posted on March 28, 2001 11:14:06 AM
Lookie lookies:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 28, 2001
: Attorney General Accuses Internet Computer Seller of Deceptive Tactics
: Seattle - A suit filed today by the Attorney General's Office alleges an
: Everett company used deceptive tactics to sell computer equipment on
: Internet auction sites. The tactics allegedly included using shill bidders
: to inflate product prices.
: The lawsuit, filed in Snohomish County Superior Court, culminates a
: three-month investigation that started shortly after numerous customers
: complained that they didn't receive merchandise they'd ordered. The
: investigation was conducted by the Attorney General's High Tech Unit.
: To date, the Attorney General's Office has received more than 75 complaints,
: many from consumers who ordered computers to give as Christmas presents.
: Named as defendants in the lawsuit are David Buckner, of Detroit, Mich., and
: Scott Buckner and Eric Scott, both of Everett. Also named is Office PC,
: which did business on the Internet as Incom Systems, Aliendistribution,
: Finger PC, Extranothing, Wearsoftware and Expressnet, and a non-profit firm
: called Kids and Computers.
: David Buckner owns the businesses and Scott Buckner and Eric Scott are
: managers.
: "While the Internet holds out much promise as a tool for business, cases
: like this show the need for consumers to be especially cautious as they
: travel through cyberspace looking for good bargains," said Attorney General
: Christine Gregoire.
: According to the lawsuit, the Buckners and Scott first launched Office PC in
: March 1998 by offering lower-priced custom-made computers, supplies and
: components over Internet auction sites.
: According to the lawsuit, the firm offered as many as 100 computers at a
: time, selling to the highest bidders.
: The Internet auction site eBay suspended Office PC in September 1999 after
: receiving numerous consumer complaints. The suit alleges the firm responded
: by changing its name to Xtranothing, Wearsoftware, and Kids and Computers in
: an attempt to stay in operation. As soon as eBay linked the new business
: names to Office PC, the new businesses were suspended from the auction site.
: Last August, Office PC again started business under the name of
: Aliendistribution. It was suspended from eBay in November, but continued to
: operate on Yahoo's auction site.
: The Attorney General's lawsuit specifically accuses the firm of violating
: the state's Consumer Protection Act by failing to deliver merchandise,
: misrepresenting the level of customer service and technical support it would
: provide, failing to refund customer money, failing to respond to complaints,
: failing to accurately track orders, selling damaged equipment and, in
: January, falsely claiming the company had declared bankruptcy.
: The lawsuit also alleges the company's principals posed as legitimate
: bidders and placed "shill bids" intended to inflate the price of the
: computers. In one case, the state alleges, the winning bid was increased
: from less than $600 to $792.50 because of the phony bids.
: The lawsuit also claims that the defendants used eBay's "Feedback Forum" to
: post statements of praise "designed to deceive potential purchasers into
: believing the defendants' business practices are sound and that prior
: customers were pleased with their purchasing experiences."
: Under a variety of names, the defendants allegedly posted messages like
: "Gotten their act together, no problems," "Alien PC is Awesome," and
: "Excellent eBayer! Recommend to any seller."
: The lawsuit seeks civil penalties, restitution for customers and attorney
: fees.
Finally, after 5 months of anguish, maybe all 200 of us will get our $$$$ back!!!
posted on March 28, 2001 11:27:06 AM
Love her or Hate her, Ms. Gregoire is a Tiger! Glad she's doing what she's doing.
Glad to see them get their justice.
posted on March 28, 2001 01:47:12 PM
I followed the saga, thought I had learned what to do, and purchased a computer from a company which had been in business since 1994 and was recommended by PC magazine, Axis Systems.
My charge card was charged immediately. And I waited. And checked status, "gathering parts". And waited. And checked status, "gathering parts". And waited. And checked status. Suddenly, the status showed that my order had been cancelled. No explanation. No rebate reflected on my CC. No response to e-mails. Long Distance phone calls went to a round-robin of answering machines, no people.
Thanks to lessons learned, at your costs I'm afraid, I immediately started process to chargeback my CC, and I notified the AG of CA.
By the time Axis notified me that they were filing for bankruptcy, and I would be considered a secondary creditor, my paperwork was already filed and their bank was giving my money back.
I'm sorry for what Aliendistribution did to you, but you helped me immensely.
posted on March 28, 2001 02:09:08 PM
I am in a similar situation now...
Been 4 months since I placed an order and still have not received what I ordered. Was even PROMISED (their words) 2 weeks ago that the order would be delvered last week...Never arrived.
They are offering a refund..but NO, I'm going for the throat on this deal...I've been blatently lied to week in and week out.
This week I threatened legal action and I will use this info as a reference in my fight to get what I paid for.
posted on March 29, 2001 08:34:47 AM
Well it's like this...I had a R&D project that was to start this week and I needed these laptops to work and perform this research.
I gave them two specific Deadlines to resolve this problems and stated my urgent need with the start of the project.
Well under the law of breach of contract, there is the consequential damages clause which states that if your contract wasn't fulfilled, and I had to pay considerably more money to get other laptops on such short notice, then I would be entitled to the difference in costs.
This is why I am not backing down on them.
They were offered back when I ordered at a deep discount, so my having to buy other laptops would result in a pretty good amount of difference I would have to pay between the two.
I've got them where I want them, and if I have to go to court..then so be it....Maybe it'll sting them enough to never pull this stunt on people again.
Plenty of proof, and plenty of complaints to back me up.
If anyone can help me out or have any additional ideas to back me up, I'd appreciate it.
I just can't tolerate being ingnored and lied to and I will not rest Until I am satisfied.
posted on March 29, 2001 08:43:42 AM
Generally speaking, you should buy major computer equiptment from people who are local to you, ideally who have some sort of storefront and who you can return to if anything is amiss. You can still find good deals in the real world.
The last desktop system I bought was not clocked at the speed that I paid for, something I could check through the BIOS screens. I returned to the shop and had the problem taken care of (different motherboard). Had I bought that system over the internet (ebay! hah!!), the problem becomes very difficult to deal with.
posted on March 29, 2001 08:56:00 AM
Yes, that is true...but just like those who got scammed by Alien Dist.
According to the BBB, this company was est. in 1997 and had only 1 complaint against the company that was taken care of.
That's why I'm so puzzled and frustrated.
It will truly be in their best interest to send the items instead of refunding the money because that will be a far greater loss.
Come on, I understand a back order but 4 months???
I know it's stupid that I waited 4 months, but had I known that it would have taken this long, I would have done something different.
[ edited by moparmaniac on Mar 29, 2001 09:07 AM ]
posted on March 29, 2001 07:44:11 PM
I can't believe these guys had so many eBay id's and have been ripping pepole off on eBay for this long!
According to the Washinton Attorny General
Office PC, Incom Systems, Aliendistribution,theauctiongirls, Finger PC, Extranothing, Wearsoftware and Expressnet, and a non-profit firm
called Kids, and Computers.
So essentially they've been ripping people off with impunity on the internet since 1998!
How the heck can eBay not be able to track this type of stuff.
posted on March 29, 2001 08:16:53 PM
What in that press release makes you think anybody is going to jail? "The lawsuit seeks civil penalties, restitution for customers and attorney fees."
posted on March 30, 2001 08:48:25 AM
Getting our money back for us would seem prudent, wouldn't it? Since they violated federal law, and committed thousands of acts of internet fraud, it would seeem likely that they would be handed down a criminal law suit also.
