A sad tail of an N gauge modeler gone bad.
On the 7th March Damien Johnson (his Ebay name) offered to make ten handmade models of a Dukedog and he marketed them through Ebay. As I recall the castings were also available through Shapeways.
He duly took my money and nine others for the loco and in my case the cost of an additional DCC decoder. Several months and emails passed and he seemed to make progress.
Now he has gone silent, after a point the buyers can get refunds from eBay or PayPal.
Can anyone help me identify the rogue modeler as my solicitor would like a word with him.
Here is the listing photo
[smg id=29871 type=full align=center caption="Professionally Built and painted GWR 3200 Class Dukedog 2mm or N Gauge"]
His website hasn't been updated since 2013 by the look of it.
After some detective work I have found out his home address. Do you want it, or have you got it?
Good news it seems there may be life, and I have had a PM from another forum member who has had recent contact and believes all is well, if somewhat at a snails pace.
It would be good if that is the case as I am really looking forward to the model, but Damien if you are reading this "regular updates please"
nice to see the forum working.
Tank, can you PM me the contact information, thanks
David
How long is it since you heard from him?
Four months, but another member had contact in August.
Good luck with this, buddy. If it's any consolation, I'm currently trying to retrieve A$960 from a shonky hotel in Tasmania!
But it's good that you are airing it here on the forum. We do try to assist our members. :thumbsup:
George
Is this the same person?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/twommlocomotives2010 (http://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/twommlocomotives2010)
And the same item?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Professionally-Built-and-Painted-GWR-3200-Class-Dukedog-2mm-or-N-Gauge-/371283732255 (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Professionally-Built-and-Painted-GWR-3200-Class-Dukedog-2mm-or-N-Gauge-/371283732255)
Perhaps just as well to clear up any confusion between this seller and "Damien Johnson" if they're different, or if they're the same person, let other modellers know about it.
Cheers, NeMo
Yes that's the model.
so why has he changed his Ebay name?
This is the same person and model. The model looked very good on the photos and descriptions and so I too thought I would indulge. Unfortunately I have not heard any more from Damien Johnson (who uses a twomm models e-mail address) since July and I have never even seen photos of any progress being made.
I have e-mailed again today to ask for a progress update.
Kevin
I'm pleased to say I have been in contact with Damien this afternoon and he assures me all will be delivered, but it may take a bit more time.
He has had a few personal complications and was also a bit overwhelmed by the demand for the models.
anyway a good result. :NGF:
David
Great news. :)
:thankyousign: Well done David
Well done Damien for not suing David for libel/slander :D
Best regards,
Joe
Joe, now that clearly is liablus he took our money over £1,000 between us and then did not reply to us or tell us what was happening in my case for over four months. Catch my drift.
In your original post you said :
"A sad tail of an N gauge modeler gone bad."
"Can anyone help me identify the rogue modeler as my solicitor would like a word with him."
Do you still stand by these words ?
Best regards,
Joe
As he had not replied to numerous emails and as far as eBay and Paypal's terms of business are concerned the non delivery of an item, and no communication by their member, combined with the non returning of funds is fraud and is to be reported to the police as theft, Yes.
I dont think there is any need to go down this route.
Though changing the title of the thread to state it is being dealt with properly may be a good idea :)
Good idea
Now if you could just knock a few letters out of the title it would fit the board (at least for me) a bit better! :-X
only needs a slight edit :)
I promise to do this when the model arrives, along with a full review and photographs. :D
Years ago I had a similar issue buying a trike.
Paid £2000 deposit, months passed, finally the "builder" declared bankruptcy, small claims eventually got me about £120 back after costs!!!
Caveat Emptor!
Anyone got any further news on this?
Still waiting, although I have had an email a few months ago promising action! :veryangry: :censored: :veryangry:
Think eBay may have suspended his account ??? That's the message I got when looking up the account...
Personally I'd contact eBay....
Hope all gets resolved quickly :thankyousign:
:( The last update that I had was in July which said
QuoteOnly the primer coat has been added so far, due to holidays and weather (heat is not good for painting). I will be aiming to complete this very soon for you and will get some pictures sent as well.
Unfortunately I have heard no more since, despite sending e-mails requesting photos and then later a refund.
The last I had from him was
From: Damien Johnson [mailto:twommlocomotives@me.com]
Sent: 30 September 2015 15:57
To: David Calderwood
Subject: Re: Non delivery of Dukedog with DCC and many other models
David,
I am still building these and it had been a big struggle with demand.
There have also been design issues I'm trying to resolve as I would hate to deliver a poor product.
I have also had to overcome personal issues and redundancy and starting a new job next week 5th October, I shall update you as soon as things are moving on again. And I do hope to complete these very soon.
Best regards
Damien
So he's at best incompetent and disorganised, and at worst a complete scam artist. The whole eBay name change thing is a massive alarm bell for me. If you're genuinely struggling with demand you don't keep selling under a different name so you can't be tracked as easily.
Remember EBay may have forced the name change by closing his original account!
Its my belief that he just took on far more than he could cope with.
Lets see if he can recover the situation, as if he can deliver what he promised its worth while having.
Damian approached several experienced loco builders in the 2mm scale Association, myself included, a number of years ago when he first announced he was going to start producing kits. We all advised him on the best way to go about it, essentially using the techniques developed within the Association over the last fifty years. He went on to ignore most of the advice given and produce a couple of un-buildable kits. This was a great shame as the range of kite initially promised, including a number of MR prototypes looked very interesting.
I suspect he went on to offer ready built locos as nobody was buying/ able to build his kits. I think he is now finding out why hence the problems and delays.
