FRAUD/SCAM ALERT!! Mike Morgan @ PaLumber.com

[CrackPotWoody]

RCRonas said:

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In the last couple of weeks, I thought I seen him on a PBS show with Norm. I don't think it was New yankee but one of the Old House episodes. They were in the woods milling lumber for a house. Don't know if it was a rerun and how old it was.

Just a comment.

RCR

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Maybe he supplied Norm with all that MDF for the kitchen project.

[kdi]

Too bad. I've bought from him four different times totaling over 600 bf. The last in early summer 08 w/o problem. He either personally delivered or I met him somewhere and paid by check. Always seemed like a nice guy.

I know Mike has a day job as a blaster w/ a local highway construction company. He told me last summer that he was shipping about 3,000 bf a week and had just rented a potion of a warehouse next to cabinet shop. That gave him a truck dock & access to a forklift and most importantly it was on a regular freight delivery route.

He also stated he was on the verge of being overwhelmed by the volume. He wanted to keep prices low, but it was becoming hard w/ just him and his wife and hiring help meant raising prices. I also believe he has a disabled/disadvantage child.

Never knew Mike before all of this and have only seen him the four times I bought wood, so no connection. If he owes you money and is unresponsive then we all thank you for sharing. It is just too darn bad as he had the best cherry one could buy at those prices.

[Loogie]

My gut feeling is that Mike is in way over his head. I had to cancel my order because I needed the lumber ASAP. Since he has my $ and won't communicate I can only assume that he has no intention of making good. Communication has been terrible from the start but it completely ceased shortly after I asked for a refund.

[packerguy®]

Loogie said:

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DO NOT buy lumber from "Mike Morgan"- doing business as PALumber.com . I ordered and paid for $1159 worth of Ash and Cherry the day after Thanksgiving. He said it would be delivered by the end of the following week. After getting the run-around for 5 weeks and waiting for delivery trucks that never showed up I canceled my order. He always had excuses as to what happened, but he would never send me a bill of lading for a shipment. He promptly "refunded" my money via PayPal, but the refund was denied twice due to insufficient funds. He said he would FedEx me a check which never arrived. I requested a tracking # for the check which I never got. That was the last I heard from him. Now he won't return calls or emails. I filed a claim through PayPal and they found in my favor but were unable to get the money from his account. I contacted his local police department and they said the lumber mill has been closed for 6 months. He may have done business at some point, but now he's just a scam artist.

DO NOT order lumber from PALUMBER.COM or from Michael Morgan - who is WoodNet member "Michael M".

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With all due respect.....there is 2 posts here about this and EVERY post you have is the same copy and paste of this message. Im sorry you got taken, and i hope you get your money back thru the court system. I really hope you have something other than this to add to the forum.

Edit: I take the every post thing back....5 of the 6 posts are the same copy and paste....

Good luck man, that sucks to be out a grand, and i understand your pissed.

[Loogie]

Your right, they are cut and pastes. I only did that because if some searched for PALUMBER I wanted that info to be part of the thread. I only made those posts in thread where it was relevant. It's not something I plan to continue doing. I'm just trying to watch out for the rest of you guys as I know you would do for me.

[mapleman]

I made a purchase from Mike in Nov of '07 - about $800. It took Mike 5 weeks longer than promised to ship my wood - when it arrived it was 20% short and not as described. It then took over 6 months of email and forum badgering to get a refund of the shorted amount.

The part that sucks is that early on I contacted the Sawmill Creek mods and the mods here and asked permission to post my experience for the benefit of others. While the mod I spoke with on both forums was understanding, they both made it clear that I would not be allowed to air my dirty laundry. I completely respect the mods decisions but I wish things had gone down differently because it might had made a difference if someone else was considering a purchase. I know I never would have spent my cash with Mike if I had heard anything negative about him - and everyone was singing his praises on both forums.

As for the OP - I would contact the police dept in Mike's home town and file a report, press charges, etc. If they don't do anything then call the FBI - internet fraud as well as mail fraud is a federal offense. Keep all your correspondence as well as proof of payment. Maybe Mike will find your $1200 right before he goes to jail.

[DW Pgh]

Sawmillcreek sucks - it's not the place to go for opinions or requests about experience with sellers or manufacturers, because when you ask anything over there "Everything's GREAT!", and if it isn't, it gets deleted.

[KLaz]

That does really suck you're out a grand. My only experience with Mike was early summer and he was always responsive by cell phone and shippped my lumber out pronto.

But now from the past couple of months I'd say like someone else did, he just got overwhelmed. But nonetheless, that's no excuse. Customers come first if you are doing business. Be up front with people and do business accordingly. I will not waste time with people like that. It's unfortunate because I thought Mike had a good thing going and would have bought more from him, but I think he's burned some bridges here.

I checked his website PA Lumber and it appears unchanged since the last couple of months (still has November special up) and I also noticed that the forum that used to be there is gone as well.

Hope you get your money somehow! Keep us posted.

[kevhead]

mapleman said:

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I would contact the police dept in Mike's home town and file a report, press charges, etc. If they don't do anything then call the FBI - internet fraud as well as mail fraud is a federal offense. Keep all your correspondence as well as proof of payment. Maybe Mike will find your $1200 right before he goes to jail.

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The most you can ask for is a judgment in small claims court, and even this could take up to 6 months. The cops will not "arrest" him for $1200. Its a sad fact of our court system.

The way our economy is you can probably guess what happened to him, and if he is bankrupt you might be on the bottom of the list of people he owes. Good luck man.

[bluesmanmatt]

Maybe he'll post here and show us some of his hunting photos.