Gunpal/GPal has serious problems...

[galilshooter]

For those of you who are looking into using gunpal for your gun transactions you might want to rethink it. On April 26th my ffl completed a sale for more than $3000 and accepted gunpal for payment. To date the funds still have not transferred to his account. He has dealt directly with Ben Cannon who has lied to him on at least two separate occasions. I have a complete set of emails documenting the BS that gunpal is dishing out. This is not an isolated case. I have checked other boards such as glock talk and there are others out there with similar problems.

I don't know about you but waiting weeks for a payment to transfer is unacceptable. The guy who bought the guns had them two days later. Gunpal is no friend to the gun community if they can't do a simple transfer of funds in a timely manner. Use them at your own risk. I'm sure they will be getting numerous BBB, state attorney general and other complaints filed against them.

[Shane Tuttle]

Moving from Gen Disc to Retail Deals and Feedback Forum...

[UpandAtIt]

I am having issues with GP in that my checking account routing and number is not being accepted by GP, it is the same one I use for PayPal, Buynow, West Un etc......very frustraiting to get the same message over and over rejecting my account because they say the routing does not match the bank and account number. I know damn well the info is correct. I am going to hold off finishing my app to let all the bugs work out first.

[UpandAtIt]

HEALDSBURG, CA – May 13, 2010 (For Immediate Release)


GUNPAL, the leader in transaction-neutral online payment processing, is now operating as GPal, Inc. at the website https://www.gpal.net/

[New2GA]

I would be interested in how the GPAL issue works out. I'm interested in their services however I don't have the ability to deal with long delays in transfers. I signed up with them a while ago and still have not added any bank acounts. I think I will wait and see how this plays out before continuing with them.

[artherd]

I am not familiar with this case, and do not appreciate you implying I have been anything but forthright. We did have some cases in which a 3rd party processor of ours delayed funds transfers to some customers, however to my knowledge all of those have been cleared up. If that is not the case please let me or my staff know and it will be taken care of.

-Ben.

[Rich Miranda]

I have used Gunpal (before the name change) and I have never had any issues.

I'm still a fan of and recommend Gpal.

[arcticap]

My recent 1st Gpal transaction which was deposited into my Gpal account was then successfully transferred to my bank account in a prompt and timely manner. I'm quite satisfied and intend to use Gpal again. :)

[Stick_man]

I have used GunPal on a couple different occasions and have yet to have a negative experience with them. Transfer times and fees are nearly identical to those of PayPal, but the attitude is many times better (than PayPal) with GPal. At this point, I have no complaints about using GPal.

[CCGS]

not a bash but a question, what would be an average wait for funds withdrawn to be deposited into my bank account? I have a confirmation # saying the transfer is complete dated 5-24-10 and it is now 6-7-10. Is that normal or timely? thanks

[CCGS]

SO what... it is now the 10th, and I still have not seen my deposit... nor any reply from my emails, nor even this thread.... If Mr. Cannon does indeed read these threads he doesn't seem interested in my question. :mad:

[Brian Pfleuger]

SO what... it is now the 10th, and I still have not seen my deposit... nor any reply from my emails, nor even this thread.... If Mr. Cannon does indeed read these threads he doesn't seem interested in my question.

Dude, Mr. Cannon replied in post #6 of this thread...

[sksmatt]

I made a withdrawl from my Gpal account on 5-24-10 and the money has still not posted to my bank account...that's 14 business days! I've sent 2 messages to Gpal support and both have gone unanswered. I also had a withdrawl last month that took damn near 3 weeks. Anything over 7 business days is unacceptable! :mad:

[Shorts]

I'm using GPal as a method to accept payments. My deposits from Gpal-to-bank take 3-5 business days according to my statements. This last transfer got me concerned as it was not 3 days on the dot like all the previous others have been. Instead, it was 5. I did send the same message to both my bank and GPal and both responded promptly. They both stated the time between transfer and posting does take 3-7 days. That's just the way the system works.


I can't speak for anyone else's situation, only my own. I watch my accounts closely and I'm very quick to send off an inquiry if I get concerned. I've always been answered. I encourage everyone who uses a third party for transactions to contact your bank and talk to a representative about your business/financial contacts. Banks and credit unions might have their own way of doing things within the common general practices. At the least a representative can have a look at your account transactions and determine why or where things went wrong.

[Buddymack]

I have come on here because I am very concerned, I am having the same issue this is the first time but never the less I am having an issue..
I paid for my item with a successful confirmation on the 3rd of June on an item on GB...the dealer said he has not had any payment since I showed him the confirmation number and everything..
I know many on here want to trust as I do too, but when you are out a few hundred dollars and quite possibly a good deal your going to be sorry.
I will be out only about 78 bucks and a rifle stock that I have been hoping to complete a project..
but if I don't have an answer and resolution, I am going to assume fraud and contact the proper authorites and begin to warn all the other sites I frequent..
I use the same name, and honestly I was hoping for a professional replacement to Paypal that was pro-gun...:(

[sksmatt]

Something bad is definitely going down over at Gpal. A simple withdrawal should not be taking 2-3 weeks or more to transfer to someone's bank account...that is completely unacceptable! :mad: For those of you that have gotten satisfactory responses from Gpal support...congratulations :)

I've heard nothing from them in over 2 weeks :eek:

[Shorts]

sksmatt, have you called your bank?

[mta59628]

Having issues here to. I have moved locations, and have been for over two weeks trying to up date my profile so everything matches up. Now for two weeks I have been also trying to confirm my new bank, I have sent 4 other emails without a single response. With no phone number to contact I am kind of nervous for the money I have in limbo there, since I have no bank I can send it to and customer service can't answer emails.

