After noticing that most search engines generally list people
mentioned on my web page in the first page of search results, I decided
to wage war on individuals and companies with whom I've had poor experiences
with in the past. I'll state as a disclaimer that not all of these experiences
were as a result of illegal actions taken by the other parties, but they
all either 1) cheated me out of money, or 2) lied about the transaction
in some form or another, with results that left me unsatisfied in a major
way.
Individual:
"John Street" or "John Striet"
Summary: Interstate fraud, bounced
check for $500 (for used computer)
Web World, LTD, 11020 Audelia Rd Suite B-201 Dallas, TX 75243
ph: (214) 348-8771
Date: 5/27/97
Details:
John Street offered to buy a computer I was selling for $500 +COD
charges.
He gave me his FedEx Account number: 2147-9463-2 and asked for the
machine to be shipped to: Web World 11020 Audelia Rd Suite B-201 Dallas,
TX 75243 I sent the machine COD, and it arrived on 5/20/97. Web World,
LTD. through Bank One, Texas, NA - No. 14138, Dallas, Texas 75205 32-61-1110,
Account #1823346901, issued a check (check No. 1062) dated 05/20/97
for the amount of $578.25 to Wendy Cheng . Wen tried to cash it on 05/27/97
through Wells Fargo Bank Account #xxxxxxx. After two attempts (05/27
and 05/29 as marked on the check) Wells Fargo Bank declared that the
account did not have enough funds and the check was returned on June
4, 1997. The returned check was first sent to Wendy Cheng, P.O. Box
xxxx, Stanford, CA 94309-5502 and reclaimed $581.25 from Wendy's account
($578.25 + 3.00 bank fee). The originator is designated as ZEXP013.
Apparently the check was returned to the bank since Wendy was no longer
with that P.O. Box. The check was finally returned from Wells Fargo
Bank, P.O. Box 53470, Phoenix, AZ 85072-3470, on July 23 to Rancho Santa
Fe and received on 07/28/97.
I have tried contacting John Street, but his email address, "johns@beargroup.com"
no longer accepts email. The domain names "beargroup.com" "swreview.com"
and "wwltd.com" are not being served. I managed to get Web World's phone
number through FedEx. It was listed as (214) 348-8684, but had been
changed to (888) 995-8326, which picks up as "all representatives are
currently busy with other customers... etc" -- sounds like a sketchy
message. I then found some archived usenet postings about wwltd.com
on news.admin.net-abuse.email, so it seems that John has had a history
of fraudulent behavior. I found another phone number that he had registered
with InterNIC: (972) 504-8727, which is also no longer in service. Finally,
I checked www.hotsites.net, which had been serving wwltd's web site.
The address matched the address I had sent my machine to, so I called
them at (214) 348-8771. Roger Anthony answered the phone and notified
me that John Street had used be in their office, but no one knew how
to contact him. He told me to call back tomorrow, and that he would
try to find out how to reach John. Never resolved.
Another company at the same address:
INNOVATORS (Phone: 214-342-1690 )
11020 AUDELIA RD # B115, DALLAS, TX, 75243-9017 (USA)
WHOIS info for Web World, Ltd and Bear Group:
---------------
Web World Ltd (WEBHOST4-DOM)
5200 Martel, Suite 8D
Dallas, Texas 75243
US
Domain Name: WEBHOST1.NET
Administrative Contact, Technical Contact, Zone Contact: Street, John
(JS1663)
mi12@SWREVIEW.COM
214-504-8727
---------------
Bear Group (BEARGROUP-DOM)
5200 Martel, Suite 8D
Dallas, Texas 75243
US
Domain Name: BEARGROUP.COM
If you look up his handle, JS1663, you get a new address which looks
a little more promising, but the same phone number:
---------------
Street, John (JS1663)
mi12@SWREVIEW.COM
US Software Review
864 First Avenue
Dallas, TX 75206
214-504-8727
---------------
A current WHOIS record of (JS1663) shows the following:
Striet, John (JS1663)
john@HOTSITES.NET
Web World
15936 Midway Road
Dallas, TX 75244
972-661-3440 (FAX) 972-661-3441
Record last updated on 14-Oct-1997. Database last updated on 6-Nov-2000
06:03:01 EST.
It looks like he is running Hotsites.net, LLC now:
Hotsites.net, LLC (HOTSITES2-DOM) 5500 Democracy, Suite 150 Plano,
TX 75024 US
Domain Name: HOTSITES.NET
Administrative Contact, Technical Contact, Zone Contact, Billing Contact:
Hostmaster Role Account (HRA19-ORG) hostmaster@HOTSITES.NET
Hotsites.net, LLC 15934 Midway Raod Dallas, TX 75001 US
214-661-3440 Fax- Not Provided
Company:
Hoffman Automotive Accessories LLC (AutoLoc)
Summary: never gave me my refund
for a product
1281 NE 25th Suite #M, Hillsboro OR 97124
web: http://www.autoloc.com | ph: 503-693-6608
Name of salesperson: Drew
Item purchased: re: Stellar BMWSTX-C Plug in alarm
Date: 12/14/98
Text of Better Business Bureau complaint:
I ordered a "BMWSTX-C Plug in alarm w/remote window and top" (an alarm
for a BMW, sale #6168) from Drew at Hoffman Automotive on 12/14/98.
