Consigned numerous items over last five years and they sold them but refused to pay me for my items. Get excuses and promises but no money. Got me to agree to not sue for promise of payment and now refuse to pay.
Consumer Complaints & Reviews
They have taken items I've sent them, since 6/2009, and auctioned them off, and not reimbursed me the money they owe me. They asked me to be patient and that after the new year, Jan/2011, they would send out checks to payoff money owed. Now they will not even take my calls reference explaining to me when they will reimburse me money owed nor return phone calls after leaving messages asking to do so.
I too have had consignor money tied up since March of 2009 but as most of you know by now, Manions has been taken over by the legal firm of McDowall, Rice, Smith, & Buchannan in an attempt to hold off bankruptcy and pay consignors. If you haven't been notified yet, call the office of Charles *** for a form to be sent to you. Consignors are to receive payments every quarter until paid in full. Operations at Manions are to continue as the monies from sales will go eventually to consignors, though the law firm admits it could take two to three years to pay everyone, depending on the amount owed. I am owed a total of $3328.64 going back to March of 2009. I've been recovering from leukemia, currently in remission, but could certainly use the money Manions owes to me for expensive chemo medication, $1300 per prescription.
They took my items for a sale, sold my items 11 months ago and won't pay me my money after 8-10 attempts to collect it. They just keep giving me stories. I need my money.
My story with Manions was published a few months ago. There are interesting news I don't want to hide to the public. By intention of securing the identity of an informant and still Manions's employee(!), XY was telling me in late November as follows: "Mo, I have no good news for you and your money. Manions is bankrupt like church mice. They have no rotten nickel for their consignors anymore due to theirs mis-managment, since the new owner A.T. bought the firm from Ol'Manion. You will wait for your money till the end of time. So I will give you a needful advice. Before you will have none, buy some stuff from Manions running auctions or buy it now. Even if you will lose money, it's better you might have anything instead of none, at least."
So I did and bought from them in mid-December 3 Nazi daggers at astronomic prices, after my last money reminder to Gail failed. Those daqgers I got in February. All in all, I have lost more than $1000 in relationship of worth and balance. But I'm off when the big bang will occur. A tragic comedy: Of course, my purchases were counted with $20 fee per each item, though my interests for non-paid-out balance would have been much more money. Not stylish? Their hats ablazing. SOS! Strictly to avoid! Better smash your money into the dump.
I consigned several items that sold in mid-February 2009. I contacted them by phone in May of 2009 to find out the schedule of payoff and I got the same line about how they were running behind. I then contacted them by e-mail and phone approximately once a month for the next several months, still getting the excuse that they were behind and will be settling up soon.
Having made several calls last month, March 2010, I was told that they have had trouble with consignors using too much money and had nothing to pay with! I haven't made any purchases in quite some time and for some reason they cannot pay me with the money they were paid? I'm still going to bug them until I get restitution but I'm beginning to wonder.
I've been with them since the 1980's and have always had great service, even defending them to friends who have had bad experiences, but now I see why they had trouble. While I am not in dire need of the money they owe me, I am concerned that this will be lost in the system and I will never get it back, plus I am out of the items sold.
I consigned about 70 WWII posters to Manions at the end of March, 2009, for sale. The sale took place in April, 2009, ending on April 27, 2009. According to the contract, we should have received our monies 120 days following the end of the month that the sale took place. That would mean September 1, 2009.
When we had not received anything by October, I called Manion's and spoke with Sue **, who informed me they were still figuring the April sales. I called once a month every month after that time and got much the same excuse.
When I called in January of 2010 and threatened to report them for fraud, I got a call back from Sue with an absolute promise that our money would be mailed no later than January 25, 2010. It is now February 8, 2010, and, of course, nothing has been received. I am extremely suspicious that this is much more than an inability to take care of business. I did receive several statements showing how much was owed (I believe this was the first of December) so all that would be required would be to write the checks and mail them out. Ours is not a huge amount of money, but it is what we are entitled to.
I got the same nasty surprise with Manion's like my fellow sufferers before. In opposit of theirs space of times they were waiting for payment, surely I gotta meditate longly on about my goofiness and confidence leaving my German WWII- collector's items to these crooks.
The story: In end of April of 2009, on St.Pauls Fair I contracted with Manion's International Auction House in Kansas City, Kansas (Andrew T.) to sell more than 100 tickets of German items between 1933 -45. 2 heavy large sized boxes were shipped to them on April 26, 2009. Manion's sold the first of my items immediately in beginning May 2009 (3 invoices for this month alone). As well I have more outstanding invoices for later auctions till July 26, 2009. All together covers a total of more than 4000 bucks, devided into three bundled invoices.
