Bad: Christopher Johnston, Arlington TX – non payment

As a result of posting an ad on here, I sent a gas tank off to a person who needed it (though he did not post here) and have been having trouble getting payment.
Initially there was lots of email contact but now he doesn't respond anymore. He said he sent me a money order but when I told him I didn't get it he said he'd send another, then silence. I know it's possible that it could have got waylaid in the mail system, and my initial dealings were good, so I don't want to jump to conclusions yet but it's getting to be a while now...
Suggestions as to how to approach this fellow? So far I will not say who it is on here, in case there is a legitimate problem at his end.
In one of his early emails he did provide his phone number, and I am preparing to call, so ideas as to what to say are welcome.
I've done a fair bit of buying and selling over the internet and really had no problems till now.
Thanks,
Jim

 

Re: Non payment

It is fair to make that call. Explain that you want the deal to be equitable to the both of you and you would like to confirm the address he sent the money order to. However Jim, you have left yourself out in the cold if he decides he doesn't need to make an effort. Your only recourse would be at that point to take him to small claims court. If he is in your area, lucky you. If he is in another state, is it worth the filing costs, time and travel to persue this? I'm sorry bud, but PayPal is a good way to go for internet transactions. It gives parties some point of safety. You might have been taken here, but we will all hope and pray that this is just crossed wires. To quote my grandfather (may he rest in peace) "you catch more flies with honey than with vineger". Quoting my mother "never lend out anything you aren't prepaired to loose". Good luck to you Jim, your going to need it.

 

Re: Non payment

Thanks for the input. I probably won't go bankrupt over it really; it's more the principle of the thing.
Another state? Try another country....
If there is a serious problem I can let him know that we do have a bulletin board, and wish him good luck doing business here in the future. But I would rather just get paid and avoid all that.
Jim

 

Re: Non payment

I think you have to handle this carefully, but you have to handle it. A call is certainly reasonable. If you can't come to terms with the buyer, I think you have a responsibilty to post the person's identity here. As unpleasant as it makes things, it's not fair to other sellers here to allow a potential scammer to operate among us.

Greg

 

Re: Non payment

Here here Greg. I can't stand creeps. I've only had one bad issue online and was unable to remedy it with him or with SquareTrade. Out of 26 transactions, not to bad, but it could use some work. I've had issues with other sellers and polite discussion with them always got results. Abraham Lincoln said it best "You can please some of the people some of the time...".

 

Re: Non payment

Jim I don't know how long you've been waiting on this money order, but you did say another country. I sent mail from North Carolina to California and it took 3 weeks to get there. Thats when I was exchanging in the shim pool.
I'd give the mail a chance.
I think a call is in order also.

 

Re: Non payment

I sent it around the beginning of February, and waited a while, then emailed him on the 25th of Feb. He got right back to me then saying he had sent a cashier's check just before the tank arrived, and that he would go to the bank to check if someone else got it, and fedex another one (I had forgotten this part). He asked for the address and the amount again and apologized, and I haven't had a response from him since then, which is over three weeks.
Yeah I wil give him a call, maybe tomorrow if I get a bit of time.
Thanks everyone for your input,
Jim

 

Re: Non payment

I didn't mean to suggest that you take drastic action quickly. There are any number of legitimate reasons that things have been delayed. I've bought and sold tons of stuff via eBay and through other means and I have had numerous problems. All of them, luckilly, have eventually been resolved. I really hope this works out for both you and the buyer.

Greg

 

Re: Non payment

Well here it is June.
I did manage to make live contact with him twice. Nice guy too, but, still no $$. Now, no response to email, or voicemail, and I did leave it with him that I would post his name here if I didn't hear from him by the end of the week, which I didn't.
Don't like this but as you guys mentioned and as I said to him too, it would not be fair not to inform others.
It could be there are circumstances, it could be he doesn't live there any more (phone message has no name when you call), it could be that both the old and new email aren't working, but he has my email and phone number and could have contacted me and hey, this is June, so be careful if you plan do business with Christopher W. Johnston of Arlington Texas.
Sorry Chris but 4 months is too long. Glad you are enjoying my gas tank.
Jim

 

Re: Non payment

I'm sorry to hear of your difficulties Jim, your efforts seem fair enough. I'm checking to see if I know anyone out that way who might politely drop in on said gentleman and see what may have happend to your tank. I'll let you know. Four months... tsk tsk Mr. Johnston.

 

Re: Non payment

Jim,

I think you've handled this fairly and proffessionally. I'm sorry to hear about your issue, but I can't see any other way that you could protect other sellers here at this forum. I hope it works out in the end.


Greg