A Forum Member Has Stolen My Money

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Brendan, I call for a complete forum boycott of Steve's Fiat Factory!

Sure he might have been an upstanding guy in the past but he sure isn't now. So until you receive your parts no one should give him a dime.

We need to support fellow members that have been ripped off.
 
Did you try to write comment in Facebook groups? There are few groups in he is active, maybe this will not change anthing or will resolve problem but at least there are other guys who will suport you ( including me ).
 
Thank’s everyone, Steve finally emailed me last week. He assured me he is not a thief, and that he was almost done with my order. He apologized, and said this has taken way too long, but that he would deliver. Unfortunately, this has been the same song and dance since April of 2019, and I will not be at ease till the parts I paid for are in hand. When will I receive this stuff, who the hell knows???? I will keep you all updated as the saga continues.......thank’s again for the support XWeb!!!
 
I can understand how getting a cylinder head prepped for a customer can take a long time. It's a lot of work (thus expensive).
What I can't understand is a lack of communication. That's a big red flag for me, and a situation that I prefer to avoid. The first thing that goes through my head is - Why? Why has the communication stopped? When you have quite a bit of money tied up in the deal it's not unreasonable to think ripoff!
I hope, for all concerned, that you receive a good quality product soon. Good luck!
 
Just wanted to post that I recently purchased items from Steve C thru his eBay store (thefiatfactoryaustralia). Pre-purchase, we exchanged a couple of messages over several days thru eBay messages. Purchase was made on March 6, 2020. Items delivered in good order from Australia on March 18, 2020.
 
No excuses...period. Glad you were finally contacted, Brendan, but you are correct...nothing is solved yet. The fact that this party was doing business as normal with others in this very forum is kinda insult to injury. I'm sure your money spent juuuust fine. This is a shitty life lesson regarding paying before sevices are rendered. Not something we'd expect in our little fiat circle of "pals". Good luck, amigo.
 
Just so everyone knows I have also given Steve a $2500 deposit for a head build which I have been waiting for since 2016. He also has had on and off communication with me in the last couple years. I would be very careful when doing business with him. He has also wrote me saying he is not a thief and will provide the product. Then he disappears for months or more and also doesn’t respond to messages.
 
Building a head is a lot of work, probably why it's so expensive. I wonder if waiting to be paid, for a completed product, would shorten the time to produce the product? In any event, lack of communications - after the product has been paid for - would be very worrying to me. Very.
 
This really illustrates the problem with paying for work up front. I’ve never had a mechanic ask me to pay for repairs before they are completed.
 
I once handed over an insurance check handed to me from the insurer at the site to a body and paint shop. Then after 2 months went by I started going into the shop everyday helping them out just so I could get my Vanagon back! Once the money has been spent the incentive to finish the job evaporates!
 
It has been over 1 year since Steve was supposed to have my parts done. Once again he has stopped responding to my emails, and gone silent. Let me tell you all something, this guy is a first rate SCUMBAG!!!!! I’m not telling anyone what to do, but I would not purchase anything from this guy. Not just because you might not receive what you ordered, but because he screws over other forum members here. If we are supposed to be a community, we should stick up for one another, and what he is doing to our community members is absolutely horrible! It’s deceptive, dishonest, disgusting, and downright criminal! Don’t support him until he get’s his act together
 
I'm wondering if he is fine supplying the simpler things. Maybe head work is not something he should be offering, regardless I would not feel comfortable dealing with someone to any degree that I know in in the midst of hosing other people.
 
I live in the same neighborhood as Steve/FiatFactory and I'm glad I read through this thread because I was planning to have some work done this year on my engine.
What a shame :(
 
It has been over 1 year since Steve was supposed to have my parts done. Once again he has stopped responding to my emails, and gone silent. Let me tell you all something, this guy is a first rate SCUMBAG!!!!! I’m not telling anyone what to do, but I would not purchase anything from this guy. Not just because you might not receive what you ordered, but because he screws over other forum members here. If we are supposed to be a community, we should stick up for one another, and what he is doing to our community members is absolutely horrible! It’s deceptive, dishonest, disgusting, and downright criminal! Don’t support him until he get’s his act together
But why you are dont try to resolve problem, I told you in which group on Facebook is he active, now somone up said forum Mira, open accunt and made public thread... that I m on your position I will find way to get part or money back.

About paying in front for parts, I think this is not problem but today are a lot scammers online who like to get money easy... I ship thousands packages in last few years and never, really never didnt scam anyone, also had from time to time delay finishing parts like cylinder heads engines, mean complex things but never had intend to cheat someone.
 
It's just a shame. Steve's obviously a knowledgable guy and was once an asset here. Why would he torpedo his own reputation like this? Maybe a substance abuse issue or something. I hope everyone is made whole, I too refuse to spend money with the guy while he's actively scamming others.
 
I think you’ll all find this very interesting. I posted on Australian x1/9 page on Facebook, nothing scathing, just said I couldn’t reach Steve. Also said it has been over a year and he won’t return my emails, and that other members here are having the same issue. The administration, one of whom I believe is a friend of Steve’s, deleted my post, and now I am unable to post until the end of May. I thought that was very interesting, I guess I’m really out of options now.......besides flying to the other side of the world
 
Not sure it would help or not, but there may be local (Australian) legal entities to appeal to for help. I found that the local police department in Euclid, OH. could give a rip about the money I lost to an unscrupulous auto dealer recently, but the Ohio State's Attorney General's office at least followed up on the matter. Maybe there is someone down under that might help you?
 
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