I've purchased some item from amazon.com and performanceshock - ohlins coilover for my car. Decided to use viaddress due to feedback/reviews, tracking status showed that the item arrived and signed by this person named Hershberger. Next, paid for my item to be ship and since then, no updates or follow-up. Their business info is as follow:

Viaddress

Via Phone:
U.S. +1 574-742-8203
Monday to Friday (9:00 AM to 5:00 PM US Eastern Time)

Via Mail:
VIAddress Distribution
530 East Lexington Avenue
Elkhart, Indiana 46516
United States

I have in fact tried, calling them - engaged, emailing them - no reply. To take this matter further and to show that my complaints are legit, here's a list of the item that I have purchased/delivered:

Order date: 2nd August 2010
Item 1: Scosche HA1558B 2007 Honda FIT DIN and Double Din Kit Color Matched
Status: Delivered
Location: Resident
Signed for by: HERSHBERGER
Ship Carrier: UPS
Tracking ID: 1Z3F9A460304713580
Latest Event: Elkhart IN
Delivered - Aug 05, 2010 12:26:00 PM

Item 2: EBC Brakes GD850 GD Series Front Sport Rotor Kit -2 Piece
Status: Delivered
Location: Resident
Signed for by: HERSHBERGER
Ship Carrier: UPS
Tracking ID: 1ZY3759X0375495593
Latest Event: Elkhart IN

Item 3: Denso (3401) SKJ20DR-M13 Iridium Long Life Spark Plug, Pack of 1 4x Denso (3401) SKJ20DR-M13 Iridium Long Life Spark Plug, Pack of 1
Status: Delivered
Signed for by: U.S. Postal Service Delivered
Ship Carrier: USPS
Tracking ID: 9102901001297117691194
Latest Event: Elkhart IN
Delivered - Aug 13, 2010 10:44:00 AM

Item 4: EBC Brakes DP2891 Greenstuff Brake Pad
Status: Delivered
Signed for by: U.S. Postal Service Delivered
Ship Carrier: USPS
Tracking ID: 9102901001299142210753
Latest Event: Elkhart IN
Delivered - Aug 11, 2010 11:08:00 AM
Delivered - Aug 05, 2010 12:26:00 PM

Item 5: Fram CA10233 Rigid Panel Air Filter
Status: Delivered
Location: Resident
Signed for by: HERSHBERGER
Ship Carrier: UPS
Tracking ID: 1Z5VY2570347628268
Latest Event: Elkhart IN
Delivered - Aug 17, 2010 9:54:00 AM

Item 6: Hayden, Inc. 677 Transmission Oil Cooler
Status: In transit
Ship Carrier: USPS
Tracking ID: 9102901001299145018288
Latest Event: Elkhart IN
Delivery attempted - Aug 21, 2010 9:30:00 AM

Item 7: LOOK!!! Ohlins Honda Fit GD1/GD3 DFV kit [HOV KITFIT] - $1,599.00 : Koni, Ohlins, Moton, Penske, Hypercoils, Your Racing Shocks Shop!
UPS Tracking Number:1Z0821VA0393499243
Service:GROUND
Weight:54.00 Lbs
Shipped/Billed On:08/09/2010
Delivered On:08/13/2010 12:05 P.M.
Delivered To:ELKHART, IN, US
Signed By:HERSHBERGER
Location:RECEIVER


As I'm located in Australia, I have limited resources and knowledge. Hence I'm hoping if any kind souls are able to offer some form of advice/help. Can anyone help to check to see if they can get through their number as I'm not sure if it is just me (since I'm in Australia) who can't get through their phone lines or their number is engaged all the time.

 

im in washington i wish i could help ya man, good luck!

 

I just tried the number and they picked up on the 3rd ring (maybe they are screening calls and not picking up any coming from outside the U.S.).

It could be an elaborate rip-off scheme.

This might explain the positive reviews.

If you don't get a positive response from them, I'd try contacting your local police regarding international internet fraud.

edit: since many of the items were sent to viaddress using the U.S. Postal service, you can file a complaint with them. I called the USPS inspector unit and they suggest filling out an online complaint since you're in Australia.

here's the link.

I asked them what you could expect by doing this, and the postal inspector's office was pretty vague. They just said it depends on their investigation.

