Two nightstands were purchased on 11/24/05 for $599.00 per an auction won on Ebay from Mr. John Bohori of Bohori Galleries. I don't have the transaction number because Paypal does not keep records of transactions that far back but I have subsequent emails from Mr. Bohori acknowledging the receipt of monies for the nightstands and I have the records from my checking account for the purchase. The total of the invoice was $839.00 including ins. And shipping. I was given two options by Mr. Bohori via email, either to ship the nightstands via DHL or have a personal friend of his pick them up in 5 months and deliver them to me. Since I did not know Mr. Bohori or his friend and he had no storefront, I chose to have the items shipped through DHL. I was told in emails by Mr. Bohori that the tables were insured for $800.00 to protect against any loss incurred during shipping which accounted for the additional $39.00 I was charged per the Ebay invoice. The nightstands were shipped from Sophie's Antiques in Peekskill, New York on 12/5/06 and delivered to my address on 12/11/06. Both nightstands were left by DHL in front of the garage upside down with a large rock on top even though my husband and I were home at the time. We did not sign for the tables, or have the chance to examine the contents before accepting them, and received no invoice with the shipment. I thoroughly went through the boxes and found no paperwork. The waybill number on the DHL claim form is DXR78489560785. Upon opening the two boxes with the nightstands, I discovered the tables were severely damaged. I contacted Mr. Bohori immediately and he insisted on filing the claim himself. He also asked for a repair estimate which I paid $25.00 for to a furniture restoration company (Washington Antiques). I faxed the estimate to Mr. Bohori. When he received the estimate he complained about my using a business that had the word antique in it. He told me that DHL freaks when they see the word antique and told me not to use that word at all in any of my communications with DHL. He never explained why. This struck me as odd since Mr. Is an antique dealer and the shipping address indicated that the tables had been shipped from Sophies Antiques. I told Mr. Bohori in an email and by phone that most restoration places had the name antique which did not indicate anything other than that they also repaired antiques. Also there were not that many furniture restoration businesses in my area. I faxed the estimate to Mr. Bohori on December 13. I was then told to wait and that I should hear something from DHL shortly. I waited and received a few emails that Mr. Bohori was working on it but this was not true. He had had the shipper file the claim instead of filing it himself. The filer was Judith Hickey at Secure Self Storage in Peekskill, NY (http://www.ministorageandboxes.com/). Secure Self Storage had packaged the items. I found out about this from DHL when I contacted them in January to try to get some information as to the status of the claim. I never this information from Mr. Bohori on who was actually handling the claim. Once I found out that Judith Hickey had actually filed the claim, I began to communicate directly with her to find out any details. Mr. Bohori's communication with me was sporadic at this time and DHL would not talk to me because they only give details to the person who filed the claim. From the beginning Mr. Bohori refused to discuss any refunds or address any personal responsibility for the damaged tables. Judith Hickey mentioned that Mr. Bohori had shipped items in the same manner as mine many times in the past but always got away with it. She told me that he often did this to cut his costs, and if any problems did arise most of those customers threatened legal action early enough that Mr. Bohori was forced to compensate them. She also told me that because I was sweet and patient, Mr. Bohori didnt need to worry about me.By the time I realized that Mr. Bohori had no intention of assuming any responsibility, it was too late for me to seek recourse through Ebay, Paypal or my bank. Secure Self Storage received a check in January for $200.00 from DHL for my claim with a letter stating that this was the final settlement amount. Mr. Bohori never told me about this. I found out when I contacted DHL in April and pressed them to give me some information as to the status of the claim. When I inquired why the check amount was very short of the $800.00 to Mr. Bohori, he told me per a phone conversation and insinuated in emails that it was somehow my fault, that I told DHL the tables were antiques thereby ruining my chances of getting a fair settlement from them since they dont cover antiques.in a letter from DHL which was forwarded to me by Judith Hickey, the claim was denied because Mr. Bohori did not take out Shipment Value Protection. I spoke with Jo Jewell in claims at DHL and she also mentioned that Mr. Was unable to provide any proof of insurance for the claim. Judith Hickey in a phone conversation had also mentioned this to me in a phone conversation that Mr. Bohori could not find the insurance information for the claim. When asked about the claim settlement Mr. Bohori told me in an email that he would try to seek a better settlement. Judith Hickey followed up with DHL and sent several letters to DHL to try and resettle the claim but they would not resettle based on the information above. A final letter was issued to Secure Self Storage for the denial and a check for $200.00 on January 24. I was not informed of that any check was received until much later. Another person, Michael Jordon at DHL claims also confirmed this on April 27 in a fax to me containing letters from DHL to Secure Self Storage. During the conversations with DHL