[sksmatt]

sksmatt, have you called your bank?


I could try, but I doubt they can help. My bank is not the problem...I believe it is both Gpal and the bank(s) that "transfer" the money for them. I've had several sucessful Gpal deposits this year that only took 4-5 days. It's just this deposit that is missing and another one I had last month that took over 2 weeks. Gpal support is not answering any email inquiries and there is no phone number for them. I also PM'd artherd here with no response :confused:

[teumessian_fox]

Didn't I read that the owners of GPal are long time members of calguns.net and actively post over there?


Why don't you all register on calguns.net and find out what's happening?

[BillCA]

Didn't I read that the owners of GPal are long time members of calguns.net and actively post over there?

Why don't you all register on calguns.net and find out what's happening?

True statement. Gpal is essentially part of the calguns family of businesses. You should easily be able to contact Ben Cannon there as artherd - the same name he used to post on TFL.

I suggest that you put together all the information you have in a logical order and explain what the problem is and what the desired outcome should be.

Ben is an upstanding and forthright guy. I'm sure he'll get you some results.

[CCGS]

Update:
I finally got in touch with a person at GPal. Evidently, they had a large batch of transactions that were messed up by a processing company "coamerica" and if you will call them, they will redo the transaction. Mine is to be no later than COB Wednesday, and Im to call the guy back Thursday to make sure. That is much better.
So, if you are still hanging on a transaction, call them at
1-800-813-4725.

Good luck.

[sksmatt]

Thanks a lot! :D I'm calling tomorrow.

[joejeweler]

Well,.....i sold a guitar for near $4,000 on 5-22-10 , plus some other items before that. I initiated a transfer into my bank account later that evening and the transfer showed on my gunpal account as having been "processed" and completed.

6 days later i contacted them to let them know i had not yet recieved the $4,000.00 transfer ,....and only THEN i was told because of the newness of the account,.... i would need to send them a copy of my driver's license, the name and contact info of the buyer,....and proof of delivery and satisfaction of the buyer.

....as the guitar was still in transit i had to wait another 3 or 4 days for that to take place. Even after all the requirements were met, and now over two more weeks have passed,....i was told in their latest email i will have the funds by 6-17-10 AM

.....that's 26 days,.....

Below are some of the emails i sent and recieved responces,.....(sometimes several days elapsed before i heard back),...to give you the not so flattering picture of this company and their "service",......and i would NOT recommend them to my worst enemy!

......expect them to fail eventually with this level of customer service!!!!!

The last email i recieved today at the top mentioned:

QUOTE:
"Your funds have been processed manually. They should arrive 06/17/10 AM."

Yep,.....processed "manually" in my book means done by hand,.....

.......fed up and spreading the word.

Joseph Tousignant



=================================================
Flag this messageRe: GPal SUPPORT Ticket [#338779] SUPPORT TICKET: [email protected], June 15, 2010 3:54 AMFrom: "Joseph Tousignant" <[email protected]>Add sender to ContactsTo: "GPal Support" <[email protected]>


Yeah,....that's almost 2 full weeks since the funds were "released",....what a joke!

It's also been about a month since my transfer request was initially started, and listed on my account as having been completed!)

Look at the quote from your email below....

"Thank you for choosing GPal, the leader in transaction-neutral payment processing."

..............if only that were true,.....but an even bigger joke. "Leader".......what a company ego.

Just saying something doesn't make it true,......it has to be followed up with actions.

Gunpal is using members funds for the float.....of that i am certain.

.....hell of a way to run and grow a business.

disgusted,
Joseph Tousignant


--- On Tue, 6/15/10, GPal Support <[email protected]> wrote:


From: GPal Support <[email protected]>
Subject: GPal SUPPORT Ticket [#338779] SUPPORT TICKET: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Date: Tuesday, June 15, 2010, 1:33 AM


Support Ticket #338779

Dear JOSEPH TOUSIGNANT,

Your funds have been processed manually. They should arrive 06/17/10 AM.

Your business is extremely important to us, we sincerely hope this response has answered your questions. If not, please reply directly to this email or create another ticket via the support request on the GPal website.

Thank you for choosing GPal, the leader in transaction-neutral payment processing.

- The GPal Support Team.
http://www.gpal.net/
[email protected]




From: Joseph Tousignant <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: GPal SUPPORT Ticket [#338779] SUPPORT TICKET: [email protected]
To: "GPal Support" <[email protected]>
Date: Thursday, June 10, 2010, 11:55 AM


Well,....as of 6-9-10 the $4000.00 transfer into my bank account STILL has not shown up. (there is a later $450.00 transfer i'm awaiting also).

I must say that informing me the funds have been released,.....and actually getting the funds into my account,....are two vastly different things!

This has proven to be one of the most frustrating experiences of my life,......between not informing me of the delay in the 1st place until i contacted you after 6 days initially,....

......then having to wait another week while the guitar i sold had to arrive to the buyer and you had to verify that also,.....

.......and now almost another week has gone by since you "released" the funds,.....and still no money into my account.

.......for sure this is a great way to build a business!

I'm told paypal takes TWO DAYS to transfer funds into a bank account,.....the same as it takes for a transfer when i pay a bill online thru my bank account. I'm not lloking to be a cash flow "float" part of any business,....thank you.

These long and unnecessary delays to actually recieve payment are unacceptable! It cost me well over $100 to use your service on this one transaction,....and after almost 3 weeks i'm still waiting to get paid.