 

Thanks for the info. I read the one that they were paying people for doing reviews for them. Not sure if anyone heard of IC3? I lodged a complaint last night, not sure if anyone is going to be following up since I'm sure there's tonnes of scams out there everyday.

And also thanks for the link regarding the USPS inspector unit.

I'm not sure why viaddress is still in the business, I would personally think that servicing customer is one of the most important aspect in their business. But it doesn't seem to be the case with mine as all the emails and calls didn't seem to get through, and nobody updates me on anything except asking me to pay to have my item shipped.

Since I paid for the shipping charges via PayPal, I have also filed a dispute. After 2 days, viaddress finally replied me this morning:

We found your payment we will be unable to ship until you close your PayPal dispute.

Best regards,

Alexandra Marks
CSR Team
Viaddress Team

----------------------------------

My reaction was like "wtf, no apologies or whatsoever explanation in the delay."

 

Don't close that dispute until they ship you what you're due.

 

Call or email this lady:

Sarah Van dyke,
Public Relations Manager
+1 - 574-307-1046‎
contact @ viaddress . com
Viaddress.com
530 E Lexington Ave
Elkhart, IN 46516
United States

She responded to some internet board complaints.

 

I did read some of the complaints and the way that she addresses them.
Most of it, stating that the claims were fake and was filed by competitors.
I'm not sure how far I can get if I were to contact her. I will try to see if I can get her but looking at that email address, it does only look like a general public email address.

 

yeah, I looked at IC3. It's associated with the FBI. I think you're more likely to get action from the postal inspector (link above) or maybe the BBB (link below). Unfortunately, internet crime is rampant, and since it's just credit card and mail fraud, rarely does anyone get caught. When they are it's because they are huge. This is a small operation that has only been going a few months.

In addition to calling them, I spent some time sniffing around yesterday.

They registered the domain viaddress.com in feb 2009. They don't appear to have any web presence until Jan 2010 and then it literally exploded. I think this is consistent with paid endorsements (paying people to write positive reviews). Besides review sites all over the world they got on facebook and youtube. They've covered the internet, that's for sure.

Their website is elaborate enough that it may have taken them 9 months or so to set it up.

googling their street address doesn't mean much. Looks like a tiny office and loading dock.

You should also contact the better business bureau (BBB). BBB is really nothing more than a reporting agency, but at least they would post a negative report and possibly keep others from being scammed. They might even contact the business; this pressure might get them to forward your items. Here's the page (with no information other than address and phone number) that BBB has for them. There's a link on the right to file a complaint.

It's possible they're legitimate and are in way over their heads, but the pattern of suspicious reviews and number of vehemently negative complaints don't look good. The van dyke lady follows around the few negative reviews and tries to discredit them.

I called them from a company phone where I work (don't hurt me!), maybe that's why they picked up as the caller ID wasn't from an individual or outside the country.

Edit: also talked to an ex-cop I work with. He said the IC3 (FBI) would be the best law agency to get involved, but they probably won't do anything since it's small at this time. He suggested contacting Amazon and Ebay's customer service; maybe they can bring pressure on this outfit even though they don't do business with them directly, if only to blacklist the shipping address. Another angle would be to contact Federal Express and United Parcel service. They should be interested in the fact their brands are being used to lend legitimacy to these people.

Also contact Verisign (security seal prominent on the website). It looks weird as the business is registered in Santa Cruz California with them even though they operate from Indiana.

 

On the paypal dispute, of course they can and should ship prior to the paypal dispute being closed; your receipt of the shipments is what would resolve the dispute! This is really the best channel for complaining as it's the only direct link between you and this company.

 

Their "linkedIn" profile is laughable. None of the 4 "employees" have more than 4 connections; I bet they just listed each other. Since they list past experience working at FedEx, they should have hundreds of linkedin connections coming from their time at FedEX and having formed their own company.

Their entire web presence didn't exist 8 months ago.

 

Thanks for the massive information provided. I have lodged in a report with postalinspector. I'll lodge another one to BBB to warn other people who's thinking of engaging them. I really do hope someone can at least stop them from causing any more damage to other people.

I tried calling them again - since you said you're able to get through. Again, the line get cut off etc. What the hell...

 

I have also lodged complaints to BBB... also contacted amazon in regards but no response yet.

 

I can't say too strongly do not close the paypal dispute. Having sold through Ebay and having used paypal to receive payments, I know paypal acts as broker. The shipper can and should ship prior to closing the dispute. No harm if you receive the items; you can close the dispute then. You have a limited time to file a dispute with paypal.

