Steve Welch//"VW Bug and Bus 4 Sale" FB group

[Sharp64]

I attempted to purchase a JSC shifter from Steve Welch in late March on the VW Bug and Bus 4 Sale FB group. I messaged him and he responded fairly quickly The price was really good and the shifter appeared to be in good condition so I agreed to buy it. I asked to pay through PP and he agreed, but wanted it "gifted". I explained that I was not willing to do this as I hadn't dealt with him before and would prefer to have recourse if the item was damaged or he didn't ship. I also offered to pay the additional fees. Steve told me he didn't have a PP account, but that his friend did and gave me the account. I made the payment on March 28th in the amount of $83.20. He responded quickly and said the shifter would ship the following day.

On April 2nd at 7:06am, I asked for a tracking number and was told I would have one shortly. Later that day at 5:52pm I get a message saying that he was getting ready to ship the shifter and noticed that the reverse lock out was broken. He offered me a discount. I asked to give me some time to look at another shifter I had to see if I could figure out if it was a quick fix.

On April 4th, at 7:06 am I told him I was going to pass on the shifter as I couldn't figure out how I would be able to fix it and to please refund me the money. He responded immediately and said he would.

April 5th, he responded at 5:36pm saying he was at the PO and just wanted to mail me a refund in cash. I explained that I would rather he not put cash I the mail and instead would rather he just refund me through PP as it was very simple to do. No response from him after this that day.

April 6th, at 6:28 AM I messaged that I hadn't received the refund or any text from him and that I would like it taken care of asap. No response from Steve.

April 7th, I had not heard anything from Steve and not gotten any refund, so at 7:45 pm I messaged him explaining that I had requested a refund through Paypal earlier that day and hadn't received a reply. I explained that this wasn't acceptable and that I was going to file a PP claim and also post on the FB page where I did the deal with him regarding my experience. At 8:11pm he responded to me after not responding for 2 days. He was obviously upset and I explained that I wasn't going to continue to wait and all it took was the click of one or two buttons to return my money. An indepth discussion transpired on FB and through FB Messenger. Eventually the thread was locked and later the admins of that group decided to take it down. For what reason I'm not sure. All I got was a message saying " let us know if you get it worked out".

Steve claimed later that night that they tried to return the funds, but that PP had them locked up due to my claim. When I called PP, they said that wasnt the case and that the seller could respond and return my funds at any time. On April 11th, I called and this was escalated to an actual claim. Steve's friend "William Cook" was contacted through PP that day as well as on April 18th, but he refused to reply. PP stated that he had until April 21st to respond and did not do so. On April 16th, I received a message from Steve that they had sent the funds back. I checked and nothing was returned. I contacted PP and they said there had been no activity to return the funds.

On April 23rd I received a message from PP saying the status had been changed from waiting for an reply from the seller to "being reviewed by PP". I contacted Steve again through messenger and they finally sent an email telling PP to release my money.

Today, April 25th, I received my full refund from Steve and his friend for my funds.

While I received my money back, I feel this was completely unnecessary and should never have escalated to this point. I further feel that the FB page VW Bug and Bus 4 Sale completely responded incorrectly regarding this situation. I had members callin me a dick and telling me that I was lucky to have him offer to send me cash back as most people never get refunds.

I did contact two admins after I recieved my money back almost a month later and was ignored by one admin and pretty much told by the other that I should be happy and just relax. It was indicated that if I reposted regarding my experience that it wouldnt make it past an admin and be deleted. I have since left the group.

Buyer beware of Steve Welch. Buyer beware of anyone using William Cook or using the PP address of [email protected].

https://www.facebook.com/steve.welch.5070
https://www.facebook.com/groups/617736385057746/?m...;ref=notif
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1960 Indigo Blue Ragtop (Blue Barry)
1967 Ghia
1985 Westy Money Pit
“...some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.” - Michael Caine