.......next time i'll pick up the overnight express fee and have US Postal Money Orders sent to my home. I'll be paid the next day with none of these riduculous and unreasonable delays.

I would have thought that because of the initial delay,...of which i was NOT even informed,.....would have caused someone in your company to expediate the actual transfer into my account when you finally "released" my funds.

I was looking for that to happen,.......it has not,.......you have dropped the ball big time.

regards,
Joseph Tousignant

--- On Fri, 6/4/10, GPal Support <[email protected]> wrote:


From: GPal Support <[email protected]>
Subject: GPal SUPPORT Ticket [#338779] SUPPORT TICKET: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Date: Friday, June 4, 2010, 7:53 PM


Support Ticket #338779

Dear JOSEPH TOUSIGNANT,

Hello Joseph, thank you for the information concerning receipt of the guitar by your buyer. We have released your funds. Occasionally a buyer's CC bank will verify information, especially on large transactions, though it is not a common practice.

Your business is extremely important to us, we sincerely hope this response has answered your questions. If not, please reply directly to this email or create another ticket via the support request on the GPal website.

Thank you for choosing GPal, the leader in transaction-neutral payment processing.

- The GPal Support Team.
http://www.gpal.net/
[email protected]

From: "Joseph Tousignant" <[email protected]>Add sender to ContactsTo: "GPal Support" <[email protected]>Another day gone by and STILL my bank account has NOT been credited with the $4,000.00 in funds that were supposed to have originally been transfered almost 2 weeks ago. (not to mention another $450.00 bank transfer i initiated yesterday)

I tought i made it clear a few days ago that ALL of the issues your bank was concerned about had been resolved.

I sent you all the necessary information on myself,....and the buyer of the guitar from which the majority of this $4,000.00 funds transfer originated.

......and STILL i have no funds in my bank account! Not even a response from you in 2 days even!

.....possible i am looking for a resolution to this matter in the wrong area,......and a search for a class action lawyer might be more appropriate.

I am fed up with your not so accomodating "customer support" BS and lack of meaningfull response.

Joseph Tousignant



--- On Wed, 6/2/10, Joseph Tousignant <[email protected]> wrote:


From: Joseph Tousignant <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: GPal SUPPORT Ticket [#338779] SUPPORT TICKET: [email protected]
To: "GPal Support" <[email protected]>
Date: Wednesday, June 2, 2010, 1:21 PM


WELL????????

.......have you checked that delivery of the guitar was made and was satisfactory?

Geeze,....this is totally rediculous. I have bills due friday and if late,......i'll expect YOU to pay the late fees!

Joseph Tousignant

--- On Tue, 6/1/10, Joseph Tousignant <[email protected]> wrote:


From: Joseph Tousignant <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: GPal SUPPORT Ticket [#338779] SUPPORT TICKET: [email protected]
To: "GPal Support" <[email protected]>
Date: Tuesday, June 1, 2010, 3:41 PM


Hi,....please take note of the email below from the buyer of my guitar,.....that he was very pleased with it. If you feel the need to contact him yourself please do so TODAY,....so that i can have my funds asap! Enough is enough.

You might also check the previously sent UPS tracking number that i sent in a previous email to show it was delivered.

regards,
Joseph Tousignant


--- On Tue, 6/1/10, [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote:


From: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Guild AA Shipped/Tracking #
To: "Joseph Tousignant" <[email protected]>
Date: Tuesday, June 1, 2010, 3:00 PM


AA arrived in undamaged condition this morning. Everything is as you stated, beautiful instrument in excellent condition. Not a blemish I could detect on initial inspection. Georgeous wood and sound. I replaced the roundwounds it came with (very bright and lively, but I've always disliked the whizzing sounds they make) with D'Addario chrome jazz flatwound .011s. Gives a more mellow accoustic voice, with a lower volume. Great tone. I will cherish it, and play it often.

Great to do business with you Joe - 4stars............

Dave



--- On Tue, 6/1/10, GPal Support <[email protected]> wrote:


From: GPal Support <[email protected]>
Subject: GPal SUPPORT Ticket [#338779] SUPPORT TICKET: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Date: Tuesday, June 1, 2010, 3:49 AM


Support Ticket #338779

Dear JOSEPH TOUSIGNANT,

We are sorry for any inconvenience and thank you for supplying this information. Due to the size of this transaction and the age of the account, the bank needs to see evidence of delivery of merchandise before they will release the funds. This is done for everyone's protection and we thank you for your patience during this process.

Your business is extremely important to us, we sincerely hope this response has answered your questions. If not, please reply directly to this email or create another ticket via the support request on the GPal website.

Thank you for choosing GPal, the leader in transaction-neutral payment processing.

- The GPal Support Team.
http://www.gpal.net/
[email protected]

Re: GPal SUPPORT Ticket [#338779] SUPPORT TICKET: [email protected], May 29, 2010 7:55 PMFrom: "Joseph Tousignant" <[email protected]>Add sender to ContactsTo: "GPal Support" <[email protected]>Message contains attachments1 File (78KB)DSC00248_Smaller.jpgWHAT?

A week later and, although the funds "appear" in my account to have had a transfered to my bank account, (on YOUR end!).....are you telling me it has NOT been done yet! ***.......?

Unreal,....and frankly,....i should NOT have to do anything further than to request my freekin money,.......isn't that the way this is supposed to work? I'm REALLY ****** right now! You are not the only game in town, as you well know.

