Bad Guy Kingsnake.com, Jeff Barringer

[Mech]

For 20 years I owned and operated a legitimate brick and mortar mechanical contracting business.
I had to close the doors during the recession due to the flock of unlicensed contractors (read scammers) that said they were a legit business and would do labor for below my operating costs.
My disdain for this group is large.
I'm totally ok with people making money but if you lie you are a scammer.
No sympathy for the op what so ever.
Btw a DBA is easy to get.
Real easy if you are legit.
Not so much if you are a scammer.

 

[Mac's Morphs]

So, in summary, if someone were to make a simple mistake of using their hobby name as a business name then they will be blacklisted from kingsnake classifieds. It seems like the majority of hobbyists use a name to identify themselves when selling and if you make this mistake on KS, you will be classified the same as customers that "circumvent" rules, scam, or repeativly violate the rules ... With no warning.

I've read their TOS, and it is not clear that this is the course of action they take. When I investigated an enhanced account, I came across this from the website:

This statement is not true, when I signed up for my account after it expired I decided to use my "hobby name" of MAC's Morphs as thats what most of people know me as instead of my legal name Mitch Cowles. I posted a few adds and within a few hours got sent a notification that my adds have been pulled and would need to use my legal name and not a "business name" unless I supply them with documentation of the business(which at that point I was not a registered business with that name) so I just simply changed it back to my legal name and carried on. The gave me a simple warning and let me know and I accept that and fixed my mistake. Never had a problem since, they seem pretty easy to work with and everything. I get the feeling the OP had more going on or tried to do more to where his account was suspended/blacklisted.

 

[Focal]

This statement is not true, when I signed up for my account after it expired I decided to use my "hobby name" of MAC's Morphs as thats what most of people know me as instead of my legal name Mitch Cowles. I posted a few adds and within a few hours got sent a notification that my adds have been pulled and would need to use my legal name and not a "business name" unless I supply them with documentation of the business(which at that point I was not a registered business with that name) so I just simply changed it back to my legal name and carried on. The gave me a simple warning and let me know and I accept that and fixed my mistake. Never had a problem since, they seem pretty easy to work with and everything. I get the feeling the OP had more going on or tried to do more to where his account was suspended/blacklisted.

I was hoping and had expected something of this nature would be posted. We are now going somewhere. The way your situation was handled was not consistent with the way the OP's situation was handled which also raised my eyebrow.

Either two things happened here. You are either correct that the OP did have something else going on that Jeff did not elaborate on in his post or the way he was handled was in fact from poor customer service justified by the fraudulent claim and this BOI post.

Maybe Jeff can clarify why he handled this customer any different from the many others that have made this mistake. There are still many other users still using KS that have made this same mistake.

 

[HerpVenue]

an account is an account. You can have standard or you can have enhanced.
you can have enhanced if you are a business or just an individual.
I post as an individual and I have an enhanced account.
When and If I decide to be a business, I can post as a business. All I have to do is send them my State and City Licenses.

 

[HerpVenue]

Perhaps it was the twelve days of doing nothing after he got the warning.

 

[Focal]

Perhaps it was the twelve days of doing nothing after he got the warning.

I can completely agree with that, but during that time period, the staff pulled his ads and the account was unused, based off of the first post. If the account had still been accessed under the business name, I can understand.

 

[Boid&GeckoFreak]

I usually agree with what you say Nick but you are overlooking the fact that he lied to get his original fee back. That's a big step over the line if you ask me.

Maybe I missed it, but where did xPantherx ever say they claimed they didn't authorize the charge?

Reading the pdf's, kingsnake sent a warning about posting using the business name but specifically said they could continue to post ads using their individual name. Then when the account apparently just vanished kingnsake pretty much refused to help or figure out what happened. I'd dispute the charge too.

 

[j_dunlavy]

I can completely agree with that, but during that time period, the staff pulled his ads and the account was unused, based off of the first post. If the account had still been accessed under the business name, I can understand.

could be that because he did nothing for 12 days that he looked more like a scammer. Often times a scammer will just repost under another name instead of correcting a problem that was spotted or providing information that was requested. You do not have to be a business to enhance your account, just to post as a business. I think the OP got that confused and is blaming KS for his own issue.
Jeff B. did say that he was asked for his business info for verification but refused to give it to the KS staff so he was banned. His lack of response was likely being taken as his refusal. If he had business info it takes only a few minutes to submit it.

Correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't the OP also told to repost under his legal name and that he needed to have his business name verified before he could post under it?

Also the TOS states that there is a one account per person rule (like on fauna), the OP stated that he had a (unverified) business and personal account; wouldn't that be a TOS violation?
From KS TOS:
" This classified account is a legally binding contract between OnlineHobbyist.com, Inc. and either an individual person, or a legal business entity, depending on the name(s) entered in the classified registration agreement/registration by the registrant.