I received the package a week or so later, and noticed that the "brain"
(the main part of the alarm system) and the "3 Wire Taps" were missing
from the box and promptly called Drew, who told me that he'd have to
"check the packing videos" to verify that it wasn't in the box. Eventually,
Drew sent me another "brain" , and then the wire taps at a later date.
When I tried to install the device, I discovered that the instructions
were not accurate. I called Drew, who later on told me how to install
the system properly (it involved reaching behind something to find the
proper wires), but had decided at that time that I would be better off
with another alarm system. They have a 30 day return policy, but since
I had received the "brain" a week or two after I was supposed to receive
it, Drew agreed to take it back (Return number #RAF118). I sent the
package Priority Mail to: 1281 NE 25th Suit #M, Hillsboro, OR 97124
Unfortunately, there was no tracking number. In early April, I had
still not received a credit on my credit card ($320 - 20% restocking
fee), so I sent email requesting that they look into the problem. When
I called again (the week of 4/19/99) I was told that their computers
were down, so they couldn't check email, and that my package had never
arrived. I didn't know what to do, so I got off the phone. I'm suspicious
because of the other things that went wrong when being sent the product.
I never received my refund. Given that priority mail is fairly reliable
and that I never had my package returned to me, odds are that they received
and lost my return.
Payment Information: The customer has paid for the product.
Purchase price: $320 + $15 shipping
Amount in Dispute: $320 - 20% restocking fee
Method of Payment: credit card
Company:
BMW Concord
Summary: would not sell at agreed
upon price, after three months of waiting
1945 Market St., Concord, CA, (925) 682-3577
Name of salesperson: Boris Star
Item purchased: BMW 330Cic Convertible 3-Series
Date: 09/2000
Details:
A friend of mine put a deposit down for a BMW 330Cic from Boris Star,
a salesperson at BMW Concord. They agreed verbally that the price would
be MSRP. After waiting three months she went in to the dealer to pick
up her car, and was confronted with an unexpected $5989.00 dealer markup
from the agreed upon price. Even after writing a letter of complaint
to everybody she could think of, BMW would not adequately resolve this
problem. From a company whose policy is that only an "Excellent"
acceptable in customer satisfaction surveys, this is unacceptable.
Individuals:
"Thomas N. Peter", "Thomas N. Peters" and "Robert Christensen"
Summary: Counterfeit checks from my
bank account to Capital One, written by "Thomas N. Peter", or
"Thomas N. Peters", and verbal authorization for a check to Sprint
PCS, signed by "Robert Christensen".
Date: 10/24/01
Details:
Two counterfeit checks were written from my account, and signed
by a "Thomas N. Peter" to Capital One, Account # 4388642054099596.
The first check is check number 2065, dated 10/13/2001, for $380, and
the second is check number 2262, dated 10/10/2001, for $263. The checks
went through. Check it out! My name, address, and account number are
all on the check itself.
The Capital One account # 4388642054099596 belongs to a "Schuyler
Brown", and was opened on October 1, 2001. Capital One has put
a hold on the account, and I've filed a fraud claim with Bank of America.
5:36PM: This is too cool. When I was doing research on "Robert Christensen", I found one who lives near 1010 Bush St.,
but I didn't follow up because the address didn't match. However, I
just got an email from him, because his coworker happened to see my
page (!). His street has been riddled with crime lately. His mail is
being stolen, and someone just wrote a credit card check from his account
(to AT&T). Maybe these events are linked...
--------------------
Company: Featureprice.com
- Feature Price Dedicated Web Server Hosting
Summary: the worst web host ever
Hosting-Network, Inc. - 1516 Jackson Street,
Ft. Myers, FL 33901
web: http://www.featureprice.com | ph: +1 (239) 622-0000
Never sign up with Featureprice. I could not ftp my files to
their server without frequent time-outs (every minute or so) , and
logging in repeatedly to their ftp server was not an option because
it would refuse simultaneous connects (more than three, I think --
each
attempt counts as one). Requests to support do not have guaranteed
turn-around time without additional fees, and their attitude is generally
snobby. They even have a "politeness" policy in their terms,
which states that if you are not polite, they reserve the right to
cancel
your account. I made a mistake signing up with them. Do NOT use Feature
Price. Dont' take my word on it: a
simple google search shows how
bad they are. Here's
another site that talks about their experience
with Featureprice.
--------------------
Company: Wisehosting.net
- Web Server Hosting
Summary: completely unresponsive
Wisehosting USA - 43494 Ellsworth St. #29 - Fremont, CA 94539
web: http://www.wisehosting.net |
fax: (443) 646-2408
I signed up with Wisehosting after a referral from someone online.
All was well (services work, account was active, etc.), until I tried
to contact them. There is no voice phone number, their
customer
support
e-mails
go unanswered, their billing address never responds (even
for cancellation requests within their 30-day guaranteed time limit),
and their customer
support "department" link goes to a dead URL. I read that they
have a two-hour response guarantee if you submit a support request. First
of all, their support "department" doesn't exist. Second, it's been a month
and a half, and I still have not heard back from them. Naturally,
I wanted to challenge the hosting charges on my credit card, but I couldn't
find it anywhere. They never charged me! So I guess everything is fine...
but you probably shouldn't sign up with them. All is not well at Wisehosting.net.