In the interest of getting this done on MONDAY (IMMEDIATELY,.....if you catch my drift!),.....i have included e-mails below regarding his purchase from me of a Guild Artist Award Archtop Guitar for $3,960.00

His name is David Wadiak, .... and his email address is [email protected]

The guitar was shipped on 5-24-10 via UPS Ground,......and is due to arrive early this coming week to the buyer. As it has not yet arrived to it's destination,.....i doubt the buyer can be of much help to you. (not to mention a gross invasion of both his and my privacy!)


The UPS tracking number is 1z120x800380312784

I will attach a photo of my New York State Driver's License also.

I trust this will end "the confusion" on YOUR end. Get the transfer done!!!!

regards,
Joseph Tousignant


--- On Sat, 5/29/10, GPal Support <[email protected]> wrote:


From: GPal Support <[email protected]>
Subject: GPal SUPPORT Ticket [#338779] SUPPORT TICKET: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Date: Saturday, May 29, 2010, 7:04 PM


Support Ticket #338779

Dear JOSEPH TOUSIGNANT,

We are sorry for any confusion, but we still need more information on the transactions that led to this withdrawal.

1. A description of the goods or services sold.
2. Confirmation of delivery and contact info of customers.
3. a copy of your Driver's license.

Please provide the above as soon as possible in order that we may transfer these funds to your bank account, once again we apologize for the delay.

Your business is extremely important to us, we sincerely hope this response has answered your questions. If not, please reply directly to this email or create another ticket via the support request on the GPal website.

Thank you for choosing GPal, the leader in transaction-neutral payment processing.

- The GPal Support Team.
http://www.gpal.net/

[email protected]



Flag this messageRe: Guild AA Shipped/Tracking #
Monday, May 24, 2010 3:11 PMFrom: "Joseph Tousignant" <[email protected]>Add sender to Contacts To: [email protected]
Hi Dave,....the AA shipped this afternoon UPS ground. You made out well on the shipping!

Because you are on the west coast and the box had to be the biggest they make,.....shipping alone was $68.58 plus $35.10 for $3,900.00 of insurance plus $3.77 fuel surcharge,......or a toal of $107.34

......and www.gunpal .com got their share also,......around $112.00 as i recall.

......who said selling guitars was easy! .....geeze.....

Please let me know when it arrives.

Here's the tracking number:

1z120x800380312784

thanks,

Joseph Tousignant




From: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Guild AA Payment Arrived...
To: "Joseph Tousignant" <[email protected]>
Date: Saturday, May 22, 2010, 5:40 PM


excellent. good doing business with you. The AA will 'round out' my Guild collection. I will let you know of any problems that might arise.

have a great day.

Dave

----- Original Message -----
From: "Joseph Tousignant" <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Saturday, May 22, 2010 2:35:06 PM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific
Subject: Re: Guild AA Payment Arrived...


Hi Dave,...just got the confirmation of payment.

The AA will ship via UPS ground on monday to the address below,....and i will email you the tracking number at that time.

Thank you for the purchace,....you will love this guitar!

Joe T

--- On Sat, 5/22/10, [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote:


From: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Guild AA Payment options...
To: "Joseph Tousignant" <[email protected]>
Date: Saturday, May 22, 2010, 5:23 PM


Gunpal account set up and $3960 sent to you via VISA card. please confirm receipt of funds.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Joseph Tousignant" <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Saturday, May 22, 2010 1:23:59 PM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific
Subject: Re: Guild AA Payment options...


Hi,...i'm not a business so a not set up to take a CC directly. That's why i suggested you could sign up for and use www.gunpal.com , and visa works there also

. It works similiar to paypal (pay to an email address),...but is easier to set up and less restrictive on certain items such as gun items. Weekends don't matter on the internet. I haven't used paypal since 2002 when they stole $3,000 out of my account because a person paying me was selling on ebay and not delivering. This was a full week after i recieved payment!

In vindication i did get back $900 a few years ago in the big class action lawsuit (once ebay bought them out),...but will not use them again,....leaves a bad taste in my mouth! Hence i now use www.gunpal.com for any CC payments.

Otherwise just send several postal money orders (they max at $1,000 each) to my address way down below.

One advantage of the gunpal payment is i could ship on monday!

Also,...pass along your address so that i can get it boxed up and ready to ship.

thanks,

Joseph Tousignant

--- On Sat, 5/22/10, [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote:


From: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Guild AA final figure
To: "Joseph Tousignant" <[email protected]>
Date: Saturday, May 22, 2010, 4:08 PM


OK, $3960.00, its a deal.

I would like to use my VISA if you can manage this form of payment. If this is acceptable to you, I prefer dislosure via phone on Monday 5/24/2010. I dont want to transfer CC info on a weekend when the actual electronic transfer will not go through. I suggest we can talk on Monday am and I can give you the card number and other pertinent info. Otherwise I can purchase a mail order and send it through certified USPS mail return receipt, but you wont receive it until late in the week. Let me know.

Dave

[sksmatt]

Sorry to hear about all your Gpal trouble joejeweler...:(...hope it gets worked out for you.

Just do a Google search on Gpal/Gunpal problems...they are starting to pop up on many forums now...lots of customers are missing funds.

[teumessian_fox]

Just out of curiosity, when funds are transferred into gunpal's account, is that an interest bearing account?

[joejeweler]

PAY INTEREST ON GUNPAL BALANCES?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA


Seriously,....i'm beginning to think Gunpal is "needing" to use the float to stay afloat!

WHY else would so many people have to wait so long to get paid?

I pay a bill online from my bank checking account,....and it shows up in 2 days tops!

