Danny Zepeda of Calif.?

[RTKings]

For the Forum to decide:
I ordered two 6 volt chokes from Mr. Zepeda. His ad is here:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=292983
I sent him a Postal Money order on Oct. 17. I finally received my chokes on Oct. 30th. However, one was a 6 volt, and one was a 12 volt! The box said 12 volt, and the choke said 12 volt! I e-mailed Danny, and he graciously called me back. He said to send him another reminder e-mail, and he would see if he had another 6 volt. Great! We're in business! Until I tried to reach him back about his return address:

1) Sent on 10/30 at 4:29 PM:
Danny-
I received your package today of the VW type 3 chokes. However, I am VERY CONCERNED, as on of the boxes has 12 (TWELVE) Volt written on the outside of the box in pen. And the choke itself also says 12 V on it. I think we may have a little issue with this, as I was looking for 6 volt chokes. Can you please contact me back at your convenience.
Thank you, and I hope to hear from you!

Rob Kingsbury
Colorado


*** Danny called me, and I thought everything was great. Until........

2) 10/30 at 7:27 PM
Danny-
Per our phone conversation, I was hoping that you could look to see if you have another SIX volt choke for a Type Three (as a reminder, you sent me one for a 12 volt). I will forward the 12 volt choke back to you ASAP. On your box, you have a P.O. box listed. Is this where you want the 12 volt choke to be returned? Please let me know. If you are able to locate another 6 volt choke (fingers crossed), please forward it to:

Rob Kingsbury **************

Please let me know if you are able to locate one. If not, I want to start searching for another one. Thanks Danny!

Rob Kingsbury

3) Then again on 10/31 at 5:11 PM
Hey Danny-
I never heard from you yesterday. What address do you want me to return the incorrect 12 volt type 3 choke to?

Thanks!

Rob Kingsbury
Colorado

4) Then again on 10/31 at 10:21 PM
I want to return to you the 12 volt choke that you sent to me (I was hoping that you could re-send me a SIX volt choke). Do you want this 12 volt choke simply mailed to your P.O. Box? Please let me know what works best for you. Thanks Danny!

Rob Kingsbury
Colorado

5) And yet again on 11/1 at 3:45 pm
Hey Danny-
I've e-mailed you several times about this incorrect Type 3, 12 volt choke that you sent me. PLEASE TELL ME WHERE TO RETURN IT. I don't know if you want it sent back to your P.O. Box, or if you want it sent somewhere else. PLEASE LET ME KNOW SO I CAN RETURN THIS INCORRECT PART.

Thanks Danny.

Rob Kingsbury
Colorado


Now, you might wonder why I e-mailed him so many times. Mr. Zepeda is on AOL. I am also on AOL, and I can see whenever he is logged on and logged off. I tried to make sure that my e-mails were sent when he was logged on. I also sent him several AOL instant messages. No response to those, either.

So, this is what I get on 11/1 at 6:01 pm from Mr. Zepeda:

I have been very busy and don't like the way your acting.
Just return both chokes for a full refund
Danny Zepeda
P.O. 30557
San Bernardino, Cali 92413

So, I respond back with:
Danny-
I'm not sure what you are referring to? The way I'm acting? How have I been acting? I have sent several e-mails to you since we spoke cordially on the phone earlier this week. I have simply asked repeatedly for your mailing address - nothing more. I sent you an e-mail today at 3:45 pm. I e-mailed you yesterday at 10:21pm. I e-mailed you yesterday at 5:11 pm. I e-mailed you on Oct. 30 at 7:27 pm. I have sent you several Instant Messages. We are both on AOL, and I can see whenever you are on-line. I simply requested your return address, that's all. Nothing more, nothing less. These e-mails were ignored. What have I done that you "don't like the way that I'm acting"??? I have been simply trying to acquire what I have paid you for - NOTHING MORE, and nothing less.
I have read all the comments on the Samba. I have heard great praise for your products. I have also read all the negative. You seemed very concerned about the mix up when we spoke on Monday evening. I figured everyone on the Samba was wrong - you are on top of things. But when I send you multiple e-mails, simply looking for an address, when I know unequivocally your are logged in to AOL, and you ignore my e-mails, who is not acting in a business-like manner? All I want is the 6 volt choke that I paid for. I will return your incorrectly sent 12 volt choke. I would hope that you can send me my 6 volt choke that I paid for. After that, we can consider this matter closed, and relationship ended.