Paypal is probably their major source of revenue, and is the most likely way of getting your stuff.

 

The way I look at this from their point of view, PayPal is quite sensitive to these dispute, the more dispute they get, the more risky they gonna get their account limited. And the reason why they're asking me to close the dispute prior to the shipment of my items is mainly because they don't wanna screw up their PayPal account. The whole situation is just so dodgy, I mean, if everything is legit, why do they have to filter out the calls, well at least that's what seem to be the issue here.

 

I suspect the reason they want you to close the dispute with paypal is so they get the money without having to ship anything.

If they hope to stay in "business" long they need this source of money.

 

Agreed - when you filed the dispute, Paypal probably yoinked the disputed money so they are hoping you will close the dispute, they'll get the money back, then they can go on failing to ship the item to you.

Also, their e-mail says they "found" the payment? How does one lose a paypal payment? It's not like you sent them a check that was misplaced.

Not at all credible.

 

exactly and once you close a dispute you can't open another one for the same transaction...I'm betting they know this. I wouldn't even buy from them based on what's been posted here. Just get your money back and find another way to get your items. Maybe a member here can help get the parts you need?

 

problem is he purchased the items from Amazon and other vendors and had them shipped to "viaddress" in Indiana at a personalized address, for them to forward to him in Australia. The US vendors don't ship internationally and have fulfilled their part of the transactions.

The only purchase he has made that's in dispute is over viadress's charges to forward ship the items. They're sitting on his purchases.

Need to give them as much grief as possible so it's worth their while to fulfill their obligations.

 

Thanks everyone for the inputs, especially to Steve. He's been helpful trying to dig them out for me. This is how I actually got cheated into trusting them that they will have my item shipped. I ordered a couple of "small item from amazon" and have them posted to viaddress, and when they received my item, it was updated on the site within a day. This gave me the impression that they're rather efficient on their service. That made me order a few more other item so that I can consolidate everything together, which will save me more on the shipping. But it didn't happened.

The latest update was on PayPal:

Please close the dispute so we can have your item ship to you.

Not apologetic at all - no way to do business in my opinion.

Is there anyone here who stays in Indiana?

 

Received updates on refunds on the PayPal fees:

From: Team VIAddress <contact@viaddress.com>
To: Patrick Yong <patrickyong@ymail.com>; patyong@gmail.com
Sent: Wed, 25 August, 2010 7:51:28 PM
Subject: Refund for shipping fees.

Dear Patrick,

We have told you numerous times that it is against our policy to ship items in your suite if the payment for the shipping fees is not fully received and verified or if it is being disputed by the Paypal account holder.


Dispatched Packages will also be intercepted prior to delivery if the payment for the shipping fees is disputed after dispatch.


Your packages were not shipped within 2 business days because you did not provide the customs information that we asked for immediately.


We have now issued a full refund for the shipping fees as you requested in the Paypal dispute.


If you want us ship your items, please log into your Viaddress account and submit the payment for the shipping fees.


If you do not wish to use our service, you are free to return your packages to the merchants at your own expense. You will need to contact the merchants and obtain RMA numbers and provide us with the pre-paid return shipping labels so we can return your items too the Vendors.


Items that arrived at your suite for over 60 days will be subject to additional storage fees.


Best regards,

Elliot Davidson
Account Manager
Viaddress Team
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Web: www.viaddress.com
Email: contact@viaddress.com
Tel US (+1) 574-742-8203


Copyright © 2010 VIAddress.com . All Rights Reserved.
For more Q/As, visit our F.A.Q.s page.
We understand the importance of privacy to our customers.
For more information, please consult our Privacy Policy.

This communication contains proprietary information and
may be confidential. If you are not the intended recipient,
the reading, copying, disclosure or other use of the contents
of this e-mail is strictly prohibited and you are instructed to
please delete this e-mail immediately.
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What I have responded and some emails on any previous communication:

Hi Elliot,

What you have said is totally untrue.

First, I have been contacted by your team to provide shipping information in which I have provided. This is a copy of a email in which was sent to you, without any further response from your team. As you can see, I have responded on the 17 August 2010, one day after being requested for the information. And also, I don't see any reason the need to provide these information as I thought I have already updated them on my dashboard, which in fact shows that your shipping, payment, dashboard system doesn't seem to be integrated. If this is the case, the thing you guys should do is to state it clearly on your website to have customer entering this information during the PayPal payment.

