Wits End Order Issues / Joey Romero (4 Viewers)

[lazy]

While I'm not against legal action per se, I do feel it is futile. Fortunately, I have never been part of a judgement, but I know those that have. The issue is, Joey has no money. So if I got a judgement against him, I would have spent time and money for a judgement. That doesn't mean he would pay me - and that could mean ever. So, at the end of the day, I'm going to move on with my life in terms of seeking restitution through legal channels. If someone got a lawyer and I could ride the coat tails, sure, I would join in.

Again, at the end of the day, Joey has no money, and despite what he puts on social media, he never did. I remember a post when his wife got cancer and he mentioned they didn't have health insurance (perhaps that is where the turbo money went?). I for one, could not sleep knowing my family was exposed like that, but it is evident there are many different characteristics between me and Joey. The fact that he has to move his shop all the time shows me he lacks money. And outside of stiffing people for "pre-orders," his reputation with fellow vendors (as documented here) for not paying them shows me he is far from wealthy.

I don't even necessarily wish the guy bad will. What I do care about is that no one else loses money from Joey. If that destroys his business, so be it. But, I don't want to see anyone else lose money to Joey - which appears to be omnipresent and a certainty at this point.

 

[open country]

While I'm not against legal action per se, I do feel it is futile. Fortunately, I have never been part of a judgement, but I know those that have. The issue is, Joey has no money. So if I got a judgement against him, I would have spent time and money for a judgement. That doesn't mean he would pay me - and that could mean ever. So, at the end of the day, I'm going to move on with my life in terms of seeking restitution through legal channels. If someone got a lawyer and I could ride the coat tails, sure, I would join in.

Again, at the end of the day, Joey has no money, and despite what he puts on social media, he never did. I remember a post when his wife got cancer and he mentioned they didn't have health insurance (perhaps that is where the turbo money went?). I for one, could not sleep knowing my family was exposed like that, but it is evident there are many different characteristics between me and Joey. The fact that he has to move his shop all the time shows me he lacks money. And outside of stiffing people for "pre-orders," his reputation with fellow vendors (as documented here) for not paying them shows me he is far from wealthy.

I don't even necessarily wish the guy bad will. What I do care about is that no one else loses money from Joey. If that destroys his business, so be it. But, I don't want to see anyone else lose money to Joey - which appears to be omnipresent and a certainty at this point.

Agreed, the constant address change disruptions was always a red flag with Wits' End. I feel for his family with that illness despite the recklessness of being uninsured. If he truly had "808 shipped orders" in a 2-week period, that's more than enough revenue to afford private health insurance, but I digress.

I don't see how there wouldn't be a case for fraud if he's continually accepting money through his web store, not delivering those orders, and yet is also bankrupt on the personal side. From what I know of cancer treatment, it wouldn't take many procedures or visits to bankrupt the average person, so I would guess that tracks. What a sad mess.

 

[5VZFER150F]

Hi guys,
I wish I had seen this thread before I placed an order for one of the Wits' End "Toyota Speedo Luber" tools this past Monday...
The order went through, I got an automated email order confirmation, and my card was charged, but I have not gotten any more communication since. I was hoping to get my speedo noise fixed with this tool before going on a trip, but it looks like what you guys are saying is that it could be months - or never - before I get anything. Bummer.

I will post an update here if I hear anything from him, or I get my order.

 

[SucioP]

make sure you are familiar with the timeline that your cc requires for disputed charges,,,,,

 

[SucioP]

The following email was sent to Joey on August 4th;

Joey,

I'm writing to you this evening representing myself and 11 other customers who have outstanding turbo orders with you and with whom you refuse to communicate.

We are demanding immediate communication on the status of our orders and your plan to ship immediately or refund our money, in full.

If you chose to ignore this email, as you have all of our other previous attempts to contact you, you leave us no choice but to collectively pursue all and every legal recourse available to us, inclusive of both civil and criminal.

Many of us have been loyal customers of Wits End for many years. We want and need a vibrant and healthy Landcruiser marketplace. We take no pleasure in sending you this letter but your behaviour is unacceptable and we will no longer tolerate it.

