another deal gone bad (REAL bad)
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Jan 1999
Posts: 3,051
From: Rochester, NY USA
another deal gone bad (REAL bad)
I never thought I would make a post like this here since I always cover my butt.....but the one time I send someone money, it goes sour.
The person in question here is Mark Montalvo.....someone who I considered a friend. I have done thousands of dollars of business with Mark in the past with no problems.
This time around I purchased an AFR 215 raised runner top end. Heads, porting (from B&B performance in Redding, CA), springs, valves, locks, retainers, cam, shaftmounts, lifters, intake. The total: $5050.
I paid Mark in April for the stuff via certified check. The heads were supposed to be finished by the end of May. After a couple months, Mark sent me the shaftmounts, lifters, and intake. I still do not have the completed heads, or the cam.
It has now been 5 weeks since I have heard anything from Mark. He wont answer his phone, wont return calls (messages left), wont return emails, is no longer at his job, deleted the post made here on the board about the top end forsale, shutdown his webpage, etc...
I am in the process of getting the documentation from the bank where and when he cashed the checks, account numbers if deposited, etc.... I have copies of all the financial transaction stuff.
Here is the other part: The heads are *supposedly* at B&B in Redding. They think the heads are Marks....since I am pretty sure Mark has not told them that they are for me. So, I have been trying to call B&B for 2 weeks to talk to Brian (the owner). He doesnt call me back, and has been out for 2 weeks I have been told. I finally talked to a guy named Mike there yesterday. He said that Mark had been in last week to drop off some items for Jim LaBreck's motor (another deal in and of itself)
Mike tells me that he is not sure if there are any AFR heads there, and if there are...they have been "put away" since they have not heard anything from Mark on them. By the sound of it, the porting had started but thats about it.
So, I cant get MY heads from B&B until Mark "releases" them. Same thing just happened with Jim's motor.
B&B obviously doesnt seem to care too much; however, they know the shady deal between Mark and Jim.....same situation here. I am about to have my lawyer contact them about aiding in know fraud. I cant get ahold of Mark anywhere. No numbers listed for him, lays real low.
I have his home address (I think its the one). I probably will contact his bank, but most likely the Redding Police if I dont hear anything soon.
Lovely huh?
The person in question here is Mark Montalvo.....someone who I considered a friend. I have done thousands of dollars of business with Mark in the past with no problems.
This time around I purchased an AFR 215 raised runner top end. Heads, porting (from B&B performance in Redding, CA), springs, valves, locks, retainers, cam, shaftmounts, lifters, intake. The total: $5050.
I paid Mark in April for the stuff via certified check. The heads were supposed to be finished by the end of May. After a couple months, Mark sent me the shaftmounts, lifters, and intake. I still do not have the completed heads, or the cam.
It has now been 5 weeks since I have heard anything from Mark. He wont answer his phone, wont return calls (messages left), wont return emails, is no longer at his job, deleted the post made here on the board about the top end forsale, shutdown his webpage, etc...
I am in the process of getting the documentation from the bank where and when he cashed the checks, account numbers if deposited, etc.... I have copies of all the financial transaction stuff.
Here is the other part: The heads are *supposedly* at B&B in Redding. They think the heads are Marks....since I am pretty sure Mark has not told them that they are for me. So, I have been trying to call B&B for 2 weeks to talk to Brian (the owner). He doesnt call me back, and has been out for 2 weeks I have been told. I finally talked to a guy named Mike there yesterday. He said that Mark had been in last week to drop off some items for Jim LaBreck's motor (another deal in and of itself)
Mike tells me that he is not sure if there are any AFR heads there, and if there are...they have been "put away" since they have not heard anything from Mark on them. By the sound of it, the porting had started but thats about it.So, I cant get MY heads from B&B until Mark "releases" them. Same thing just happened with Jim's motor.
B&B obviously doesnt seem to care too much; however, they know the shady deal between Mark and Jim.....same situation here. I am about to have my lawyer contact them about aiding in know fraud. I cant get ahold of Mark anywhere. No numbers listed for him, lays real low.
I have his home address (I think its the one). I probably will contact his bank, but most likely the Redding Police if I dont hear anything soon.
Lovely huh?
