Nanaimo Gold - Shady Business Practices???

[FreeRad]

As posted on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/note.php?saved&&note_id=198011990240210

A couple of friends decided to purchase some bitcoins to see A) How easy they are to get a hold of, B) how easy they are to spend, C) try our hands at investing in a digital currency. Our quest began with trying to purchase some through CoinPal (http://coinpal.ndrix.com/) but due to one friend setting up the transaction and another trying to pay for it the process failed. Not very flexible and they have limits as to how many bitcoins you can purchase based on the time between the first purchase and the current purchase. The limits, as I understand it, are to prevent or at least lessen fraud, but it can be extremely counter productive to purchase them via this method. You can't get them fast enough and with the price fluctuations between the dollar and bitcoins lately the time frame is way to restrictive.

 

So we moved on. Our next step was Nanaimo Gold (https://www.nanaimogold.com/). The process seemed easy and the price seemed right so we decided to give it a try. We pooled our money and setup a Western Union Money Transfer following the rigid instructions sent in an email after we placed our buy order. Within an hour of placing the buy and receiving the email my friend went to a local business that does Western Union Money Transfers. All the info was filled out correctly, I know this because as I type this I have the form  and the email with the instructions. We even paid an extra $8 USD to accommodate faster processing, and the extra fees which Western Union charges to send money. So all said we spent about $300 for 190 bitcoins (190.02 BTC @ 1.5788),  $8 for a speedy transaction, and $28 in Western Union fees. Not too bad considering the cost came out to (1.7682 per BTC).

 

The next day I check my bitcoin address to see if the money was transferred. I informed my friend that the money wasn't in the account. He told me he'd check on it and see what he could do. Apparently, he emailed Nanaimo Gold via their web form at around 8AM on 4/26. After receiving no response by 3:11 PM on 4/26 he emailed again basically asking if this was a scam and if we'd been ripped off. 4/26 is a Tuesday. My friend received a response the next day or later that night basically stating that it's still Easter in Canada and the Banks are closed. My friend basically responded back that he wasn't trying to be a jerk but the lack of response made him a bit nervous and he wondered when we could expect delivery. No response.

 

Finally, last night 4/28, at around 11:05 EST, we receive an email stating that the security question was incorrect and he was now canceling the order and we could re-issue the order when this was resolved. We'd simply have to go to the Western Union and have them fix it then reissue the order on the site. So why then cancel the order? Why not allow us to attempt to resolve the issue before canceling the order? Well, it turns out that since the order was placed and Shane at Nanaimo Gold got back to me the price of Bitcoins to USD increased $.70 per coin and Nanaimo Gold no longer wanted to honor the old price. This time I emailed Shane back from my friends account and pretty much told him the same thing. He responded by stating that we messed it up and that isn't his problem. I informed him that I was looking at the paperwork and it's all correct on our end, if there was an error due to Western Union then we should be given and opportunity to fix it.

 

That was the last communication, as of 10:40 AM EST on 4/29. The only thing I can do at this point is to try to get back as much of the money as I can, and wait for the price of bitcoins to come down to something a bit more reasonable. I don't expect Shane or Nanaimo Gold to hold up their end of the bargain and I've accepted that I may have to take a loss on the $28 in fees fro Western Union. I don't think that our request to attempt to resolve the problem was out of line or far fetched considering the circumstances, but I suppose I'm biased. The only recourse I have is to let as many people as I can know about my experience with this company.  I will have to speak with my friend before I publish the emails so at this time they aren't included.

 

Be wary when dealing with this company. They aren't customer oriented and they lack any semblance of ethics in my opinion. They haven't made any offer to try and resolve this issue in any way.

[NghtRppr]

If you are still looking to buy Bitcoins, check out my website at https://www.bitcoin2cash.com which does not charge any fees to purchase BTC. It's cash by mail only and the prices are currently around $1.72. Good luck and welcome to the community.

[Stephen Gornick]

the prices are currently around $1.72.

There is a single bid totalling $27.82 at that price, currently.  The next closest bids after that are closer to what can be found on other markets: http://bitcoin2cash.com/orders.php

[FreeRad]

If you are still looking to buy Bitcoins, check out my website at https://www.bitcoin2cash.com which does not charge any fees to purchase BTC. It's cash by mail only and the prices are currently around $1.72. Good luck and welcome to the community.

How does it work?

[FreeRad]

the prices are currently around $1.72.

There is a single bid totalling $27.82 at that price, currently.  The next closest bids after that are closer to what can be found on other markets: http://bitcoin2cash.com/orders.php

.

Yeah, we'd need more than that and paying close to $3 each isn't going to work for us right now. It's a shame Nanaimo Gold wasn't a bit more honest in their practices.

[NghtRppr]

the prices are currently around $1.72.

There is a single bid totalling $27.82 at that price, currently.  The next closest bids after that are closer to what can be found on other markets: http://bitcoin2cash.com/orders.php

You should understand that when I quote prices they can change a lot in two hours and I have no control over that. It's probably a fluke that the $1.72 ask is still there at all.

