In the last 18 months alone the Ohio Attorney General's office has logged nearly 80 complaints against National Bullet — 9 new complaints so far for the month of December alone. Virtually all of the complaints are for "failure to deliver product or service." The Cleveland Office of the BBB tells a similar story about National Bullet.
Unfortunately, I didn't check them out before placing an online order a couple of weeks ago. Sure enough, they didn't return calls and emails, didn't send the merchandise, and didn't issue a refund. Even though they display credit card logos on the website, the only online payments they take are through PayPal.
I did some checking and found that the Ohio Secretary of State revoked National Bullet's articles of incorporation last January for failure to file tax forms and/or pay taxes.
Last April the owner, Ken Bayko, transferred title of his house out of his own name and solely into the name of his wife, Norma J. Bayko. That house is located at 34971 Glen Drive, Eastlake, OH 44095. Home phone (440) 951-7111. (Although there could be other reasons for the title transfer, the one that comes to mind is that Bayko is trying to shield his assets from creditors.)
The information listed above is PUBLIC RECORD.
Online forums reveal dozens to hundreds of buyers with similar tales of being ripped off by National Bullet. (See The Firing Line and Gunbroker forums for starters.)
In the meantime, I'm out a couple of hundred bucks. I advised PayPal that National Bullet is engaged in a documented pattern of fraud and theft.in return, PayPal advised me that they cannot take any action based on "unproven suspicions." Apparently the public records of the Ohio Attorney General's office don't meet the high standards of evidence required by some zit-faced punk at PayPal.
Incidentally, don't believe all that buyer protection BS you hear from PayPal. The truth is, they offer you about as much protection as you'd get from a used condom. Their fine print says that IF they uphold your complaint, they can only refund amounts available from the merchant's account. What this means is that in the case of National Bullet Company, with multiple victims, you're basically screwed.
If you paid PayPal with a credit card, go through your issuing bank for a chargeback refund. Otherwise, you're out of luck.
Michael
Fort Jones, California
U.S.A.
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