HERO RESTORATION - BOOKS NOT BEING RETURNED 20 20

[Steven Valdez]

On 6/26/2023 at 2:53 AM, Old Fashion PB and J said:

So you are telling me people go out and spend 10-15K on supplies on a handshake? I call BS, I dont care where you live.

When did I say anything about 10-15K?? I'm talking about basic home maintenance call-outs, not industrial construction installations.

I get a plumber or electrician over, they do the job and THEN bill me for it.

But if you do want to talk about big numbers, I recently got a 14K reverse-cycle air-conditioning system put in. Did not pay a cent until a week after the work was completed AND I was satisfied with it. I'm not going to rip them off, after all they know where I live

BTW, why would I be lying about this? What would be my motivation to do that?

Edited June 26, 2023 by Steven Valdez
clarification

[Steven Valdez]

On 6/26/2023 at 3:09 AM, DeadOne said:

I had 2 bathrooms remodeled in 2022 for a total of 13K and didn't pay a dime up front.
I had my roof done in 2020 (including 3 skylights, and a shed re-shingle) for 8K and, again, paid in total at the end.

 

Exactly, that's how it works. I think the other "gentleman" assumed I was talking about major construction contracts, despite me not saying or implying that.

[shadroch]

My Mom was in the home improvement business for many years, and they would never remodel two bathrooms without a large deposit, which would usually cover the materials. On major projects, you can put the funds in escrow. 

[DougC]

On 6/25/2023 at 12:09 PM, DeadOne said:

I had 2 bathrooms remodeled in 2022 for a total of 13K and didn't pay a dime up front.
I had my roof done in 2020 (including 3 skylights, and a shed re-shingle) for 8K and, again, paid in total at the end.

 

The potential lean on your home plus interest on the outstanding balance of the invoice was enough security for the contractor in case of non-payment.

[Nick Furious]

On 6/25/2023 at 8:00 PM, DougC said:

The potential lean on your home plus interest on the outstanding balance of the invoice was enough security for the contractor in case of non-payment.

Exactly, Home Improvement work is secured by the potential of a lien on the home.  In some states, even unpaid subs and employees can get a lien on a home that they worked on, whether the homeowner knew they were unpaid or not.  However, in this case the books themselves should have been enough security for the restoration work.  The deposits were needed for cash flow.  If Mike had been a more business savvy operator he would have pursued other financing rather than rely on using the deposits for float.  That can put a business into the technically insolvent category pretty quickly.

[Steven Valdez]

I wonder how well the guy kept on top of his taxes seeing as he was immediately "reinvesting' customers' payments without doing the work they paid for.

[Nick Furious]

On 6/25/2023 at 8:11 PM, Steven Valdez said:

I wonder how well the guy kept on top of his taxes seeing as he was immediately "reinvesting' customers' payments without doing the work they paid for.

Revenues would get booked when the work is completed.  Probably no profit to pay taxes on if cash flow was that far negative. 

[ExNihilo]

On 6/25/2023 at 4:05 PM, mephistopheles said:

Youtube keeps recommending his videos to me, but I just can't stand his verbal diarrhea. It's like a bad mashup of a sleazy used car salesman and a comic nerd.

This is exactly why I never click on certain things: because I don't want the algorithms making stupid recommendations to me.

[Juno Beach]

On 6/25/2023 at 3:57 PM, ExNihilo said:

GoFundMe holds all funds until the goal is met.  Any GoFundMe that does not meet the goal gets refunded back to the donor.  GoFundMe takes a cut of all successful goals as well as probably makes money off the interest on cash pending payout.

Confession - that was a joke. If Lorenzo was dumb enough to donate he should just forfeit the money.

[ExNihilo]

On 6/25/2023 at 8:39 PM, Juno Beach said:

Confession - that was a joke. If Lorenzo was dumb enough to donate he should just forfeit the money.

