Is "new" VCA finally going to deal with bad supporting vendors?

PeterMJ

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With majority of "VCA supporting vendors" being great, both ethical and honest, will the real bad apples be finally dealt with? Or will the protection of those vendors who give the Viper community bad reputation continue? The case in point is Steven Prescott, aka Vipair. With so many PROVEN allegations against him, why is he continuing to be a VCA vendor? If VCA indeed turned a new leaf, this person should be dealt with swiftly. Seeing how JonB was banned for such a long time, even though he never wronged any Viper enthusiasts financially, while bad apples continue enjoying VCA support is quite disheartening. Have things changed in this aspect or is it just a shell game?
 

Ricketts

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It sadly has always seemed on all automotive forums that vendors are untouchable. They wrong folks and no one can talk about it, etc.
 
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PeterMJ

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It sadly has always seemed on all automotive forums that vendors are untouchable. They wrong folks and no one can talk about it, etc.
Sadly, agreed, seems like a one way street. But who knows, maybe things will change here?:D
 

Mopar Steve

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Absolutely incorrect. That has not been the case. Look at what happened recently to a vendor that mistreated a customer, then look further back to HennesseyY.
 

purplesnake

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With majority of "VCA supporting vendors" being great, both ethical and honest, will the real bad apples be finally dealt with? Or will the protection of those vendors who give the Viper community bad reputation continue? The case in point is Steven Prescott, aka Vipair. With so many PROVEN allegations against him, why is he continuing to be a VCA vendor? If VCA indeed turned a new leaf, this person should be dealt with swiftly. Seeing how JonB was banned for such a long time, even though he never wronged any Viper enthusiasts financially, while bad apples continue enjoying VCA support is quite disheartening. Have things changed in this aspect or is it just a shell game?

I absolutely agreed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Great experiences with JonB. Totally screwed by Steve over a 6 month period of lies. Finally had to turn VISA on him. (Thank God I didn't write a check!) I hope somebody that is in charge of fixing things, knows *** is going on here!!!!!:mad:
 
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PeterMJ

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Absolutely incorrect. That has not been the case. Look at what happened recently to a vendor that mistreated a customer, then look further back to HennesseyY.
Which vendor would that be? The vendor review section is no help due to its rules and complex structure. When I look, I see a great number of threads closed by VCA "for further investigation and resolution", with absolutely no follow up. Am I missing a section on this forum where the resolutions are published?

Maybe there should be a separate section that contains the bad dealings and their outcomes, instead of lumping them in vendor review subsections, especially since there is no vendor RATING system on this forum.

BTW, I wrote to VCA regarding Prescott, I never heard back at all. The money I have to spend on legal costs I could have spent to join VCA. I suggest you look at thread in the vendor section, regarding my predicament, especially the last post showing the photo.
 
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PeterMJ

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I absolutely agreed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Great experiences with JonB. Totally screwed by Steve over a 6 month period of lies. Finally had to turn VISA on him. (Thank God I didn't write a check!) I hope somebody that is in charge of fixing things, knows *** is going on here!!!!!:mad:
It would be good to see your resolution documented somewhere for everyone to see. I have seen the so called "strike" system that supposed to exist in this place, however, assuming that VCA lives by its own words, you cannot see it anywhere, certainly not a demonstration of transparency at all.

This is just my opinion but VCA accredited vendor title should be earned by the vendor, not just a financial transaction.
 
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Brian GTS

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Absolutely incorrect. That has not been the case. Look at what happened recently to a vendor that mistreated a customer, then look further back to HennesseyY.

WHAATTT?? Vipair must be writing a big check to the VCA because he has had many questionable dealings throughout the past couple years. I think he is like on his 9th life now? I love his ideas and products, but his reputation for customer service is horrible. Thought about ordering a hood from him a while back, but I just couldn't due to all the bad rap.
 

purplesnake

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It would be good to see your resolution documented somewhere for everyone to see. I have seen the so called "strike" system that supposed to exist in this place, however, assuming that VCA lives by its own words, you cannot see it anywhere, certainly not a demonstration of transparency at all.

This is just my opinion but VCA accredited vendor title should be earned by the vendor, not just a financial transaction.

I certainly don't have a history of "bad-mouthing" vendors here. Visa has ALL the documentation, and I certainly feel no obligation to defend my position on this forum. I am only responding to others for the benefit of members. If I have been inaccurate in any statement I have made, sue me...
 
