abdracing.com

[sahm]

hi...i hope someone can help me please...i bought one caractere rear wing since july 8th...Adrian from abd told me that the shipping time would be 6-8 weeks...so i accept the deal...now 14 weeks later he told me that he doesnt know when i`ll have the wing and this issue is out of his hands...and he refuse to refound my money...i just can change the order for another abd items(according to Adrian)....even like that i decided to change the order for an eibach suspension about 1 week ago...but he doesnt respond my mails...i called yesterday and today and his phone is disconnected

also first he told me that he bought the wing from a canadian distributor and thats because the short shipping time(6-8 weeks)after he told me that he doesnt know where the wing was bought...i`ll paste some of the e-mails that he send to me ..i hope you can help me..im here in mexico and i cant belive that is happend to me...i never had any problem like this...i just want my money back

june 28th(before payment)

"I wish that were accurate. The lead time is 4-6 weeks from anything coming in from Germany . We place our orders with Caractere of Germany once ever 30 days. The order will be placed in 2 weeks from now. The ship time from Germany to the U.S. is 2-4 weeks. This totals up to 4-6 weeks from now. Please place the order with me as I am the person in control of all ordering and I can keep you informed with more accuracy. The internet site also charges more for shipping and I can get you a discounted price on it. Also ordering through our website will not give you the option to ship your part with a zero dollar amount to avoid any taxes or duties when the part enters your country. Once the part arrives here in the U.S. it will take approx 4-5 days to reach you in Mexico . If you would like to reply with your shipping address, I can send you an estimate that will not change in price, this way even if the price of the part increases, your price will not."

JULY 29th (i payed july 8th)i sent this e-mail...these are words from a guy for newbeetle.org

""Be careful guys. I ordered the rear wing and it's taking almost 6 months to arrive. Here are the facts I've gleened from making way too many phone calls:
There is only 1 importer for caracter and all the VW Part sites get their inventory from this importer. The importer only gets 2 shipments per year from Germany , and only orders a limited amount of parts/kits. This is very strange to me because they always sell out and there is more demand than supply. The company I ordered my wing from, and I will be kind and not name them here, told me that I might not get my part from this shipment and might have to wait until the next one in december. (almost a year to get 1 part!!!) The service person told me "maybe you will get lucky and someone will get tired of waiting and cancel their order so you can take theirs." This was a very strange approach, because they never told me the wait would be so long, and I assumed from their web site that the product was in stock, which it was not. (they charged my credit card anyway which I think is a bogus move if you ask me)

My advice to all of you before you order any Caracter product is to call and ask if the product is in stock.

It's a shame becauce Caracter kits look so damn good on the cars. (I have decided to order another wing until my Caracter one comes in, then I will sell the temporary one) I know this sounds strange, but I might be using the temporary wing for a full year.

Hope you all find this info helpful."

this is the answer from Adrian

"Hey,



The U.S Caractere distributor only orders twice a year due to the slow demand of the parts. They cannot order a single part; they wait till they have enough orders in place to fill a shipping container from Germany . The profit margins in these parts are very small and they have to order parts like this so they will at least turn a small profit and be able to be here for consumers in the future. Today’s weak economy is affecting all of us, even down to a simple wing for a car. There simply aren’t enough sales to support monthly or even weekly orders from across the pond. With that being said, we do not order our Caractere parts from the U.S. distributor, we use their Canadian distributor instead. They order parts every month as opposed to every 6 months. Their market is a bit stronger up there and parts are being purchased at a more frequent rate. On another note, you should always come into contact with someone either over the phone or via e-mail when ordering something of this nature. Our website and a lot of others’ do not show inventory or list back orders. It is the consumer’s responsibility to read all terms and conditions of the company before doing business with them. We also must take a prepayment of the part before we order it. This is a form of insurance for us as some special orders require special attention that cannot be lost or reversed due to “buyer’s remorse” or other “change of mind” after the part is ordered. This protects us, the companies who in turn also have to prepay for orders coming over the ocean. We should have your part within the time originally quoted. Please let me know if there is anything else I can help you with. Thanks!

[sahm]

september 30th

Hello, i do ask them each time, they do not have an ETA either. it is the U.S. Government we are waiting on, getting any information out of them is like pulling teeth. Even if they did quote me a time frame, i wouldnt take it as 100% true or accurate information. This wing is special order so a refund is out of the picture. The only thing i can offer you per our terms and conditions policies is an instore credit towards a different part. Please let me know if you would like to do this at this at thie time as i have two other customers who would be happy to take your wing. Thanks!

october 14th i sent this e-mail (forget the wing)

i you have in stock n you dont know nothing about my wing ..i would like to order the rear bilstein sport struts ans h&r springs,,also i want the rear clear side markers...please confirm me

his response

"Hello, the wing is still not in stock and i do not have any ETA. once it surfaces i will call you. The Bilstien Sport rear shocks retail for $119.00 each and they are good in stock. The springs are also good in stock @ $228.00. The clear side markers only come in sets of four now (two front and two rears). The set retails for $89.95 and takes me 3-5 business days to aquire them. the total invoice amount for the items listed above and shipping costs is: parts $555.95shipping $28.05grand total $584.00 thank you!

and that was his las response....he doesnt confrim anything...$28.05 fro the shipping to mexico?

sorry for all these words but i dont know what else can i do...i hope somebody help me...