I was referring to ComicTom's video and then having YouTube recommend more of ComicTom's videos.  I'd hope no one would donate to a random GoFundMe.  

[HotKey]

On 6/25/2023 at 7:17 PM, seanlinc said:

Really spoon for a not really curse word?

It could be a lot forking worse.

[meatanpotatoes]

I wonder what Comic Tom has to say all about this since he was promoting Hero Restoration left and right to "The Community" for a time. I had my books at the NJ office awhile back and when I got them back after 6 months (they weren't supposed to be there that long), NO WORK was done to them. When I complained, I got pushback from him and his staff. I was told that all the books had reverted to their original state. All of them. And when I gave them a one star review with photos of my books on Google Reviews they had Google remove my review. I tried to warn people but I was shutdown. Total BS. Anyway, I was lucky to get my money back. From what I've read, it looks like he's holding onto thousands of dollars worth of books. I would probably contact the police wherever Mike lives or the Attorney General in Oregon. Good luck to you guys.

Edited June 30, 2023 by meatanpotatoes

[jimjum12]

On 6/25/2023 at 9:11 PM, Steven Valdez said:

I wonder how well the guy kept on top of his taxes seeing as he was immediately "reinvesting' customers' payments without doing the work they paid for.

 .... kind of like what Uncle Sam once told Don King, "You have to write it on before you can write it off." ... a lot of people don't understand that. GOD BLESS ... 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[manetteska]

On 6/25/2023 at 7:02 PM, Lightning55 said:

If your submission is to be pressed then graded, you will be charged by CCS for pressing when it hits your dashboard. Then it's pressed. 

When it leaves CCS and goes to CGC for grading, it again hits your credit card for that service.  So, no, they don't wait until they ship.

If the sub doesn't need pressing, you are charged by CGC as soon as they open the box, go through the intake process, and load it onto your dashboard.  Sometimes there is a little lag, but not much these days.

The only time they charged near the end of the process was when they were swamped, because the TATs were horrendous.

 

I guess we had different experiences as I was definitely not charged as soon as the box was opened, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. And these TATs don't seem horrendous...

Going through my emails I had 2 orders last year: a walkthrough (3 comics) and a modern pre-screen (25).

 

Walkthrough Order created 1/17/22

Walkthrough Received 7/21/22 (was with a non-CCS presser before this)

Walkthrough Shipped 7/29/22

Walkthrough CC charged 7/28/22

 

Pre-Screen Order created 6/10/22

Pre-Screen Received 7/28/22

Pre-Screen Shipped 9/1/22

Pre-Screen CC charged 9/1/22

 

Same timing for an order of October 2021; Received 10/6/21; Shipped and Charged 10/26/21.

[Mephisto]

On 6/24/2023 at 10:53 AM, jaybuck43 said:

O boy. I’m sure my generosity will only come back to bite me in the rear, but eh.

Heros, as a practicing attorney, i can tell you several things. 1) your understanding of libel is off by a country mile (this is coming from an attorney who has successfully won defamation cases as high as the state Supreme Court). 2) You are doing yourself no personal, legal, or health favors with your responses so far.

My guess is you’re overwhelmed and not thinking straight so let me help you out. Here should be your next steps. 1) publicly post you’re going to follow my plan. 2) begin organizing all of your current customers from first received to most recently received. 3) once you have all their information, start with the oldest and reach out to them. Be contrite, apologize for the delay, and give them the option. Give them a reasonable estimate of how long the work will take. Ask them “I can return your book(s) or it will take between 6-9 months for me to finish. Which would you prefer?” Tell them that you will wait 7 business days for a reply and if none is received you will return their books in whatever state they are currently in, including half finished. 4) If they tell you to wait, great. If they don’t respond or tell you to send back, pack them up and return them. Do this as quickly as possible. 5) Rinse and repeat until you’ve cleared out the backlog. 6) this process should take no more than a week. Use a master letter where you can just replace the name and estimate of time, it will make your life easier.