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PeterMJ

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I certainly don't have a history of "bad-mouthing" vendors here. Visa has ALL the documentation, and I certainly feel no obligation to defend my position on this forum. I am only responding to others for the benefit of members. If I have been inaccurate in any statement I have made, sue me...
I think you misunderstood me, I never implied you were bad mouthing anyone, just that you had to resort to external means to have your issues resolved, without being on the record here. When someone does not see the outcome, they can easily assume the vendor resolved the issues which is not the case at all here. This is why it would be important to have a section that documents these things, without VCA locking it up. Only the customer should have the ability to close these cases around here.
 

purplesnake

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I think you misunderstood me, I never implied you were bad mouthing anyone, just that you had to resort to external means to have your issues resolved, without being on the record here. When someone does not see the outcome, they can easily assume the vendor resolved the issues which is not the case at all here. This is why it would be important to have a section that documents these things, without VCA locking it up. Only the customer should have the ability to close these cases around here.

Fair enough.
 

MoparMap

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I didn't think that vendors necessarily got any benefit from the VCA aside from advertising space. I'd agree that if there are constant problems with particular vendors that it would make sense to more or less say "thanks but no thanks" if they want to pay to advertise here though.
 
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PeterMJ

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I didn't think that vendors necessarily got any benefit from the VCA aside from advertising space. I'd agree that if there are constant problems with particular vendors that it would make sense to more or less say "thanks but no thanks" if they want to pay to advertise here though.
I would have to disagree. Using Vipair as example again, this guy has 7 negative feedbacks since August 2012, out of these, 4 were locked by VCA Staff, without any resolution posted. The total feedback from paid customers for that period is 12. When VCA locks up so many bad transaction feedbacks and no follow up is posted, this leads to only one conclusion, not a pretty one. Thus, I am curious if things have changed now or not?
 

ViperJohn

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PeterMJ...

Been off-line for a few days and just saw your post. Not sure what I can do, but if you could please PM contact information, I'll be glad to try and help or at minimum find out what can be done to rectify. Thanks.
 

Allan

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I use Partsrack, Roe Racing, and Snake Oyl.

Everybody seems to have good things to say about all of them. (business/service-wise)

It only would be common sense to avoid the vendors that everyone complains about. So my question is, how are these 'less than ethical' vendors staying in business here with so much negative critique, who ignores the 'buyer beware posts' and sends them money anyway - and then is surprised when everything goes sour?
That is like going to a restaurant that serves bad food after everybody tells you not to eat there, and then being surprised that the food *****.

:dunno:
 
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PeterMJ

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Have you seen this thread? http://forums.viperclub.org/threads/663473-Someone-please-make-this-for-2006-2010

This is how it happens, at least how it happened to me. I looked at the bad reviews, four were locked, giving an illusion of being resolved. The thread that did me in, is still going strong and there are people seriously interested in the vaporware, regardless of issues.


I use Partsrack, Roe Racing, and Snake Oyl.

Everybody seems to have good things to say about all of them. (business/service-wise)

It only would be common sense to avoid the vendors that everyone complains about. So my question is, how are these 'less than ethical' vendors staying in business here with so much negative critique, who ignores the 'buyer beware posts' and sends them money anyway - and then is surprised when everything goes sour?
That is like going to a restaurant that serves bad food after everybody tells you not to eat there, and then being surprised that the food *****.

:dunno:
 

Jog

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I use Partsrack, Roe Racing, and Snake Oyl.

Everybody seems to have good things to say about all of them. (business/service-wise)

It only would be common sense to avoid the vendors that everyone complains about. So my question is, how are these 'less than ethical' vendors staying in business here with so much negative critique, who ignores the 'buyer beware posts' and sends them money anyway - and then is surprised when everything goes sour?
That is like going to a restaurant that serves bad food after everybody tells you not to eat there, and then being surprised that the food *****.

:dunno:


I understand what you're saying..But I'm going to have to disagree with you..


#1- There's no " Buyer Beware " section listed as a topic on any of the forums. If this forum does in fact exist it's not easily located or accessible...

#2- if the VCA truly cares about it's members, they should've taken a more active role in dealing with the complaints from Vipair. If the vendor is authorized by the VCA to conduct dealings on the site, but has numerous complaints of bad customer service. The authorizing authority ( The VCA ) has a responsibility to investigate the matter and rectify the situation. It should not be the responsibility of the members to do this. The VCA is the authorizing authority...It's their job to handle the situation and inform members of the outcome. In order to keep the good faith relations with it's paying members..
 

denniskgb

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Its a shame i have seen so many threads regarding this issue, pertaining to Steve.....and the problems continue...its like a used car dealer with bad reputation that still sells cars despite the fact that his cars are lemons and customer service is not in his vocabulary. Do your research before you committ, especially if you are doing business over the phone. But VCA really should do something about it unless they are "in bed with him" somehow. Oh i know we have become a socialist country thanks to Obama and rules of true capitalist society do not apply any more.....customer service who cares, comrades, just shut the F**** up and take your number, you' ll get your loaf of bread wet or dry who gives a S***.
 

