I left a 0 star rating yet ASTROMART Changed it to 5 stars

As the title states, my intention was to warn others of purchasing from an individual (Anders Halme).  The support@astromart.com link doesn't appear to work when leaving the following remark:

"DO NOT PURCHASE anything from Anders Halme!!  Agreement was made to purchase a Chromacor from Anders Halme for $500.00 USD, at the beginning of October 2022.  As part of the agreement, shipping was included.  He stated he was shipping the Chromacor via the least expensive method (red flag1).  A month expired, no Chromacor received (#2).  Several other inquires over the months resulted Anders indicating he was checking shipping status with various agencies, no updates provided to me (#3). In December 2022 I sent him a request to refund my purchase via the same financial system initially used for the purchase - no response from Anders Halme (#4).  On this day I sent stronger request for Anders to remedy & reminding him of our purchase agreement.  At this point I believe all is lost.  I will continue here on out to get Anders Halme's obligation fulfilled.  I've noticed that the advertisement has been pulled off ASTROMART and that the support@astromart.com link does not appear to be working.

Dan Bartlett"

I can pretty well assure you that AM did not just arbitrarily change the rating. Not that I have any way to proving that other than I have been here a long long time and participated in beta testing and had quite a bit of communication with Herb. As far as I know Herb is the only one with access levels outside of the programmers themselves that could do that. I dont for one second believe Herb would have altered it. Much more likely you just mistakenly didnt get it right when entering it.

Sounds like you didnt use paypal goods and services for the transaction but rather some other method. Although at this point since its been months you wouldnt have recourse via paypal either.....As I recall there is something like a 45 day time limit for that.

I cant speak to the support email not working although it has always worked when I used it, but I have not used it in quite some time now. 

Originally Posted by Greg Shaffer

I can pretty well assure you that AM did not just arbitrarily change the rating. Not that I have any way to proving that other than I have been here a long long time and participated in beta testing and had quite a bit of communication with Herb. As far as I know Herb is the only one with access levels outside of the programmers themselves that could do that. I dont for one second believe Herb would have altered it. Much more likely you just mistakenly didnt get it right when entering it.

Sounds like you didnt use paypal goods and services for the transaction but rather some other method. Although at this point since its been months you wouldnt have recourse via paypal either.....As I recall there is something like a 45 day time limit for that.

I cant speak to the support email not working although it has always worked when I used it, but I have not used it in quite some time now. 

I don't know anything about who and what, beta testing etc.  Since there seems to be an air of hostility in your words, I can assure you that at NO time did I touched the star ratings in any fashion.  I left them alone or for any other purpose - blank!

Since this was an overseas transaction, I used Transfer WISE, with no guarantee of negative recourse.

My hopes is that ASTROMART doesn't permit anyone by the name of Anders Halme (under his account) to have the opportunity to do business here.  Also the support email doesn't work under the two different browsers I've tried - perhaps it's because of the ERROR 404 that I'm getting when I attempt to go to the original advertisement.

I have a lengthy email trail between the "Seller" and myself if ASTROMART is interested.
Dan

Originally Posted by Dan Bartlett

I don't know anything about who and what, beta testing etc.  Since there seems to be an air of hostility in your words, I can assure you that at NO time did I touched the star ratings in any fashion.  I left them alone or for any other purpose - blank!

Sorry, no hostility intended. My point was to assure you that I have enough experience dealing with Herb directly to have an opinion regarding his possibly having altered your feedback. No hostility, just an attempt to strongly convey my belief that he would not alter it. 

Since this was an overseas transaction, I used Transfer WISE, with no guarantee of negative recourse.

Are you saying PP doesnt offer overseas payment services?....I seem to recall they do, though perhaps not -everywhere-. The bottom line here is when dealing with people you dont know, particularly for amounts over $100 (or amounts you are uncomfortable with losing) you should either use paypal goods and services or failing that a legit escrow service.

My hopes is that ASTROMART doesn't permit anyone by the name of Anders Halme (under his account) to have the opportunity to do business here.  Also the support email doesn't work under the two different browsers I've tried - perhaps it's because of the ERROR 404 that I'm getting when I attempt to go to the original advertisement.

If you really want to follow through with Herb and cant get the support email to work for you, you can always call Astromart directly on the phone, he is usually there during business hours. Not sure what you mean about the support email not working via browsers, it is an email address and is used with an email program not a browser. Something like live mail, thunderbird, outlook, mailbird etc. 

It is more likely that the scammer has already been discovered, banned and his account and ads removed already so you get a 404 error when trying to view the original ad. That wouldnt be related to the support email address in any way. Can you still access his profile? If you can then likely he himself deleted the ad.

I have a lengthy email trail between the "Seller" and myself if ASTROMART is interested.
Dan

Once you contact Herb he may want you to send a copy......Just be aware that beyond banning them there is little AM can or does offer regarding resolution.

Your defense of a system that clearly did not work for me is admirable. As opposed to entertaining the possibility of a glitch in the system, you’ve defended the system. 

Circumstances are what they are concerning the transaction, whether PayPal or transfer wise is an important.  That was a decision made with the best interest at the time.

Astro Mart now has a five star rating for an advertiser who has failed in their end of the purchasing agreement. You believe he has already been caught, when, in fact, he now has a perfect reputation on this site.

I personally can afford to lose $500 in transaction, but others may not be able to.  At this point, I see no point in continuing this conversation. 

Bad Guy one, good guy zero.

Originally Posted by Dan Bartlett

Your defense of a system that clearly did not work for me is admirable. As opposed to entertaining the possibility of a glitch in the system, you’ve defended the system. 

I was defending Herb.....system glitches do happen. However your post implied that Herb changed your rating. I am fairly certain that didnt happen. That is the long and short of it.

Circumstances are what they are concerning the transaction, whether PayPal or transfer wise is an important.  That was a decision made with the best interest at the time.

Astro Mart now has a five star rating for an advertiser who has failed in their end of the purchasing agreement. You believe he has already been caught, when, in fact, he now has a perfect reputation on this site.

I personally can afford to lose $500 in transaction, but others may not be able to.  At this point, I see no point in continuing this conversation. 

Bad Guy one, good guy zero.

So it sounds like the account is still active which is what I asked.....in that case I highly recommend you call AM and speak with Herb so he can follow through on it and get the scammer removed since you dont seem to be able to send emails.

That said, you are right. No point in continuing this lol I am sorry for your getting burned.....