Well....now that the board migration has settled down a bit and the CBR's wayward transaction has been completed, I thought I would take the opportunity to discuss what happened... at least from my vantage point...
I will preface this by saying that CBR is a personal friend of mine who I know off the board... I remained impartial throughout but went the extra mile because he is a friend and he is part of the SoCal family...
I first became aware of the problems with the transaction through several members here alerting me to a thread on RG which discussed that a member there, Alanwatches, was a scammer and that it was believed to be the alias of CBR.... I asked the RG member (dmncmichaels) involved in the transaction for the address of Alanwatches and confirmed it was CBR...
At this point, I posted a thread in our admin section here (CBR was a mod at the time) to ask what was up... I was interfacing with both the RG member and the moderator there who was handling the issue while waiting for more details from CBR...
The transaction itself was a trade... CBR's DSSD for dmncmichaels' Panerai 233/250... the transaction went wayward when CBR's DSSD did not show up and the tracking didn't show anything definite other than a label had been created... CBR, operating under the Alanwatches alias (not really a secret alias, just a different one) had discussed resolution to the problem with both the member and the mod over at RG... CBR's proposal was that he would file the claim for the insurance placed on the package ($300) and then send this money to dmncmichaels..
The transaction itself could not be undone because CBR had received the 233/250 in poor condition and paid out of pocket ($175) to have the watch serviced/fixed... dmnc understandably did not want to pay $175 more to get his watch back and thus the $300 was the only viable option...
This appeared to be acceptable to all parties until it became known that the Alanswatches handle was CBR, RWI mod... at this point, the term scammer started being used... which is when everyone's tempers began to flare....
Now, I can understand the heightened tension when someone finds out they are dealing with someone who is a moderator elsewhere but is using a different handle... I do disagree with immediately using the term scammer as it is only going to lead to an escalation in anger... especially when there is an acceptable resolution that has been worked out....
Now... CBR being CBR.... he did start becoming somewhat disrespectful to the parties involved but if I was called a scammer, I would probably act in the same way...
At this point, I jumped in and attempted to find a resolution as dmncmichaels said he now did not want to wait and wanted CBR to purchase a new watch for him (specifically a Eurotimez V5 DSSD) or return the 233/250 (which had been improved while in CBR's possession)...
i figured the easiest solution to an escalating problem was for CBR to paypal $300 to dmncmichaels and call it quits.... wait for the insurance money and be done with issue... CBR felt that the original agreement should stand... dmnc did not want like the solution either an reiterated he felt he should have a new DSSD purchased for him...
So... I found myself in the middle of a fun situation... and since CBR was a friend of mine and I destested seeing anyone call him a scammer, I offered to put up the $300 myself and wait for the insurance money to come in... CBR asked me not to do this but I really did not want to see things drag on...
It was about this time that CBR tendered his resignation which was accepted by me. CBR was taken off staff and resumed life as a regular VIP member in good standing on RWI...
I decided to proceed with my pay dmncmichaels and get paid back later plan and asked for dmnc's paypal details.... these were not received after my first and second requests...
One or 2 days later, CBR informed me that he was able to complete his claim for the insurance money and would now pay dmncmichaels per the original agreement... I requested the paypal details for dmncmichaels again and was successful in getting the paypal addy the 3rd time...
I requested that CBR pay me so that I could in turn pay dmncmichaels so that there was a clear division between the two in terms of he said/she said stuff... CBR promptly funded my paypal account after waiting for the funds to be funded into his paypal account.... I then paypaled them to dmncmichaels believing the issue to finally be resolved... i notified the RG mod of the payments and he also believe the situation to be resolved...
Approximately 2-4 hours after sending the paypal money to dmncmichaels, I received an e-mail from him asking for me to take the funds back and send him a money order for them as his paypal account had been "locked".... I refused as this would open myself up to potential problems in verifying he had received them (i could verify receipt of an envelope but he could potentially say it was an empty one)... I reaffirmed that as far as I was concerned, the issue was resolved and wished him luck in unlocking his paypal...
Soon thereafter, I received notice that the paypal funds had been refunded to me and another e-mail from dmncmichaels that he could not take the paypal. He explained in his e-mail that he had an ebay business before and that his paypal account was shut down at that time for fradulent activity.... he had another paypal account but they had locked it and began asking questions that when answered would lead them back to the other confiscated account..
At this time he asked me to paypal the money to an RG member who was selling a watch and would ship it to dmncmichaels.... I quickly refused to do this as I could be caught in the middle of a bad transaction myself... I also explained that I would refund the money to CBR and that I felt I had done enough to resolve the issue...
CBR then offered to WU the funds to dmncmichaels.... this was done within 24-48 hours after I refunded the money to him... CBR received notification that the money had been picked up and the issue was resolved...
So, in short, CBR had an issue with a transaction on RG for which he offered an acceptable solution and carried out that solution in a timely manner...
If dmncmichaels had been more patient and not accused CBR of scamming, the result would have been the same except that a lot of arguing did not need to happen... a lot of members would not have gotten caught up in the drama...
I do feel though that CBR could have shown more restraint and turned the other cheek... but, as I do know CBR personally, I know that's not his MO...