ACRucrazy

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It would be nice if there was a rating system readily available for supporting vendors. Kind of like eBay.
 

intense5.5

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It would be nice if there was a rating system readily available for supporting vendors. Kind of like eBay.
Funny you should say that, just check out his ebay seller site (seller name: vipair). Somehow, suprisingly, his feedback rating is 100% on ebay - which is confusing because if you review the feedbacks themselves, there's quite a few negs about his products and poor customer service. As far as a rating system here, he has apparently been given an unlimited supply of "get out of jail free" cards in exchange for his $48,000 gift to the vca in their time of need. Here comes my ban, bye everyone.
 

labtec

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eBay has not allowed negative feedback for some time now so people are putting it as positive and then telling the real story in the text. I have only sold a few things on eBay and have gotten ripped off by the buyer more than once. Sold a car on eBay for $4K, buyer won auction and then never contacted me. Tried to resolve through eBay and they would not do anything except relist the car and charge me more money. They also would not ban the buyer who stiffed me.
 

GRANGER73

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It's my understanding that on eBay the Seller cannot leave negative feedback for a Buyer. However a Buyer can leave negative feedback for a seller. If you search feedback on eBay you will see that those are the present feedback boundaries.

From eBay:
Buyers can leave a positive, negative, or neutral rating and a short comment for sellers. Sellers can leave a positive rating and a short comment for buyers. These ratings are used to determine Feedback scores. Visit our Feedback Forum for more details.
 
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PeterMJ

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It's my understanding that on eBay the Seller cannot leave negative feedback for a Buyer. However a Buyer can leave negative feedback for a seller. If you search feedback on eBay you will see that those are the present feedback boundaries.

From eBay:
Buyers can leave a positive, negative, or neutral rating and a short comment for sellers. Sellers can leave a positive rating and a short comment for buyers. These ratings are used to determine Feedback scores. Visit our Feedback Forum for more details.

Correct, including buyer being able to withdraw the negative feedback upon resolving issues with the seller. I do not see any incentive for dishonest sellers here to resolve issues at all. In fact, it seems the lack of accountability may encourage such behavior.
 

KNG SNKE

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Funny you should say that, just check out his ebay seller site (seller name: vipair). Somehow, suprisingly, his feedback rating is 100% on ebay - which is confusing because if you review the feedbacks themselves, there's quite a few negs about his products and poor customer service. As far as a rating system here, he has apparently been given an unlimited supply of "get out of jail free" cards in exchange for his $48,000 gift to the vca in their time of need. Here comes my ban, bye everyone.

I can tell you this. His eBay account was not ALWAYS positive feedback. I don't know what he did to get it changed but I saw it a while back and it went from crappy to 100%. I didnt think you were able to have feedback changed but he DEFINITELY did. Also I posted this comment earlier but I don't see it here. I have nothing personal against the guy, its purely professional. Professionally he does not deliver regardless of his issues that don't allow him to. It really aggravated me when he became a site sponsor with a track history approaching Hennessey.
 
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PeterMJ

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I can tell you this. His eBay account was not ALWAYS positive feedback. I don't know what he did to get it changed but I saw it a while back and it went from crappy to 100%. I didnt think you were able to have feedback changed but he DEFINITELY did. Also I posted this comment earlier but I don't see it here. I have nothing personal against the guy, its purely professional. Professionally he does not deliver regardless of his issues that don't allow him to. It really aggravated me when he became a site sponsor with a track history approaching Hennessey.

Ebay calculates feedback over 12 months, you can still see the negatives, they just do not count toward the score. It is ok not to deliver, it is not ok to take money and not return it when nothing is delivered. Maybe there should be an escrow account system and those with complaints against should be forced to use it? I do not want to single Vipair out but would rather see some safeguards established altogether for everyone not to encourage others to make them think they can get away with this.
 
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PeterMJ

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Where the hell is Steve anyway? This thread's been up for almost a week.
I made it public back in August. The problem with "public" in vendor section is that nobody can see it, it is buried within specific vendor section. There is really no reason for a vendor to respond since nobody can see it anyway. Seems like the system should be changed.
 
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