Rob Kingsbury
15260 Sun Hills Dr.
Colorado Springs, CO 80921

And also this:

The incorrect 12 volt choke will be sent, SIGNATURE CONFIRMATION, as of tomorrow, Nov. 2nd. I will hope for, in return, the part that I paid for - a NOS type 3 6 volt choke. If you will please forward to me, I will consider this a closed transaction. I hope this situation will be finalized from there.

Sincerely,

Rob Kingsbury

And Mr. Zepeda responds with:

Return both chokes or nothing. Like I said I will refund all your money. Don't return just 1 choke.

And also this:

Like I said return both chokes and you can buy them somewhere else. Thanks


Now, I'm not going to just send him back both chokes. I ordered, and paid for two. I received one. I don't feel comfortable sending both back, and then Mr. Zepeda has the merchandise AND my money. So, I write to him this:

I will be returning one choke only. ONE only. I have notified Everett. You will also be hearing from my attorney, ******** in Denver, CO. They have affiliated offices in Los Angeles. If you decide not to refund my money, or send me a 6 volt, type 3, NOS choke, as advertised, I will pursue you for Breech of Contract in Small Claims court. We entered into contract. You breeched by sending the wrong item. You agreed to rectify. Now, you are backing out. It's all in writing in e-mail. I am not some punk kid Danny. I am in Los Angeles 4 times a year on business. I can make our court case as part of one of my business trips. This is not a threat. I am simply letting you know what the options are. You record speaks for itself. This is my last attempt. I will wait for the $25 refund within one week of my return package. If your funds are received, case closed. If not, further correspondence will be from my attorney, with this entire documented interaction placed on the Samba Feedback Section. Choice is your's.

Rob Kingsbury

And Mr. Zepeda responds with this:
See you in court. I will refund your money for both chokes. If you don't return both chokes I will not refund anything and I will return the choke you send back. So just send both chokes and I'll refund your money. By the way you can't use a Lawyer in small claims court. See ya

And my response is this:
Wanna bet? Here is where you can send correspondence as of tomorrow:

http://www.******.com/

I will also be filling one of these:

http://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/fraud/MailFraudComplaint.htm

All I want is what I paid for. Once I work with the court papers, I'll look forward to having the judge award in my favor. Breech of Contract.

You expect me to send both chokes back? With what recourse? So you can have the chokes back AND keep my money? No chance. You promised to send me two 6 volt chokes. You didn't. You made the error. I asked repeatedly for your return address. You ignored me. But I am the rude one. Send me the choke, and you'll never hear from me again.
Otherwise, I will pursue all legal remedies under CA state law. And you say that I can't have an attorney in CA courts? I think you might want to research that a little more. My attorney is on retainer. Is your's?

So, looks like I'll be going to court. I will gladly take any comments from any one else who this is happened to. I am not trying to smear Mr. Zepeda. I am sure his is a great guy to his friends. We all know he has fantastic parts. He simply has poor customer service. Very poor, in my opinion. I simply would like what I paid for. That's all. Nothing more, nothing less. Anyone who feels this is not right, and has had these encounters with Mr. Zepeda, please let me know. I am preparing my case against Mr. Zepeda for small claims. I feel it is now time that he stops taking advantage of people. I hope to hear from some of you soon.

Rob

[oc63rag]

That's a lot of time and effort for $25. Just my $.02.
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[YellowSplittie]

Pulling the lawyer card over $25 is lame. No one is going to take that seriously.

The seller's position of demanding both parts are returned is also lame.

The solution seems pretty simple. The seller and buyer agree to exchange one part for the refund on one part.

Come on, guys. You can do this.
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'61 Standard Bus, Mango

[RTKings]

That's all I want. The part that I paid for. The legal issue - no biggy. For my work, I pay a hefty sum every year for a retainer, so it cost me nothing more. I hate to do this. However, Mr. Zepeda's record speaks for itself. After reading the FeedBack on Mr. Zepea, for every postive comment, there is at least one, if not more, negative. Perhaps court would be eye opening for Mr. Zepeda. For the record, I am shipping the part back, at my expense, postage paid by me. If Mr. Zepeda either a) returns my $25, or b) sends me the correct 6 volt choke, all is well. I go away, having learned a valuable lesson about Mr. Zepeda. He has asked that I ship back both items. Who's to say that if I did, I'll never see the parts OR my refund? Mr. Zepeda, my purchase record is impecible. How about you send me the refund first, and I will gladly forward BOTH chokes back to you?