Regards,

No surprise, I received no response. At this point, I've resigned myself to the fact that Joey has stolen my and many others money. As others have pointed out, we have very little recourse at this point.

In order for others not to find themselves in this situation, I'm asking members of the community who have been defrauded by Joey to take 10 minutes of your day and submit a complaint to the proper authorities in the hopes that with enough complaints, the authorities will take action:

Oregon Department of Justice. Contact Us - Oregon Department of Justice - https://www.doj.state.or.us/consumer-protection/contact-us/

Federal Trade Commission Report Fraud - https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/

and of course, you can offset his glowing Facebook reviews, here. Wits' End - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063763230303&sk=reviews

 

[JoeCova]

The following email was sent to Joey on August 4th;

Joey,

I'm writing to you this evening representing myself and 11 other customers who have outstanding turbo orders with you and with whom you refuse to communicate.

We are demanding immediate communication on the status of our orders and your plan to ship immediately or refund our money, in full.

If you chose to ignore this email, as you have all of our other previous attempts to contact you, you leave us no choice but to collectively pursue all and every legal recourse available to us, inclusive of both civil and criminal.

Many of us have been loyal customers of Wits End for many years. We want and need a vibrant and healthy Landcruiser marketplace. We take no pleasure in sending you this letter but your behaviour is unacceptable and we will no longer tolerate it.

Regards,

No surprise, I received no response. At this point, I've resigned myself to the fact that Joey has stolen my and many others money. As others have pointed out, we have very little recourse at this point.

In order for others not to find themselves in this situation, I'm asking members of the community who have been defrauded by Joey to take 10 minutes of your day and submit a complaint to the proper authorities in the hopes that with enough complaints, the authorities will take action:

Oregon Department of Justice. Contact Us - Oregon Department of Justice - https://www.doj.state.or.us/consumer-protection/contact-us/

Federal Trade Commission Report Fraud - https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/

and of course, you can offset his glowing Facebook reviews, here. Wits' End - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063763230303&sk=reviews

So no one has a lawyer?…..

 

[MK80]

So no one has a lawyer?…..

I’ll ask a couple lawyer friends of mine.

 

[SucioP]

The following email was sent to Joey on August 4th;

Joey,

I'm writing to you this evening representing myself and 11 other customers who have outstanding turbo orders with you and with whom you refuse to communicate.

We are demanding immediate communication on the status of our orders and your plan to ship immediately or refund our money, in full.

If you chose to ignore this email, as you have all of our other previous attempts to contact you, you leave us no choice but to collectively pursue all and every legal recourse available to us, inclusive of both civil and criminal.

Many of us have been loyal customers of Wits End for many years. We want and need a vibrant and healthy Landcruiser marketplace. We take no pleasure in sending you this letter but your behaviour is unacceptable and we will no longer tolerate it.

Regards,

No surprise, I received no response. At this point, I've resigned myself to the fact that Joey has stolen my and many others money. As others have pointed out, we have very little recourse at this point.

In order for others not to find themselves in this situation, I'm asking members of the community who have been defrauded by Joey to take 10 minutes of your day and submit a complaint to the proper authorities in the hopes that with enough complaints, the authorities will take action:

Oregon Department of Justice. Contact Us - Oregon Department of Justice - https://www.doj.state.or.us/consumer-protection/contact-us/

Federal Trade Commission Report Fraud - https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/

and of course, you can offset his glowing Facebook reviews, here. Wits' End - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063763230303&sk=reviews

UPDATE: Joey did respond to the above email by marking my Turbo ordered "Canceled" on his site on Aug 12th without issuing me a refund.

 

[lazy]

I can't even log on to the website...

 

[heckler]

Just checked his Website my order turbo order was cancelled too on August 12th! Almost made it to the 3 year mark

 

[KYLXFJ]

I’ve shared my full 2 cents in the tech forum thread. You need local counsel and will likely need to split collection with them unless you want to fork up money to start. Even if the person ran out of funds, I have had individuals (who attempted to steal or scam from me) required by the judge to maintain employment and pay off balance stolen from me in weekly or monthly installments or they would be locked up if missed a payment. Lots of avenues. I don’t like to keep prodding in others business but it’s hard to watch someone screw over so many people and equally hard to watch nobody go for the jugular.