In late July, I called my cousin of Wiconsin for getting some informations of payment conditions, dito receiving cheques, bank draft or anything different. He spoke with "Gail" about when to expect my first check. As well he was told the invoices were running 120 days months behind schedule. More than 6 months later ( 250 days!), which includes more 2 calls to Manion's and lapidarily replied e-Mails, I depicted the present situation to Manion's German representive Mr. G. (in unholy words). Obviousely it showed some succsess, just today the first cheque seemed to be sent out to my Wisconsin cousin, as visible in my consignor's infos.
I definitely had announced further steps against Manion's hanky-panky with consignor's money like: -Creating a private web-site for injured parties. - Making public theirs "fiddelings" on US and German Military fairs by using print-flyers, warning goodwilling consignors leaving theirs stuff over there trustfully. - as "step 3" I mean, probably this new Manion's affair really should convince the local police investigators now, to highlight the stage's background finally.
People, this is the PAYMENT- story of my experiences with Manion's, but not yet the background, how Manion's staff was handling the photos, description and runout-times of my stuff. F.i. 3 equal merits in original boxes ran out singely, but all together exactly at the same day, hour, minute & second. Guess why! If I wouldnt have protested immediately against such methods (Pat G. of Manion's was the onliest who took attention of. Seems he left firm in July because has been fed up of such methods, how he foreshadowed in his last e-mail to me).
I gonna contact Mr. G. (German representive) in short, providing in order of Manions bookholding a definite and irrevocable payment plan with the goal, getting the complete deposit till beginning December. Keep eyes wide open!
We Manion's consignors mostly are not bank owners or Manion's financers of short term stocks, but hard working people who believe in a rest of integrity. Even worldwide, how one can see! Facing our daily monetary needs and (in my case additionally) the Dollar deflation within the past half a year, we warmest can disadvise consigning bigger collections at Manion's!
Read more: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/misc/manions_auction.html#ixzz0XEt2iGKk
In January of 2009, I contracted with Manion's International Auction House in Kansas City, Kansas, to sell over 130 lots of military items. Four boxes were shipped to them in January 2009. The pay-out schedule was supposed to be 120 days. Manion's sold the first of my items in February 2009 (4 invoices for this month alone). I also have outstanding invoices for March, April, May, July and September of 2009.
In late June, I called Manion's and spoke with "Sue" about when to expect my first check. I was told the invoices were running 4-6 months behind schedule. I asked when I could expect to be paid, and was told that "Rosemary", the bookkeeper, worked part-time and was not available at that time to speak with me on the telephone.
Five months later, which includes over 10 telephone calls to Manion's, a registered letter, and an attorney demand letter (cost me over $500 for that letter), I still have not received one penney from the sale of my items.
In early September 2009, I contacted the Better Business Bureau of Greater Kansas City, as Manion's was still a member (They dropped their membership with BBB October 8, 2009.) with an "A+" rating. In my complaint letter to BBB I told them their superior rating was extremely misleading and did not reflect the current situation. (The BBB of Greater Kansas City has since lowered Manion's rating to a "C".)
Also in September 2009, I filed complaints with both the Attorney General of Kansas and the District Attorney's office in Wyandotte County (Kansas City). I was told by an investigator of the DA's office that "paying late is not a crime". Well, I haven't been paid anything. (Apparently, when a company sells your things and they don't pay you, this is not considered theft.)
Also, to add insult to injury, Manion's has marked my first two February 2009 receipts as "paid", when in fact I have received no monies whatsoever. I was told by Manion's that the checks have been written, but haven't been sent. This was in July 2009, over 3 months ago.
My late husband became an active client of Mantion's International Auction House in the 1980's. He died in 2006. Because of his association with them, I chose Manion's to sell my late husband's military collection - no small amount of which he had earned during his 33 years of service in the US Navy, ending his career as a Captain. It was not easy for me to disassemble his collection but I was willing to believing that other's who loved military history would have access to his collection(s).
My first shipment to Manion's was sent in November 2007, with the first auction containing his items in December of 2007. His items remained a monthly fixture of Manion's auction catalogue for a full year (2008). I sent a second shipment in January of 2009 which was auctioned in February, March, April, May and June.
By the time of the second shipment I had not received any payment from Manion's despite their published 90 - later 120 - day waiting period for payment. Despite repeated phone calls I received no payment until May or June after my informing them that I was prepared to take legal action against them if necessary. We worked out a mutually agreed upon payment schedule which they more or less honored.
Once my 2007-08 payments were received I again began experiencing difficulty in receiving my checks. Eventually, I received an Email from Rosemary Tucker stating that future payments would be made "around the 20th" of each month. I found myself sending monthly Email reminders of the payment schedule.
My immediate problem is that I still have not received my September payment (for an auction held in March), nor have I received October's payment. I have sent repeated Emails to Ms. Tucker inquiring about my checks and requesting a reply. There has been no check, the computer shows no check writing activity on my account, and I have not received so much as the courtesy of a reply.
I am angry and disgusted that Manion's exhibits such contempt for its clients - who are earing money for them - but even more for our veterans, their widows and families. This is contemptible beyond belief and words. Please advise what further action I need to take in order to get what is rightfully mine.
