James J. Bates II (aka Jamie Bates) and Julie Smith of Thompson & Riley, Ltd., Auctioneers Appraisers Realtors misled me repeatedly and extensively to get my signature on their auction contract. Under the heading of consumer free speech, I'm here to tell you these people were less than honest from the start and you'll be well advised to consider doing business with a different auctioneer, appraiser or Realtor.
My original complaint was five pages but, for the sake of space and time, lets begin here with these:
1. Jamie promised to "inventory and catalogue" the contents of the house and provide me with said inventory. No such inventory was received. The only list of contents ever received was at settlement time MONTHS after the auctions and the list received was quite small compared to the actual contents of the house. To my understanding, not providing receipts for contents and providing settlement results and disbursement months after the auctions occurred are violations. These things, taken individually, could be considered oversights (although still inexcusable) but, viewed collectively, each of the points contained in my complaint show a pattern of deception.
2. Jamie promised to utilize Ebay for the dolls, accessories and finer collectibles to get a wider market. We talked at length prior to the signing of the contract. It appears that NOT ONE item made it to Ebay.in his response to my Board of Auctioneers complaint, Jamie stated he's used Ebay for years. First, responding to that claim as he did, it shows there was merit to my raising the point and, secondly, he offered no factual defense (showing what items went to Ebay and the supporting paperwork that would have been created). Numerous promises made but not carried out.
3. Over the course of months after the auctions, numerous attempts to contact Jamie Bates and Julie Smith by phone, fax and email were met with silence. Even the published fax numbers were either disconnected or simply not answered. I wanted to know what was going on with the auctions. They had the money and simply were not disbursing. Not until I sent a registered letter demanding response and disbursement did I receive a response. Within about four days, Julie Smith called my friend Julie and opened with "You really must hate me" to which Julie responded that she "was very disappointed in their failure to follow through on what they had promised". Julie Smith said she had asked Jamie, repeatedly, to make that phone call and when she decided that he obviously wasn't going to make the call, she said she "decided to bite the bullet and make the call". Bottom line: $14 was owed to me. She said they were scaling down the cost of work performed (at contract signing, original quote from Jamie for my costs were $300-$400) and that made my net just under $1,400. Twenty-seven hundred square feet of treasures (Jamies word) for $1,400. What a bargain!
James J. Bates II (aka Jamie Bates) and Julie Smith of Thompson & Riley, Ltd., Auctioneers Appraisers Realtors misled me repeatedly and extensively to get my signature on their auction contract. Under the heading of consumer free speech, I'm here to tell you these people were less than honest from the start and you'll be well advised to consider doing business with a different auctioneer, appraiser or Realtor.
My original complaint was five pages but, for the sake of space and time, lets begin here with these:
1. Jamie promised to "inventory and catalogue" the contents of the house and provide me with said inventory. No such inventory was received. The only list of contents ever received was at settlement time MONTHS after the auctions and the list received was quite small compared to the actual contents of the house. To my understanding, not providing receipts for contents and providing settlement results and disbursement months after the auctions occurred are violations. These things, taken individually, could be considered oversights (although still inexcusable) but, viewed collectively, each of the points contained in my complaint show a pattern of deception.
2. Jamie promised to utilize Ebay for the dolls, accessories and finer collectibles to get a wider market. We talked at length prior to the signing of the contract. It appears that NOT ONE item made it to Ebay.in his response to my Board of Auctioneers complaint, Jamie stated he's used Ebay for years. First, responding to that claim as he did, it shows there was merit to my raising the point and, secondly, he offered no factual defense (showing what items went to Ebay and the supporting paperwork that would have been created). Numerous promises made but not carried out.
3. Over the course of months after the auctions, numerous attempts to contact Jamie Bates and Julie Smith by phone, fax and email were met with silence. Even the published fax numbers were either disconnected or simply not answered. I wanted to know what was going on with the auctions. They had the money and simply were not disbursing. Not until I sent a registered letter demanding response and disbursement did I receive a response. Within about four days, Julie Smith called my friend Julie and opened with "You really must hate me" to which Julie responded that she "was very disappointed in their failure to follow through on what they had promised". Julie Smith said she had asked Jamie, repeatedly, to make that phone call and when she decided that he obviously wasn't going to make the call, she said she "decided to bite the bullet and make the call". Bottom line: $14 was owed to me. She said they were scaling down the cost of work performed (at contract signing, original quote from Jamie for my costs were $300-$400) and that made my net just under $1,400. Twenty-seven hundred square feet of treasures (Jamies word) for $1,400. What a bargain!
UPDATE: December 21
I have received a C&D letter from a lawyer on behalf of Thompson and Riley. They are claiming that I am making defamatory and slanderous statements against them by my posting. I was given about 24 hours to remove my content... Or be sued.
UPDATE: April 23
It has been months since receipt of the cease & desist letter and I have NOT removed any content... Nor have I been sued.in fact, my consumer free speech has taken on a life of its' own. Google most any variation of Thompson & Riley or Kentucky Board of Auctioneers and you'll find my content all over the web.in the name of consumer free speech, the public must be educated about the wrongdoing of Thompson & Riley, Ltd. Auctioneers Appraisers Realtors as well as the lack of oversight by the Kentucky Board of Auctioneers.
Bryan Langeneckert
[email protected]
http://KentuckyBoardOfAuctioneersSucks.com
Lexington, KY. 40502
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