Danio
11-30-2002, 05:18 AM
Okay, on September 3, I won an eBay auction for a carbon fiber hood for my S14, for $315 + $60 shipping. When I got the hood, I looked at it before signing it off and saw that it had many cracks along the edges. This wasn't a big deal to me so I signed anyway.
Well when I put the hood on, there's a vertical gap approximately 1 cm between the hood and the fenders. I showed the seller pictures of it, and he said that hood was warped because of the cracks.
It wasn't just the fact that it didn't fit right that disappointed me. The hood is flimbsy as hell! Their eBay page (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6766&item=1854614968) says that it's 100% real carbon fiber, but my friends tell me that it's just one layer of carbon fiber on top of fiberglass.
But anyway, it was only $375 total so I thought whatever, I'll just see what they do about the hood not fitting my car right. They filed a claim with the shipping company, Yellow Freight, and after weeks of waiting we found out that the claim was denied. (Yellow Freight never even inspected the hood. They basically said I signed for it so it's not their problem.) The seller said they'll try to get Yellow Freight to re-open the case.
They also offered to sell me another hood for $400, and said I might want to just try to resell the damaged hood on eBay. WTF... I told them they can have the hood back and try to resell it on eBay themselves. >:\
Well it is now almost three months and I still have a damaged "carbon fiber" hood just lying around. I asked the seller to just give me my refund or give me another hood. Well they said this isn't their fault so it's gonna depend on whether Yellow Freight approves the claim this time. I finally told them that if I don't get my money back or another hood by December 3, I'll be filing a claim to a small claims court (suing).
Here is their last response:
<small>Daniel,
I have tried my best to resolve this problem. Both you and I know this is Yellow Freights problem and not ours. We received your payment, sent your product out, and your product was damaged by the shipping company, which you did sign for it.
Here is the last email. I refunded a payment because our item was out of stock when he sent the money.
Jerry,
Thanks so much for your prompt reply and refund. Thank you again for honoring the same price. I hope maybe to do business with you soon.
-Michael ____
This is how we do things around here. Here is Yellow Freight's number (913)344-5175 go ahead and ask for Cathy Burson. Ask her how many faxes and requests I've made on your behalf.
You can choose to do whatever you want. In either case we're not at fault. I'm sick and tired of doing this all the time sending email back and forth, getting put on hold. Whichever, this is a long weekend and your deadline of 12/03/02 is fairly unreasonable.
If we were to take this to court, I will request compensation funds for all the long distance calls I made to Yellow Freight, Request a the total amount of shipping and product costs. Which in turn will be better for me.
We are not at fault, we did what we were suppose to, which was to send out your product. You signed for your product upon receiving. I've sent you an email asking you to check your product before you sign for it, but you ignored it. ( I have copies of all these emails) As a good business service, I then help you request refunds from the shipping company on your damage product.
Let me know what you want to do. I'll continue to pursue your claims with Yellow Freight. If you want, I'll have the claims person contact you directly.
Regards,
Jerry H.</small>
And my response to that, which I just sent a few minutes ago:
<small>Again, I signed for the hood because the cracks at the edges could be fixed. I didn't want to waste anyone's time nor my time by complaining about it. What I did not know, and could not have known from just inspecting the hood, was that it does not line up with the fenders.
If you have all my e-mails you can see that this has been the main problem and I could not have known about it without putting the hood on my car first. You said that the bad shape was caused by the cracks. Since you seemed like you were going to resolve this, with statements like "Replacement is needed. This is NOT how our products come," "We will fix all problems so you can give us positive feedback," "I'll personally see to it that you will be an happy O.E. Tuning customer," I didn't argue that it looked like it was just a bad mold. I didn't even complain that it was just a fiberglass hood with one thin layer of carbon fiber, while your eBay auction page stated that it was "100% real Carbon Fiber".
But you've made it quite clear that you do not intend to give me my money back or replace the hood if Yellow Freight doesn't approve the claim you filed. I chose December 3 to begin the law suit because it will have been exactly three months since the end of the auction. From my standpoint, I paid $375 for a falsely advertised hood which was poorly molded and damaged. I believe I have been more than patient for waiting nearly three months.
Even if Yellow Freight is the one at fault for the hood having a bad shape, which I remind you again, I could not have known without putting it on my car first, it was not my mistake that they were chosen to ship this product. You stated that you "regret shipping with this company" and that they are "a really bad carrier and I do apologize for it", yet you expect the loss to be mine. The loss should be your company's, not mine.
I will contact Yellow Freight at the name and number you gave me to see if it will help them approve the claim, but I should be refunded my $375 regardless. This'll be taken to small claims court if necessary. Please do have the claims person contact me also. Thanks.
