Warren Thomas will steal your money!

Status
Not open for further replies.
M

MRSNOW

Feedback: +1 / =0 / -0
Joined
Oct 9, 2013
Messages
15
I would like to share my experience with Warren Thomas and hopefully spare anyone thinking of doing business with this man the agony of being cheated. I ordered two knives ($500 PayPal) from him on October 14th, 2013 and was told they would ship the following Thursday.

I never received any knives but figured the man must be behind on his orders so I didn't follow up until December 10th and was told: "Oh man I put them in my box and totally forgot . I will get them out to you tomorrow . I will send you a free bee along with them. Wt"

I wrote again a month later on January 10th and was told: "Hey man my phones were hacked and e mail _we were messed with in a bad way. Any how I just saw this and will have them out this week. Can you please confirm your daddy cor me. Thanks WT"

I inquired again on February 17th and was told: "Man I am sorry but I'm just starting to get my e mail strait. Some one did a hack job on me in a bad way. The g mail page I was seeing has been a fake for about 6 months+ We have recovered over 700 emails that were redirected. Things are kinda straight. So please resend me your address and I will get them out. Please let me know what you were getting as I ave a bunch of knives here and lost all record of were they go. Thanks WT"

On March 26th I said I wanted either the knives or my money back and was told: "Man this one is my bad. After the hack job and looseing so much info of what went to who I just messed up . I have know tracked of what you orders but I remember you paid. Let me know what you orderd . I know one was a hak ripper. Let me know what else and I will get it out to you. Sorry about this and please don't think this was a attempt to take advantage of you. Things just got so far out of control that most records got lost.
Ps ::: my email is still not back to full shape so if you don't get a fast reply feel free to resend till you do. Thanks WT"

"I think these are in the shop in the ???? Box. I will check and get back to you in the morning at the latest. Thanks WT"

Here I reminded him that they were also supposedly in his box on December 10th

"Like I said I lost all record of what went were . I hate the fact you were not the only one that got lost. I will have it right this week . Wt"

Surprise surprise but not only did Warren Thomas not 'have it right this week' he didn't have it right the week after that or the one after ....So I wrote him again on April 14th and never got a reply. It is now just over 7 months to the day I ordered the knives. If I had been told from the beginning that it would take 6 months or even a year to receive the knives that would have been fine. Just be straightforward and honest. Im sure the man and his creations are in high demand, just don't blow sunshine up my ass, waste my time, piss me off and steal my money.
 
Assuming everything you've written is true...I hope he reads your post, feels terribly embarrassed and ashamed and does the right thing. C'mon, Warren...give us hope.
 
Again we are only hearing 1 side of the story, but if it went down the way you described, either he is scamming you and stringing you along while he probably scams others...or he is completely incompetent and unprofessional. Either way, not someone worth doing business with. It's odd how many "at Home" knife and sheath makers have issues with their computers. Good luck to you on this.
 
Any follow up on this?
I was looking at some of Warren's work (again!)
Thinking of maybe contacting him, and now this.....
 
Assuming this side of the story is true and accurate the only explanation for Mr. Thomas's conduct is criminal.

One of the greatest ways to destroy one's integrity and credibility is to be proven a LIAR. If the OP is telling it correctly Warren Thomas joins the ranks of dirtbag.......
 
He told you they would ship out in October, and you still haven't gotten them. Wow.

Have you asked that he just send the money back ?
I would demand my money back if treated this way.

I hope Warren has some type of explanation, though it sounds like he'll just blame it on his email again.
 
I have asked for my money back but he doesn't even reply at this point. I sent him this link as well just after I posted it. Strangely there is a seller on eBay who always has 100+ Warren Thomas items for sale at any given time. Coincidence? Maybe.. but how does he consistently replenish his stock if its not Warren Thomas himself, I wonder?

http://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?_arm...y&_sacat=0&_from=R40&_nkw=warren+thomas&rt=nc
 
I sent the ebay seller a heads up re-guarding this thread. If he isn't WT then I told him to contact him. I'll let you know if I get an answer.
 
MRSNOW said:
I have asked for my money back but he doesn't even reply at this point. I sent him this link as well just after I posted it. Strangely there is a seller on eBay who always has 100+ Warren Thomas items for sale at any given time. Coincidence? Maybe.. but how does he consistently replenish his stock if its not Warren Thomas himself, I wonder?

http://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?_arm...y&_sacat=0&_from=R40&_nkw=warren+thomas&rt=nc
Click to expand...

Hi all, I am definitely not Warren Thomas. He IS a good friend of mine and this is a disturbing story indeed. Please refrain from bashing the man before I do my own investigative work. I do know that much of his work and shop were trashed and that he got a bad rap for losing a lot of customer's knives. Customer service and marketing are not his strong suits so I'm trying to help in those regards. OP, if you'll please send me a PM regarding what you ordered along with your name and address, I will confront WT immediately. He has no intention of ripping anyone off and genuinely gets behind - after losing a large portion of his shop and resources due to the Jared West incident (and another which won't be discussed here), it's been a slow rebuild. He supplies me knives that I willingly pay extra for to help him rebuild his shop and fill lost and destroyed orders. He is slowly filling his back orders but he needs to be able to live as well. The inventory that I receive from WT is purchased to help support his family and get him back on his feet.

