Ciamillo Story: four years in the making (2013 - 2016)

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boysa
Posts: 1430
Joined: Sun May 04, 2008 10:03 pm
Location: Too far from my bike.

by boysa

KCookie wrote:I really don't know how some people can still be in business with such awful service.


Because people continue to buy from them! None of this is a well-kept secret. It's all out in the open for everyone to see, horror story after horror story. I guess people are delusional and think, "That couldn't possibly happen to me."
"Deserve's got nothing to do with it." William Munny

liketoride
Posts: 408
Joined: Wed Nov 21, 2012 3:05 am

by liketoride

That is what i think too, his emails with next week, next week, next week. If you hear next week 3 times, it is not going to happen. With all the information on this thread about products never coming in, you have to know where there is smoke there is fire. Don't get burned.

by Weenie


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wingguy
Posts: 4318
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2012 11:43 pm

by wingguy

Indeed, it's so obvious. I'm designing it, it'll be ready next week! I'm testing it, it'll be ready next week! I'm redesigning it again, it'll be finished next week! Ok I'll send you some brakes instead, you'll have them next week. Now I'm redesigning again, it'll be blah blah blah.

The one thing I notice the OP hasn't tried is "Ted, I'm contacting a lawyer. If the money or the product isn't in my hands next week I will be forced to take you to court." Of course no-one wants to be that guy, but TC is so clearly a habitual con-man and thief that he's waived his right to be treated any better.

heartman4ever
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2012 5:04 pm
Location: San Diego, CA
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by heartman4ever

Thanks guys. Your replies have been great and helped me feel, well, a little less alone in this whole mess. I've dealt with people like Ted before and assuming we give him the benefit of the doubt, he is well intentioned but has serious completion issues and inability to properly evaluate his ability to deliver on promises made. As has been observed by others, this is usually a death blow for businesses where customer service and reliability are fundamental. In Ciamillo's case running a boutique high end road bike parts supply (among other things) the clientele is often willing to put up with a bit more "quirky" personality in how business is conducted to get relatively rare parts.

I ended up getting a ROTOR crank to replace the Gravitas crank Ted sent me (that quickly failed on the initial ride) and have a variety of brakes that I like including Tri-Rig, ee brakes, FSA, REVL, and even a couple Ciamillo negative G along with the usual Campagnolo SR sets. I'd rather ride than litigate with Ted. As the saying goes, karma is a bitch. He knows and what he's done and it's pretty clear he doesn't care. I figured after four years it was time to accept reality. I'm out several hundred dollars, but I suspect Ted will lose a lot more than that in sales from the spread of my sad story.

If anything else changes or Ted comes out of the woodwork, then you will all be the first to know what happens.

:thumbup:

wingguy
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Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2012 11:43 pm

by wingguy

heartman4ever wrote:As the saying goes, karma is a bitch.

But it isn't though, is it? Ted's been doing this exact same thing for years and years and years but he still has customers, he's still screwing them over and by all appearances he's happy as a pig in shit about it.

And the thing is, you may well not have to actually do anything, you just have to threaten to do it. If he knows there will be no come back on him whatsoever Ted will just keep screwing you and everyone else he's screwing. If he's faced with the prospect of maybe having to spend money to fend you off then the chances get a lot higher that he will suddenly 'remember' to process some money or some product back out to you this time. So my advice would be to delete the comment you made above so it isn't in the public domain and get back into contact with Ted. It's not going to cost you anything - worst case scenario you're back where you are now, best case you get what is yours.

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53x12
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Location: On the bike

by 53x12

:popcorn:

Same old same old.
"Marginal gains are the only gains when all that's left to gain is in the margins."

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corky
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Joined: Thu Jul 06, 2006 5:53 pm
Location: The Surrey Hills

by corky

So in the USA there is no Ombudsman? No Trading Standards Office? Nobody that you can report him to?


WHat about US Bicycle Industry?, is there no one there that can do anything about this Scheister?

xena
Banned
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Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2014 9:49 pm

by xena

Karma :lol: Karma is BS. Money lets you buy nice stuff :thumbup:
Get your money back , chase the devious designer until he coughs up the cash. Hassle and hassle.
Give Donald Trump a call :lol:
Seriously don't let him get away with it again.
Ted if your reading this WTF. Pay up what you owe. Your business model is rubbish.
That's why I have never bought any of your products or even tempted like others were to your WW special offers
You never deliver the goods man. I do not salute you in anyway unless you want to send me a set of superlight carbon brakes for free :lol:
Xena a demi god among the digital demimonde that is WW community

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ms6073
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Location: Houston, Texas

by ms6073

corky wrote:is there no one there that can do anything about this Scheister?