I was also told that the check for $200.00 was cashed. Again Mr. Bohori claimed that DHL was refused to reimburse me for the full amount because I told them it was an antique (which is false) and that when he sent the repair estimate form to DHL it had the word antique on the business letterhead. I only wanted enough funds to cover the repair cost of $707.20 (which did not include the $25.00 repair estimate fee I already paid) and stated this to both Mr. Bohori and Judith Hickey from the beginning. When I asked to at least receive the check for $200.00 I was told by Mr. Bohori that if I cashed the check I would be accepting the $200.00 as full settlement and receive no further monies.in May I received a check for $200.00 from Secure Self Storage with a letter saying that I would be receiving an additional $600.00 within two weeks. I received another $250.00 two weeks later from Secure Self Storage. I was told by Judith HIckey and Mr. Bohori that I would receive another $350.00 which never came. Judith Hickey left Secure Self Storage in June and I then attempted to contact the owner of Secure Self Storage who during the conversaton clained no knowledge of the claim. About three weeks ago Mr. Bohori contacted me and asked to settle for $150.00. I had barely heard from him in months. Mr. Bohori stated that all was a big mess and everyone was mad at him so he wanted to settle. When I refused to accept only $150.00 Mr. Bohori began bargaining with me, even asking me to have the repair man lower his fee. Mr. Bohori continued to bargain with me as the days progressed, going as high as $200.00 but would not give me the $252.70 I was asking for the repair balance. I had already lowered the amount due twice. Mr. Bohori then became upset at my not accepting this amount and then suddenly lowered the offer back to $150.00 I offered to send the tables back but he said he would only accept them if I paid for the shipping and then waited for a refund from him. Mr. Bohori badgered and insulted me for not accepting his offer.in my last email to Mr. Bohori I told him that I would contact the authorities to let them decide what is fair. I feel that I have been deceived, belittled and badgered by Mr. Bohori. His manner was often very unprofessional and condescending with me. I feel that he was dishonest in his intentions where I was concerned, both as a customer and as a woman, with regard to resolving this issue. I also feel Mr. Bohori misrepresented his merchandise and the transaction by leading me to believe that the additional insurance I paid for on the invoice from Ebay would cover any loss or damage when in fact it did not. I was given conflicting stories during the last 9 months by Judith Hickey and Mr. Bohori although my experience led me to believe Judith Hickey more than Mr. Bohori. I have been in a constant state of confusion since the beginning of this incident in November not knowing who was telling the truth or what was really happening with my claim. I feel that I was strung along by Mr. Bohori until it was too late for me to take any recourse with Ebay or my bank and then casually dismissed until the very end when he himself began having problems with the shipper because of his actions. It was only because Judith Hickey, the shipper at Secure Self Storage, and her sense of fairness and constant insistence to Mr. Bohori that he pay me what he owes me, that any action was taken at all. I often had to threaten to call the police and take legal action before getting any response from Mr. Bohori and then it was only to bargain with me or place the blame on other parties or just to pacify me. Mr. Bohori has also repeatedly blamed me for the damaged nightstands, even stating in emails that if I wasn't happy with the settlement I could always return the tables back to him at my expense and then wait for a refund from him which, after dealing with Mr. Bohori all this time, I was certain I would never receive for one reason or another. Mr. Bohoris emails often contained large fonts (sometimes very large fonts) in certain statements and punctuation marks as though he was yelling at me. This occurred frequently. He often verbally abused me and became frustrated with me for asking a question or reiterating back to him what Judith Hickey or DHL said to me. His messages contained misspelled words and broken sentences that were often difficult to understand and when questioned became frustrated and conveyed it back towards me. I can only say in closing that this incident has been one long nightmare and dealing with Mr. Bohori, a horrible experience. I now have two nightstands that are not worth what I paid for them because of the considerable damage and I am out $350.00. Pertinent information was withheld from me and there were so many different versions of the truth given to me that I was in constant confusion and I believe that was Mr. Bohoris intention in hopes that I would either forget about the settlement or not want to deal with the unpleasantness of it. Mr. Bohori also generated an atmosphere of distrust by distorting information between Judith Hickey and me, telling Miss Hickey that he had called me when he hadnt, that he had communicated with me when he didnt and that he was working on my claim when in fact he was not. I loved the nightstands and seeing the damage to them was very upsetting for me already, but the worst part was what followed after the delivery. I can only hope that if anything, this complaint will prevent this from happening to someone else. I have all emails between Mr. Bohori and myself, documents from DHL, letters from Secure Self Storage regarding the claim, bank statements, photos of the tables and the repair estimate.
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