[RTKings]

Here is Mr. Zepeda's current e-mail, as of 6:01 am on 11/2/06:

Now that I think about it, I remember checking the chokes and both were 6 volt T-3. Did you switch 1 and are trying to get me to think I sent the wrong choke. Don't forget to tell rlawyer that. Good Luck



That's fine Mr. Zepeda. Maybe you can explain to the judge the handwriting on the box (presumably your's) saying this was "12 volt". The age of the ink is somewhat dated, so, unfortunately any claim by you that I did the writing would be seen as unfounded.

[RTKings]

For those of you who might feel that Mr. Zepeda has victimized you previously, I implore you to visit this sight:

http://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/fraud/MailFraudComplaint.htm

Although the postal service will not pursue one complaint, if they deem a pattern has been set by Mr. Zepeda and his business practice, they will investigate futher. Having spoken to a postal investigations employee this morning, the fact the Mr. Zepeda is operating through the postal service and using postal money orders for payment was of interest to them.

[EverettB]

It would be best to confine posts to his primary feedback thread
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22870
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[bugnut68]

I think you probably overreeacted with the lawyer card, as posted by others above, but I also believe that Mr. Zepeda is in the wrong by unreasonably addressing your concerns.
If Danny is a reasonable person, he would understand your position and not simply demand both parts back for a full refund. Busy or not, it seems as though he's denying any possibility he made a mistake.

[crofty]

The attorney card will seldom get you anywhere.
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[RTKings]

Hey guys-
Thanks for the feedback. I really appreciate it. You guys are probably right about the 'lawyer card'. Probably an over-reaction. However, I truly feel as though Mr. Zepeda has given me no other option. It didn't cost me anything to move this to a legal issue, but I still understand where all of you are coming from. I wish this could all be resolved nicely. I have read the feedback on Mr. Zepeda. My concern is, at this point, even if I sent BOTH items back to Mr. Zepeda, what recourse do I have if he decides NOT to reimbuse me the money? He has taken advantage of several people in the past. Most people just chalk it up to experience, and Mr. Zepeda continues these practices. I just didn't want to be another victim.

[RTKings]

OK Forum, here is my latest offer to Mr. Zepeda, after he insist that I must FIRST send him ALL the chokes back before he will supposedly offer any refund:

How's this Danny? You send a Postal Money order to Everett for $56. I will send your parts, plus extra money to Everett for shipping to you. That way, when Everett has YOUR money order payable to ME, and he has the parts from ME to return to YOU, he can send everything off. I'm sorry, I don't trust you for a second. Your record speaks for itself.

Everett, are you open to this? Man, I'll pay you $20 to be the intermediary!

Rob

[Gary]

[RTKings]

That is fine. But who will act as in impartial person? Danny Zepeda can not be trusted. This is my opinion. It would not be in my best interest to send all the parts back to him, and then have absloutely no leverage. Mr. Zepeda would have the parts AND my cashed, postal money order. If he refused to send back (hell, he can't even send what I've already paid for!), then what? Just become another one of his victims? At least right now, I have SOMETHING. Is it I who is not the grown up, not sending what was promised?

[RTKings]

Everett as agreed to assist:

Everett-
Done deal. Thank you for doing this. If Mr. Zepeda agrees, I will send out tomorrow. I will also forward you the funds to send the package on to Mr. Zepeda. I would simply ask that you inspect the package upon arrival, so you can see the contents. Mr. Zepeda has already tried to insinuate that I have somehow 'switched' the parts. I do not trust him to say this upon receipt of the package.

Danny - your move.

Rob

[toydude111]

I am amazed that Ev would agree to be a middleman. You're lucky. I still don't understand why you don't just send both items back for a refund. Danny has offered to refund the purchase price to you. Also, in Dannys defense, just because you see his username online doesn't mean that HE is sitting at the computer. Could be wife or kids signed on his username.
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[RTKings]

toydude- I would send back the parts to Mr. Zepeda in a heart beat, if I know 100% for sure he would send me a full refund. There is no way to guarantee that Mr. Zepeda would refund my money. Many people here state he is great to work with, which I'm sure he is with some. There are also MULTIPLE people who have numerous complaints about refunds, parts, etc. So, knowing that Danny and I are in this conflict, what would you do in my position?
I am truly lucky. Everett is a great guy. I think he sees how utterly ridiculous this has unfortunately become. And I am extremly thankful that he is willing to interceed.

