hobby and a "badge of honor". But I guess you never know what makes thing tick.

Again, thank you.
73
Trung W6TN
N9LCD
Posts: 330
Joined: Sat Jul 01, 2006 8:32 pm

Post by N9LCD »

FIRST: How much did you pay for the amp in question? Is there enough involved to justify legal action??? Why did FedEx deny the claim or allow only half?

SECOND: With FedEx it is the seller's/shipper's responsibility to handle the insurance claim. About 18 months ago FedEx damaged a signal display unit I had shipped. The buyer notified FedEx and me. The SDU was returned to me. I had to file the claim; arrange for repairs; ship the SDU to the manufacturer; pay for the repairs; arrange for return of the SDU to my buyer; and reimburse myself from the claim check.

THIRD: What did you say to FedEx when you reported the damage? My buyer almost queered the claim by saying the SDU wasn't worth $325. What he meant was "IT WASN'T WORTH $325 ON TOP OF THE $525 HE HAD PAID FOR THE UNIT"!

FORTH: Can either you or your seller prove that the price you paid is for the amp is reasonable and that the two of you are not just trying to sell a piece of junk to FedEx?

N9LCD
W6TN
Posts: 31
Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2009 10:10 pm

Post by W6TN »

Dear N9LCD
Thank you for your suggestion.

1. I paid close to the insured amount.
2. I have no idea why FedEx denied and agreed on the half insured amount. I provided them with the pictures of the amp, the packages, which labeled fragile few times.
3. First FedEx said there was no damage outside and inside. I told them to look at the pictures I sent them. It showed the tube fell off the socket and its pins bent.
4. I also sent few similar ads from qth.com, eham.net and qrz.com relating to amplifiers. They used all evidences to come up with a settlement. I think it is reasonable.

I would assume a seller would file a claim and took similar actions like you did to resolve the problem. However, in my case, Bob Cornell, K7FX, refused to take any action except keeping the original purchase amount and the amplifier. He didn't answer my phone calls and e-mail.
osmer1
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Location: Laurel,MS

k7fx

Post by osmer1 »

:?:
Was not K7FX banned from QTH.COM awhile back?
osmer1
N9LCD
Posts: 330
Joined: Sat Jul 01, 2006 8:32 pm

Post by N9LCD »

Trung:

Start organizing your evidence. Get a copy of the paid money order. Make copies of all emails and text messages. Prepare a log of all contacts.

Send certified letters, return receipt requested, to both KC7SHF and K7FX demanding a refund of your purchase price within 14 days and promising legal action if they don't comply with your demand.

Send identical letters to both KC7SHF and K7FX with a "Proof of Mailing" receipt from the USPS. DO NOT put your return address on either envelope.

Check into the rules for Small Claims Court in California.

What are the monetary limits? They're generally from $3,00 to $5,000.

How can you serve the papers on an out-of-state defendant?

Do you get a default judgment if the defendant doesn't show in court?

A judgment, even from Small Claims Court, is generally good for ten years
AND can be renewed fort another 10 Years. Once you have a judgment ,
you can do some really NASTY things like garnishing the guy's wages,
freezing his bank accounts and putting a lien on any of his real estate!

GOOD LUCK AND GOOD HUNTING!


N9LCD


:twisted:
NA6TE
Posts: 71
Joined: Fri Mar 06, 2009 6:24 pm
Location: Southern California

Why did the moderators remove my post?

Post by NA6TE »

Trung,
Would you be so kind as to post the pictures of the 4CX800 tube with the bent pins and the emails that were sent by each of you? Since the pins are only .37” and the tube is heavy it may have very easily fallen out and bent when the tube struck an object within the amp. K7FX should have either sent the tube separate or packed a cushioning material around it to prevent the dislodging of the tube, having said that, did you try straightening the pin(s) and plugging in the tube and trying the amp?
I run an amp with the same tube(s) and have used spares. I have dropped by accident and I have straightened pins on the used tubes and they have all tested as advertised.
You seem to be a reasonable person as most of your posts show, so I think there may be a communication gap here.
The other self proclaimed “Perry Mason’s” that have commented with their go get’em attitude’s appear to have no life since one has 102 different posts on this forum giving advise (18 years as a tech he really is well informed), one has 166 different posts on this forum giving his advise (entirely too much time on his hands and sticks his 2 cents in on just about every post). These 2 free advice givers do this with only one side of the story and an incomplete story at that. The other adviser seems to be a fairly honest person and appears he wants to help but still gives the advice of getting a lawyer without all the facts.
And low and behold there is one that can’t even sign his comments with his call (KD5UJJ) osmer1. He couldn’t spend a couple of minutes to research if K7FX had been banned from QTH, instead he throws an unsubstantiated comment out on the forum.
The hams in Southern California know K7FX or know of him. After seeing your post Bobby was drilled pretty heavily on the air Saturday morning and the story isn’t quite the same as yours. Who ever said that Bobby has the amp (which he claims otherwise) does not make any sense at all. The common carriers DO NOT pay claims and then return the merchandise. (you advised of that but say you have not been paid as yet)
Bobby agreed to contact the carrier about waiving any claim.
Please post the pictures and the emails so all can make factual decisions.