IF i finally get paid my $4000.00 on 6-17-10 in the AM (and the subsequent $450.00 transfer i initiated also) ,....then that will have been 26 days from when i started the transfer,....and my account showed a "confirmation" of it. That was a bold faced LIE if you look at my actual
e-mails presented earlier.

It just isn't right,...and the CEO of Gunpal has GOT to be aware of these things ,....or he shouldn't be the CEO!

Remember, "The buck stops here"....

.......and if they're the "leader" in the online payment services in their nitch,....they are grossly mistaken and ego driven.

They are a legend in their own mind.

BTW,....i made it clear to them early on i have been out of work since december and was selling items to live on,.... and this delay was creating a hardship for me.


.....bottom line they don't give a crap about their customers,....in spite of that garbage line that "your business is extremely important to us" at the end of every customer service email i got.. RIGHT....

[sksmatt]

So, if you are still hanging on a transaction, call them at
1-800-813-4725.


I called yesterday and got their voicemail and left my contact info. And, guess what? No call back yet :mad: I also put in a THIRD support ticket yesterday and got nothing...just as expected...NOTHING! What a crock of BS!

[CCGS]

SKSMATT,
Mine cleared on Wednesday as promised, The # I posted 1-800-813-4725 and the guy I spoke with is named Chad.

Of course, I got this email today... keep trying! Good Luck!

June 17, 2010

Dear CCGS,

Recently we have received many complaints concerning a lack of response from GPal. On June 15th we became aware of a problem affecting some customers with our Email Support web page. The problem has been resolved, but for the week previous support emails that were submitted may not have gone through. We sincerely apologize for this. Here at GPal we take a lot of pride in our service and our attention to you as an individual customer.

If you received a Support Ticket number you were not affected by this and need do nothing. If you did not receive a Support Ticket Number please send your request again. If you submitted an email to us in and did not receive a response please submit it again or contact our customer service at 1-800-813-GPAL(4725).

Thank you for being a GPal customer. We value your business and are striving to provide you with excellent service.

Sincerely,
Grant Early
GPal, Inc
Vice President of Business Development

[primetime]

Well, this is enough info for me to know that I'll NEVER use gpal ever...Even if there are successful transactions for a few of you..Its quite obivous they don't have their stuff in order, especially after reading all the responses above....No way will I use them. Ever. I hope you guys get your transactions processed and you get your money. I don't blame you for your frustrations...Good luck fellas.

[Pa. Patriot]

Apparently they are still having problems.

Had my first use/test of GPAL. Charged a customer CC.
No problem. Used half funds to pay for goods, no problem.
Withdrew the balance of funds to my checking ..... GPAL account says transfer complete on June 14 7:38 AM

It's June 26 and the funds are not in my bank yet. I opened a support ticket two days ago, no response yet.

[Durham68]

I really wish I had seen threads like this before doing business through Gpal. I cannot get Gpal to recognize my bank account and have initiated two service tickets and voice mail over the course of three weeks with no response yet. Gpal customer service is non-existent. I now have $300 sitting in a Gpal account hat I cannot get to and no one on their end is willing to give me the time of day.

[The_Vigilante]

Thanks for all of the feedback on GunPal-positive and negative. I have a GunPal account but will not be using it ever based on the negative feedback received thus far. The owner of GunPal apparently is a member of this Forum as he made one comment in the thread. However, lately, he has been absentee-wonder why? If there are problems with GunPal he should acknowledge them, apologize for all of the inconvenience to the people who are still waiting for their money, and make sure that the problems with using GunPal are resolved quickly. If he doesn't, then he might as well close up shop

[Durham68]

Gpal responded today to my third support ticket in a week. The support specialist said he responded to my first ticket but I didn't see it then and don't have it now. I may have missed it but don't really see how.

Either way, Gpal does not offer checks as a form of withdrawal yet even though it says they do in their user agreement. If, as I suspect, it is a temporary situation, than they need to say so somewhere in the user agreement and somewhere prominent on the website.

Gpal support does exist and was polite after I got pretty rude.

[michael t]

I to am having trouble with now Gpal.. I requested money from my account on 24 June . I finely got to talk with support today . Last time I went thru same thing over 2 weeks before I got money. The say 2 to 5 business days on their site. Now that time I was told I got lost .In the change over in processors. Ok Mistake was made.
Today is best excuse yet READY!!!! Since they are very 2nd amendment the banks are screwing with them . This why I am not getting my money BUT it will be their in my account tomorrow for sure . (same thing last time when I called. Fixed on spot)
I am seriously thinking of filing a complaint with my Attorney General and with the one in the state their in. . I didn't want to use pay pal . However this can't get money that belongs to you .That their holding and paying no interest on Limiting you amount of withdraws to a $1000 total a month unless you give them YOUR Credit Card Number. Is BS I suggest people find other ways to pay Besides Gun Pal now known as Gpal. Their service is terrible .

[michael t]

Had written and E mail said I would have money in account July 7 No money came today

[michael t]

Well today fri and still waiting Called 800 yesterday 3 times got voice mail. Tried again today voicemail :( I have a fair sum of money tied up their . I have removed them from my board and advised members to no longer use I am about to start contacting Attorney General in my state and theirs also to see if something can be done . I to now believe their floating money and many of us are going to get burnt .
Since I don't sell guns or parts I suppose I can use Paypal Thats a shame I have to use anti's .