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Jan 1999
Posts: 3,051
From: Rochester, NY USA
hey Cody....I assume you are talking about Rob?
jbbiggs....not sure if they even know his location....but who knows. I have his home address (an address, but I dont know forsure if its where he lives)
Jason
jbbiggs....not sure if they even know his location....but who knows. I have his home address (an address, but I dont know forsure if its where he lives)
Jason
Registered User
Joined: Apr 1999
Posts: 23
From: Tyler, TX
Sorry to hear about this Jason. I understand. Luckily, I got ALL the money he owed me in spite of his efforts.
Even though I no longer own an F-Body, I check the board to see whats going on. It seems like Mark was up to his old tricks a few months ago too.
After all these years, Mark Montalvo still sux.
I'm sure he'll appear in a few months with some elaborate excuse to cover his butt. He always does.
Any of you old timers remember his classified page and the fiasco then? Nothing has changed.
see ya,
Rob
Even though I no longer own an F-Body, I check the board to see whats going on. It seems like Mark was up to his old tricks a few months ago too.
After all these years, Mark Montalvo still sux.
I'm sure he'll appear in a few months with some elaborate excuse to cover his butt. He always does.
Any of you old timers remember his classified page and the fiasco then? Nothing has changed.
see ya,
Rob
Registered User
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 151
From: Vandenberg, Ca, USA
SOLUTION
Hey i have a buddy that lives in redding, he actually lives at Beale but he goes to redding almost every weekend, if you want, EMAIL me his addy and we could go from there. Shoot i will even go with him to his house. LOL It is totally up to you, FOR A SMALL FEE OF COURSE LOL, J/K
Lataz
Dan
Lataz
Dan
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Jan 1999
Posts: 3,051
From: Rochester, NY USA
Rob, great to hear you are still around bro....hope things are well. Glad you got your coin.
Dan, sure....if he would do that. After I call the Police of course. I am not going to take the law into my own hands or anything like that, but it would be nice to know if this address is valid.
The address I have is:
1255 Gabriel St Suite #2
Redding, CA
The Suite part makes me wonder if it is residential. I looked the address up on MapQuest and it looked residential.
Thanks guys
Jason
Dan, sure....if he would do that. After I call the Police of course. I am not going to take the law into my own hands or anything like that, but it would be nice to know if this address is valid.
The address I have is:
1255 Gabriel St Suite #2
Redding, CA
The Suite part makes me wonder if it is residential. I looked the address up on MapQuest and it looked residential.
Thanks guys
Jason
Registered User
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 799
From: Redmond, WA
I've been waiting to tell my story until my engine and my parts were out of Mark's control, and it looks like that has finally happened.
Although many of you are probably aware that Mark was involved with my NA 396, you're probably wondering why it's been over a year now since I've had any real news concerning the engine. For that matter, so am I. The engine was last in the dyno cell in April of 2002, but had ignition problems. Except for a lot of screwing around with the ignition configuration without any results except wasting my money, that's pretty much the last time anything significant happened with my engine, and I still haven't received it.
In a thread in the Advanced Tech section back in early June, I questioned the condition of solid roller valve springs that had been sitting for over a year, likely in the same position. I had asked Mark about the condition of the springs and was told they were "fine" and "within spec", however I had no confidence in him any longer and I know a blow-off when I see one. With the lack of progress and communication, I decided to call a halt to the project, get the engine, and figure it out later, so I e-mailed Mark and after only sporadic responses from him over the last several months, he immediately responded and agreed that was for the best. That was June 17th, and at that point I thought my problems and the delays were finally going to be over.
Mark immediately reverted to his occasional responses. On July 8th, Mark said he was working on the paperwork. On July 24th, he said he finally had his numbers figured out, or so he thought. The balance due that he quoted me was the same balance due he'd quoted me in December last year, before I sent him another $4,000 check. I reminded him of this fact, and then he came back with revised numbers which showed me owing ~$400 and another $500 for shipping ($350 shipping, $150 deposit).
And an additional $2,500 "consultation fee" that he said he deserved, for his "time".
We had never discussed a fee for his services, although I've been paying shipping and long distance charges as we've gone along, and assumed from the rate my money was disappearing that he was covered. In December, I asked him if the lack of progress was due to loss of interest and asked if compensation would change that. He declined and said that he'd never ask for compensation for his role in the project. So much for that.
