Buyer's & Builder's BEWARE!!

[Fritz's Auto Spa]

RE: Knight Equipment from St. Louis Missouri- President Paul Faix.
He has sold equipment in several states and soon to be working in Florida. I was referred to Paul by PECO Manufacturing, and Glass Lighthouse as their local distributor and also a distributor for ICS (Innovative Control Systems) and he has bought equipment from Jim Coleman Company as well for my wash in St. Joseph, MO. FYI: He currently owes me approx. $60,000+ and avoids all communication with my legal council or me. Part of these funds are for equipment I had to re-purchase due to his mis-handling of my money. (Roughly $35,000) Keep in mind that these monies were paid IN FULL and up front to Paul Faix and Knight Equipment in August of 2007. I had to re-purchase the equipment just to complete installation in order to open my buisness. I opened in late- December still lacking proper sales equipment from Jim Coleman Co. which arrived after the first of the year. The remainder amount of money owed to me is for equipment that was never shipped to which he agreed to refund the monies. Therefore, I am currently working on a law-suit against Knight Equipment and Paul Faix. DO NOT MAKE THIS MISTAKE!! After spending 1 million dollars with this company (Knight Equip) I should not have to deal with these types of issues. Be aware of the distributors to which you are being referred by the manufacturer's.... that doesn't mean they are safe!! Do back-ground ckecks if you have to. A hard lesson for me; I did it after the fact and found out a great deal of information I wished I knew before. Just trying to prevent someone else from going through what I am having to endure!
New to the Car Wash Industry.... Fritz's Auto Spa, Saint Joseph, MO

 

[JMMUSTANG]

Can you also go after the Mfg. Co's. that suggeted him?
It seems to me that there should be some type of liability from them being there "representative/distributor" to make good on the contract, again as their representative.

 

[Chiefs]

This is a lesson for all. Make your equipment deposits/payments out to the manufacturer and not the the representative. He'll get his cut from them. Also, never full payments for equipment. Most will require deposits. The only way to be sure that you receive all of your equipment is to pay the cost of C.O.D. While somewhat costly in terms of charges, its the only true insurance policy you can get. That way, if there is a problem, you still have the leverage of the final payment.

I know them and I'll bet if you check around that you'll also find that you paid far too much for the equipment you did get from him as well as for the equipment he is not refunding to you. And yes, I would hold the manufacturers' feet to the fire for turning you over to them in the first place.

Now sending payments direct to the manufacturer is no guarantee, at least you won't be subject to the these same problems of giving your equipment dollars to a middle man who probably has other committments and may decide to use your deposit for other than your equipment.

 

[Earl Weiss]

I killed a deal recently with a local installer distributer because he wanted a chunk of money up front. I offered to pay his contract price in total but would send all deposit monies direct to equip suppliers and would even put the rest up in escrow sso he was sure to get paid. He refused because he wanted to clip his coupons. I did not care bout that because I would pay the same total either way.

In the construction business with loan escrows this is how it is done. $ is put in escrow and as portions are completed they get to draw down 90% with a 10% holdback until final completion. Contractors also get 10% interest and their attorney fees if they have to sue, so if you improperly hold back a draw they are protected.

If they claim they are worried about payment offer to escrow it and if they need the money for the suppiers, pay suppliers direct and have it shipped direct or as Bill said COD.

 

[mac]

Thanks for the heads up. I work in Florida and will be looking for him. It seems the crooks never die. They retire and move to Florida. He'll join the company of Barry Boyd and Kyle Dunkin. Both crooks. I have a suggestion: print up some flyers with his picture on it and quietly tape them up at the upcoming ICA show in FL. I'll be doing that with Barry Boyd pics. Recovering damages legally is almost impossible. The lawers will be the only ones that get any money. Let's identify these perps and kneecap them. Trust me, I'm serious.

 

[Earl Weiss]

I know someone who was royaly screwed over in business by someone. He told me "This guy better hope I never come down with a terminal disease."

 

[beauman]

Those are all reputable companies. If equipment was delivered and installed, it would seem the operator only has the distributor to litigate with in terms of money owed as long as the contract was between the distributor and owner.

 

[Fritz's Auto Spa]

Thanks for all the input and feedback.

Yes, I agree I paid too much for the equipment Basically I just wanted to get the information out there so that someone else doesn't end up in the position I did.
Side note: when one of the manufacturer's were confronted about the issues at hand, the reply I got was "there are two sides to every story" and "he's made us a lot of money" to which I replied, "I have all the paperwork to prove everything that I have said, including photo copies of the checks after being cashed by him" and of course they never wanted to see any of it.
Once I did the back ground check on him and found the long list I provided them with a copy and they informed me that they have never had to deal with this type of situation before and that they do not do back ground checks on distributors.

Again, I appreciate all the comments....

 

[JMMUSTANG]

Why don't you take all your info. to a lawyer, explain what happened and see if you thay can go after both the dist. and the equipment co.'s involved since this guy is/was(?) their ditributor.
If they think you have a strong case I bet they would take this on on a percentage basis.
Even if they get 30% of any monies collected you would be ahead of the game.
But I would be careful on what you say from here on out so that you don't liable yourself.
I had a similiar case back in the late 70's. The mfg. would not even discuss it with me but as soon as my attorney sent them a letter of suit they sent me a check for $5,000. It worked good for both parties, 2 years later I bought 9 bays of equipment from them and had no problems at all.
To this day both wash equipment is still running and their out of the car wash eqp. business.
Case closed.

 

[Earl Weiss]

Civil suits are good but collectibility is an issue. Is the defendant solvent? Do they have assets in the jurisdiction where you will get the judgement. Whenever possible see if you can go to local authorities and get them interested in pursuing a criminal fraud action. I have seen lots of people who are uncollectible and do not fear civil actions get real motivated if handcuffs and bars are involved. These comments DO NOT apply to any of the parties mentioned in these posts.

 

[Michael McKernan]

Thanks for all the input and feedback.

Yes, I agree I paid too much for the equipment Basically I just wanted to get the information out there so that someone else doesn't end up in the position I did.
Side note: when one of the manufacturer's were confronted about the issues at hand, the reply I got was "there are two sides to every story" and "he's made us a lot of money" to which I replied, "I have all the paperwork to prove everything that I have said, including photo copies of the checks after being cashed by him" and of course they never wanted to see any of it.
Once I did the back ground check on him and found the long list I provided them with a copy and they informed me that they have never had to deal with this type of situation before and that they do not do back ground checks on distributors.

Again, I appreciate all the comments....

Where is your wash in St. Joe.? I grew up in Wathena and visit my parents about once a month. Would like a tour. I will tell you 1 company to avoid at all costs in Kansas City.