Yeah, we'd need more than that and paying close to $3 each isn't going to work for us right now. It's a shame Nanaimo Gold wasn't a bit more honest in their practices.

The prices are based on the market. You should put a bid in at whatever price you are looking for and it might encourage someone to sell them at that price. You shouldn't wait for a price to be at what you want before you place a bid. As for how the system works, it's fairly simple, you deposit money into your account, place a bid for X number of bitcoins at a certain price and then wait for someone to match that price and the system will perform the trade. Once you have purchased bitcoins you can have them sent to any address you want or relist them at a higher price.

The market is moving pretty fast right now and I seriously doubt you will find anyone willing to sell that far below market price unless they are doing so to draw traffic to their exchange, like I've done in the past.

[Ricochet]

Nanaimo Gold has been shown to be fairly trustworthy in the past, so this accusation is somewhat surprising.  If your story is true though, then I'd be inclined to agree that you have a rather serious case.  I'd wait to see how NG responds publicly here before making a judgment though.

[nanaimogold]

I don't accept online purchases due to the high incidence of fraud. The sender can only set the Q&A when paying in person, not when paying online.

That's why I use the Q&A - to weed out those who try to pay online.

If he had followed the instructions, instead of trying to play me, he would have got his bitcoin just like the many others who have used the service since 2005.

Instead, I refused to pick up the payment which later proved to have been attempted with a stolen credit card.

It is by this wisdom and experience that Nanaimo Gold has continued to function for so many years.

[FreeRad]

First of all, your site makes you pay and send an MCTN before anything is completed. That was done 1/2 hour after the email was received. $308 in a Western Union Money Transfer. So trying to not pay you is a ridiculous claim.

You never prompted us for anything. You never told us there was an issue. You simply said you tried twice and we could resubmit the order at $.70 per bitcoin without offering us an opportunity to fix the supposed problem.

The purchase was made onsite with cash and nobody made any mistakes because they asked me the Q\A on the withdrawal when I received my refund, not to mention I personally confirmed it with the WU agent when I called for the refund.

Yes, we could send you $140 more, give or take, for your poor service and sketchy practices, but that would have been bad business on our part.

That's ridiculous. You're making money because you buy at one price and sell at another. Rude and obnoxious? That's a bit dramatic. We paid an extra $8 to have the service completed that day. We received no email saying that banks were closed in Canada on Tuesday because of a long easter weekend and that we could expect service on the next business day. My associate had to email you and ask if he was being ripped off before he received a rather short response. As for the directions the problem wasn't on our end. The problem was the price moved and you no longer wanted to honor the price as the Q\A was correct on this end. I confirmed it with the refund withdrawal and the agent when I spoke with them.

For one, it's not slander. The proper term would be libel but then I'd have to be lying for that to be the case.




from J
to shane
date Fri, Apr 29, 2011 at 9:01 AM
subject Re: Nanaimo Gold contact form
mailed-by gmail.com
...
I didn't mess anything up. I'm looking at the form that I filled out and gave to the gentleman who put the order in.
It's right in front of me. The shady business practice is not notifying a customer of an issue, which could have been
resolved, because the price increased over the time period. Yes, that is shady business practice. You give a customer
the opportunity to fix any problems and hold true to your word. Your word being the negotiated price. The question and
answer are correct on this form, and I'd be willing to bet it's probably correct in the system, as well.

from shane
to J
date Fri, Apr 29, 2011 at 12:05 AM
subject Re: Nanaimo Gold contact form
mailed-by diskhaven.com

I tried twice to pick this up for you and got nothing for my effort. You
messed it up and somehow that's my "shady business practices"?

from J
to shane
date Thu, Apr 28, 2011 at 11:32 PM
subject Re: Nanaimo Gold contact form
mailed-by gmail.com

Thanks for the help. If there were issues you could have given me an opportunity to fix them before washing your hands of it.
I suppose the price jumping $.70 per since I placed the order and you finally contacting me has nothing to do with this decision.
Great way to treat a customer. I went to you because of a word of mouth referral. I'll have to inform my associates of your lack of
ethics and shady business practices. Sorry things didn't work out. It could have benefitted
us both.

from shane
to J
date Thu, Apr 28, 2011 at 11:05 PM
subject Re: Nanaimo Gold contact form
mailed-by diskhaven.com

J,

I have tried again to pick this up. The Q&A is not set.

There are two possible reasons that the Q&A is not set. Either the clerk
messed up the input or you have attempted to do this online.

I'm giving up on this order. If you want to try again, badger your agent
into fixing this, then fill out another order on the NG website.

Shane

from J
to shane
date Wed, Apr 27, 2011 at 3:27 PM
subject Re: Nanaimo Gold contact form
mailed-by gmail.com

Do you know when I can expect delivery?

from J
to shane
date Tue, Apr 26, 2011 at 9:01 PM
subject Re: Nanaimo Gold contact form
mailed-by gmail.com

Gotcha. Didn't mean to come off like a jerk just got nervous. Thanks

From shane
to j
date Tue, Apr 26, 2011 at 8:32 PM
subject Re: Nanaimo Gold contact form
mailed-by diskhaven.com

hide details Apr 26 (6 days ago)

Easter long weekend is not considered a banking day. I can't serve you on
holidays.

