Pelfrey Informational Thread - One Post Condensed Version

Please read through this thread. There are direct references to this question.

 

A charge to my USAA credit card by Pelfreybilt on 8/21 was refunded by USAA on 9/20.

 

tl;dr: Thank you everyone. Paid $1000 ACH deposit for 3rd gen dual swingout. I bank with Chase, disputed charge with chase claims dept. I was given a "temporary credit" of the deposit amount while claim is being investigated. Apparently not out of the woods yet...

Long story:
I've been following this thread and the other "uncondensed" thread. I wanted to share my experience so far, but first of all I wanted to thank everyone who posted all the useful information. Thank you so much for putting in the time and patience. I hope this post helps someone.

I was one of the unlucky ones who pre-ordered a 3rd gen dual swingout bumper, $1000 deposit. Without thinking too much (read: impulse buy) I contacted Michael on 16 aug 2018 via email and received the invoice which had text that pushed for ACH ...thinking this was a reputable company, and wanting to be a nice person, I did ACH (which I will NEVER do again). The money was taken from my (chase) bank account 17 aug 2018.

Shortly after, I started hearing rumors about pelfreybilt money troubles (friend, instagram, tacomaworld), but didn't think much of it. I was too focused on the fact that people seemed to like their products, and they had a pretty good reputation.

For reasons not related to what I had heard about pelfreybilt, I decided I wanted my deposit back (to pay off some credit card debt first). Being impulsive for the swing out was dumb on my part, I will admit. 01 sept 2018, I sent Michael a polite email asking for a refund on the same email trail we had been talking on. No response. I called, no answer. This is when I started to get worried.

Fast forward to this week (24 sept 2018). I got the bankruptcy notice then diligently read through the two main threads on the subject. I printed off the useful documents (post #2) and went to chase bank in person to see what could be done. The person who helped me was instantly on my side as I explained the situation. He got on the phone and talked to the chase claims department for me. I had to fill out a form that listed the pelfreybilt transaction for $1000 that I was disputing. This was faxed to the claims department as soon as it was completed along with a copy of my deposit, the text that pelfreybilt preferred ACH, and the bankruptcy notice. The chase associate said I would be given a temporary credit of $1000 while the claim was being investigated. So at the time of writing this, I have a $1000 credit labeled "Reversal: PELFREYBILT OFF- SALE" in my account.

Here is the text from the chase email:
"Dear "Mawtrd":
We issued a temporary credit in the amount of $1,000.00 for claim #. You'll have full use of the temporary funds while we do our research.
If we determine the transaction(s) was/were authorized or correct, we'll reverse the credit from your account and notify you.
If you have questions, please call us anytime at 1-866-564-2262. Thank you for choosing Chase.
Sincerely,
Customer Claim Department"

One question I have is what to do with this credit: Does anyone know if this money is in a sort of limbo? Should I transfer the deposit amount into my savings? Cash it out?

Thanks for reading and I would be glad to answer any questions if I wasn't specific enough, I want to help anyone who's in the same situation.

 

Don’t do anything with it. It is a temporary credit, meaning they can come back for it. Don’t spend it, don’t cash it out, I would leave it where they put it. You can move money between accounts, but make sure you have enough to cover the bank coming back for it to avoid any overdraft fees. If they rule you owe the money, your recourse is with the Pelfreys.

 

Yes, @Mawtrd do not spend it. The banks won’t screw around if you owe them money. They will make your life miserable.

 

Anyone who gets a refund via CC... Make sure you also get a refund on any interest you paid while carrying a balance for the disputed money. Citi credited me back.

 

@Mawtrd Don't touch it as others have said. Check out post #162 of this thread. They can take the money back if they see fit.

 

Sooo they drove the RCF through a mob of angry customers? How shockingly suspicious they returned a wrecked Lexus to the note holder. What a sham.

 

No excuse. None. Im sure they are feeling veeeeeery victimized and sad right about now but this is the result of some very bad decisions they made at the expense of their prepaid customers.

Ive worked in the construction and fabrication business for over 30 years now. If a business cant afford to pay for their own materials and labor until their product is delivered then they shouldn't be in business. I don't care how pretty or functional their product is. Nobody will ever be working off my money before I have a product in hand.

 

Claim resolved!

Hi, kasnerd.

We're pleased to let you know that your dispute has been resolved ― your conditional credit is now permanent. There's nothing else you need to do.

We included the below transaction details for the dispute on card ending in *y0 mommas number* for your reference.

Transaction Details
Transaction Date: 07/26/18
Transaction Amount: $1 gigabillion
Merchant/Description: PAYPAL *PELFREYBILT ***TRANS##***

Dispute Details
Dispute Date: 09/10/18
Dispute Amount: $1 gigabillion
Dispute ID: D-*a bunch of numbers*

what a relief. How is everyone else doing with their claims?

 

The hearing is tomorrow. Is anyone going or calling in?

 

hopefully someone can get a transcript or synopsis posted up...please? pretty please with good karma sprinkled on top?

 

I know of a few guys who plan on going.

 

I think only two people showed up to clear their names off the case. Pelfrey didn’t owe them anything.

 

Not true.
Two showed up (at least one was owed a lot of money) and relayed this information directly to me:

The Pelfreys had two police officers escorting them into and around court

If they don’t owe you money as a customer, you can definitely have your name removed from the creditor list. See my previous post with instructions.

If they do owe you monies and you paid cash, unfortunately it looks pretty solid that they won’t have funds left over to pay out. If they do have any left over it would be beneficial to have your name on the creditor list as the court will then split those funds amongst the creditors. Again, not likely.

Sorry for the bad news all.

 

Hope it wasn’t for-hire security, they won’t be getting payed.

 

Unless it was by court order, someone is footing the bill for the protection detail.