[SimplySebastian]

Same story. I can't get my money. Nobody picks up their phone or responds to tickets. Their CEO, Ben Cannon, used to be reponsive but is now in hiding. I've been researching him a bit and he seems like a real piece of work; a shameless self promoter and BS artist. I think he's been misrepresenting the heck out of this buisness.

Several of the people involved in GPal/GunPal/ScamPal are big-wigs at calguns.net so I've redirecting my bitching there. It seems like comments like "Where is my freeking money?" seem to get deleted. Just another reason to dislike my former home, California.

I recommend you steer clear of Gpal. I hope I'm able to get my money out before they pull the plug.

[Retired15T]

Man, I was really hoping to see these issues be resolved. However, it seems like it's just one excuse after another from those guys.

I will NEVER use a Gpal account now.

[Brian Pfleuger]

This is sad.:(

I was intending to use GunPal after a PM conversation with Ben Cannon, early after they went live.

Since this thread started, I have sent him a PM suggesting that he respond more since he posted only once on the first page. I have not received a reply, where he was replying with little delay to my previous inquiries.

These problems are now very public and require, IMO, a public response and resolution.

Without one, I will never use the service.

[langloisandy]

Gpal has had a sum of my money since June, no contact back from them, no calls...multiple emails/call from me to a few people there.

Andy

[zxcvbob]

Looks like they're about to draw-and-quarter him over on Calguns, and that's his home turf. :(

[CCGS]

Sounds like the lawyers are fixing to get involved and perhaps the men in black. Hope everyone gets at least some of their money back... I was on the fence for almost a week, but finally it came through. I am going to delete my account information (if i can) and try to close this gpal mess out.

Good luck to everyone, and if anyone finds a legit service that actually performs as promised... please let us know!

[teumessian_fox]

I don't know if you have to be logged in on calguns to read this, but they've opened a whole forum section just for this.

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/forumdisplay.php?f=201






.

[Brian Pfleuger]

Well, Mr. Cannon posted on CalGuns just three hours ago that:

"...GPal was lied to by our banks, and we had problems funding accounts as a result. However we are presently fully functional and dibursing funds. Please contact GPal support if you have not received your funds, as we may not have closed loop notification of your funds posting to your bank."


I hope the situation is fully resolved, we should know within a day or so if everyone is getting their money in a timely fashion.

I would like to use a gun friendly company, but this issue needs to be fixed before I will chance it.

[Retired15T]

Yet another excuse. It would take me quite some time to trust a company after all the excuses, ranging from email servers not playing fair with them to their banks screwing them over, before I would consider using Gpal.

I learned at an early age that when someone owes you money, and they make more than two excuses, it's time to get legal advice.

[SimplySebastian]

Ben Cannon's been full of excuses since this whole mess started. I bought the first couple because I wanted this thing to work. I'm now convinced he's simply a pompous liar. Reading his posts at calguns.net will give you the full measure of the man. To say he thinks highly of himself is an understatement. The guy's even been accused of running a scam lottery on calguns which, while seemingly impossible at the time, in light of current events seems quite plausable.

I will continue to call daily until I get my money. They only own me about $1,100 (a small amount compaired to what they owe others) so it kills me to have to work for it like this. I've wasted so much time just trying to get my freeking money. I've heard that someone's setting up a class action lawsuit. If anyone has that information PLEASE, PLEASE post it here

Sebastian

[Sooka615]

We had problems with them for 2 weeks the beginning of June. Finally got our money, thought everything was dandy. They said they switched from using Comerica Bank to using Chase. The whole thing was blamed on the bank, so they switched. As of right now, I have almost $1000.00 floating somewhere in their hands. This is the second time we've had a huge delay in getting our funds.

If it's true that someone is starting a class action lawsuit against them, PLEASE let us know. We will join it immediately!!!

GPal = Crap service

[michael t]

Their posting a whole new system on line at 4 Pacific today and we all will get our money . That's a recording. I got thru to chad and he said might be 7 more days till I see my money :rolleyes:
Same guy who been telling me my money be their in couple days and for sure last Wed. I had his word.:rolleyes: Now Says be 7 more days to get my money
I called the FTC and filed a fraud complaint . When I said Gpal and woman said Oh yes. whats your story . I was in formed many complaints being filed. She also ask that I tell every one that has a problem to contact them .
The FTC 1 877 382 4357 took only a few min Was on hold longer at Gpal. Just to hear their newest fairy tail .
Call the FTC They want to hear your story Woman thought the Bank against 2nd story . As to why I wasn't getting money was a good story.:D

[Sooka615]

I saw that posted on one of the threads on calguns.net too by the GPalVP. I figure this, I'll give them until Friday morning (that's the 24 hours plus time for my bank to update the deposits for the day), if I don't see it all then, I'll sure as heck give the FTC a very DETAILED phone call. I'm sick of it. Everyone keeps saying how a new business is expected to have problems. When you have several customers talking about a class action lawsuit, it's more than just a 'quirk', it's a major issue.
Once I get my money, I'm closing my account with them. I MIGHT go back to them in the future, IF they ever become reliable. I really want them to succeed. PayPal sucks. But the little 'bumps' in their business is becoming a huge roadblock in mine. :mad:

[carolina45]

I've been ripped for $1379 - told all the same BS I've read through this thread - if you believe the last line of crud then your demented. Just in case you didn't notice that whole thread was within the Gpal business forum of CalGun.net and the GpalVP has decided he's heard enough and CLOSED the thread.

[Sooka615]

carolina45...

Yea, just went over and noticed that all the threads that have to do with the present issue have been closed.

I did just add one to the GPal vendor forum that I thought was worth some consideration though....