>
> From: j
> Message: I'm following up again. I haven't heard anything in reference to
> the western union money transfer i sent. If I'm getting ripped off just
> let me know so I can try to purchase elsewhere. I don't mean to be rude,
> but I paid the $8 for the fast service and I emailed early and haven't
> heard anything in response.
>
>
> Use this link if you want to contact me:
> http://www.nanaimogold.com/contact.php
>
> DO NOT REPLY to this email
> Additional Info: IP = 76.124.232.26 Philadelp United St
> HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR: N/A
> Browser Info: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.9.2.16)
> Gecko/20110323 Ubuntu/9.10 (karmic) Firefox/3.6.16
> Referral: /www.nanaimogold.com/contact.php
>
>

[nanaimogold]

> So trying to not pay you is a ridiculous claim.

I never made that claim.

You can twist all you like. That facts remain;

I never touched your money.
I tried for days to get you to fix this.
I wasted my time.
You were rude to me.
The conditions of our trade were clear. You had one day. I let you 4.

blah blah blah all you like. Don't expect me to hear any more of it.

PS: Another thing. The conditions of trade are clear. I do not accept third party payments. After all your wanking, that's clearly what you and your pal were up to.

[FreeRad]

>People are always trying to play me by getting a price quote and waiting to see the market move before paying.

Never happened... As I said.

I never touched your money.

I know that's what we're arguing about....


I tried for days to get you to fix this.

Read the email. you notified us of the issue once and canceled the order in the notification email.


I wasted my time.

You wasted everyone's time.

You were rude to me.

Where were we rude? Don't be such a drama queen. Nobody was rude to you. We were concerned about our money and you're lack of customer service. Forgive us for asking a straight up honest question. Where I'm from we don't beat around the bush particularly when we feel like we may be getting ripped off or inferior service.

The conditions of our trade were clear. You had one day. I let you 4.

You didn't let me have 4. You didn't do your job for 3 of those days, regardless of your reasoning, and then on the 4th day you tell us there's an issue and then say you're canceling the order. Letting us have 4 days would imply that you notified us of the issue day 1 and then gave us 4 days to correct the issue. That said, there was no issue. Again, I confirmed with WU, when I called for a refund, that the question and answer were correct. I even confirmed with the agent who placed the order. Gave him your email and the sheet that we filled out. THERE  WAS NO ERROR.

[gusti]

I can see it clear : the exchanger is not honouring the trade after the market went against him.
He is also very rude in their answers, and not presenting additional proofs.
-1 to Nanaimogold.

[marcus_of_augustus]

Classic story, trader got trapped in a rising market and found a clause to get out of it.

Is it really going to have to come to using escrow to deal with the exchangers? Just honour your quotes, the guy has made his best effort to get the money to you ... what has customer possibly got to gain by screwing around with the transfer, the price is not coming down, its going up?

Western Union deserves a -1 in all this as well, arcane paperwork.

FreeRad you are best off trying to find a local f2f dealer or OTC trade if you can do PGP.

For a guy who's not making any money, his fees are eye-watering.

Edit: have you seen all the info in these links?
http://tradebitcoin.com/

http://bitcoin-otc.com/vieworderbook.php

https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Buying_bitcoins

[gusti]

Is it really going to have to come to using escrow to deal with the exchangers?

If exchanger is honest enough, no matter where the market goes, he will honour the trade.
For instance, Keefe, he is the best keeping his word on a deal.

 

[Timo Y]

I've done business with Nanaimo Gold before and he always honored his end of the bargain.

[FreeRad]

FreeRad you are best off trying to find a local f2f dealer or OTC trade if you can do PGP.

I'll have to see if there is anyone in the Philly area dealing in this. Thanks for the suggestion.

[FreeRad]

Edit: have you seen all the info in these links?
http://tradebitcoin.com/

http://bitcoin-otc.com/vieworderbook.php

https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Buying_bitcoins

Thanks for the links. I'll check them out...

[alias420]

I recently sold off some Bitcoins on mtgox for liberty reserve which I sent to Nanaimo Gold to be deposited in my Canadian bank account.  Before making the trade I used the contact form on their site and was replied to by a Shane Smith promptly. Now that I have actually sent the money I can't get a response via email and it appears the phone number on their website is not in service. has anyone else had this issue?  It's only been 24 hours since I sent the money so there is still a chance that he is just busy at the moment and my money will arrive, but the lack of a working phone number worries me.

[byronbb]

I am having a problem with him. Avoid.

[alias420]

The money was posted to my bank account this morning.     Besides the one nervous day of not hearing from Shane it was a very pleasant experience using Nanaimo Gold and I would recommend it.

However the phone number on the website should probably be updated or changed to some sort of voice mail box.  The undescriptive beep that I hear when I dial it is what made me nervous.