So I countered by saying that I considered his consultation fee a "tip", and as such, considering the lack of progress and communication, it should reflect my dissatisfaction with the project. I even offered to pay $2,000 just to get this over with but was told in no uncertain terms that if I didn't pay the full amount within 30 days that my engine would be auctioned off and that he would deduct $12,100 ($55/hour x 220 hours he claims to have documented) from the final sale price. What a pal.
I'm sure you know what I wanted to say at that moment, but in the interest of not degrading the situation further, I put off making a hasty response for a day and decided to take the time to give it some thought. I called B&B the next morning and they confirmed that Mark had not been in for several months and that the engine had just been sitting for quite some time, which was no surprise. They also said they couldn't release the engine legally until Mark gave them the word, which was also expected. So much for going around him.
Faced with the risk to my very expensive engine, that Mark could pick up at any time, I decided to pay the full amount and made payment on July 25th. The next communication from Mark was that the engine would ship immediately.
Then I heard nothing from him for a week and a half.
After calling B&B and hearing that they had received no further contact from him and he wasn't returning calls, I e-mailed him and stated that if some progress towards shipping hadn't taken place by the end of the week, that I would have to take legal action against him and inform the proper authorities because I didn't consider someone holding a $35k+ engine hostage an amusing situation. Mark immediately responded and said my "bullsh*t antics" were ridiculous, and that he wasn't going to deal with me further and would not answer any further e-mail. I reminded him that he still had an obligation to ship the engine...
I gave B&B a call the next day and they said that Mark had been in touch for shipping estimates, so I told them I'd step back out of it and try not to make the situation any worse than it already was.
Since then we've been waiting on Mark to deliver the rest of my parts (a new Street Twin, a FAST eDist, LS1 coil packs, harness, etc.) to B&B so that it could be packed and shipped with the engine. Mark promised to deliver the parts and then failed to follow through twice. After a couple weeks of this, and B&B stating that he still wasn't returning their calls, we agreed that we'd give him until the following Monday and then ship the engine with or without the parts.
I called that Monday (Sept. 8th) and was told that Mark had faxed them on the previous Friday stating that his girlfriend would be bringing in the parts that day. Once again we gave him the benefit of the doubt, and I told them I'd check back on Wednesday to see if it had finally happened. I got tied up Wednesday, but Thursday I called B&B again and of course, no parts. Brian and I agreed at that point to give Mark one more weekend and then the following Monday, the engine would ship. I e-mailed Mark that Thursday and advised him of the situation, and apparently that finally lit a fire under his ***.
When I called this Monday (the 15th), I was told that the parts had finally been brought in late on Friday. We're talking about a month and a half after I paid him his ransom and after I was told that the engine would ship "immediately". He's the only one that the delay benefited, since it saved him shipping costs to ship the parts separately, and he still couldn't be bothered to get the parts across town in a reasonable timeframe. WTF?!?
Now apparently all of my parts are at B&B and the engine has been released, but like Jason, I'm waiting on Brian to return next week so that we can finally wrap this up. I don't know if Mark has paid them for shipping yet, but I assume not. They said it wasn't a big deal because they had a lot of his parts for collateral, but now I'm assuming that some of those parts are Jason's 215RR heads...
So to summarize...
June 17th - Asked Mark to wrap everything up.
July 24th - Finally got final total due and "consultation fee" ultimatum.
July 25th - Paid ransom.
Sept. 12th - Mark finally drops off parts.
The next step is to get the engine shipped finally... and then see what I can do about getting the "consultation fee" back.
Although many of you are probably aware that Mark was involved with my NA 396, you're probably wondering why it's been over a year now since I've had any real news concerning the engine. For that matter, so am I. The engine was last in the dyno cell in April of 2002, but had ignition problems. Except for a lot of screwing around with the ignition configuration without any results except wasting my money, that's pretty much the last time anything significant happened with my engine, and I still haven't received it.
