Customers fighting mad over faulty appliances
People feel scammed by Lomond company
“Buyer beware” is a phrase often thrown around when discussing purchases from online shopping sites such as Kijiji, eBay or Facebook Buy and Sell pages.
A group of southern Albertans is banding together to fight back after they say they were scammed by a Lomond couple selling used appliances and furniture through online swap and buy sites.
Lethbridge resident Kathy Schwarz thought she was getting a pretty good deal on a used white Whirlpool side-by-side refrigerator with an ice maker and water dispenser. She found the ad posted on Kijiji in September, which said the fridge was “in excellent condition, very clean, works perfectly.” Schwarz contacted the lister, Ken Brunet, who runs KnS Appliances out of his home in Lomond.
She paid $400 through e-transfer for the appliance, which Brunet delivered on Sept. 28. When Schwarz plugged it in, she knew right away something was wrong. Although the dial settings were at their coldest, the temperature inside the fridge and the freezer hovered around 10-15C.
The receipt she received indicated there was a 90-day warranty, so she phoned the Brunets on Sunday, Oct. 1. Schwarz says she was hung up on the first time, so she tried again. The second call Schwarz says she spoke with Ken’s wife Sonya who told her she was “crazy” and they wouldn’t honour the warranty.
Schwarz sent an email and requested they refund her money and remove the appliance from her house. The reply she received was not the one she hoped for.
“YOU PURCHASED A USED APPLIANCE, NOT A BRAND NEW ONE, WE ARE NOT THE BUILDERS OF THESE APPLIANCES WE CLEAN AND REPAIR AND RESELL ‘USED APPLIANCES’ NOT BRAND NEW,” the email from Ken reads.
“So you can very well make your complaint and ‘attempt to put us out of business’ like other complainers such as others and take a number and get in line. In this line of business, you can't please them all.”
Schwarz filed a complaint on Oct. 3 with the Better Business Bureau. The following day she also filed a complaint with the provincial consumer investigation unit, which advised they would issue a warning letter.
She sought out the advice of an appliance repair person, who suggested the compressor needs to be replaced at a cost of $600. The BBB said it made several attempts to contact the business owner but were unsuccessful. So the complaint was closed.
After contacting the Lethbridge police, the Vulcan RCMP, the government, the Vulcan Business Development Society and the BBB, Schwarz turned to the media for help. She quickly learned there were others who were in similar circumstances.
Some are still waiting for refunds that may never come. Still others have received appliances that are not “in excellent condition, very clean, works perfectly,” as each Kijiji posted ad claims.
A Lomond resident says she’s fielded numerous complaints about the Brunets, simply because she lives in the same small village. She says their backyard is filled with appliances.
Ashlee Beck of the Vulcan Business Development Society said she’s had “quite a few calls and conversations” regarding this company. She estimates at least eight incidents over the past year. Beck said they’ve been unable to get in contact with the Brunets.
Story after story continues to pour in from individuals who either received faulty appliances or nothing at all.
Gary McCormick placed a deposit of $500 for a sectional couch and mattress last July. He was told he had to e-transfer the funds to hold it as someone else was interested in the couch. McCormick says Ken told him he would pick it up from his warehouse in Calgary. It would then be at Ken’s house for McCormick to pick up on July 28.
That day came and went with no phone call from Ken. Several excuses and months later, McCormick just wanted his money back. He says after some “nasty texts” Ken finally agreed to refund him, but to this date the money has never arrived.
Leanne Scattergood, also of Lethbridge, sent a $250 e-transfer for a washing machine she found through a Kijiji advertisement in July. She says Ken didn’t deliver it when he said he would.
“From that day on I’ve never seen the money. I’ve called him several times, left several text messages, he’d never call back. I finally brought up that I was going to go to the Better Business Bureau and he did call me back. He said he was going to pay me the next time he got money, and that was about two months of ‘yep, I’ll pay you.’”
Scattergood says he seemed like a reasonable person up to the point where he offered to deliver it, then didn’t. She said Ken even sweetened the deal by offering to take her old one away.
“I guess it’s one of those too good to be true stories,” she said.
Scattergood said she’s reported it to the BBB and also Kijiji. She said Kijiji told her they couldn’t do anything without a police action on it. And she says police told the complainants the individual amounts are so small they won’t move ahead until there is at least $5,000 in claims.
“Because we don’t have anything other than the statements that have gone in and it’s not enough for the police to do anything yet, they won’t do anything either,” she said. “So he’s still got ads on Kijiji which I think is ridiculous that he can even post those.”
Since Scattergood is from Lethbridge and the Brunets live in Lomond, police told her to file statements with both the city department and the Vulcan RCMP. It’s all been quite the learning experience for Scattergood.
“It’s buyer beware,” warned Scattergood. “Make sure you know what you’re purchasing and make sure you do it in a legitimate way. E-transfers is definitely not the way to be buying stuff from somebody online because you cannot get that back.”
For one Lethbridge couple, it took extraordinary measures to get their money back. The husband and wife, who don’t want to be named, sent $150 through e-transfer last winter for a washer they claim they never received.
“There were all kinds of problems,” said the husband. “He slipped on the ice as he was loading and broke the hinge on the door... he was waiting for a part, which didn't come. That drug on quite awhile. Then he said he’d bring another one in and that never happened.”
He says they both phoned him multiple times and he often avoided their calls. Finally when the wife became
really upset and said she was going to call the police and report it to Kijiji, “he just blew up, cussing her up and down.”
The couple filed a report with the Lethbridge police, who phoned Ken. But the couple says he promised the police he’d pay them back and didn’t.
The wife also reported it to Kijiji, and “they basically said it’s a buyer beware situation.” So she posted an ad on Kijiji to watch out for them, “but most people looking for something on Kijiji don’t look for that.”