Good Luck and thanks for your anticipated information
73

Nate……………. NA6TE
What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.
w8jn
Posts: 619
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2003 1:21 pm

judge jury executioner

Post by w8jn »

well nate, there are three side to every story, my side, your side and the truth. i guess that you decided to take "your side". kinda puts you on the "high road"?
happy hoss trading paul w8jn
ps, do i really have 166 posts? wow am i a slacker or what.. i need to get busy and post some more. ohhhh by the way, i have helped more hams recover money from "ham crooks" (including money returned to hams in poland from crooks in toledo) than anyone else on this forum. have you done anything other than beat your gums and taken up bandwith?
W6TN
Posts: 31
Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2009 10:10 pm

Post by W6TN »

Dear Nate NA6TE:

Thank you for your time in responding to my request for options to deal with this issue.

First, I still consider Bob is a gentleman. I normally give someone a break because I hope I will receive a break from another stranger. I am not so fast to talk unkindly to anyone.

Secondly, I thought that Bob didn't have the amplifier until I contacted FedEx on Thursday Feb. 18. A lady from C.A.T (Consumer Advocate Team) of FedEx checked her computer, called the shipping store where the amp was sent from. She was told by the clerk there the amp was picked up a week earlier but gave no firmed date. I have her name and in what city she works. I relied on that information.

Thirdly, you are right that the common carrier do not pay claims and then return the merchandise. But in this case, they agreed to pay a partial claim so they don't keep the merchandise. And they have NOT paid it yet.

Fourthly, since FedEx consider Bob as their main and only customer Bob needs to initiate any contact, either filing a claim, or waiving a claim. Even though I filed the claim at the beginning FedEx would not pay anything until they receive Bob's decision.

Furthermore, for a whole week I received no communications from Bob, I decided to take the amplifier back with the damaged tube for a loss. I'd rather have an amp not in 100% than have nothing. That's when I found out that FedEx didn't have the amp anymore.

Relating to the tube's bent pins, I didn't try to straighten them out and put the tube back into its socket because I would tamper with any claim. After I filed the claim FedEx then took the amp away. It could be that the tube would work fine after straightening the pins but I don't have the amp to test it now.

As of now, I still hope that Bob will take some actions to move this issue to a solution.

Re: others' suggestions. Since I asked for others' advice I will consider all but I may not follow any of them. I still appreciate their time in responding to my request. Otherwise, no one will answer.

(I can e-mail you pictures and e-mails between Bob and me because I can't attach any pictures here).

Again, thank you for your feedback.
73
Trung W6TN
KB2VYZ
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Post by KB2VYZ »

I hate to disappoint you Nate, NA6TE, but you should have taken the time to READ some of those 166 posts with Paul's (W8JN) callsign. As Paul stated, he has helped several hams, INCLUDING a ham in Poland, retrieve their money or their goods. Paul is also one of the best, if not the best people that I have ever dealt with on this board, or any other. I'm sure most of us wish there were more like Paul. It was nice of you to come in and offer Trung, W6TN, some help, but if you actually READ anything, you would learn that Trung has a pretty good idea of what he is doing. The problem with your post is this. Your post attacked everyone that had said anything and then you offer advice on how to repair the item, when in fact the post is about Trung not getting what he payed for. The item came damaged from Bob, K7FX, and it is NOT Trungs job to fix the item or attempt to get any kind of insurance payment from Fed-Ex, it is Bob's job.