Only one (1) account is allowed per business or individual. "

Seems to me he just did not want to follow the TOS or neglected to read and understand them. I'm still gonna back Jeff B. on this one.

And yes, it is not hard to get a DBA, did treasury work for a guild for several years; they make it easy so taxes can be collected.

 

[Focal]

could be that because he did nothing for 12 days that he looked more like a scammer. Often times a scammer will just repost under another name instead of correcting a problem that was spotted or providing information that was requested. You do not have to be a business to enhance your account, just to post as a business. I think the OP got that confused and is blaming KS for his own issue.
Jeff B. did say that he was asked for his business info for verification but refused to give it to the KS staff so he was banned. His lack of response was likely being taken as his refusal. If he had business info it takes only a few minutes to submit it.

Correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't the OP also told to repost under his legal name and that he needed to have his business name verified before he could post under it?

Also the TOS states that there is a one account per person rule (like on fauna), the OP stated that he had a (unverified) business and personal account; wouldn't that be a TOS violation?
From KS TOS:
" This classified account is a legally binding contract between OnlineHobbyist.com, Inc. and either an individual person, or a legal business entity, depending on the name(s) entered in the classified registration agreement/registration by the registrant.

Only one (1) account is allowed per business or individual. "

Seems to me he just did not want to follow the TOS or neglected to read and understand them. I'm still gonna back Jeff B. on this one.

And yes, it is not hard to get a DBA, did treasury work for a guild for several years; they make it easy so taxes can be collected.

You are assuming that they deleted it because he did nothing for 12 days, but what he did not do, was continue to post under that business name which is a violation of their TOS and clearly states is reason to have your account deleted.

Also, you did make up that part about refusing to give his business information. He stated that he was in the process and did not have the paperwork. Regardless, he is not denying this and stated it was a mistake on his part.

Correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't the OP also told to repost under his legal name and that he needed to have his business name verified before he could post under it?

You are correct and he followed those guidelines and did not post under his business name again.

 

[Focal]

Also, in regards to not doing anything for 12 days, the original email addressing the violation did NOT list any immediate corrective action on the part of the customer. In fact, it reads more like, in the future, please do this ...

 

[Lucille]

Nick,
Please cite where you found the excerpt you posted.

 

[Wraith]

Wouldn't that mean that KS approved the business account only to immediately decline it to circumvent the refund step. If they approved the enhanced business account only to close it based off the same criteria that they need to approve it, then the fault is on KS.

An account is an account. There is no little switch that makes one account different from another account.

An enhanced account has nothing what so ever to do with whether an account is a business account or an individual account. An enhanced account only means you paid a little extra to get a perk to post your ad titles with pretty colors and throw in a thumbnail graphics.

The difference between a business account and an individual account is the NAME the person is using in the ads. When you post an ad you can put whatever "name" you want on the ads. UNTIL you have been approved in writing by KS that you can post under a business name - your account is considered to be an individual account and therefore you are only allowed to post under your own personal name. Once you have provided proof to KS that you are legally able to do business under an actual business name and they have verified your DBA they will tell you that you can now post your ads using your business name.

The OP chose to post ads under a business name without providing any proof they were legally able to do business under that name. They were told by KS to stop doing that and to post under their own personal name until such a time that they provided proof that they could legally post under a business name.

 

[Focal]

Nick,
Please cite where you found the excerpt you posted.

I cannot link it because of the procedure to get to it. You have to start creating an account and enter info to get to that point. If you start creating one, you can see it before paying. I assure you it is there.

 

[Wraith]

So, in summary, if someone were to make a simple mistake of using their hobby name as a business name then they will be blacklisted from kingsnake classifieds. It seems like the majority of hobbyists use a name to identify themselves when selling and if you make this mistake on KS, you will be classified the same as customers that "circumvent" rules, scam, or repeativly violate the rules ... With no warning.

There is no way to accidentally post under a hobby name. Your personal name is your hobby name. If you do business under any name other than your personal name then you are attempting to pass yourself off as an actual business and therefore that name must be legally registered before you can use it. The OP tried to pass himself off as a business with no proof of legal registration of that name. He was told by KS that he was required to post under his own personal name until he could prove he could legally use the business name "Black Panther Zoological Supply" in his ads. The OP apparently didn't like that answer and threw a hissy fit and committed additional fraud and theft of services.


http://www.kingsnake.com/verify.html

By law to advertise commercial goods or services using any name other than your own as an individual, you must register that name using any one of a number of government mandated registration methods. Most commonly this is done by filing an Assumed Name Certificate or a Doing Business As (DBA) registration, usually through your County registrar's office. Other methods include registering a Trademark, or filing Letters of Incorporation as a corporation or as an LLC. Any one of these registration instruments will give you the legal authority to operate a business under an assumed, or business name and do things such as accept money, open a business checking account, or market your products or services. These documents are required by law to provide links between the assumed name and the business owners for matters of taxation and legal liability.