- Daniel</small>
SO! I'm here to ask for some advice. What else could I do to get my money back? If I do have to sue them, what should I watch out for? Thanks for any suggestions you guys might have.
Well when I put the hood on, there's a vertical gap approximately 1 cm between the hood and the fenders. I showed the seller pictures of it, and he said that hood was warped because of the cracks.
It wasn't just the fact that it didn't fit right that disappointed me. The hood is flimbsy as hell! Their eBay page (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6766&item=1854614968) says that it's 100% real carbon fiber, but my friends tell me that it's just one layer of carbon fiber on top of fiberglass.
But anyway, it was only $375 total so I thought whatever, I'll just see what they do about the hood not fitting my car right. They filed a claim with the shipping company, Yellow Freight, and after weeks of waiting we found out that the claim was denied. (Yellow Freight never even inspected the hood. They basically said I signed for it so it's not their problem.) The seller said they'll try to get Yellow Freight to re-open the case.
They also offered to sell me another hood for $400, and said I might want to just try to resell the damaged hood on eBay. WTF... I told them they can have the hood back and try to resell it on eBay themselves. >:\
Well it is now almost three months and I still have a damaged "carbon fiber" hood just lying around. I asked the seller to just give me my refund or give me another hood. Well they said this isn't their fault so it's gonna depend on whether Yellow Freight approves the claim this time. I finally told them that if I don't get my money back or another hood by December 3, I'll be filing a claim to a small claims court (suing).
Here is their last response:
<small>Daniel,
I have tried my best to resolve this problem. Both you and I know this is Yellow Freights problem and not ours. We received your payment, sent your product out, and your product was damaged by the shipping company, which you did sign for it.
Here is the last email. I refunded a payment because our item was out of stock when he sent the money.
Jerry,
Thanks so much for your prompt reply and refund. Thank you again for honoring the same price. I hope maybe to do business with you soon.
-Michael ____
This is how we do things around here. Here is Yellow Freight's number (913)344-5175 go ahead and ask for Cathy Burson. Ask her how many faxes and requests I've made on your behalf.
You can choose to do whatever you want. In either case we're not at fault. I'm sick and tired of doing this all the time sending email back and forth, getting put on hold. Whichever, this is a long weekend and your deadline of 12/03/02 is fairly unreasonable.
If we were to take this to court, I will request compensation funds for all the long distance calls I made to Yellow Freight, Request a the total amount of shipping and product costs. Which in turn will be better for me.
We are not at fault, we did what we were suppose to, which was to send out your product. You signed for your product upon receiving. I've sent you an email asking you to check your product before you sign for it, but you ignored it. ( I have copies of all these emails) As a good business service, I then help you request refunds from the shipping company on your damage product.
Let me know what you want to do. I'll continue to pursue your claims with Yellow Freight. If you want, I'll have the claims person contact you directly.
Regards,
Jerry H.</small>
And my response to that, which I just sent a few minutes ago:
<small>Again, I signed for the hood because the cracks at the edges could be fixed. I didn't want to waste anyone's time nor my time by complaining about it. What I did not know, and could not have known from just inspecting the hood, was that it does not line up with the fenders.
If you have all my e-mails you can see that this has been the main problem and I could not have known about it without putting the hood on my car first. You said that the bad shape was caused by the cracks. Since you seemed like you were going to resolve this, with statements like "Replacement is needed. This is NOT how our products come," "We will fix all problems so you can give us positive feedback," "I'll personally see to it that you will be an happy O.E. Tuning customer," I didn't argue that it looked like it was just a bad mold. I didn't even complain that it was just a fiberglass hood with one thin layer of carbon fiber, while your eBay auction page stated that it was "100% real Carbon Fiber".
But you've made it quite clear that you do not intend to give me my money back or replace the hood if Yellow Freight doesn't approve the claim you filed. I chose December 3 to begin the law suit because it will have been exactly three months since the end of the auction. From my standpoint, I paid $375 for a falsely advertised hood which was poorly molded and damaged. I believe I have been more than patient for waiting nearly three months.
Even if Yellow Freight is the one at fault for the hood having a bad shape, which I remind you again, I could not have known without putting it on my car first, it was not my mistake that they were chosen to ship this product. You stated that you "regret shipping with this company" and that they are "a really bad carrier and I do apologize for it", yet you expect the loss to be mine. The loss should be your company's, not mine.
I will contact Yellow Freight at the name and number you gave me to see if it will help them approve the claim, but I should be refunded my $375 regardless. This'll be taken to small claims court if necessary. Please do have the claims person contact me also. Thanks.
- Daniel</small>
SO! I'm here to ask for some advice. What else could I do to get my money back? If I do have to sue them, what should I watch out for? Thanks for any suggestions you guys might have.