Hi, everyone,
Joe Molloy's post a few days ago was brought to my attention. I have
resubscribed to the Ten Tec list for the expressed purpose of responding
to it. I will not be staying on list as I presently don't have any Ten
Tec gear and am not able to buy any now. Replies should be sent
directly to me.
First, the facts started by Mr. Molloy, W2RBA, are essentially
*correct*. He, and nine other hams, did, in fact, send me money for
laptop computers. Eight of those systems were delivered to people who
are now quite satisfied. Two were not, and Mr. Molloy's was one of
those. I am not denying that in the least. I am going to fill in some
details, which will hopefully do a little to salvage my reputation, if
that's still possible, and hopefully give Mr. Molloy and Mr. King (the
other ham involved) some assurance that their funds will be returned.
In November, 2001, before any of this happened, I lost my job. To make
a very long story short, I have been denied unemployment due to some
statements by my former emplyer to the State of North Carolina. I could
sue and I could win. I have no money to sue with, and I have exhausted
my appeals at this point. I have almost without income since then. I
was able to obtain a lot of about 20 laptop computers in various states
of functionality. I originally determined that 11 could be salvaged. I
eventually advertised 10. The purpose, of course, was supplemental
income.
These transactions *should* have gone smoothly. However, this period
corresponded with an illness and death in the family, an illness and
death of a pet, and some serious health issues of my own, all within a
matter of weeks. These were the "excuses" Mr. Molloy referred to. They
can all be verified. In addition, Mr. Molloy's system (which was #10),
was a different model that the others and it started to have some
interesting behavior which the others did not. I was unsure if I was
dealing with hardware problems or software (it turned out to be
software), and in the meanwhile an understandably upset Mr. Molloy
demanded his money back, which I agreed to.
I should point out that during this time I also sold most of what had
been my ham shack to pay bills. In some cases I accepted trades to
downgrade the shack where I could not find buyers for items. Anyone who
bought ham gear from me has been satisfied so far as I know. They all
received what they paid for.
I was hit with yet more unexpected expenses at that time, and there
simply was nothing left beyond rent, food, and transportation to and
from interviews. Finances got pretty desperate.
Last month I received a job offer. Based on that, and a start date, I
made commitments to Mr. Molloy and Mr. King to repay what I owed them.
The offer was lousy (a pay cut and relocation), but it was the best I
had. A few days later I received a second offer, which was local and
was a small increase from my previous job. I did what any of you would
have done: I accepted the second offer and contacted the first company
to let them know I would not be working for them. Less than a week
later the second company informed me that they were going into a merger
and retracted my offer. So... I remain unemployed and pretty well
broke.
Mr. Molloy also posted to QRP-L prior to his post to the Ten Tec
reflector. As a result, several hams offered to buy pieces of equipment
I had previously been unable to sell and which they were unaware of
prior to this. I am told the funds have been sent, and as soon as they
arrive Mr. Molloy and Mr. King will be sent refunds in full with no
further delay. I have no control over the postal service, but I expect
that will be in the next few days. It appears years of dealing with
other hams honestly has outweighed Mr. Molloy's post, and for that I am
grateful. I want nothing more than to make this right and send Mr.
Molloy his money.
The biggest irony in all this: the system I was supposed to send to Mr.
Molloy works perfectly well now.
I will indeed be selling more of what is left of my ham shack and
computers (desktops) at an upcoming hamfest to pay bills. My Mizuho
gear (which I didn't pay much for and which has relatively low value)
will stay, and that will allow me to continue to be an active QRPer,
albeit at reduced capability.
Yes, two people who were to buy things from me have a very legitimate
grievance with me. I had no intention to do them any harm, and I will
make it right to the best of my ability within a matter of days. A much
larger number of you have dealt with me and have had very good
experiences indeed. Those are the norm, and that is what anyone who
deals with me in the future can expect. Oh, and I will most certainly
never mess with selling used computers again, other than the ones I own
that are personal property. I've learned my lesson there.
My reputation is certainly worth more than $268.55, which is the total
amount of money involved in both transactions. I wish I could send
these gentlemen there money right this instant. The sad fact is that I
can't just yet, but most certainly will ASAP.
The only good news is that I have very good prospects for employment
right now, so this too shall pass.
Sincerely,
Caitlyn Martin
KU4QD
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