Spookywoods fx - fails to deliver

[terrormasue]

Counting yours, I know of 10 costumes that he has not finished yet. I was promised mine in July....... August at the lastest.....

[TheHauntedOwl]

Counting yours, I know of 10 costumes that he has not finished yet. I was promised mine in July....... August at the lastest.....

This guy must be filled with some kind of magic because he can do whatever he wants and nobody goes after what's theirs.

3 months from now you'll be wishing you did more...

[terrormasue]

Well I think we are between a rock and another rock..... I have inquired to the entities that be and this is a civil matter. I don't believe Mark has the money to pay anyone back. We could take him to small claims. We would win and we would be able to place a lien against him but if he has no money then so what. He could file bankrupsy and then where would we be. I am not sure yet how long I will wait. I have to believe Tony in that we will see our costumes some day. That is the only thing I am holding onto right now. I will pursue this matter if it does not get resolved. But again, I have not decided how long I will give him to produce my paid for merchandise. I love his work and I would rather have the costumes. This is a very difficult decision to make. For now I will wait.

[iamscared2009]

Spookywoods fx - fails to deliver

wake up people!!

My brother is high ranking LAPD aka Los Angles police...

this is fraud!!

when you take money from people month after month and give them nothing its fraud, if he did it one or 2 times not really fraud..but more then 10 people..



call the police make a report, go on line to the ifcc make a report, this falls under wire fraud by use on the computer and his website... ifcc is tied in with the FBI he has taked more then 10 peoples money, how many suits? 10-20 or 30?

My wife and i sell a lot of halloween stuff we build on ebay and we go to the asd amd trade shows around the uSA to take orders, for years, we make lots of halloween stuff, i would never have any person wait 7 months to get there item... if we get backed up by 30 days we dont take orders till we have everything out to the people that bought from us...

we will be at the show in saint louis next year, and we will not take order after may. for we will be in South America and China

but.....make a report with the ifcc on line, they will call all of you and send the local police to him... then call his police dept and make a report and let them know there is more the 10 people he has ripped off over the past few months... if everyone starts calling his local police dept. and then keep calling them, they will help...

so call them or just stay bent over, grabbing your ankels and saying ggggggg i wish i had my suits...

jay and yen

[icandrawem2]

Its not fraud. Small claims is all you can really do with it...and unfortunately the legal fees would probably exceed what you paid for the costume, so it probably wouldnt even be worth it.

However if there was no contract stating when the costumes would be delivered upon ordering, then as far as legality is concerned, they are "still in production".

I know Mark personally, and (disclaimer) although Im not speaking on his behalf, you will get your suits. I hate that it's taken so long. Hope it gets resolved soon.

[damon carson]

Hey Jay and Yen,
Check your pm's. I sent you a message. Different subject.
Thanks,
Damon

[shawnc]

I've got $100 that says the police won't help. Any takers?

A few years back, there was a local couple that had quite a business going picking up credit card information off the internet. They would order things in a state that was different than ours and of the credit card owner. And they didn't actually live in the town here where the merchants would call the police. They actually lived just outside, where the county sheriff had jurisdiction. It was easier for the cops to just go write some tickets than deal with the jurisdictional issues.

[shawnc]

However if there was no contract stating when the costumes would be delivered upon ordering, then as far as legality is concerned, they are "still in production".

EXCELLENT POINT!

How many haunters buy something and just hand over the cash, check or credit card info and get nothing more than a receipt? From now on, everyone should make sure that they get a receipt with a delivery date on it. If the vendor isn't willing to guarantee it in writing, should you really be taking the chance giving them your hard-earned money? If they're willing to say it they should be willing to write it.

It may not mean much but at least when you start to go after them you don't have to deal with the "eventually" in the legality of the contract. That brings up a great question: How long do they actually have to deliver these costumes? Yes, everyone needs them for this Halloween season (which isn't October 31) but how long do they legally have to deliver them? Did anyone get a written promise of a delivery date?

[iamscared2009]

Spookywoods fx - fails to deliver

I've got $100 that says the police won't help. Any takers?

.

http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx

everyone go file here and by the time halloween rolls around, you will know if your getting your money back or your suit...

a few years back we had someone rip us off, found out he ripped off a few people, filed a report and as soon as they went to see the guy, the guy called us and we got our money back...

if everyone starts making a report they will go see him...

jay and yen

[TheHauntedOwl]

Its not fraud. Small claims is all you can really do with it...and unfortunately the legal fees would probably exceed what you paid for the costume, so it probably wouldnt even be worth it.

