Scammer alert

MSP

Member
Hey everyone. I just want to post warning not to buy from a seller named Bill Charamut.

I purchased a used AX8 from this guy and he never shipped it. In fact, minutes after i payed for the AX8 he deleted his Facebook profile. I still had his girlfriends/wifes paypal email address (Abby Ruiz) and she replied once or twice after payment before deleting her email account too (including sending me a shipping number that was never recognized by USPS shipping). After waiting for the AX8 to come in the mail for two or three weeks (a guy has to hope even when things seem rotten right?) I found his instagram account and commented on one of his photos asking about the non working tracking number. He blocked me. There was no question in my mind at that point. I had been ripped off.

Now, Im not holding much hope out on getting my AX8 from him, but I want to give two warnings:

1. Dont do business with this jerk.

2. If you do buy something online dont pay the other party with the 'family and friends' option on Paypal (which he insisted). This was an expensive lesson learned by me. I hope no one else has to lose out like this.

I did fill out a report on Paypal (claim denied since I used the Family and Friends option) and the United States Internet Crime Complaint Center (who knows, im still holding out hope they can do something).

Be careful out there everyone. 99% of people are cool, but there is always one jerk...
 
As a buyer I've agreed to pay the PayPal fee in order to not use the Friends and Family option. If they still push for the Friends and Family option, that's a big warning sign to me.

As a seller I always push for them to use Friends and Family option. It's not about the PayPal fee but I'm worried about the "reverse" fraud of selling something only for them to contact PayPal saying that it wasn't what they purchased. PayPal will almost always side with the buyer so they will refund the money to them and now they have the money and whatever I sold. Using the Friends and Family option in that case protects me.

I have a friend who sold I think it was like a wireless unit on eBay and the buyer contacted eBay saying that the unit was broken so they got it returned. But they returned a different, and indeed a very much broken unit, and he didn't have enough evidence to prove that the unit they send back was a different one (it was the same model). So now I always make a point of taking pictures of serial numbers and similar when I sell.

It really does suck that we have to think about stuff like this. And I agree that it's better being robbed than being a thief.
 
Caveat emptor, and all that bs. Sorry for your loss, msp. All my left-handed guitars I bought online, some through businesses and a couple through ebay. I knock on wood when I say I've been lucky enough to avoid the Bill Charamut ripoffs this world produces. If your a lefty, then you know how much more you pay for one of those than for a similar righty.

Anyway, I just do feel bad for you. Hope you didn't get ripped for too much.
 
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As a seller I only accept bank transferts. No Paypal....never ever.
that's worse

anyone in the usa could get there money back in 5 min/easy-
'hi usa bank- someone sent a personal transfer to an account in france get my money back'

they wouldn't even bother hearing your end of the story about selling music gear online

paypal is the safe and only way
this guy...
1. didn't use any common sense
and 2. didn't do any due diligence

so... don't blame paypal when he didn't use it right
 
I dont give a damn about Paypal, and be sure : nobody can turn back a regular bank transfer; not even your "USA bank".

Paypal and banks are just not "friends".

But that's not the subject of the OP; he got fucked up by a liar tjat abused from some stupid Paypal option and it will take him lots of time to get his money back. I feel sorry for that; we all are too trustfull with these instances.
 
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Sorry to hear OP I hope you get things worked out. Keep us updated!

As a seller I always push for them to use Friends and Family option. It's not about the PayPal fee but I'm worried about the "reverse" fraud of selling something only for them to contact PayPal saying that it wasn't what they purchased. PayPal will almost always side with the buyer so they will refund the money to them and now they have the money and whatever I sold. Using the Friends and Family option in that case protects me..
I've never thought of it this way... great point!
 
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We initially are too trustful because 98% of the time, it turns out to be alright. But it's the 2% we always remember.
Like electricity, toile paper, gasoline and hvac...one only suffers when one hasnt
Still I hope you'll get your money back MSP.
 
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I dont give a damn about Paypal, and be sure : nobody can turn back a regular bank transfer; not even your "USA bank".

Paypal and banks are just not "friends".

