John Ross not delivering paid for JR500

I emailed John Ross on 5/2/19 inquiring if he had any of the JR 500s in the black finish. He replied on 5/3/19 and said he did and to send ffl. I called him on 5/3/19 and he said if I wanted one to pay by check to his mailing address. I sent the check on 5/5/19 and he received it on 5/9/19 and cashed it on 5/11/19 with check clearing on 5/13/19. FFL sent him info on 5/9/19 but got no response from him.
After the check cleared I emailed him to make sure everything was good; no response. Then I called him, no answer and no voicemail. To date I have called multiple times, emailed multiple times even texted him with no replies. 314-308-8261 was the number I used and there is no voicemail.
I in no way deem this acceptable. The one thing he did fast was cash the check.
As of 6/18/19 things have not changed. He has my money, I can't get in contact with him by phone, email, text etc.
www.facebook.com/john.ross.56232938. His facebook page is very active all during this time. He also does not respond to any facebook messages. He is not comatose.
Be aware of this if you try to purchase one. At least 2 others have messaged me and are in the exact same situation at the moment.

<<<<PLEASE NOTE THE DATE OF THE ORIGINAL POST. THE ORIGINAL DISPUTE THAT STARTED THIS THREAD HAS BEEN RESOLVED. THE THREAD HAS BEEN REOPENED ON 26 SEPTEMBER 2020 AT MR. ROSS' REQUEST TO ALLOW HIM TO RESPOND.>>>>

 

And this type of thing is why I never buy firearms from individuals where I can't take possession upon payment.

 

this is very unsettling............thought he was a straight up guy. hope you can get it cleared up.

 

I have also read as many threads as I can find on this and do see in the past his process has not been fast. I have been messaged by many other who in the past did receive JR 500s but had a very difficult time in doing it. Some had to try and watch when he was on FB and try to call him then but this has not worked for me. They had to try and call him multiple times from morning to night days on end. And he has no voicemail setup.
Really who has unlimited time to try to get in touch with someone who is doing everything not to be contacted after he gets your money.
Yes it probably is not the smartest thing to send someone a payment before product ships but this is the only way to purchase from him and in the past people have received the merchandise. Very few private citizens order 500 custom made revolvers from smith and wesson.

 

Why you also use a USPS Money Order - any fraud on his part now involves the Feds.

 

Welcome to THR, mtshooter69!

Two questions:

[1] Who is John Ross ... perhaps a THR Member unknown to me?

[2] What is a JR 500?

Sorry to read about your trouble.

 

John Ross was the mind behind the 500 S&W Magnum ('JR' on the JR 500 is simply his initials), writer of "Unintended Consequences," ran for the ATF director last term, and is a member here. He is well known, and if the OP's accusations are true (and I have no reason not to believe him) then that's disconcerting.

 

Try PMing him on here, can't hurt. His screen name is John Ross

 

I will give PMing him a shot. I would never set up a post like this if I just received what I paid for or had some credible communication on an appropriate timeline when the weapon will arrive at ffl.
Glad I paid for overnight shipping $100 (only option he gave back on 5/3).

 

Many thanks for the explanation! It was all news to me ... except for the "JR" part which I assumed was the case.

100 bucks for overnight shipping, too ... double OUCH!

 

Is PMing here the same as looking up a member ie John Ross and starting a conversation with him?

If so I did that and will see if I receive a response. Smoke signal are next, maybe that is what he prefers.

 

gun was 1495. I guess shouldn't say was cause i don't have it.

 

he needs a kick in the arse and ship what was paid for.

 

Just using the mail puts it on the jurisdiction of the Postal Inspectors.

 

But using THEIR MO means they give a little bit more than a rat's behind............

 

That is very disturbing. I hope everything turns out ok. That's alot of money.

 

Call him out on his Facebook page. Nothing to lose at this point.

 

I am not on facebook but one of the other guys in the same situation has tried but received no response.

 

I wouldn't try to PM him....I'd call him out on the public page in front of everyone.

 

I paid for a gun through the mail, offered over the internet, that I never received. I reported it to both the US Postal Inspectors and the FBI Internet Crimes section. After jumping through all their hoops and providing all the information they requested...I never heard from either agency again, just as I never heard from the seller again either. This was all last year.

If it's a one off deal the Feds don't give a chit. When laws are no longer enforced we are no longer a nation of laws.

Dave

 

How far does he live from you? Might be worth a weekend drive for a little face time. Maybe a call to his local PD and the fraud division. Also his local district attorney.

 

Have a buddy with a law degree? Send him certified mail with notice of intent to file suit for repayment of funds, and legal expenses if he does not produce the commodity promised or repayment in full. That should get him moving. If it doesn’t, then interstate fraud charges will.

I really hate to be heavy handed, but sounds like you held up your end of the deal and have been reasonable. I’m quite sure that there is another side to the story, but I can’t imagine it being a pleasant story considering where we are starting off.

 

I bought one directly from him about 7 or 8 years ago in a group buy over at castboolits. It took a while to get it, and it made a lot of us nervous over there. Everyone eventually got theirs. I don't know why getting the guns out to his customers in a timely manner isn't a priority for him, but it doesn't seem to be.

 

Yeah, I had a similar experience with mail fraud in which I lost $400. I'm sorry to say that my experience was basically the same. Money orders are not some magic fraud-prevention device.

 

I think this was the same guy who got upset when I asked him about why he thought he was qualified to run a nearly 5000 man gov't agency.