Second, I have not been told of any of those policy about receiving payment, verifying them etc. Even if that is the case, I have paid the item in full for the items in which I have stated below to be shipped out. And the payment was made and received by your team on the 14 August 2010 and it's now 26 August 2010, how do you explain this? As I have said above, I have already provided all the information needed for your team to ship the item out, even if your team doesn't check on the email that I sent - I have stated all those item on the PayPal dispute. There's no reason for your team to say that there's been no information provided.

Third, I have tried to email and call your team regarding this issue, and I couldn't get through. Also, it wouldn't be right to charge me any fees for items being kept 60 days because it is very clear that the communication system broke down at your end. It seems like you guys are unable to track which items are being paid for shipping, which I'm not responsible for them.

Lastly, I have already lodged complaints to various departments - Indiana State Police, BBB, Fedex, Postal Inspector, IC3-FBI regarding this issue. Reason being I didn't get any response after 10 working days. The only response I get is right after I raise a dispute on PayPal. Now can you please let me know how about do I go around paying for the shipping fees using PayPal so that your team will get it right this time. I'll make payment once I have received this information from you.

Regards
Patrick
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Email received on the 17 August 2010 - 3 days after payment made

The customs office in your country requires more detailed information about your shipment. Please provide us with a list of detailed information such as description, Item category, value associated with each order number in your account.

Please make sure to include the unit number with all the information required above to expedite your shipping request.

Your shipment will be dispatched as soon as we receive this information.

Best regards,

Kelly Snow
Account Management
Viaddress Team
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Web: www.viaddress.com
Email: contact@viaddress.com
Tel US (+1) 574-742-8203

<img style="border: 0px solid; width: 300px; min-height: 86px;" alt="">

Copyright © 2010 VIAddress.com . All Rights Reserved.
For more Q/As, visit our F.A.Q.s page.
We understand the importance of privacy to our customers.

For more information, please consult our Privacy Policy.

This communication contains proprietary information and
may be confidential. If you are not the intended recipient,
the reading, copying, disclosure or other use of the contents
of this e-mail is strictly prohibited and you are instructed to
please delete this e-mail immediately.

Web: www.viaddress.com
Email: contact@viaddress.com
Tel US (+1) 574-742-8203


Copyright © 2010 VIAddress.com . All Rights Reserved.
For more Q/As, visit our F.A.Q.s page.
We understand the importance of privacy to our customers.
For more information, please consult our Privacy Policy.

This communication contains proprietary information and
may be confidential. If you are not the intended recipient,
the reading, copying, disclosure or other use of the contents
of this e-mail is strictly prohibited and you are instructed to
please delete this e-mail immediately.
Bookmark us before you forget!
Follow us on Twitter
Join the fans on Facebook
Become a friend on Myspace
Join our network on Linkedin



-------------------------------
Pat

to Team
show details Aug 17


And how do I provide that? I have already provided the information that I wanted viaddress to declare on the shipping management dashboard.

Regards - Show quoted text -


On Mon, Aug 16, 2010 at 9:35 PM, Team VIAddress <contact@viaddress.com> wrote:
Yours Sincerely,
Patrick
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pat

to Team
show details Aug 17 (9 days ago)


Hi,

In regards to the previous email, these are the informations needed for customs declarations

Unit number / Address information where the item is located:

Patrick Yong
530 East Lexington Avenue
STE 135, Unit A923466.
ELKHART, INDIANA 46516
UNITED STATES

Details information of item to be posted:

Item 1 Order Number: VIA9964090
Description: Automotive parts - Suspension (Factory Refurbished)
Item Cat: Automotive
Value: $550

Item 2 Order Number: VIA5569604
Description: Automotive parts - Double din frame (Factory Refurbished)
Item Cat: Automotive
Value: $20

Item 3 Order Number: VIA3597846
Description: Automotive parts - Brake Pads
Item Cat: Automotive
Value: $40

Item 4 Order Number: VIA1228093
Description: Automotive parts - Brake Rotors
Item Cat: Automotive
Value: $80

Item 5 Order Number: VIA2721503
Description: Automotive parts - Plugs
Item Cat: Automotive
Value: $20

Total Value to declare: $710

Please advice me on the tracking number once they are ready for shipping.

Regards
Patrick