We located Carl through Ebay classifieds and responded to his ad. What we were looking for differed from what he had listed, but his ad stated that the carts are custom made and to call if we had special requests and needs. My husband Bruce called him a number of times in July and finally decided on the configuration that he wanted for his cart. We then made arrangements to send payment...
8/2/10: Sent $4128.70 to pay for a double fryer hot dog cart. Direct bank to bank transfer to :
Carlos Rios
4577 Stoney Point Rd
Barboursville VA 22923
434.825.5171
Bank information : (removed for privacy reasons)
Cost of cart $3895 + 233.70 (6% sales tax) and free shipping. Will send reciept, title and sales contract via priority mail within 48hrs
8/6/10: Emailed Carl to confirm that there was no issue with the transfer of funds since we had not heard from him yet. Carl responded that everything came through and that our paperwork was mailed out that day.
8/20/10: Emailed Carl as we have not heard anything and have not seen the packet with our paperwork. Asked for him to provide a tracking number
8/21/10: Carl responds via email that he is out of the office until Tuesday, and he will locate the package or send us out new paperwork.
8/25/10: Carl sends an email stating that the package was returned to him because he transposed a couple numbers and that he will resend via Priority mail with a tracking number.
8/28/10: We email Carl expressing our concern about the lack of communication and the fact that we still don't have a tracking number or our paperwork... and no sign of our cart.
8/29/10: Carl responds via email giving us a tracking number for the paperwork. Packet arrives the following day and contains the sales agreement listing 8/24/10 as the carts ship date, and to give a 14 day grace period before we get concerned.
9/13/10: We email Carl again as the cart has not arrived, and this is day 14 of the grace period.
9/14/10: Carl responds via email stating that there was a delay at the factory and that our cart has not yet been built. He apologizes and offers a table model steamer valued at $895 as compensation for the delay. He states that our cart will be ready within 10 days.
9/27/10: We email Carl for an update due to lack of communication. Carl responds stating that he has called the factory amd moved our order ahead of two others. He tells us that we will have our cart next week. Table model will be sent out shortly after our cart arrives.
10/2/10: Emailed Carl again for another update. Very frustrated at this point that Carl will not give us any answers until we push for them.
10/4/10: Carl responds via email stating that he can verify that our cart was shipped and is on its way to the terminal. Once it reaches the terminal they will contact us so that we can arrange pickup. He also states that the table model will be shipped this month as a thank you for our patience and understanding about the delays.
10/19/10: After a request for an update, Carl responds and states that he has confirmed the status of our cart and that he will scan and email us the paperwork. He also states that the shipping company assures him that it will arrive to the terminal in Bellows Falls either Friday 10/22 or early the following week.
10/22/10: We again email Carl for an update on the shipping paperwork that he promised to email to us. Carl responds that the shipping company's computers are down and so the earliest that we would be able to get information would be after the weekend.
10/26/10: After requesting another update, Carl responds telling us that he has no further information on our cart's status, but that he will make sure that we are compensated for the delay.
10/29/10: Carl emails us and states that he has put in another call to the shipping company and that if he does not hear back from them by COB that he will change the booking company and send us new papers by Monday.
11/1/10: Carl emails us that he has booked another shipping company and that he will email us the paperwork. He will also let us know by COB if they will be transporting the cart to the new shipping company or if he will have to send a replacement. He again states that he will be sending the table model for agreeing to wait.
11/2/10: Carl emails us a bill of lading for our cart. He states that he will be sending the table model shortly and that he has put in for a refund on his previous order. He states that if that is refunded that he will forward it to us. He also states that a replacement cart is being sent to packing and it will be at the terminal within 4 days and will get to us 2 to 4 days later.
11/11/10: We call the shipping company listed on the bill of lading to check on the status of our cart. They tell us that Carl never dropped the cart off to them, and they can't ship what they don't have. They also tell us that several people have been calling looking for their orders and good luck getting Carl to return a phone call. Needless to say, we are incredibly upset and concerned that Carl has lied to us.
11/15/10: Carl responds stating that the cart was not delivered to the terminal because of an issue with the builder (cart isn't even built yet?!?!) He states that he has consulted with his attorney and has given the builder 5 days to come up with the cart or issue a refund which he will send to us. He states that he will have our cart or our money by Friday.
11/19/10: It is Friday and Carl emails us saying Good News! and that he has our cart IN his possession and that he is delivering it to the packing company.
11/22/10: Carl states that the packing company is finishing up with our cart and that he should be able to pick it up that afternoon and take it to the shipping terminal to be sent out.
11/23/10: Carl promises that we will have our cart the week of 11/29.
11/30/10: No contact from shipping company regarding our cart, so we ask Carl for an update. We ask for verification that our cart is in fact AT the terminal to be shipped (even though it should have already been shipped by this point)
11/30/10: Carl sends us an email telling us he has changed his phone number to 540.209.0187 and that he may be difficult to reach due to a church group thing.
11/30/10: Carl emails us that there is AGAIN an issue with the shipping company and that he has to switch companies again. He states that not only are they faster but that they will deliver it to our door. He says that they are a smaller company and as such they do not use tracking numbers. They will be calling us in the next 3-5 days to set up a delivery time.
11/30/10: We respond to Carl and ask him for the shipping company's name and phone number so that we can confirm our info with them and make sure that they have the best contact number for us. Carl REFUSES to give us the information. We email back, asking again, stating that we only want to confirm our information with them. Carl again REFUSES (huge red flags for us!) and states that he will not allow anyone to harrass his shipping company due to the issues he has been having, stating someone is badmouthing him and that is why he is having to switch companies so much. We email Carl back and tell him that this is unacceptable to us. As of this point we do not even have proof that our cart is even BUILT! We tell him that he has had our money since the end of July/ beginning of August and we need to either have the shipping company's name or we need a refund... as we are well past the reasonable expectation of patience. Carl responds that there is no way he is giving us the information and that we have an agreement that I cannot back out on. He tells us that if we do not hear from the shipping company by Monday that he will provide us with the name and #. He states also that if we do not get conformation on our cart by 12/10 that he will return our money in full and consider our agreement terminated. We tell him that we will be expecting to hear from the shipping company no later then COB on 12/6.
12/6/10: We email Carl to tell him that we STILL have not heard from the shipping company, and he responds that they will call us this WEEK....at some point and that he will not give us the information because there is no point in letting us harrass them...
12/9/10: We have emailed Carl to remind him that the deadline that HE set forth in the 11/30 email is tomorrow and that we still have not heard from the shipping company, nor has he provided us with their name and number as promised. We tell him that we expect that he will be processing our refund for the cart as well as the tabletop model (valued at $895) for a total of $5023.70. We also ask hom to confirm that he has received the email and what his next step is. . NO RESPONSES! We are deeply concerned about the lies that have been told to us throughout this process. First our cart was built, then it wasn't... then it was shipped, but it wasn't.... we are tired of the excuses and we just want our money back. We entered into an agreement on 8/2/10 for a cart that was supposed to only take 3 weeks from start to delivery. We have gone WAY past any reasonable expectation of patience and need Carl to be held accountable for his actions.
| 