In a thread in the Advanced Tech section back in early June, I questioned the condition of solid roller valve springs that had been sitting for over a year, likely in the same position. I had asked Mark about the condition of the springs and was told they were "fine" and "within spec", however I had no confidence in him any longer and I know a blow-off when I see one. With the lack of progress and communication, I decided to call a halt to the project, get the engine, and figure it out later, so I e-mailed Mark and after only sporadic responses from him over the last several months, he immediately responded and agreed that was for the best. That was June 17th, and at that point I thought my problems and the delays were finally going to be over.
Mark immediately reverted to his occasional responses. On July 8th, Mark said he was working on the paperwork. On July 24th, he said he finally had his numbers figured out, or so he thought. The balance due that he quoted me was the same balance due he'd quoted me in December last year, before I sent him another $4,000 check. I reminded him of this fact, and then he came back with revised numbers which showed me owing ~$400 and another $500 for shipping ($350 shipping, $150 deposit).
And an additional $2,500 "consultation fee" that he said he deserved, for his "time".
We had never discussed a fee for his services, although I've been paying shipping and long distance charges as we've gone along, and assumed from the rate my money was disappearing that he was covered. In December, I asked him if the lack of progress was due to loss of interest and asked if compensation would change that. He declined and said that he'd never ask for compensation for his role in the project. So much for that.
So I countered by saying that I considered his consultation fee a "tip", and as such, considering the lack of progress and communication, it should reflect my dissatisfaction with the project. I even offered to pay $2,000 just to get this over with but was told in no uncertain terms that if I didn't pay the full amount within 30 days that my engine would be auctioned off and that he would deduct $12,100 ($55/hour x 220 hours he claims to have documented) from the final sale price. What a pal.
I'm sure you know what I wanted to say at that moment, but in the interest of not degrading the situation further, I put off making a hasty response for a day and decided to take the time to give it some thought. I called B&B the next morning and they confirmed that Mark had not been in for several months and that the engine had just been sitting for quite some time, which was no surprise. They also said they couldn't release the engine legally until Mark gave them the word, which was also expected. So much for going around him.
Faced with the risk to my very expensive engine, that Mark could pick up at any time, I decided to pay the full amount and made payment on July 25th. The next communication from Mark was that the engine would ship immediately.
Then I heard nothing from him for a week and a half.
After calling B&B and hearing that they had received no further contact from him and he wasn't returning calls, I e-mailed him and stated that if some progress towards shipping hadn't taken place by the end of the week, that I would have to take legal action against him and inform the proper authorities because I didn't consider someone holding a $35k+ engine hostage an amusing situation. Mark immediately responded and said my "bullsh*t antics" were ridiculous, and that he wasn't going to deal with me further and would not answer any further e-mail. I reminded him that he still had an obligation to ship the engine...
I gave B&B a call the next day and they said that Mark had been in touch for shipping estimates, so I told them I'd step back out of it and try not to make the situation any worse than it already was.
Since then we've been waiting on Mark to deliver the rest of my parts (a new Street Twin, a FAST eDist, LS1 coil packs, harness, etc.) to B&B so that it could be packed and shipped with the engine. Mark promised to deliver the parts and then failed to follow through twice. After a couple weeks of this, and B&B stating that he still wasn't returning their calls, we agreed that we'd give him until the following Monday and then ship the engine with or without the parts.
I called that Monday (Sept. 8th) and was told that Mark had faxed them on the previous Friday stating that his girlfriend would be bringing in the parts that day. Once again we gave him the benefit of the doubt, and I told them I'd check back on Wednesday to see if it had finally happened. I got tied up Wednesday, but Thursday I called B&B again and of course, no parts. Brian and I agreed at that point to give Mark one more weekend and then the following Monday, the engine would ship. I e-mailed Mark that Thursday and advised him of the situation, and apparently that finally lit a fire under his ***.
When I called this Monday (the 15th), I was told that the parts had finally been brought in late on Friday. We're talking about a month and a half after I paid him his ransom and after I was told that the engine would ship "immediately". He's the only one that the delay benefited, since it saved him shipping costs to ship the parts separately, and he still couldn't be bothered to get the parts across town in a reasonable timeframe. WTF?!?