And I think it would help them to get through these issues at hand if they had more CS people instead of just Chad and the newbie he's probably having to train in the middle of all this... :(

[teumessian_fox]

that whole thread was within the Gpal business forum of CalGun.net and the GpalVP has decided he's heard enough and CLOSED the thread

Which is extremely curious since Kestryll, the owner, posted this:

Let me help clear this up.

I own Calguns, Me, not Ben.

Ben owns Gpal, Ben, not me.

Ben does serve as an adviser for Calguns but does not own it.

I am on the Gpal Advisory Board but do not own it nor do I have a financial interest in Gpal other than having an account there myself.


When I first read that I got the impression that the GPal guy was just a member like everybody else.

Then the next thing I know is that the GPal guy who merely serves as an "advisor" has locked all the threads re GPal.

Those guys are messed up.

[SimplySebastian]

I made a report with the FTC today. The lady that I spoke with knew who I was talking about and didn't require any specific info regarding the company. She already had it. She said that she had "a number" of reports today. If you're still having issues with the retrieval of funds from GPAL you should contact the FTC (877-382-4357).

[SimplySebastian]

Here's the latest post from GPal's VP on CalGuns.net:


Like any other forum, this one needs to be moderated and kept free of nonsense. No threads will be deleted if they serve a legitimate purpose. That's all I was saying. Thanks for your input.

To the rest of you, GPal is NOT failing. We will come through this stronger and even more capable than before. You can either help us achieve success or detract from us. The fact remains that we're the only payment processor standing up for your rights to buy and sell firearms and related items. The trouble we are dealing with is coming as a result of a very deep and widespread hatred of gun sales within the banking industry. For those of you wishing for our demise, there will be no one to replace us and you'll be left trying to fool PayPal only to get your account frozen when they learn what you're really doing.

The difference between us and them is we're trying like hell to get everybody their funds and we love the gun industry and all of our customers who buy/sell firearms related items. As stated previously withdrawals are on their way as we speak and we'll be updating our customers individually as to the status.


http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=321719

I'm sorry but playing the "we're all you've got so shut up and help us make this work" card is pretty weak. That ship has sailed. I tried to keep my mouth shut at first for this exact reason but those days are over. GunPal/Gpal should have worked out the banking portion of their product well in advance of its launch. Blaming the "anti-gun bogyman" for your problems is pathetic. GPal had to have had contracts in place with its banking partners. The partners had to have known that they'd be dealing with firearm transactions, the company's name was GunPal for crap's sake. Something stinks here.

I just want my money. If you want to head off the bashing on the internet respond to tickets and phone calls. When you do respond, provide actual information, not just empty promises. If I hear I'm going to get my money on day X or my bank is holding up the transfer again I'm going to go crazy. I don't think you've got the ability to disburse funds right now. If you can't get me my money right now don't lie about it, it's just going to make me and everyone else more upset when the day we're supposed to get our funds comes and goes.

The person I feel most sorry for (besides myself of course) is that Chad guy who seems to be the only member of the GPal support "team" (a team of one?). He sounds like he's about to jump off a bridge when you do finally get to talk to him. Ben Cannon (GPAL CEO and self professed master of the universe) is a complete scum bag (IMHO) and Chad is stuck between that **** and a bazillion people who Ben's company owes money to. Not a good place to be in. Chad, it's been nice speaking with you and hopefully you'll find employment somewhere else in the near future.

Sebastian

[teumessian_fox]

Wow. I just noticed that Gpal is the "Payments Processor of Choice" for Auction Arms.

Some people are gluttons for punishment.

[Motorcopm4]

took me 14 days to receive my funds, thats Unacceptable in my book

[Sooka615]

So I'm guessing they started processing transactions, but the catch is, it will still take 2 to 7 business days to receive the funds... Now I know from experiance that it only takes a couple of hours to do a wire transfer. So why does it take GPal so long to do one?

[SimplySebastian]

I was told the same thing. I've been told that I'm right about to get my money several times before with no money deposited in my account so I'm not expecting any this time around. ACH transfers can take 24 hours and your bank should be able to see them pending before they hit your account. You may want to call your bank and ask if any ACH's are pending.

If anyone gets their money please post it here to give the rest of us hope. I'm operating under the assumption that I'll never get my money out of them so if I do it will be a very nice surprise.

I'm pretty sure I won't ever use GPal again after this whole nightmare. I know for a fact that I won't use it as long as Ben Cannon is involved. His handling of this debacle is despicable. At best he's a liar and at worst he's a total fraud. If GPal has any hope of turning the ship around step one is to oust that lying egomaniac and get a solid manager in charge of the company. Let Ben go back to prancing around the Ballet, misrepresenting his hole-in-the-wall webhosting biz and running scam raffles. He seems to do fine in those pursuits. Just keep him away from other people's money.

Sebastian

[michael t]

I made a report with the FTC today. The lady that I spoke with knew who I was talking about and didn't require any specific info regarding the company. She already had it. She said that she had "a number" of reports today. If you're still having issues with the retrieval of funds from GPAL you should contact the FTC (877-382-4357).

When I filed my complaint They encouraged me to get everyone that has a problem to call and file
I checked my account today still no money I requested transfer 24 June Because I wanted out as that transfer before took amost 3 weeks of excuses . I still have funds left as they wouldn't allow me to remove all MY MONEY. Without giving them a Credit card number I ask why and they said to prevent fraud. What a joke :rolleyes::rolleyes:

[grubbylabs]

Wow it is amazing how people do business, I guess I won't be doing any with them.