I don't think he is dishonest but there are certainly problems. I build locos professionally and have been asked a couple of times if I would build one of his kits - I've always said no.
Jerry
Quote from: Snowwolflair on December 12, 2015, 10:16:54 AM
Remember EBay may have forced the name change by closing his original account!
Its my belief that he just took on far more than he could cope with.
Lets see if he can recover the situation, as if he can deliver what he promised its worth while having.
eBay don't randomly close accounts down (and his current one is no longer active, suggesting he/they have deleted 2 accounts), no smoke without fire and that.
Personally I'm sharpening my pitchfork and readying my torch.
I'd also be looking at going via small claims right now were that me. He's had months to remedy the situation. An email saying "I'm starting a new job on the 5th October" is absurd, 3 months on and no communication whatsoever.
One likes to think the best of people, particularly with a common interest and that, and this reminds me of a very similar situation on a cycling forum I frequent, but when do you stop with the "giving him a chance"?
The small claims court. I would advise that you speak to someone at the citizens advice centre beforehand.
We took a plumber through the small claims court as he had produced a bad job. We had paid him with a cheque and it was only after he had left that closer inspection revealed the crap job he had done. I stopped the cheque in a bid to get him back, after a phone call to him proved fruitless. According to the "Judge" a cheque is a promise to pay, and this seemed to have a higher significance with the Judge than the rubbish job he had done with the materials WE had purchased! A plethora of photographic evidence of his shoddy work had little significance.
Another thing that surprised me was that you do not swear on the Bible to tell the truth before giving your side of the story. The plumber told many un-truths that had us open mouthed. The Judge for her part seemed more concerned with reaching a judgement that saw neither party financially disadvantaged over the other. She said as much in her summing up, having been glued to her calculator. Of course all judges will have a different take on situations before them, but we were hugely unimpressed with the small claims court. As a tradesman myself I feel it gave him the green light to carry on turning out rubbish jobs
I only tell this story so that you are not under the impression that as an aggrieved party it will automatically be judged in your favour. The best one was if we appealed against her judgement...it would be heard by the very same judge!!! Whatever course of action you may take, I hope it all ends well for you and you are not left out of pocket.
I see that others here have had problems with Damien Johnson of Twommlocomotives. Well over a year ago he made two excellent diesel kits for me. They were a long time coming, but after several promptings they finally arrived and I was very pleased with them, although I have never received the donor bodies. I then ordered a Dukedog, paying in 3 instalments via Paypal. He emailed me photos of his kit, which looked amazing. My last payment was on February 20 2015. I had one or two more emails claiming pressure of work etc. but no response for several months now. I intend to seek legal advice. Unfortunately I cannot open a dispute on Paypal as it is over 180 days and as the payments were not actually for goods or services , fall outside their dispute terms. So, I was just wondering if anyone else has had any further contact with Damien since the last post on this thread. I have just tried phoning but got an answering service. I have left a message but am not holding my breath!
Trev Collins
Did you use a credit card through Paypal? If so, you should be covered by them. If it was Paypal funds, or Debit Card then I don't think you would be.
Maybe someone else has heard from him?
Good point re credit card, but no, it would have been a debit card. Still worth checking thought as my account covers various things
Quote from: Trev Collins on January 27, 2016, 08:00:40 AM
Good point re credit card, but no, it would have been a debit card. Still worth checking thought as my account covers various things
I remember reading on www.moneysavingexpert.com (http://www.moneysavingexpert.com) a while back that, whilst credit card payments are covered by something called 'Section 75', debit cards are not. However, in certain circumstances, you can use what is called 'Charge back' - I think it depends on the Bank who issued the debit card, but definitely worth checking out. As an aside, the moneysavingexpert website is well worth a visit. As it is UK based, a lot does not affect me in Ireland, but lots of good advice. :thumbsup:. David.
A look at the website shows it hasn't been updated for over three years,
I think alarm bells should be ringing.
Quote from: dannyboy on January 27, 2016, 10:15:20 AM
Quote from: Trev Collins on January 27, 2016, 08:00:40 AM
Good point re credit card, but no, it would have been a debit card. Still worth checking thought as my account covers various things
I remember reading on www.moneysavingexpert.com (http://www.moneysavingexpert.com) a while back that, whilst credit card payments are covered by something called 'Section 75', debit cards are not. However, in certain circumstances, you can use what is called 'Charge back' - I think it depends on the Bank who issued the debit card, but definitely worth checking out. As an aside, the moneysavingexpert website is well worth a visit. As it is UK based, a lot does not affect me in Ireland, but lots of good advice. :thumbsup:. David.
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/PayPal-Section75 (http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/PayPal-Section75)
Some further advice here regarding PayPal and credit cards. Hope this helps.
I also had a problem with Damien Johnson. He was supposed to build me a 2mm finescale loco from a kit I provided. The order was place in September 2014 for delivery within six months maximum. Over the next 21 months I sent numerous emails to him, most without reply, and then I managed to track him down at work via Linkd so I could phone him at work. I think this embarrassed him into some action. Eventually I asked for my kit back in whatever state it was. It finally arrived in June this year, partially completed. I couldn't be bothered asking for a refund of my payments as the hassle wouldn't be worth it. I suppose I'm lucky to have got back what I did. I wonder how many other people he has let down. I know of one person in Australia.
Nig H
The Saga continues for me, I ordered and paid in full for two locos from Damien, one in January 2014, the other, his dukedog in March 2015, to date neither have made an appearance, I am down by about £700, my own fault to some degree for paying upfront, however, the lack of communications is disappointing. I doubt I will ever see any results.
What about the small claims court? The threat of bailiffs might make him cough up ?
https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money/overview (https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money/overview)
NickR