There are plenty of avenues that could be pursued. Many would advised to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau but not sure that will do much good as his business is currently rated with an F with 14 complaints, 13 of which remain unanswered. Customers could also file a claim in small claims court and if he fails to show in court. Charges of criminal fraud could be filed at the city and/or county level. At the state level, the office of the State Attorney General could be contacted regarding his continued fraudulent business practices. Seems like it might be a good idea to send an email to 60-minutes outlining the con the guy has engaged in and reference these threads, as major television exposure tends to get peoples attention pretty quick. At the Federal level, the man has actively engaged in interstate mail/wire fraud, so the US Postal Service Inspector General could look into the matter. Finally, and based on the numerous threads and length of time that has passed, it possibly could be argued that Ted has a lot of peoples money and knowingly engaged in an ongoing global criminal enterprise :D to defraud people. The problem is all of those actions require the people effected to engage with the applicable authorities in order to pursue the issue, and I am sure most want what they payed for or a refund so they can be done with it. Since nobody has pursued such legal recourse, I suspect that from Ted's perspective, he probably feels he is just a victim of circumstances and sees nothing wrong with the way he has conducted business these past 10-15 years. Sure the man is a brilliant designer, but until reality or a big dude with no sense humor named Guido, comes knocking on his door, nothing short of a cease and desist letter from the State Attorney General, class action lawsuit, court order, and/or criminal charges, are going to make an impact on the man!
- Michael
"People should stop expecting normal from me... seriously, we all know it's never going to happen"

hanzo111
Posts: 37
Joined: Sat Mar 24, 2012 5:40 pm

by hanzo111

I have 3 sets of his brakes. Seems the guy has some sort of sociopathic tendencies. It took only a few weeks for the first set to arrive. The others were a mission of futile yelling and threat of lawsuits, not to mention 4 months.

The reason I said sociopathic is that he honestly sounds like he believes what he is saying. When he says it will be there in a week, he really means it; but it's all a lie.

Threaten a law suit, he will refund your money.

White him a letter stating your case, cc a attorney under your signature, give him 5 days to refund in full or go file a small claims case for your money. He will have to appear or send a lawyer in your state; both cost money, so he will settle.

Regards
:D

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wheelsONfire
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Location: NorthEU

by wheelsONfire

As i have seen it, it should be best to buy from Irish cycles which is distributor for his products.
They for sure will help you out. There is no way he can live without a distributor.
Bikes:

Ax Lightness Vial EVO Race (2019.01.03)
Open *UP* (2016.04.14)
Paduano Racing Fidia (kind of shelved)


Ex bike; Vial EVO D, Vial EVO Ultra, Scott Foil, Paduano ti bike.

Maelochs
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue Jan 12, 2016 7:04 pm

by Maelochs

Yeah, this is a classic case for small claims court. Filing might cost you a hundred or so, but you can file for the max, claiming fraud and deception and he tied up your money which you could have used to make more money or buy other parts ...

I think we have an obligation to help others in the cycling community. Weight Weenies is a great site and all, but how many members? And how many will read this thread? maybe if enough people sue him he will either stop making BS claims or will shut down, which won't hurt the cycling community seeing as all he seems to provide are headaches and lies.

On another hand ... people are content to send other people hundreds of dollars for nothing ... IM me for my address and write that fat check.

Seems silly when I say it ... but to me it seems absurd that you are going to send this guy several hundred dollars and then just walk away. You are encouraging his bad behavior and helping him rob others.

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prendrefeu
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by prendrefeu

I love these threads! So much heart-warming camaraderie when you find yourself among other victims, yet so much popcorn at the same time.
Exp001 || Other projects in the works.

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ms6073
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Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:24 pm
Location: Houston, Texas

by ms6073

wheelsONfire wrote:As i have seen it, it should be best to buy from Irish cycles which is distributor for his products.

Thats good to know but having just visited their site, I would be a little concerned about this tidbit excerpted from the 'Contact Us' page on that site:

Some of our orders are dispatched from multiple warehouses such as Ciamillo brakes and therefore may arrive in separate packages
- Michael
"People should stop expecting normal from me... seriously, we all know it's never going to happen"

McGilli
Posts: 373
Joined: Sun Jun 07, 2015 6:57 pm

by McGilli

OP - I'd send all of your information to The Consumerist.

https://consumerist.com

Hopefully they will then contact him regarding your case - presenting all you have given them as evidence - and then they'll take his reply - and it will all go up for a much huger audience to see than you'll ever get here. Time after time reading their site - just getting the Consumerist involved is enough for the person/company to get their act together and resolve the entire issue before it really blows up in their face publicly.

Also - include any forum threads from people here or other sites - that way if he decides not to respond tho them - they still may post a story as a warning and indicating he has declined to resolve these matters.

Oh, and the BBB ratings - they love including that stuff.

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

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