It wasn’t until a family friend took matters into his own hands that the couple got their money back. Their friend paid a visit to the Brunets’ home this summer and demanded the money, which he eventually handed over.
“It was so nice in the end that we did get a little justice,” said the wife, although she says the police would never recommend people do that. The experience hasn’t deterred the couple from purchasing items on Kijiji, although they are a lot more cautious. Most of their experiences have been positive, and they hope to leave the incident behind them.
“We definitely don’t send money ahead, that’s for sure,” he said. “It’s too bad people can take advantage of Kijiji that way. I’m not sure how they would govern that. Pretty much every community has Kijiji listings, so how they would police or control that, I don’t know how they could do that. Unless you had enough complaints, but then all he has to do is go and get a different phone number.”
Kijiji Canada said only two users have contacted them in regard to KnS Appliances. When they receive a complaint, Kijiji reviews the ad to ensure that it complies with Kijiji posting policies.
“Kijiji will then assess the potential for fraud and take action if clear indicators are apparent,” they wrote in a statement, adding that if someone believes that a company has behaved in an inappropriate manner, they should file a formal report with the proper authorities.
“The safety and security of our 16 million monthly users is paramount,” they wrote. “Kijiji commits significant resources toward the detection and prevention of activities that violate policies for posting – this includes industry-leading technology and a dedicated community support team, in addition to help from an active and supportive community of Kijiji users who flag inappropriate postings.”
Shawn Fullerton of Bragg Creek says she was burned by the pair last year when they lived in Redwood Meadows. At the time, she says they went by the last name of Gamble and their company was called Gamble Appliances. Fullerton had bought a mattress from the couple before through the Bragg Creek Buy and Sell Facebook page and she was happy with the purchase.
She says Ken told her he repaired appliances in his garage and that he also sold new appliances through a deal with Sears. Fullerton told him she was looking for an upright freezer and says he told her he could get one if she paid $600 upfront.
“Which was probably a stupid thing to do, but we did,” said Fullerton. “We said we needed it in two weeks and that was in November (2016). He said that wouldn’t be a problem.”
She phoned every week and it still wasn’t there. When the freezer hadn’t arrived by Dec. 22, 2016, Fullerton told him they’d just come and get a refund.
“He got really upset and his wife phoned back and sent a text,” she said. “They were nasty texts.”
Fullerton says she phoned the Cochrane RCMP and they told her they had received several complaints. She also posted a warning on the Bragg Creek Buy and Sell page. Two more women contacted her, she says, one who lost $1,200 and the other lost $400.
“They said they saw them in the middle of the night packing up their stuff and moving out,” said Fullerton. “The RCMP said there wasn’t a whole lot they can do about it. I told the other people to make a claim with them and they did.”
Fullerton doesn’t expect she’ll ever get her money back.
“It’s something to learn too, is just don’t pay upfront,” she said. “On Buy and Sell you think it’s community and they live in the community and you think it will be okay.”
Several of the complainants have met with a lawyer and are filing a group lawsuit against the Brunets. Schwarz encourages any others who have been affected to email the group at appliancestories@gmail.com, especially if they want to join the court action.
The Better Business Bureau said there have been a couple complaints in regard to KnS Appliances.
But KnS Appliances is not an accredited business with the BBB which means they don’t have an obligation to respond to complaints filed through the bureau.
“The fact they have not responded to the complaints we received and the fact there is a negative customer review on their file significantly impacts their rating,” said Leah Brownridge, BBB communications specialist. “They are currently at an F rating... which leads us to believe that issues could still be ongoing and we may not even know about possible other cases out there.”
Brownridge encourages consumers who have dealt with this business or individual to come forward if they’ve experienced any problems. That will assist the BBB to report accurate information to the public.
She acknowledged that consumers can sometimes feel stuck if a business doesn’t respond. If there is proof of illegal or fraudulent activity, the BBB encourages people report it to their local police department. They also encourage keeping all of the supporting documentation to back up their claims.
“Also if it’s a matter that does require legal action in terms of taking a business to court, that then would really take it out of our hands so to speak,” said Brownridge. Consumers can also contact Service Alberta, the provincial regulatory body for consumer rights and protection.
Pursuing BBB accreditation is a decision made by the business, Brownridge explained. So just because a business isn’t accredited through the BBB, it doesn’t automatically mean it’s a scam.
“There does require some digging on the consumer’s end of things to see what other information they can find to verify whether the business is trustworthy in the consumer’s mind.”
Accredited businesses have made commitments to uphold certain standards of trust and business ethics. Dealing with a BBB accredited business means most of the homework has already been done for the consumer.
“We’ve checked out the business history; we’ve checked out their complaints; we’ve looked at their reviews; we’ve looked at the owners; we’ve looked at whether there’s any government or legal action filed against a business. All of those are factors that determine the letter grade from A+ down to F.”
Brownridge has a few tips for consumers purchasing items online from someone they may not know. She suggests researching the company and individual, visiting bbb.org, even doing a simple Google search.
Look at the official business website and find contact information including a phone number and address.
“If the only way to contact them is through email, that could raise some suspicions,” she said. “It doesn’t automatically mean it is a scam, but it does mean you need to do some more digging. You should be able to easily contact a business.”
Once a consumer determines they want to do business, check out the online seller’s profile and reviews. If they decide to make a purchase, always use a credit card when buying online — if problems arise, there is some recourse to fight or dispute a charge.
“As opposed to if you are paying through a wire money transfer, that should set off some alarm bells if that’s the requested form of payment. Reason being is they are very difficult to trace,” said Brownridge.
“Once that wire transfer has gone through, you’re not going to get your money back if problems arise down the road.”
Also, ask about warranty information, and refund or return policies, and get it in writing.