The narrative below is what has been submitted to a small claims court in my efforts to recover my money in a civil judgment. Criminal fraud charges have also been filed and are pending. Greg madl dba swanhouse miniatures is a thief who knows his way around the system.
Between November 1 and November 8, defendant purchased 5 separate items from me at on line auction through eBay. These items were higher end, handmade (and as such made in very limited quantities) doll house furnishings.
One item was listed in the auction as having existing damage. Defendant purchased that item anyway for $99.00.
Upon receiving payment for the items, I carefully packaged and shipped them to defendant’s home address, using a pre-paid UPS label provided by the defendant.
On November 22, defendant sent me a message through eBay stating that one item was damaged. I advised him that the item had existing damage, and was listed as such at auction. He responded that the item was in 4 pieces upon arrival. At my request, he sent me a photograph of the damaged item. It was clear that the item was further damaged in transit. At that time, I offered him a choice of three options: 1) return the damaged item for a refund of the purchase price ($99.00), or 2) keep the item, and file a claim with the shipper, or 3) keep the item, and accept a partial refund. He chose the first option, but immediately initiated a claim through eBay and my payment service – PayPal – for the same amount (eBay case ID 5012962286). That claim was unnecessary, as we had reached an agreement. I responded to the eBay claim, and advised that the buyer and I had already agreed to a refund, and that refund would be issued upon receipt of the damaged item. The item was received by me, inspected, and a refund issued immediately. At the time of the original transaction, defendant requested that I NOT leave him feedback (a sellers rating of the transaction), claiming he didn’t want people to know what he buys on line.
On January 21, I received notification from PayPal that the defendant’s charge card issuer had filed a charge back for the ENTIRE transaction amount at the defendant’s request. He claims that ALL items were either damaged, or not as described. This occurred TWO MONTHS after receiving the items, and filing his initial claim for the ONE damaged item. I responded to PayPal, and provided background information on the transaction, and defendant’s prior claim through eBay. On February 1, funds were disbursed by PayPal from my PayPal account to the charge card issuer in the amount of $1231.99.
On February 1 I contacted defendant via email, and requested that the items in question be returned to me, as he had been issued a refund through his card issuer. I allowed a two week period for which to return said merchandise. The items have not been returned, and I have not heard from defendant in any way, shape or form since November 22.
It should be noted that the defendant operates an online store named swanhouseminiatures.com, wherein he sells upscale doll house furnishings.in searching his online store after the chargeback, I found three of the remaining four items listed for sale on his site:
http://swanhouseminiatures.com/store/index.php? Main_page=product_info&cPath=32&products_id=21217
http://swanhouseminiatures.com/store/index.php? Main_page=product_info&cPath=32&products_id=12739
http://swanhouseminiatures.com/store/index.php? Main_page=product_info&cPath=32&products_id=17709
I have filed a criminal complaint with the Ottawa County (Michigan) Sheriff’s Office, alleging theft and fraud. That investigation is ongoing, and I was advised that the defendant has been involved in similar situations previously. The incident report number with the Sheriff’s office is OCSO: (redacted).
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