 

[SucioP]

Just checked his Website my order turbo order was cancelled too on August 12th! Almost made it to the 3 year mark

I’m sure he’ll be working the “waitlist” for folks that want to step in to two recently vacant slots……lodge your complaint Mud Community.

 

[Francis K]

Guys....wtf are you doing just go to small claims all you're doing is giving him warning to cover his bases.

 

[lazy]

I'm pretty sure he has never had a corporation in either oregon or cali...

 

[onsse]

The following email was sent to Joey on August 4th;

Joey,

I'm writing to you this evening representing myself and 11 other customers who have outstanding turbo orders with you and with whom you refuse to communicate.

We are demanding immediate communication on the status of our orders and your plan to ship immediately or refund our money, in full.

If you chose to ignore this email, as you have all of our other previous attempts to contact you, you leave us no choice but to collectively pursue all and every legal recourse available to us, inclusive of both civil and criminal.

Many of us have been loyal customers of Wits End for many years. We want and need a vibrant and healthy Landcruiser marketplace. We take no pleasure in sending you this letter but your behaviour is unacceptable and we will no longer tolerate it.

Regards,

No surprise, I received no response. At this point, I've resigned myself to the fact that Joey has stolen my and many others money. As others have pointed out, we have very little recourse at this point.

In order for others not to find themselves in this situation, I'm asking members of the community who have been defrauded by Joey to take 10 minutes of your day and submit a complaint to the proper authorities in the hopes that with enough complaints, the authorities will take action:

Oregon Department of Justice. Contact Us - Oregon Department of Justice - https://www.doj.state.or.us/consumer-protection/contact-us/

Federal Trade Commission Report Fraud - https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/

and of course, you can offset his glowing Facebook reviews, here. Wits' End - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063763230303&sk=reviews

thanks for getting this rolling.
file and submitted complaint.

 

[Minuteman]

Im only missing a dash cam mount, a whole $100, but I wonder how many other little items are missing that people like me just write off? I feel sorry for you guys with the turbo kits and other large purchases. I went ahead and spent 30min this morning filing the same complaints and I encourage anyone else with small parts missing to do the same. There is no telling how much is floating out there. This is too good of a community to leave our big purchase guys hangin...

 

[FJ73Texas]

Im only missing a dash cam mount, a whole $100, but I wonder how many other little items are missing that people like me just write off? I feel sorry for you guys with the turbo kits and other large purchases. I went ahead and spent 30min this morning filing the same complaints and I encourage anyone else with small parts missing to do the same. There is no telling how much is floating out there. This is too good of a community to leave our big purchase guys hangin...

Last year, I needed a terminal tool and ordered one from wits end. If memory serves me right, it took almost two months to receive it. I probably would have just written it off and moved on if I never received it because 1) I needed it sooner than later for the wiring work I was doing so I ended up getting a similar tool from another source and 2) It was not a $6K turbo kit and I didn’t want to cause the wagons to start circling again over a $50 part by complaining here on mud.

The wire terminal tool I did get from Joey is really nice and seemed to have worked better than any other terminal tool I have on my last wiring job I did, including the OEM set I got from Toyota.

I really feel bad that people here are out $6K and even feel bad for those that spent way less and never got anything. A lot of R&D went into Joey’s products but then getting the products into the customer’s hands was a real struggle for him for some reason.

 

[PDXDave67]

Well, it seems all the turbo orders have had the status changed to "canceled" on the order status portion of his web page when you log in.
Once again, NO communication from him and definitely no refund.
Begs the question, when does this go from being a s***ty business man to being a con-man?

 

[PIP]

Begs the question, when does this go from being a s***ty business man to being a con-man?

When he gets convicted.

 

[PDXDave67]

When he gets convicted.

You're more giving than me...
Based on his behavior and the evidence at hand, I'll go with con-man for the win.