Nvillacci RIPPED ME OFF!!!!!:mad:

[India]

I bought a canopy, lip stand, reflector and power head from NICHOLAS VILLACCI (Irving, Texas)...the canopy shown in the picture was homemade, but clean...the canopy he sent me was in pieces that were unfinished, stained, cracked, broken, had messy holes where equipment had been removed, screw tips sticking out...in short, unusable. There was no lip stand. The 'power head' was an old box filter. The reflector was dirty and bent. He overcharged me for shipping.
I gave him the benefit of the doubt, and patiently wrote him emails, so that we could work out a solution...he will not respond.

STAY AWAY FROM THIS GUY...HE HAS ASKED AND RECEIVED FAVORS FROM OTHER REEFERS...HE REPAYS THE HOBBY BY RIPPING OFF ANOTHER...BAD NEWS AND A BUMMER FOR ME!!

India

[dgasmd]

Since this was shipped, you should inform this guy that mail order fraud and mail fraud is a federal offense taken very seriously in court and very often punished by an inforcible $10,000 fine and up to 10 years in jail.

[India]

I've posted a complaint with PayPal, and am contesting charges thru my credit card company...I understand that when the Visa has to investigate a fraudulent claim, it goes on the perpetrator's credit report...Nicholas, you can still make all this stop...just email me, or send a PayPal refund - I'll even pay the shipping!

India

[nvillacci]

first off, stop the caps.
second, I dont think I in anyway ripped you off.
#1 you are the one who said you would take the PH, in the PM. I never not once said I was selling a Powerhead, lok in the post. I too have a friend who knows what a had for sale. Just look n the post, nowhere did I say powerhead. In your PM you said you wanted the penguin PH, i took that as the powerfilter, mainly because nowhere did I say powerhead anywhere.
#2 I will not be accountable for your mistake. I completely described to you the canopy, measurements, everything. It is not a piece of junk. It is a little dusty perhapes, and some dried salt but come on you payed little for it. It is DIY, but it is also made just like the one in the picture. If the staining is not to your liking Im sorry. It fits on a 10 gallon like I said, it will take any light that will fit on a ten gallon, I had 2x36 watt PCs in there, and also a 250 MH. If it doesnt fit your standards I am sorry, but I will not pay your money back, becuase you think the canopy is useless.... It was $20, I even gave you a free reflector, a free 2 inch fan, what more do you want?
It is used.

The Reflector was a freebie I GAVE you, what do you expect?? It was dirty because I havent used it forever. Give me a break.

the canpy was in pieces because I couldnt fit it in the box, all you had to do was screw it back together! The screws may have poked out a little, but it was INSIDE the canopy where you cant see, not to mention they stuck out 1/32th of an inch at the most!!

Cracked??? What crack, I never saw a crack anywhere. I think there may have been a HAIRLINE flaw in the flipup door, but a crack, please.

And it was not unusable, pfft. If anything you had to install the lights yourself, sorry if your not equiped to do that. And it was supposed to be stained, its stained wood, all you had to do was take some water and a paper towel and wipe it off.

India, you accuse me of ripping you off, I dont think so, I think you didnt shop well, and are a bit miffed that you missed out on the other deal after you already payed me and I shipped.
Do not spam the rest of reefcentral, Im sure everyone else would request the same, Post feedback if you want, but I will also explain myself too.

I have friends on here who can testify that the canopy was fine looking and not "in pieces". If it was "truly" busted, fine, it was insured, Im sure the PO will have no problem if you kept the box.

Stop Spamming all my friends and there threads.

[India]

Why does this have to go across the boards?
Why don't you just deal with me, resolve it, and I will delete or modify feed back.
It's very frustrating to keep writing some one who will not respond...yes I was frustrated.

And yes, the canopy is broken...The one of the hinge screws completely cracked the wood, so that if removed, it will be broken...you knew I needed the hood for PCs and would be using it without the extention - it will work for MH and a 4" fan...it is like swiss cheese at it's original height with only the 2" fan...I was not insulting yesterday, and by today, feeling ignored, ripped off, and seeing you on the boards, but not responding to me, I was very upset.
If you believe the breakage happened in shipping, and the parcel was insured, why don't you help me out? I'd like for both of us to come out of this whole, but I can't use a HOT filter, or the canopy, and I did not receive the base...and I paid for the reflector - there was no freeby.

If your email is down, I will be happy to call you...if you care about resolving this, I will be happy to reverse my complaints.

[nvillacci]

I do have a powerhead, that was NOT listed. If you care for that, fine. I d think that may have been a mixup(you siad penguin PH, I thought PF). On the rest, I cant refund the money, it was used and being a senior in college I dont have the funds laying around. Im sorry I cant refund you the money, If the hood was busted, I can send you the insurance information.

[Eriksmack]

Theres no need to drag someones name through the mud for no reason at all but your not happy with the purchase you made.
Used means Used buddy
Erik

[India]

I wasn't proposing that you should pay it all back and take it as a loss..
If you want to refund the full amount, I'll pay to ship everything back to you...

I don't feel comfortable handling the USPS Insurance because to me, it is obvious that the damage was done while screwing on the extention flap...I can't show them the item and tell them it was their fault...

The shipping is a big nut relative to value...If you can understand that with fan and extentions removed, the piece has too many holes and breaks to be useful, I'll get rid of it and offer you $5. for the fan...I paid $5. for the reflector, and $5. for the little filter. That leaves $31.50 for the canopy and shipping...would you be willing to give me a PayPal refund for $15., and send me the powerhead? I can return the filter, if you'd like...I understand that you are a student...I am on a very tight budget too - that's how we got into this in the first place!!
.India

[India]

Per PayPal policy, I am requesting that you mail me the lip stand and Powerhead, which were included in the purchase per emails.
Thank you,
India Sandek

[India]

Just for follow-up:

The fan I was sold is broken - after cutting it into a canopy, and wiring it, it does not work at all.

After admitting I bought the powerhead, not the filter, the seller still never mailed it.

The Lip Stand, which I purchased, still has not been sent.

All requests for resolution were ignored (e-mail, phone, RC)

SO...the canopy pieces are in the trash, and the only usable item I received for $46. is a small reflector...

Buyers Beware!

[yikan]

India. thank you for the post.

Is there any way for paypal to resolve this situation? what protects a buyer if the seller is sending a bad unit or simply being dishonest?

[India]

PayPal's position is largely one of negotiation, and as long as an item has been sent, they will not get into any qualitative issues...in my case, two of the items promised had not been included, but PayPal had already closed the case based on the fact that a delivery was made...
Most of the sellers I've dealt with on RC or EBay have guaranteed satisfaction, and been a pleasure to know...to protect yourself against the occasional bad apple I've learned to: get photos of everything you are purchasing, and/or spell out clear make/model#/condition info in an email that follows a basic contract format...even then, if you are buying used, it's tough to protect yourself from someone that really has no sense of integrity or fairness. Thankfully, characters like nvillacci are few and far between...In general, people seem to "Pay It Forward" and the few loses in life are more than compensated for by good people.
Good Luck!
India