I would hope all those who are reading this will take away that you should always be patient when a transaction doesn't go the way you want it to... and you should always seek out and trust the help of staff and friends alike...
I will preface this by saying that CBR is a personal friend of mine who I know off the board... I remained impartial throughout but went the extra mile because he is a friend and he is part of the SoCal family...
I first became aware of the problems with the transaction through several members here alerting me to a thread on RG which discussed that a member there, Alanwatches, was a scammer and that it was believed to be the alias of CBR.... I asked the RG member (dmncmichaels) involved in the transaction for the address of Alanwatches and confirmed it was CBR...
At this point, I posted a thread in our admin section here (CBR was a mod at the time) to ask what was up... I was interfacing with both the RG member and the moderator there who was handling the issue while waiting for more details from CBR...
The transaction itself was a trade... CBR's DSSD for dmncmichaels' Panerai 233/250... the transaction went wayward when CBR's DSSD did not show up and the tracking didn't show anything definite other than a label had been created... CBR, operating under the Alanwatches alias (not really a secret alias, just a different one) had discussed resolution to the problem with both the member and the mod over at RG... CBR's proposal was that he would file the claim for the insurance placed on the package ($300) and then send this money to dmncmichaels..
The transaction itself could not be undone because CBR had received the 233/250 in poor condition and paid out of pocket ($175) to have the watch serviced/fixed... dmnc understandably did not want to pay $175 more to get his watch back and thus the $300 was the only viable option...
This appeared to be acceptable to all parties until it became known that the Alanswatches handle was CBR, RWI mod... at this point, the term scammer started being used... which is when everyone's tempers began to flare....
Now, I can understand the heightened tension when someone finds out they are dealing with someone who is a moderator elsewhere but is using a different handle... I do disagree with immediately using the term scammer as it is only going to lead to an escalation in anger... especially when there is an acceptable resolution that has been worked out....
Now... CBR being CBR.... he did start becoming somewhat disrespectful to the parties involved but if I was called a scammer, I would probably act in the same way...
At this point, I jumped in and attempted to find a resolution as dmncmichaels said he now did not want to wait and wanted CBR to purchase a new watch for him (specifically a Eurotimez V5 DSSD) or return the 233/250 (which had been improved while in CBR's possession)...
i figured the easiest solution to an escalating problem was for CBR to paypal $300 to dmncmichaels and call it quits.... wait for the insurance money and be done with issue... CBR felt that the original agreement should stand... dmnc did not want like the solution either an reiterated he felt he should have a new DSSD purchased for him...
So... I found myself in the middle of a fun situation... and since CBR was a friend of mine and I destested seeing anyone call him a scammer, I offered to put up the $300 myself and wait for the insurance money to come in... CBR asked me not to do this but I really did not want to see things drag on...
It was about this time that CBR tendered his resignation which was accepted by me. CBR was taken off staff and resumed life as a regular VIP member in good standing on RWI...
I decided to proceed with my pay dmncmichaels and get paid back later plan and asked for dmnc's paypal details.... these were not received after my first and second requests...
One or 2 days later, CBR informed me that he was able to complete his claim for the insurance money and would now pay dmncmichaels per the original agreement... I requested the paypal details for dmncmichaels again and was successful in getting the paypal addy the 3rd time...
I requested that CBR pay me so that I could in turn pay dmncmichaels so that there was a clear division between the two in terms of he said/she said stuff... CBR promptly funded my paypal account after waiting for the funds to be funded into his paypal account.... I then paypaled them to dmncmichaels believing the issue to finally be resolved... i notified the RG mod of the payments and he also believe the situation to be resolved...
Approximately 2-4 hours after sending the paypal money to dmncmichaels, I received an e-mail from him asking for me to take the funds back and send him a money order for them as his paypal account had been "locked".... I refused as this would open myself up to potential problems in verifying he had received them (i could verify receipt of an envelope but he could potentially say it was an empty one)... I reaffirmed that as far as I was concerned, the issue was resolved and wished him luck in unlocking his paypal...
Soon thereafter, I received notice that the paypal funds had been refunded to me and another e-mail from dmncmichaels that he could not take the paypal. He explained in his e-mail that he had an ebay business before and that his paypal account was shut down at that time for fradulent activity.... he had another paypal account but they had locked it and began asking questions that when answered would lead them back to the other confiscated account..
At this time he asked me to paypal the money to an RG member who was selling a watch and would ship it to dmncmichaels.... I quickly refused to do this as I could be caught in the middle of a bad transaction myself... I also explained that I would refund the money to CBR and that I felt I had done enough to resolve the issue...
CBR then offered to WU the funds to dmncmichaels.... this was done within 24-48 hours after I refunded the money to him... CBR received notification that the money had been picked up and the issue was resolved...
So, in short, CBR had an issue with a transaction on RG for which he offered an acceptable solution and carried out that solution in a timely manner...
If dmncmichaels had been more patient and not accused CBR of scamming, the result would have been the same except that a lot of arguing did not need to happen... a lot of members would not have gotten caught up in the drama...
I do feel though that CBR could have shown more restraint and turned the other cheek... but, as I do know CBR personally, I know that's not his MO...
I would hope all those who are reading this will take away that you should always be patient when a transaction doesn't go the way you want it to... and you should always seek out and trust the help of staff and friends alike...
