Last February we contacted Steve Abrams Designs regarding matching a 1940s roll of wallpaper that we wanted to use in our kitchen. When we spoke to Mr. Abrams, we made it very clear that we couldn't use the original roll that we had because it was very delicate, and because it was printed on paper, which isn't very practical in the kitchen. He assured us that he could not only copy the design, but that he could print it on a vinyl wallpaper base that would be more practical for kitchen use. He said that the whole process would take about three weeks.
We immediately sent him not only a professional scan of the wallpaper, but also a physical sample of the paper. He billed us $50.00 through PayPal for the recreation of the design, which we paid immediately. Afterward, we didn't hear another thing from him for weeks. He refused to answer his phone - which is a cell - and didn't return any of our messages. Finally, when I called his phone from a phone with a blocked number, he answered and told me that he had been very sick, and that he was sorry for the delay. I believed him.
Shortly thereafter he sent out a sample of the scan that he had done for our approval. When we commented that it was printed on paper, he said that it was just a sample to show the reproduction of the design, so we approved the sample, and he said that our wallpaper would be sent out in about a week to ten days. We needed two rolls, and he charged us $200.00 per roll through PayPal. We paid immediately. We didn't hear from him for weeks and, once again, he refused to answer his phone.
Finally, three months after we initially contacted Mr. Abrams. We were extatic to receive a long box containing our wallpaper. When we opened it you cannot imagine our disappointment to discover that our wallpaper was not only printed on PAPER, but that it was on one enormous roll and also untrimmed - a process that requires special equipment that we simply don't have. We left messages for Mr. Abrams telling him that this was not the wallpaper that we ordered, but he refused to get back to us.
Finally, we filed a complaint through PayPal, at which time Mr. Abrams supposedly refunded our money. He lied on the PayPal response form, saying that he refused to contact us because we were rude to him and "screamed at him on the phone". This was completely untrue - we had been most patient with this man, and had tried repeatedly to work out the problem. He also claimed that he had never promised us wallpaper on vinyl, and that he did not have the capability to print onto vinyl.
Oddly, his refund of our original $50.00 stayed in our PayPal account, but his refund of the $400.00 that we spent on the worthless wallpaper was there for two days, and then reverted to his account. Of course, he wont return our phone calls, and PayPal seems to think that he refunded our money, and that everything is fine and dandy. Its not!
Whatever you do, don't trust this man. You will notice that he has now removed his physical address from his website, and will only do business through the third party that is hosting his website. You will have no recourse once you have placed an order with him, and he will drop off the face of the earth once he has your money.
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