73 de Frank/KB2VYZ
They're coming to take me away, ha-haaa!! They're coming to take me away, ho-ho, hee-hee, ha-haaa!!! To the funny farm. Where life is beautiful all the time...
NA6TE
Posts: 71
Joined: Fri Mar 06, 2009 6:24 pm
Location: Southern California

Frank/KB2VYZ

Post by NA6TE »

I will give you the benefit of an answer but the other does not warrant one. What everyone is missing (if THEY WOULD READ) is that the attack was on instantly with only one side of the story. Put yourself in those shoes Frank. I get on here and rattle off some off the wall statements about you whether true or false and then you have "the annointed one" no matter how many people he has helped, jumping in with advice with only one side of the story. (ie. on air harrasment. call police, call FBI, etc) Mr. Cornell had the amp returned to him and is following the advice of FED-X. BTW the amp is working fine. FED-X will be contacting Trung. :idea:
73
Nate
What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.
W6TN
Posts: 31
Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2009 10:10 pm

Post by W6TN »

Dear Nate:

There are some discrepancies in your posts as follows:

1. In your original post you stated "Who ever said that Bobby has the amp (which he claims otherwise) does not make any sense at all". That means Bob did NOT have the amp.
2. In your response to KB2VYZ, you stated "Mr. Cornell had the amp returned to him and is following the advice of FED-X. BTW the amp is working fine. FED-X will be contacting Trung." That means Bod HAD the amp.

If you received contradictory information from Bob you may need to check with him again to find out which one is correct.

Thank you.
73
Trung W6TN
NA6TE
Posts: 71
Joined: Fri Mar 06, 2009 6:24 pm
Location: Southern California

Correct

Post by NA6TE »

You are correct about having the amp. That was found out this morning. Saturday morning was a different story. Everyone's advice to Bobby was to contact you and get the communication going. He is a stuborn person and wants to only go by what Fed-X tells him. This could have been settled long before this.
During our gab fest this morning and you could have probably joined in on 3.818 since you are within the propagation area, Bobby was pretty much told by everyone to get it settled with communication. The biggest complaint was with the "do gooders" telling you to call the police, FBI etc with only partial facts. You appear to be a person which weighs your options and discards extreme measures. Keep us informed of what transpires.


Good Luck

Nate
What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.
KA9FOX
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Post by KA9FOX »

Is it only me that thinks it is completely ridiculous to ship an amplifier with the tube(s) still in the socket(s)?

- Scott KA9FOX
Last edited by KA9FOX on Mon Feb 22, 2010 7:15 am, edited 2 times in total.
KB2VYZ
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Post by KB2VYZ »

Your right on the mark Scott. I learned a long time ago to remove and individually wrap tubes in both radios and amplifiers, because it doesn't matter how good the radio/amp is packed, tubes are not permanently fastened and it doesn't take a huge jolt to get them from their sockets. As far as Paul, W8JN, being the "anointed one" as you suggest Nate, most of us would refer to Paul as "WELL RESPECTED". The reason the others had said call the police, FBI, etc., was because Trung, W6TN, himself said "Then everything was off, no more e-mail, phone or acknowledgment", so Trung DID attempt to communicate with Bob, K7FX and received no response. And just in case you didn't READ, Trung is pretty reputable himself. Paul, W8JN, I'm disappointed in you! Only 166?!? You should be embarrassed...lol.

73 de Frank/KB2VYZ
Last edited by KB2VYZ on Mon Feb 22, 2010 12:45 am, edited 1 time in total.
They're coming to take me away, ha-haaa!! They're coming to take me away, ho-ho, hee-hee, ha-haaa!!! To the funny farm. Where life is beautiful all the time...
w6ad
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FEDEX

Post by w6ad »

All my Alpha amplifiers were shipped by Alpha with the tubes plugged in so this is not an unheard of practice. andy w6ad
KA9FOX
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Re: FEDEX

Post by KA9FOX »

w6ad wrote:All my Alpha amplifiers were shipped by Alpha with the tubes plugged in so this is not an unheard of practice. andy w6ad
This is very interesting. I'm curious if there was packing material inside the amp, such as bubble wrap, to keep them from rattling around or falling out? Perhaps if the cavity was stuffed full of packing material, it MAY be safe.

Sure seems like it would make more sense to pull the tubes and carefully and safely pack them and ship them separately.

My personal experience?

SB-221: Amp and tubes safely arrived with tubes packed separately.

AL-1200: Seller shipped with tube in socket. Despite the amp being double-boxed, the tube had come loose in the amp, broke many components and caused significant damage. The seller did not use any packing material inside the amp cavity.

So, naturally, I am on the side of packing tubes separately. Your mileage may vary.