[DZLBUG]

I left an email with Adrian on Wednesday, requesting a refund for my Bernt pod. I still have not received a response. I may try calling him this afternoon, to see if I can have any luck getting through. I hope that they have not gone out of business or anything like that...but I suppose it is possible.

If I cannot get anywhere I am going to talk to my bank and see if a chargeback would be possible.

I am really beginning to seriously question how they operate their business. If it comes down to it, I am prepared to contact law enforcement in CA to see if anything can be done. I don't know if that would work for you being in Mexico, but it may not hurt to try if it cant be resolved any other way.

Good luck my friend.

[SMG]

I'm going to have to give them two thumbs down as well.

They shouldn't be listing items for sale that they don't have in stock, or can order in within a week.

[hestersu]

Originally Posted by DZLBUG

I left an email with Adrian on Wednesday, requesting a refund for my Bernt pod. I still have not received a response. I may try calling him this afternoon, to see if I can have any luck getting through. I hope that they have not gone out of business or anything like that...but I suppose it is possible.

If I cannot get anywhere I am going to talk to my bank and see if a chargeback would be possible.

I am really beginning to seriously question how they operate their business. If it comes down to it, I am prepared to contact law enforcement in CA to see if anything can be done. I don't know if that would work for you being in Mexico, but it may not hurt to try if it cant be resolved any other way.

Good luck my friend.

You might want to contact the Better Business Bureau (BBB) in the city that ABD operates out of. They can also give you an idea of your options. You may have to go through small claims court or file a complaint with the Attorney General of the state ABD is in and possibly your own state.

Sam - for you, things are more difficult. You may also want to contact the BBB (dzlbug - can you get the contact information to Sam please?) by email. You may also need to file a complaint with the Attorney General.

DZLBUG - to help Sam, please post anything you discover about filing a complaint and ask whomever you are talking to about what a non-US citizen can do. Please include email addresses if possible.

Both of you - keep any communications and receipts so you have something to prove you sent them money.

[sahm]

thank you very much for your help...i hope they arent out of business....

[sahm]

i offer $100 to the person that make that these guys send my money back or my items.....i cant belive....what kind of sick people make that..i trust in Adrian...but i realise that adrian sucks...so i hope this can be fix but anyway i offer 100 for that...seriously

[Chef Angry Mike]

Originally Posted by sahm

i offer $100 to the person that make that these guys send my money back or my items.....i cant belive....what kind of sick people make that..i trust in Adrian...but i realise that adrian sucks...so i hope this can be fix but anyway i offer 100 for that...seriously

I was the guy that Sahm quoted...I ordered my wing early in 2009 and I am STILL WAITING. I tried to warn you guys as best I could not to order from this horrible company.

I think the best thing for everyone to do is to call their credit card company and file a fraud protection claim. Most credit card companies offer this service. They will refund the money and go after the vendor.

Good luck to everyone!
CAM

[sahm]

Originally Posted by Chef Angry Mike

I was the guy that Sahm quoted...I ordered my wing early in 2009 and I am STILL WAITING. I tried to warn you guys as best I could not to order from this horrible company.

I think the best thing for everyone to do is to call their credit card company and file a fraud protection claim. Most credit card companies offer this service. They will refund the money and go after the vendor.

Good luck to everyone!
CAM

i tried that but they told me that i just have one month to do this...now after 3 months they can do anything

[sahm]

it seems that abdracing is gonna re-open...i called them and this guy adrian saldivar answered me...but he told me that i must call to my bank...i tried to tell him that i have just one month to make my complain...so he told me that is a new administration and hes gonna try to contact to his lawyer to see if they can refound my money...of course i dont belive him...so..call them and try to get back your money..i hate this guy

[SMG]

If a company goes under and re-opens, how can they expect to keep your money?

It would be a different story if they closed, filed for bankruptcy and disappeared, but now that they're back they have a lot of paid orders to fill IMO.

[sahm]

Originally Posted by SMG

If a company goes under and re-opens, how can they expect to keep your money?

It would be a different story if they closed, filed for bankruptcy and disappeared, but now that they're back they have a lot of paid orders to fill IMO.

i know so this guy is a liar and a thief..

i hope he make me change mi mind