Given the value of books here, it’s starting to get into serious legal territory. Based on the values shown here and the length of time things have gone on, a competent attorney can easily Pierce the corporate veil. Not only that, there’s also the risk of criminal liability for theft by conversion (if a person makes a demand for their property back and you ignore or refuse to return it, it does rise to the level of theft). Even a low grade purple label AF 15 is several thousand dollars these days. Now multiply that by how many other books and you’re talking felony charges. In Oregon for example, the theft of something valued at $1,000 or more is a C level felony with consequences of up to $125,000 in financial penalties and or up to 5 years in prison. Each $1,000+ book would be its own charge.

Good luck with everything. People here have been extremely patient and supportive and I would hope you appreciate that.

I'd be a little bit worried with number 4 and sending books back if there is no response...only to hear from the customer months later that they moved some time ago, especially with how long ago some orders were placed. 

[wombat]

On 6/26/2023 at 11:06 AM, Mephisto said:

I'd be a little bit worried with number 4 and sending books back if there is no response...only to hear from the customer months later that they moved some time ago, especially with how long ago some orders were placed. 

Its a good point. A lot can happen in 6+ years. I mean if he waits long enough.......................

[Lightning55]

On 6/26/2023 at 10:51 AM, manetteska said:

I guess we had different experiences as I was definitely not charged as soon as the box was opened, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. And these TATs don't seem horrendous...

Going through my emails I had 2 orders last year: a walkthrough (3 comics) and a modern pre-screen (25).

 

Walkthrough Order created 1/17/22

Walkthrough Received 7/21/22 (was with a non-CCS presser before this)

Walkthrough Shipped 7/29/22

Walkthrough CC charged 7/28/22

 

Pre-Screen Order created 6/10/22

Pre-Screen Received 7/28/22

Pre-Screen Shipped 9/1/22

Pre-Screen CC charged 9/1/22

 

Same timing for an order of October 2021; Received 10/6/21; Shipped and Charged 10/26/21.

We ship every week on Thursday. It gets there Tuesday. They open it by Friday and it's charged. I can't say they charge COMPLETELY in advance, as they did some of the work (open box, input submission) before charging. But toward the end of the process? No.

[manetteska]

On 6/26/2023 at 12:12 PM, Lightning55 said:

On 6/26/2023 at 9:51 AM, manetteska said:

I guess we had different experiences as I was definitely not charged as soon as the box was opened, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. And these TATs don't seem horrendous...

Going through my emails I had 2 orders last year: a walkthrough (3 comics) and a modern pre-screen (25).

 

Walkthrough Order created 1/17/22

Walkthrough Received 7/21/22 (was with a non-CCS presser before this)

Walkthrough Shipped 7/29/22

Walkthrough CC charged 7/28/22

 

Pre-Screen Order created 6/10/22

Pre-Screen Received 7/28/22

Pre-Screen Shipped 9/1/22

Pre-Screen CC charged 9/1/22

 

Same timing for an order of October 2021; Received 10/6/21; Shipped and Charged 10/26/21.

Expand  

We ship every week on Thursday. It gets there Tuesday. They open it by Friday and it's charged. I can't say they charge COMPLETELY in advance, as they did some of the work (open box, input submission) before charging. But toward the end of the process? No.

I don't know what to say other than that's a completely different order of events than every order I have put in with CGC for grading.

However, as can be seen from my above post, I haven't submitted in a bit and I don't submit often.

[Beastfeast]

On 6/26/2023 at 11:12 AM, manetteska said:

I don't know what to say other than that's a completely different order of events than every order I have put in with CGC for grading.

However, as can be seen from my above post, I haven't submitted in a bit and I don't submit often.

Didn’t they change when cards are billed a few years ago? 
 

Also, dude has been pretttttty quiet lately 

[Point Five]

@quicksilver  Encouraging that you appear to have some momentum towards getting your books back. Please keep us posted in this thread.