Do I Need to Register?

Let's use as an example a fictional person named Bob Johnson. Bob has some geckos and supplies he wants to sell on our site, but he is not sure if he needs to be a Registered Business. We asked our legal department to tell us what Bob needs to do to sell his geckos and this is how they broke it down for us.

If ads are posted as posted by Bob Johnson he will NOT need a registration
If ads are posted as posted by Bob Johnson's Geckos he will NOT need a registration
If ads are posted as posted by Bob Johnson's Albino Geckos he will NOT need a registration
If ads are posted as posted by Bob Johnson's Starlight Geckos he WILL need a registration
If ads are posted as posted by Bob's Geckos he WILL need a registration
If ads are posted as posted by Starlight Geckos he WILL need a registration

* In the case that Bob has legally registered Bob Johnson's Geckos by filing a DBA he may choose to register it with us as well to get the registered business button, but it will not be required.

 

[Wraith]

Maybe I missed it, but where did xPantherx ever say they claimed they didn't authorize the charge?

Reading the pdf's, kingsnake sent a warning about posting using the business name but specifically said they could continue to post ads using their individual name. Then when the account apparently just vanished kingnsake pretty much refused to help or figure out what happened. I'd dispute the charge too.

Accounts are not deleted. They don't just vanish. They get locked (banned) to keep the person from being able to log into it. If an account were deleted then the transaction/posting history disappears and someone else can later potentially sign up to use that name on the site.

When a person pays for a service on KS, use that service, gets caught red-handed breaking the terms they agreed to abide by while using the service, is given a chance to correct that mistake but doesn't, and then has the nerve to file a fraudulent charge back claim with Paypal afterwards, is it any wonder Jeff locked down their account. The Op filed a claim with paypal trying to say that someone had used their card without their permission to purchase the account on KS. Since the Op is here on fauna bitching about issues with his ability to post as an unverified business on KS, then it's safe to say that the charge back they filed with paypal is a flat out lie, fraudulent, and criminal on their part. With a bald-face like like that, Jeff obviously had no problem making that info public on his FB page.

 

[Lucille]

I can completely agree with that, but during that time period, the staff pulled his ads and the account was unused, based off of the first post. If the account had still been accessed under the business name, I can understand.

The thing is, after the fraudulent Paypal deal. I'm not really willing to believe that his first post was a 100% valid story of what really went down.
In my opinion, if the OP will lie to Paypal, he will lie to us.

 

[treeboa]

The thing is, after the fraudulent Paypal deal. I'm not really willing to believe that his first post was a 100% valid story of what really went down.
In my opinion, if the OP will lie to Paypal, he will lie to us.

I have to agree, Lucille. In most cases like this it comes out later that the OP did something to piss Jeff off. Maybe that's unprofessional, but it is HIS site and posting there is a privilege, not a right.

 

[Ken Foose]

I've been using kingsnake.com for years. I have hundreds of ads there. And I've done very good business using that site. I've had ads removed every so often for one reason or the other. Sometimes my fault, sometimes confusion on their part. It's always been easy to fix and I've had nothing but great cooperation from Jeff and his staff.

Read the TOS, follow the rules. Pretty easy, even for someone like me. I don't like rules. But I do like making sales. If I can do it, trust me, anyone can. Toe the line and don't be stupid. Simple enough.

 

[j_dunlavy]

"Also, you did make up that part about refusing to give his business information. He stated that he was in the process and did not have the paperwork. Regardless, he is not denying this and stated it was a mistake on his part."


I meant that Jeff B said the OP refused.
To quote Jeff's Facebook:
"I don't know who this Kaiden Waldron-Francis from "Black Panther Zoological" in Rockport Mass is, but they refused to provide our staff legal documentation on their business, and then filed a chargeback on their purchase after being told that they were required to post as an individual until they could provide us their legal documentation. They claimed that their card had been used without authorization, which was in itself a fraudulent claim."

I have to agree with Lucille's statement:
"The thing is, after the fraudulent Paypal deal. I'm not really willing to believe that his first post was a 100% valid story of what really went down.
In my opinion, if the OP will lie to Paypal, he will lie to us."

I don't believe this guy would be banned for what he says he was banned for without there being more to the story that is being conveniently left out.
I have seen time and time again somebody starts a bad guy thread because they could not work something out after they mouthed off.

 

[j_dunlavy]

I've been using kingsnake.com for years. I have hundreds of ads there. And I've done very good business using that site. I've had ads removed every so often for one reason or the other. Sometimes my fault, sometimes confusion on their part. It's always been easy to fix and I've had nothing but great cooperation from Jeff and his staff.

Read the TOS, follow the rules. Pretty easy, even for someone like me. I don't like rules. But I do like making sales. If I can do it, trust me, anyone can. Toe the line and don't be stupid. Simple enough.

Well Put Ken. Follow the rules and it's all good.