On May 10, 2009, we were the successful bidders on Item #250419431318 listed on Ebay by “martian_luv” that is doing business as “US Restquip” and/or “US Restaurant Equipment LLC” of 5506 N. Seneca, Wichita, KS 67204. The item was advertised as a Scotsman CME 456AS-1B ice machine and a Scotsman Ice bin Model HTB555. The winning bid was $681.00 plus the Seller charged a $75 fee for a total of $756.00. I paid for these items using my debit card as a credit transaction by calling the phone number (1-316-847-4333) provided in the payment instructions. The Seller does not use PayPal (now we know why).
On May 14, the item was shipped and arrived on May 19. When the item arrived, the ice machine would not work. The ice bin we received was not a Scotsman HTB555 ice bin (as listed and described in the ad), but was a Manitowoc Model C700 ice bin that is no longer being produced by that company (obsolete) that has rust on it. The Scotsman ice bin Model HTB555 described in the Ebay ad is still being manufactured by that company (a fact I researched prior to bidding on this item).
The Ebay ad stated “This has been tested by our tech” and “tested by our tech mean someone has plugged it in and it came on.” It also stated “We sell everything as is with no warranty” but also stated “Any item that requires refrigerant we have a tech test that it cools and proper pressures; if it won’t cool we won’t sell. We will let you see it cooling when you pick it up but we will not guarantee any refrigeration equipment after it has been moved. Shipping and moving can cause Freon leaks that our out of our control.” There was also a question from a member asking “So it makes ice and runs properly” and the answer from the Seller was “Yes, work fine.” This ice machine will not come on – It was not tested by a tech as advertised because the microprocessor will not come on and that is not a problem caused by shipping. This ice machine did not work prior to shipping and “does not make ice or works fine.” Despite the fact that they said items were “sold as is”, they went to great lengths in their ad to tell how the items are “tested by our tech” and “if it won’t cool, we won’t sell.” They also state in their ad, “We believe that honesty and being straightforward is the best way to do business and expect the same from our buyers.” They have neither “honesty” nor conduct themselves in a “straightforward manner.”
My fiancé contacted the company on May 19 twice. The first time he talked with a girl who answered the phone and was connected to “Patrick” to describe the issues. He described the problem with the ice machine not working to “Patrick” and also told him that we did not receive the ice bin listed in the ad. He was told that “Patrick” would have to talk with a technician concerning the ice machine. When my fiancé called the company again, he was again connected with “Patrick” who stated he talked with a technician and was told there was an “on/off switch” located behind the front panel. My fiancé told him that the on/off switch was a microprocessor and that the microprocessor was not coming on. “Patrick” then told him he would have to talk to another technician who knew more about this and call him back. We have never received any follow-up phone call.
On May 20 in the afternoon, I called the company and was told by the girl answering the phone, Lisa, that we were calling back because we had not received any further phone calls. She said she would leave “Patrick” a message, but that they were “training.”
On the morning of May 21, I again called the company and talked with “Lisa” and told her we had not received any calls. I was told that she had delivered the messages to “Patrick” but that he was going to be “in and out today.” At that time I asked if I could talk to the President of the company. She stuttered and told me that I would need to talk to “Patrick.” When I asked her if he was the President of the company, she stuttered and finally said, “Yes.” I asked her for his last name and was told it was “Kennedy.” She also was very hesitant to give me any information concerning the company, its name or other information. She told me that she was merely an answering service for “Patrick’s company” and did not know any other information. However, this person is also the one who took my credit card information and took payment for the ice machine and ice bin and provided information concerning contacting the “shipping department” when I wanted to know how to arrange the shipment of the items.
I again called in the afternoon of May 21 after having not received any calls. “Lisa” stated at first that she thought “Patrick” was just coming in and put me on hold. She came back on the phone after a minute or so and said it wasn’t him, but that he had told her earlier to tell me he was busy and to email him with the problem and he would take a look at it. I told her that I had already emailed him (through Ebay) earlier that day and that he already knew what the problem was because of the conversation that he had with my fiancé on May 20, 2009 and that he told us he was going to talk to a technician about the problem and call us back. I told her we needed a telephone call, not an email, concerning the non-working ice machine and the wrong ice bin that was shipped. She told me that she was simply telling me what she had been told to say.
Since that time, “Patrick Kennedy” has refused to return any phone calls. We have had a few emails through Ebay, but this company has now suspended all communications “while they consult their attorney.” We believe this company intentionally sold us a non-working ice machine and shipped a totally different (and inferior) ice bin than they advertised.
This company has several complaints through the Better Business Bureau. The Better Business Bureau website also does not list “Patrick Kennedy” as the owner, but lists a “Vaughn” as the owner. The Kansas Secretary of State’s website also states this LLC is “delinquent” and lists the Resident Agent as “Vaughn Smith” with an address of “6418 Shadow Lakes, WICHITA, KS 67205.”

Beware about buying anything from this company.