- Report: #491073
Complaint Review: Universal Wholesale Distribution Inc. - Ottawa Ontario
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Author Not Confirmed
Why?
Universal Wholesale Distribution Inc.
www.universalwd.com 716 Industrial Ave. Suite 5070 Ottawa, K1G OY9 Ontario, Canada
Phone:
1877967573
Web:
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Universal Wholesale Distribution Inc. Internet Dropshipping Fraud Scam perpetrated by scammer posing as a company: "Universal Wholesale Distribution Inc." Ottawa, Ontario Canada
I was looking throught my local newspaper and saw an ad for a dropshipping position. I decided to pursue this position and called the company. They seemed like they were a legitimate and professional company so I accepted a position with them to dropship(advertise and price the item for sale-google dropship for explanation) their products on ebay. Well, I completed their contract and submitted my personal information to be "employed" with their company. The contact that was assigned to me was "Barry Watson"--I googled and looked through other sources and couldn't find a "Barry Watson" anywhere! Anyway, he emailed me some item information to put on ebay to sell.
I sold the item and the customer that purchased the item on ebay sent me a payment via pay pal. Well, "Barry Watson" instructed me to pay for the item and send it to a "courier" at one of the warehouses via Western Union!! Of course, I was looking at the situation through rose colored glasses and decided to go ahead and send the payment to the "courier". After I sent the payment to the "courier" via Western Union, "Barry Watson" would email me a dropshipping contract that detailed where the item would be shipped, the ebay information, and the fed ex tracking number. I went through this procedure for five high priced items--totalling over $9000 including the pay pal and ebay fees that I paid myself. Well, my customers began complaining that they were getting their items.
I contacted "Barry Watson" and he said that the fed ex tracking numbers were pre-shipping numbers and would only take effect when they are shipped. I called fed ex and confirmed this and gave "Barry Watson" the benefit of the doubt. About a week went by and none of my customers received their items. I contacted "Barry Watson" again and he said that there must be some sort of mix up in the warehouse. I findly emailed him and told him that I was going to take legal action if he didn't return my money or send the items to my customers. After that email, he hasn't emailed back and when I call I only get his message system. I contacted and filed numerous reports with Phone busters out of Canada, the Alabama Attorney General's Office, Macon, Mississippi Police Department, www.ic3.com, BBB of Alabama, and let the FBI know of the situation. I have retained a lawyer to go after these scammers. He is currently working on the case and thinks it is possible to pursue a class action lawsuit against these thieves.
Please don't contact these people or do business with anyone that insists on send them money via Western Union. I paid with a debit card so I will claim fraud through my bank and will get my money back (but not the pay pal and ebay fees). If you've been scammed by this person(s), please let us know and toghether we can bring this person(s) to justice and make them pay for what they have done. The internet is a place that levels the playing field and grants a multitude of opportunity for people looking for it. This does nothing but perpetuates skepticism and doubt and makes people mistrusting of others--even if their totally legit. It's really sad that these people claim to be so legit and trustworthy but really are just common criminals that would take peoples' money without blinking an eye. Together, we can stop this and make the internet a lot better for everyone.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Obamasux
omaha,Nebraska,
USA
NEW NAME FOR UNIVERSAL WHOLESALE IS NOW JB MILLS
#2General Comment
Tue, October 27, 2009
I had a nearly identical experience but the name of the company is J.B. MILLS Wholesale distributors. They too used an internet job site ad to get me sucked into the scam. Everything else described in this other persons experience with "BARRY WATSON" is identical to my experience with a "RON BAXTER" at J.B. MILLS.
The western union money transfer had me worried from the beginning but I too wanted to believe this was true. JB MILLS (most likely phony) is based in Ottawa Ontario Canada (so they say). The more I investigated this scam, the more it started to stink to high heaven.
Other than the western union money transfer, once I listed the items on ebay that they gave me to sell, I got an extraordinarily high number of questions and bids from Canadians. I rarely ever get much action on my ebay listings from Canada but these auctions really had lots of Canadian interest. That makes me suspect some serious shill bidding is going on to drive up the price and hence, the profit for the scammers.
Another "FUN FACT" I learned about J.B. Mills was when I looked up their address on google earth, it pointed to an address smack dab in the middle of a residential neighborhood! When I asked "RON BAXTER" about this, he could only say that google earth was wrong and that he would try to get that corrected. Sorry dude, I've never known google earth to be THAT WRONG on an address!! I also found it interesting that the way the answering machine at J.B. MILLS was answered was almost IDENTICAL to how UNIVERSAL WHOLESALERS answered their phones. Oh sure, the voice was different, but the wording was very close overall and IDENTICAL in some places!! There is definitely a connection between these companies. There is one other dead giveaway in connecting these companies that I won't reveal here. Suffice it to say that it is the nail in the coffin proving the connection!
Fortunately, I pulled my auctions before having to sell the items to the so-called high bidders and was only out my ebay listing fees. That is a small price for such a valuable lesson. The only thing in the end that concerned me was the fact that to become an "EMPLOYEE" of J.B. MILLS, I sent a photocopy of my drivers license to them. Yeah, I know, not too bright. So, I immediately signed up for LIFELOCK to protect my identity. I had thought signing up for a service like that was a good idea considering how much internet exposure I have so this simply convinced me that now was the time to be proactive against identity theft.
Don't be sucked in by J.B. MILLS WHOLESALE DISTRIBUTION! They are definitely NOT LEGIT!