- Scott KA9FOX
w8jn
Posts: 619
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scott is correct

Post by w8jn »

scott you are 100% correct. see my earlier post. all amps shipped with tubes in the amp have "shipping pegs" that lock the finals in place. any idiot who ships without locking the finals in place is asking for the tubes to be destroyed and the claim denied.
well "nate boy" you found out the rest of the story. you described your pal as stubborn, when in reality, he is a non cooperative miserable packing slug who is trying to blame his irresponsible shipping and poor follow up on trung. the next thing we are going to hear is that fed ex denied the claim because bobby boy was irresponsible and bobby boy will tell trung to go piss up a rope. your pal bobby isnt shaping up to be the honest ham you described. looks like you owe a bunch of people an apology.
paul w8jn

ps, nate boy, one more thing. people who deal with me sleep easy at night. if fed ex or ups destroys something i sold, i instantly refund the buyers money and i deal with fed ex. its a shame that booby isnt doing the same. if you sort through the numerous posts with my call you will find 100% of my hoss trades end up with totally satisfied hams. too bad you and booby arent of the same calibre of honesty i am.
NA6TE
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Joined: Fri Mar 06, 2009 6:24 pm
Location: Southern California

Well Mr. Paul W8JN

Post by NA6TE »

I wasn't going to give you the time of day Paul but you are so wrapped up in yourself I thought maybe I would give you some more to gloat about.

First and foremost, I have found over the years that people who need to toot their own horn are normally blow hards and you fit that bill to a tee.

Secondly, none of my posts mentioned anything about "PAL" or "HONEST". The only thing that was mentioned was the fact that you and a few like you butt your ass into ever post that gets put on the forum and you do it with one side of the story.

All that have emailed me say what I said about your posts was way over due.

I'm sure you are the type that needs a pat on the back once in awhile to fullfill your self esteem just in case someone hasn't heard you toot your horn.

Feel free to do your dasturdly deeds on me now. I have had the best do it to no avail and you are far from the best.

73

Nate
What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.
w8jn
Posts: 619
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2003 1:21 pm

thanks nate boy

Post by w8jn »

nate boy,
i back up my words, in other words i walk the walk while you talk the talk. yes i drove from cincinnati to toledo to convince a crooked ham to give the money back to a fellow ham in poland. the boy in toledo thought poland was way to far away. yes i do pat myself on the back for all the good i do and as far as bloviators like you, you are here today and gone tomorrow, doing nothing more that articulating your opinion and backing it up with nothing. i back up my words, and furthermore if i want your opinion, i will give it to you. you pompous self-righteous armchair pseudo intellectual hams are laughable!
best 73 and happy hoss trading
lhk0pd
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Post by lhk0pd »

Nate i once on this site made some grand assumptions about a certain Ham by casting him in not the best light. Paul immediately let me know that i was misjudging that person and i owed them a apology. Well to make a long story short i was wrong Paul was right i apologized and Paul and me have maintained a cordial relationship since. So i do indeed feel Paul walks the walk and has been a straight shooter with me and has become a friend. Do i always agree with Pauls views ? "NO" and i'm sure he does not mine either but were not going to get into a hissy over it. And Trung i hope this all gets sorted out in your favor as i can not imagine any one shipping a Amp or radio without at least packing the tubes. I bought a large amp from the Late Murray Neese and he shipped it with the tubes in it but boy oh boy i thought i'd never get to them for all the packing done to prevent their damage and there was none.....Larry Huff K0pd
Larry Huff K0pd
w8jn
Posts: 619
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2003 1:21 pm

thanks

Post by w8jn »

trung, keep us updated as to how your seller treats you. so far he has been arrogant and ignorant with a bad attitude and backed up by his friends as they try to bully you. do not allow them to bully you.
larry thanks for the kind words. my son in law is back in the states and ships back to Afghanistan next week.
best 73 paul w8jn
kg4mlo
Posts: 60
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Re: Well Mr. Paul W8JN

Post by kg4mlo »

AMEN Nate. I learned long ago when I grow up, w8jn is is I DON'T want to be.
NA6TE wrote:I wasn't going to give you the time of day Paul but you are so wrapped up in yourself I thought maybe I would give you some more to gloat about.

First and foremost, I have found over the years that people who need to toot their own horn are normally blow hards and you fit that bill to a tee.

Secondly, none of my posts mentioned anything about "PAL" or "HONEST". The only thing that was mentioned was the fact that you and a few like you butt your ass into ever post that gets put on the forum and you do it with one side of the story.

All that have emailed me say what I said about your posts was way over due.

I'm sure you are the type that needs a pat on the back once in awhile to fullfill your self esteem just in case someone hasn't heard you toot your horn.

Feel free to do your dasturdly deeds on me now. I have had the best do it to no avail and you are far from the best.

73

Nate
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