However if there was no contract stating when the costumes would be delivered upon ordering, then as far as legality is concerned, they are "still in production".

Absolutely, positively INCORRECT.
About 3 years ago my cousin went in on a forum "group buy" for some car parts. He and roughly 13 other people all "purchased" some product from a seller. He was told the parts would arrive within 2-3 months and they never showed up. As I laid out above they each contacted the local police department for the person who was the "purchaser". Eventually they had 9 people who wanted to pursue this and they each provided all of the information. The police paid a visit, found out it was a scam and the person was arrested a few weeks later. Since it was his first offense he got off lightly, had to repay every penny of it, and it was then on his record. Grand theft, scheme to defraud, etc.

If it happens to ONE person, absolutely there is a very small likelihood the police will do anything. If you have 6-7-8-9 people calling the local police department you better believe they will listen and investigate. You are sorely mistaken on this one. Let's see what the police think about his "in production" for 7+ months... I also believe it is against the law for a company to take funds so far in advance from delivering the product (when paying in full, not a "pre-order" or deposit). I believe Sue said she was told August the latest... my calendar must be running fast this year...last I looked I thought it was October. We won't discuss verbal agreements in this lesson.

[extreme evil]

I can speak with authority, your brother is very very wrong. It is not fraud unless you can prove intent. It is a civil matter. The most likely avenue is a civil suit. I can't say I wouldn't be unhappy if I had ordered the costumes (and they are the best I've seen) and didn't get them but did you guys ever think that he got slammed with a lot more interest than he was ready for. I'm not making excuses but even some of the biggest businesses have made that mistake. If your success for this year was dependent on these costumes I would say you didn't plan too well either and I question how good your haunt is if you are dependent on a costume.

[TheHauntedOwl]

I can speak with authority, your brother is very very wrong. It is not fraud unless you can prove intent. It is a civil matter. The most likely avenue is a civil suit. I can't say I wouldn't be unhappy if I had ordered the costumes (and they are the best I've seen) and didn't get them but did you guys ever think that he got slammed with a lot more interest than he was ready for. I'm not making excuses but even some of the biggest businesses have made that mistake. If your success for this year was dependent on these costumes I would say you didn't plan too well either and I question how good your haunt is if you are dependent on a costume.

It is not a civil matter if someone takes money and does not provide the product/service. That is called theft. If he did provide something and they were not happy with the product, THEN it would be a civil matter.

According to your theory I could collect $250,000 in total from 20 different people, and if they decided not to take me to civil court, I'm home free...please tell me you are joking?????

[Jim Warfield]

Who is Joe King?

My Dad got a letter wherein it advertised a huge amount of very valuable car parts for a classic car, it said the Father had died, this was his son selling the estate.
The only lie was, the Father was still alive, the son didn't own anything but the type writer he made the scam letter on.
People in their greed sent checks and waited ...they are still waiting 45 yrs. later.
The crook-son took off for parts unknown with his cash-stash.
What I can't understand in this deal (costumes), how long does it take to type out a post here for everyone to see? Three minutes? I would surely have communicated and explained something rather than be thought of as a dishonest person.
A good reputation might require 20 years to make and 20 minutes or less to lose.
Yes, I am "small-town" in my thinking, but it works for me.

[terrormasue]

I really did check with the authorities and explained the whole situation. This is a civil matter. To prove fraud we would have to prove "intent" in other words, we would have to prove that Mark NEVER EVER intended to make any costumes in any way shape or form. That is not the case here. Mark is actually making costumes, slowly however. When I ordered from him last year I never received a receipt. I asked for one because I needed it for tax purposes. I asked for everything in writing again this year and was promised that but I never did get it. I do however have several emails from Mark telling me that I will have my costumes in July or August. No formal receipt. I have nothing on any letter head. I am assuming I could use the emails as proof of when the costumes were to be delivered. Again, I believe Tony in that we will eventually receive our costumes. It is wrong in the nth degree to hold customers money for so long without any contact or product. That is what I am upset about. I can understand that he may be slammed and cannot produce the costumes as fast as he would like. Again his help left him. But that in no way excuses his unprofessional behavior in this matter. Thousands of dollars of our money is now in his possession. I know the banks are not paying much in the way in interest right now but I would rather have my money back in my account until the last minute. Every penny helps.

[Twin Locusts]

Some people were born to be employees; not even producing a reciept is plumbing the depths of lazy.