But that's not the subject of the OP; he got ****ed up by a liar tjat abused from some stupid Paypal option and it will take him lots of time to get his money back. I feel sorry for that; we all are too trustfull with these instances.

1st.. he'll never get his money back because he selected the wrong reason... to paypal he just sent money for no reason- if it was for goods/services should have been selected as sale of a good- once again- he didn't do his due diligence.

2- yeah it sucks some asshole screwed him over but there's at least 5-10 mistakes he made that got himself in this position- there's scammers everywhere- guitar forums/facebook/not guitar related stuff-

3- I'm not too trustful- i'm just the right amount of trusting- and never have problems like this because I use common sense/due diligence and play by the rules so it's safe for everyone

and last- I can cancel any transfer in the world for $30... my bank wouldn't even contact your bank before deciding in my favor... you being the foreign account- there's TONS of scams out there- you'd be stupid to not use paypal- it's the only source in the world made for these transactions and situations. It's the closest thing to escrow you can get and ebay is a safe intermediary-

Everyone complains about ebay fees- 3.5-10%
but more important paypal fees 2.9% and international sometimes it's 4.4%
it's worth EVERY PENNY when dealing with all the scams out there

Don't be stupid- even I send a direct transfer to your bank or wire any way possible- and you see the money and ship off the item- it's not even safe at all- one phone call can get it reversed and you out the money and the gear- bank transfers aren't made to verify items sent/received verify any sort of accord or satisfaction to a deal taking place- paypal is....

anyway- keep doing what you're going- hate paypal- enjoy your bank transfers- all it's going to take is one american that knows how banking works to screw you out of your gear and money and you have no say in it and no repercussions
 
1st.. he'll never get his money back because he selected the wrong reason... to paypal he just sent money for no reason- if it was for goods/services should have been selected as sale of a good- once again- he didn't do his due diligence.

2- yeah it sucks some ******* screwed him over but there's at least 5-10 mistakes he made that got himself in this position- there's scammers everywhere- guitar forums/facebook/not guitar related stuff-

3- I'm not too trustful- i'm just the right amount of trusting- and never have problems like this because I use common sense/due diligence and play by the rules so it's safe for everyone

and last- I can cancel any transfer in the world for $30... my bank wouldn't even contact your bank before deciding in my favor... you being the foreign account- there's TONS of scams out there- you'd be stupid to not use paypal- it's the only source in the world made for these transactions and situations. It's the closest thing to escrow you can get and ebay is a safe intermediary-

Everyone complains about ebay fees- 3.5-10%
but more important paypal fees 2.9% and international sometimes it's 4.4%
it's worth EVERY PENNY when dealing with all the scams out there

Don't be stupid- even I send a direct transfer to your bank or wire any way possible- and you see the money and ship off the item- it's not even safe at all- one phone call can get it reversed and you out the money and the gear- bank transfers aren't made to verify items sent/received verify any sort of accord or satisfaction to a deal taking place- paypal is....

anyway- keep doing what you're going- hate paypal- enjoy your bank transfers- all it's going to take is one american that knows how banking works to screw you out of your gear and money and you have no say in it and no repercussions

You're not only wrong, you also might get registered as 'unbankable' if it comes out that the transfer you contested as "llegal" came from your own IP adress through your own e-banking access, whether you be american, chinese, european or whoever.
Paypal is practical, I use it 90% of the time for buying articles from who accepts so, but don't say it is safer than bank transfers : it just isn't; I can't help it, it's the way it is.
Personnally I will continue to prefer bank transfers for anything I sell and will not send off anything until the money is registered on my account.
BTW not much chance I'd sell or buy anything to/from the US...VAT, shipping, change and service costs are generally prohibitive; not to talk about warranty problems in case anything breaks down...
 
Thanks for the warning. Sorry to hear about your loss. I've spent the past decade and a half , preaching to my kids that the lowest people in the world are liars and thieves. If a man's word is no good , than neither is he.
Fact of life ( unfortunately ), good people get taken advantage of from time to time. Keep the faith.
 
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