Did you guys read about this?

Wow

How horrible. Makes you wonder if Raidho will be taking all legal action they can and do whatever they can to make things right since it totally hurts their credibility in the USA even tho it's not their fault. But thats why manufacturers HAVE to make sure their dealers are good. It does come back to hurt them if one turns out to be bad.

I have no experience with this dealer and only have what I read to base my thoughts but . . . . .
 
Not good...Raidho needed that like a hole in the head. Hope that guy gets his money back :S.
 
This is a terrible thing that Coda Audio of California did to these two individuals. I hope there aren't more cases like this. I'm no attorney but it looks like a case of wire fraud to me and a "bread and water" issue for the offender if he can be prosecuted.

I know Dr. Franklin who lives here in the Austin area with me and he is going to have his D5's upgraded in the next month.
 
This is unfortunately a common occurrence and not just in audio. When I moved to Oregon I needed to buy shutters for my home. I wanted to buy locally to help local biz owners. A local biz with a small storefront is who I chose. Owner came to my home and measured all the windows. I experienced same thing - paid down payment then remainder. Kept getting the run around (manufacturer has your order in the queue but they have delay due to materials etc etc). This went on for months. Then his storefront closed down. I started to do my homework and realized he took my money and never placed the order. And I met others in area including a few elderly widows who had done same thing to. That's when I explained to him I was an attorney. And that I had done a little background checking and realized he had changed biz names a few times and I had info that he was taking people's money with no intention of delivering. And I sensed his wife didn't know what he was up to. I helped him understand how it was going to play out. I explained some criminal law consequences as well as what civil suit I would bring, and that there was a class of people who I would get to join my efforts. I painted a picture of civil judgements and criminal prosecution (felony based on dollar amount; wire fraud based on how transactions occurred) and that he was about to be on a path to lose everything including his family. He copped clean and explained he was in dire straights and was taking the money hoping he could get his biz back on track blah blah blah. This was a guy who was running what amounted to a criminal enterprise and didn't even appreciate that fact.

I knew based on the some of the research I had done that he probably didn't have my money any longer.

So he was sufficiently worried about indictment and jail time he went on a payment plan with me. Every month or so he would make a payment. I think I recuperated half of the $20k I had given him. I went to Home Depot and ordered my shutters. My advice is to document and research. And be aware people like this spend 24/7 learning to lie and wiggle out of any accountability. So a firm grip and stance is required. And ultimately getting an attorney may be necessary. And you may have to follow the chain of handoffs to find someone with dirty hands who has the dough to pay you back. And I hate to say this but if a manufacturer was negligent in choosing / authorizing a dealer you may have recourse there.


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I would stay away from Audiogon as they dont vet their sellers and many , many have sham ratings, because of i have had issues over their in the past and anyway best to only purchase with CC or Paypal , never check or MO, this is the only way to protect your purchases. Recently i mostly sell and or do purchases thru Ebay, never had an issue with them that was not easily resolved .
 
I don't think this has a lot to do with Audiogon. This is a dealer, who, allegedly took advantage of people.


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It is heartbreaking to read stories like this. I would have panicked before this customer did. I have had good luck by contacting the state's attorney General and requesting their assistance. Sure hope he gets his money back.
 
Mike said:
I don't think this has a lot to do with Audiogon. This is a dealer, who, allegedly took advantage of people.


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Mike, to his credit, smelled a rat early on when this dealer was trolling for customers on this site and either/or took down his posts or warned this dealer about contacting users on this site with "super sensational deals".

Thanks for being proactive Mike, before Coda did any damage to anyone here.
 
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Odyssey said:
Mike, to his credit, smell a rat early on when this dealer was trolling for customers on this site and either/or took down his posts or warned this dealer about contacting users on this site with "super sensational deals".

Thanks for being proactive Mike, before Coda did any damage to anyone here.
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Thanks LeRoy. You and I both know a lot more background on this guy.
 
I think the vast majority of sellers on Audiogon are sincere and honest. I have purchased and sold numerous items there and have always had a positive experience. It only takes a couple of "rotten apples" to spoil the whole batch. But as has been previously suggested, do your due diligence, check feedback, do online searches etc. Then pay with Paypal preferably or with a credit card, and insure the shipment.
I would hope that Audiogon would investigate such claims and ban those that are found to be in the wrong.
The difficulty in collecting is exacerbated due to crossing state lines and is next to impossible without the help of Paypal or C.C.'s.
I wish the poor chap the best.
 
Shady outfit, clearly and glad he's been outed. But who wires 30-50k without checking on being an authorized dealer?
 
I've been fortunate enough to have had good experiences on Audiogon both bying and selling. However, it was very concerning the fraudster was able to post positive feedback for himself. So Audiogon would seem not to be able to police their site. So if you can't trust the feedback or other research.....

Another reason I don't use or trust BBB any more. I had a conflict with one of the last remaining big box stores who sold me an appliance plus extended warranty but when the appliance was a lemon I was left high & dry. This store had an A+ rating with BBB but clearly other websites were full of complaints. And when I filed a complaint with the BBB the corporate manager who handled it basically told me to take a hike. Luckily the manufacturer gave me a refund. So I no longer step foot in a store that rhymes with West Guy.

All of this to say the entire situation is very unfortunate but even when we do our due diligence in researching it's not always reliable.

It's hard to say what a manufacturer's resources are or priorities, however, you'd think they'd occasionally browse the internet, especially sites known for selling, to see who is offering their product and compare that to an authorized dealer list.

Definitely hope justice prevails in this situation. And, thanks for sharing.
 
kiwi_1282001 said:
Yes, and I further understand that Raidho have stepped in to offer a solution for John M [JGM on Audiogon] as well. As we've come to expect from Raidho their customer service is the stuff of legends.
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It's true. Lars & Michael really stepped up to the plate on this one. :congrats:
 
There are crooks and dishonest people in all sorts of business, audio is not exempted from people looking to make a dishonest buck. I'm glad the manufacturer took the high road and stepped up and did what was right, bravo.
 
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