In February I was contacted by the United Ideal Company to provide a quote for parts. My contact was Ghassan Hakim and I gave him a very competitive quote - very low profit for us. I was also asked to quote shipping and I explained that I couldn't provide a shipping quote because we didn't have everything in stock and I didn't know how much the order would weigh or how many boxes it would take. This would not do so, to get the order started I provided an estimate (clearly marked as such on the quote) and told Ghassan again that it could be off base.
By the time we had the order complete and ready to ship - there was a 2 week delay becuase of a manufacturer backorder - Ghassan was pressuring me to ship as fast as possible. He said that he would be in trouble if the order didn't arrive quickly and he might even have to pay penalties.
So, on 3/6, against the advice of some where I work, I pushed the order through and sent it with the promise that additional shipping charges would be covered through a second bank transfer. I emailed the tracking numbers for the boxes along with their weights and sent the freight cost difference along as well. Ghassan told me on 3/15 "I'll get back to you in a couple of days. Thanks."
I heard nothing else even though I emailed a couple of times. Then, on 4/3 I got this message from Ghassan Hakim: "The shipment has been submitted to the US Army based in Iraq. Payment term is net 30 days so just be patient a couple of days until we get paid." I said OK, I'm willing to be patient, 30 days passed. I emailed. I emailed again. I emailed again and again (over 25 times). This was, however, the LAST communication I have ever received from Mr. Ghassan Hakim.
On 6/15 I decided to go to their website and email the company from there.By this time I was completely disgusted. But I did get a response from a Mr. Mohammad (he never gave his last name but he said he was one of the company owners). He said: "As per your BUSINESS MISTAKE, we will talk later on to see how to compensate part of it." Oh yes, I admitted to having made a "BUSINESS MISTAKE" for sure! I trusted a company that I should've treated as an enemy! But I was willing to work with him to salvage some bit of our loss.
I emailed again (a couple of times) but got no reply. Finally, on 6/28 Mohammad let me know where I stood with their company and shipping charges: "Ill get the statement of account and will let you know what amount well cover." Guess what. It's 8/21 and I've yet to receive any further communication (much less money for the $1106.00 shipping charge difference) from the United Ideal Company. I guess they taught me a hard lesson in trust.
Beware of doing business with this company. If you do, protect your margins (a company like this doesn't deserve good quotes) and take ALL money up front even if they complain that waiting for a funds transfer will hurt them. Do NOT trust them.
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