Now apparently all of my parts are at B&B and the engine has been released, but like Jason, I'm waiting on Brian to return next week so that we can finally wrap this up. I don't know if Mark has paid them for shipping yet, but I assume not. They said it wasn't a big deal because they had a lot of his parts for collateral, but now I'm assuming that some of those parts are Jason's 215RR heads...
So to summarize...
June 17th - Asked Mark to wrap everything up.
July 24th - Finally got final total due and "consultation fee" ultimatum.
July 25th - Paid ransom.
Sept. 12th - Mark finally drops off parts.
The next step is to get the engine shipped finally... and then see what I can do about getting the "consultation fee" back.
Last edited by jimlab; Sep 17, 2003 at 11:16 PM.
Registered User
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 528
From: Southwest VA
My ole my.... and here I was thinking that Mark was an upbeat guy. He told me in one of my emails to him that his reputation in the F-body was VERY important to him and did not want me to go public on the boards here discussing what happened in our deal.
I purchased the rolling chassis '93 TA off of him back in March. It was SUPPOSED to have included a '94+ T-56 trans with it. When I took delivery of the vehicle it was not in there. I questioned the truck driver and he said there never was any large items on the back seat as Mark claimed. I did see indentions in the seats where something heavy at some point had laid on top of them... I came across a post here on the boards a couple months ago about a guy that purchased a T-56 trans off of Mark the same time frame that I purchased the TA off of him. Also, on my Bill of Lading that I received from the driver it clearly was marked that a tranny was in the FRONT seat and it was signed by both the driver and Mark. In the front seat when I took delivery was a tupperwear box full of engine components... The driver told me that he was told by Marks fiancee, I believe it was, that the tranny was IN that box. Mark said he must have gotten things confused but according to evidence on the paper and what the driver said it's true.
I just tried to forget it even though the loss of the tranny pushed back my project being completed this year. Now that I see that I'm not the only one thats had an un-satisfactory experience with Mark then I believe there's a good chance that I was stiffed out of the tranny by him. Of course I can not say this 100% with any solid evidence but this recent event certainly changes my attitude towards him. He did stay in contact with me through several emails after I took delivery telling me that he would be there to answer any questions I may have in helping me find the tranny but once I emailed him asking why the paper he signed SAID that the tranny was in the front seat... I never heard back from him.
I do hope that Mark comes across this post and sees the negative comments made towards him. I trully thought he was good guy... I know that or he 'claimed' that he was a very busy man but selling $1000+ items then being too busy to complete his side of the deal is shady. I wonder if there's anything all of us can do together? Even though its been 6 months since my dealing with him... I'm still very interested in finding out exactly what happened to my T-56.
I purchased the rolling chassis '93 TA off of him back in March. It was SUPPOSED to have included a '94+ T-56 trans with it. When I took delivery of the vehicle it was not in there. I questioned the truck driver and he said there never was any large items on the back seat as Mark claimed. I did see indentions in the seats where something heavy at some point had laid on top of them... I came across a post here on the boards a couple months ago about a guy that purchased a T-56 trans off of Mark the same time frame that I purchased the TA off of him. Also, on my Bill of Lading that I received from the driver it clearly was marked that a tranny was in the FRONT seat and it was signed by both the driver and Mark. In the front seat when I took delivery was a tupperwear box full of engine components... The driver told me that he was told by Marks fiancee, I believe it was, that the tranny was IN that box. Mark said he must have gotten things confused but according to evidence on the paper and what the driver said it's true.
I just tried to forget it even though the loss of the tranny pushed back my project being completed this year. Now that I see that I'm not the only one thats had an un-satisfactory experience with Mark then I believe there's a good chance that I was stiffed out of the tranny by him. Of course I can not say this 100% with any solid evidence but this recent event certainly changes my attitude towards him. He did stay in contact with me through several emails after I took delivery telling me that he would be there to answer any questions I may have in helping me find the tranny but once I emailed him asking why the paper he signed SAID that the tranny was in the front seat... I never heard back from him.
I do hope that Mark comes across this post and sees the negative comments made towards him. I trully thought he was good guy... I know that or he 'claimed' that he was a very busy man but selling $1000+ items then being too busy to complete his side of the deal is shady. I wonder if there's anything all of us can do together? Even though its been 6 months since my dealing with him... I'm still very interested in finding out exactly what happened to my T-56.