[EverettB]

This whole thing is stupid but sure, I'll forward mail on, it's not a problem.

Here's what I would do:
1. Forget about contacting Danny further since you are unsatisfied with his customer service.
2. Sell the "extra" 12v choke.
3. Continue searching for remaining 6v choke you need.
4. Post feedback in his Feedback thread.

The whole lawyer thing is an overreaction. I have a fire extinguisher in my Bus that I pay to keep charged, that doesn't mean I would use it if I blew a fuse. I'll wait until my engine is on fire.
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[dieselnut]

According to your near booklength piece up top, it appears he called you halloween evening, and you emailed him FOUR times in the following ~18 hours, and who knows how many instant messages you sent him during that same time frame... Let me guess, you retain an attorney b/c you specialize in patience, right?

I'd be pretty annoyed w/ your behavior as well, you might want to take note that the world doesn't revolve around you and that often times the seller, like everyone else on this planet, has multiple other demands on their time, so they resort to this thing called TIME MANAGEMENT....lol. Ever heard of trick or treating happening on the 31st of October anywhere? Ever had to get up to answer the door for that? It's not like this was an emergency and you needed TWO chokes to get your ride back on the road...lol.

You over-reacted then, and you're over-reacting now... And for what it's worth, I don't even know the seller, nor have I ever bought anything from him. But I'd much rather buy something from him than sell something to you fwiw. Flame away, I'm done.

[RTKings]

Dieselnut-
Please re-read my log. Danny asked ME to e-mail HIM. HIS request. I did so. 4 e-mails in three days. Excessive? Simply asking for his return address? So I could return the item to him, postage paid, so he could re-sell the 12 volt choke, if needed? Hmm. I was trying to be cordial to get him the item back so he could have it ASAP. Yes. Looking out for him. To get his item back ASAP. I am the bad guy here. Sorry Mr. Zepeda and Diselnut. I guess I should have demanded a new part, with no regard of trying to return the old one. For the record, I also told Danny on the phone there was no rush in getting me another 6 volt choke. Whenever he could locate. But I also asked to send him back the 12 volt choke, so he would have it, if needed. The phone convo happened on the 30th, not the 31st. Then he made his demand to send both back.

[DannyZ]

This guy emails me saying one of the chokes I sent was wrong. I told him to return it and I would send him the right one. He sends an email about an hour later asking for my address to return the wrong choke. I thought to myself, first he should have my address in the email I sent him for payment, 2nd he should have my address on the money order reciept and 3rd he should have my address on the box I sent him.
So next starts the excessive emails (18 in 4 days and yes 4 in around 20 hours- Yes, very annoying). He threatens me with a law suit and names his attorneys and says they will be in court with him. I tell him good luck because attorneys aren't used in small claims courts. The emails also have some of the words in capital letter, like he's screaming at me. He also orders me around, telling me what to do. My wife is the only one who tells me what to do.
He emails Everret asking for my phone #. He posts a feedback asking for my phone #. Again, very annoying.
I happen to get food poisoning on 10-31-06 and was down and out for more than a day.
Next, he threatens me that he reported me to the Postal Inspector for Fraud. Rob, don't forget to tell the Postal Inspector that I offered you a full refund when you return the chokes.
As for Everret being the middle man your wrong. Here's how it works. You return both chokes for a full refund or you choose to keep them because I'm not going to exchange the wrong choke now. I will only give you a full refund because of your bad aditude. No need to bother Everret with your problem.
Look this is not the way to get what you want. After all these annoying threatening emails and negative feedback, your only choice is a full refund.
I have 1000's of Rare and Vintage parts that I sell to alot of people, stores and shops and I always want people to return and buy more parts. Every so often I have to deal with people like you. I'm not a thief, I made a simple mistake by sending the wrong parts and offered you the right part. What don't you understand, return both chkoes for a full refund? If you don't return both chokes, it your choice to keep them.