There is no need for name-calling. He's a great guy and like I said earlier, is just terrible with customer service. He gets to every order eventually, but he lost a lot and had no financial means to reproduce the knives that were taken and trashed. We will get you sorted, guaranteed - please be patient - if you knew what the man suffered through after the Mr. West fiasco and other disasters in his life, you would totally understand. He is an honest and honorable man and ALL past orders will be filled in the order that they were received. I sell his knives on Ebay, sometimes to break even.

If you appreciate a great innovator, craftsman, and all-around good guy, support WT and help get through this difficult time instead of bashing him. There are makers with 3-5+ year wait lists. Please forgive WT's personal customer service - he is an artist, not a businessman.

As mentioned earlier, I will make this right. Just PM me with the info that I requested earlier. Thank you wazu013 for notifying me of this.

Also - the e-mail address that most people have for Warren HAS been hacked so you will not receive a response. If you have a customer service issue - deal with me directly. Thank you everyone and sorry for OP for your bad experience.

All the best,
Shao

EDIT: The story of his phone being hacked is 100% true as I helped remove the malicious software. WT tries his best and sorry again that he's unable to meet your expectations fully at this time. Oh yeah, don't forget the PM.
 
SidTheMuss said:
Again we are only hearing 1 side of the story, but if it went down the way you described, either he is scamming you and stringing you along while he probably scams others...or he is completely incompetent and unprofessional. Either way, not someone worth doing business with. It's odd how many "at Home" knife and sheath makers have issues with their computers. Good luck to you on this.
Click to expand...

Not defending or attacking Mr. Thomas, but to be totally fair, if you have do a lot of business on the internet it's very, very easy to pick up a ton of malware. On the other hand, the frequency of the issue also makes it a handy excuse for those who are dishonestly inclined.
 
I think you posted a visitor message but no matter, there has to be no veil of secrecy. I've replied and am forwarding the message to WT's phone right after I post this. Thanks.

Shao
 
Shao said:
I think you posted a visitor message but no matter, there has to be no veil of secrecy. I've replied and am forwarding the message to WT's phone right after I post this. Thanks.

Shao
Click to expand...

I can appreciate your willingness to jump in, but who exactly are you and what is your relationship to Warren? It would possibly be a good idea for you to ask Warren to make an effort to communicate with this individual directly. I don't buy that "bad at customer service" line personally. This is not a shot at anyone but how can someone be so good at taking another's money, yet fail miserably at customer service? Does not compute.

Warren is more than welcome to come in and state his piece, having a spokesperson jiving on his behalf isn't going to really cut it, you know?
 
RevDevil said:
I can appreciate your willingness to jump in, but who exactly are you and what is your relationship to Warren? It would possibly be a good idea for you to ask Warren to make an effort to communicate with this individual directly. I don't buy that "bad at customer service" line personally. This is not a shot at anyone but how can someone be so good at taking another's money, yet fail miserably at customer service? Does not compute.

Warren is more than welcome to come in and state his piece, having a spokesperson jiving on his behalf isn't going to really cut it, you know?
Click to expand...

Sorry, WT works in his shop from the time he wakes up until the time he retires for the day. I'm a good friend, part-time apprentice, and the guy with 100+ WT knives in my Ebay store. This is being handled. Most great artists are not gifted businessmen unfortunately. I've taken it upon myself to handle his customer service to the fullest of my abilities as I have an active interest in my friend's life and career.

There are great plans for the future after backorders are filled. I apologize on Warren's behalf and am so confident in the man's integrity that I've even offered to replace the knives with money out of my pocket if need be. This is an unfortunate incident, but sh*t happens, and we have to do our best to persevere.
 
Shao said:
Sorry, WT works in his shop from the time he wakes up until the time he retires for the day. I'm a good friend, part-time apprentice, and the guy with 100+ WT knives in my Ebay store. This is being handled. Most great artists are not gifted businessmen unfortunately. I've taken it upon myself to handle his customer service to the fullest of my abilities as I have an active interest in my friend's life and career.

There are great plans for the future after backorders are filled. I apologize on Warren's behalf and am so confident in the man's integrity that I've even offered to replace the knives with money out of my pocket if need be. This is an unfortunate incident, but sh*t happens, and we have to do our best to persevere.
Click to expand...

I agree with this +1.
Having said that, I have been a "custom maker" for over 5 years, of a different sort (custom home audio).
That said, I learned my lesson early on.
Yes, I have been very far behind on orders, and do stay behind, but I adjust my schedule accordingly.
Learned early on, I am better off being ahead, than behind, and limit"open books" exposure accordingly.

Hope it works out for all involved (sounds like it will:thumbup:).
 
Shao said:
Hey Chuck, I tried calling but I guess I was too late - the office is closed.
Click to expand...
I missed your call when I went to lunch. You can call me up to 10:00 pm 7 days a week.

I'll be up late tonight.

Chuck
 
Sorry Chuck, didn't have my notifications turned on. Will contact you ASAP. As well as you Mr. Snow.

Thanks,
Shao
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top