I ordered a Love Water Distiller (box says American Water Distiller) from Ric's Picks through Yahoo.
When it arrived the box was twisted because it had been packed unprofessionally and cheaply. Upon close inspection and major cleanup of the merchandise I noted that the lid (fan) was dirty as a fan becomes when it has been in use for sometime. After clean-up and assembly, I plugged it in as directed and there was no electrical connection... Not even a buzz.
I called the number in the ad on-line 3 times, got a recording, explained the problem, no response. When Edward Porter (740-544-5842) finally returned my call he was drunk, slurring his words and wanted to know how he could help me... I explained that the distiller was not working... He said it wasn't his problem to call whomever sold it to me. (well, gee, I thought he did).
I then contacted Ric Deddy, Owner and Manager by email. He seemed concerned and said he would get back to me. I told him about Mr. Porter's drinking problem and how absolutely rude he was.
The following day, before 7am, I received 4 phone calls from Mr. Porter... I finally answered the 4th call and he, drunk, proceeded to sing Old McDonald Had A Farm from start to finish, then would laugh and sing some more. I finally told him to sober up before calling me and I hung up... He was incoherent. He called 3 more times in the afternoon... Still drunk. Somehow I got another phone number for him (740-544-9999).
Mr. Deddy and I exchanged multiple emails and I explained to him that I am 81 and handicapped and not able to re-pack the faulty, inferior merchandise he had sent me for $188.99 through my American Express credit card. My credit card statement showed "Ric's Picks.com LLC" New Jersey.
There would be no responsibility on his part for what the postage would cost me to return useless cheap merchandise even if I could find someone to do the repack... Their box was badly damaged, over-used and not sturdy enough to do a re-pack. He offered to send me a new top... It wasn't the top that wasn't operable... It was the bottom part... I told him no and if he wanted the defective merchandise back he would have to have it picked up and I would expect a credit to my Am Exp account.
I checked comments regarding this apparent scam and I saw many, many negative comments... including the drunk Mr. Porter and his slurring along with extreme rudeness. I have learned to look up these comments prior to purchase... Not after.
As a last resort, I contacted American Express and they relieved my mind regarding the charges and said they would contact Mr. Deddy and keep me informed. The charges were removed from my account, but, Mr. Deddy has not paid American Express at the time of this writing.
This all took place in April.
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