[SimplySebastian]

If anyone has any info on the class action lawsuit that's being put together please post it here. There was a post on CalGuns with a phone number to call but the GPal board members who moderate/own that forum quickly deleted it. Like the previous poster my "I'm sure you'll have your money by then" day has come and gone for the third or fourth time, I can't keep count. My bank says no ACH transfers are in the pipe so that's that.

[zxcvbob]

Class action lawsuit is the worst possible approach. The class participants never get anything out of it; even if you win, the lawyers will come up with some kind of settlement where they keep all the money -- you might get a coupon, or a check for $1.27. (I've been a winner in a C/A suit where I didn't even get a coupon for a cup of coffee)

[SimplySebastian]

Yes, the class action lawsuit won't get me my money back. I'm not hopeful that I will get my money back before the company folds.

I would like to see those who orchestrated this ponzi scheme (it's starting to smell like one) held accountable for their actions somehow be it via a class action lawsuit or some other device. Maybe the FTC will become involved? I don't want Ben Cannon et al to be able to continue selling their "poor-us" fairy tale while they move on to some new scam.

Just the fact that they keep telling me they're incapable of mailing me a check should tell people all they need to know about GPal and its management. They can't go to their bank and have them print out a cashier's check? There can only be two reasons for that; they don't want to spend the $8 a cashier's check costs OR they don't have the funds to pay out.

Sebastian

[michael t]

I really believe their out of money and were able to float for a while.:rolleyes: Then people started complaining and wanted their money and its not their . :eek: Now it in the fan and their blaming every body . They have never offered any proof it was any one other than them They have stone wall people for weeks .I think this new excuse is just another stall . Will start sending funds to people waiting on Wed at 4 Pacific. says the not. Yet Chad tell me that afternoon will be at least 7 days yet again. :confused::mad:

[carolina45]

Michael T how much money are you actually out if you don't mind letting us know. I'm trying to get a handle on the shear magnitude of this thing as I've been all over the boards reading thousands of dollars owed - - and one guy right here owed $3900+ ... :eek:

They are supposedly working with a new bank and will start processing ACH transactions early next week at least that's what someone over on CalGuns.net said -

[SimplySebastian]

The people who are owed the most are merchants and I'd imagine most of them won't be publicly complaining about the cash flow issues GPal has caused them. The smaller merchants have been posting numbers.

I'm only owed about $1,100.

[armoredman]

Interestingly enough, I had the same issue with this service provider many months ago, and was ripped a new one on this board and others by defenders of the provider. I guess I was the crest of the wave. I wish you all luck in your quests.

[SimplySebastian]

Ben Cannon has promised an update on CalGuns.net by tonight:


I apologize for the delays. We are working to get this solved, expect an announcement on how tonight.

Best!
-Ben.


"Tonight" has come and gone in my time zone. Hopefully we'll hear something solid by midnight in Ben's timezone (how many hours ahead of GMT are the Caymans?)

It's been interesting watching people post in the GPal forum at CalGuns only to have those posts vanish shortly thereafter. If GPal staff spent as much time returning calls/emails as they do deleting complaints I doubt we'd be in this mess. I find the details people are contributing about Ben's previous scams and personal history to be quite enlightening. Sadly those posts seem to be the first to go.

Ben's avatar is attached to this post. And yes Ben, i was sure your name was spelled correctly in both the FTC complaint and FBI reports I filed.

Sebastian

[SimplySebastian]

Recently GPal has been experiencing difficulties with the banks providing our electronic transfer services that allow us to make deposits and withdrawals to and from customer checking accounts. For weeks we have been working day and night to resolve these problems. We solved the problem many times, only to have the new banks cause more issues. We realize now the serious mistake we made, not immediately telling you, our customer, more about the problems we were having and how you would be affected. For this we offer our sincerest apologies and hope you will forgive us.

It now appears that repeated attempts at electronic transfers to some customers were not successful. As such, we are now issuing paper checks on request to anyone who's electronic withdrawal is overdue. If you would like to have a paper check mailed to you please email GPal Customer Support at [email protected] and we will make sure a check is mailed to you right away. Please make sure your GPal Confirmed address is current and valid. Very soon the www.GPal.net website will have the functionality to process your withdrawals by check directly through the website.

We are very sorry for the inconvenience GPal has caused many of you. We are continuing working hard to restore our checking account transfer services. We appreciate you as a customer and thank you for your patience and support during this time.


Sincerely,
Ben Cannon
Chairman/CEO
GPal, Inc.


Ben's "solution" is posted here in case of further editing or deletion. I can't believe it took him a month to come up with this. Everyone's been screaming for them to mail out checks for weeks now.

I look forward to hearing that old chestnut "your check is in the mail" when I call to complain about not getting my check in a month or two. Of course we have to request the checks. The 30,000 calls and support tickets I've already submitted don't count. It will be interesting to see if their checks are any good.

Sebastian

[Mike Irwin]

LISTEN UP, FOLKS!

This thread, for the most part, has been a good clearing house of information on individuals' problems with GPAL, and for the most part it's been free of childish name calling and specious accusations or assumptions.

Noted that I said for the MOST part.

If your message has been deleted, you can rest assured that you were engaging in childish name calling or making specious accusations or assumptions.

IF you have direct experience with GPAL and their operations, or have otherwise been affected by their ongoing troubles, you are encouraged to post in this thread, as long as you follow TFL's rules.

If, however, you have no direct experience with GPAL and have not been affected, but only wish to throw in your '2 cents,' about how you'll never do business with them, or expressing your general outrage with some good old fashioned name calling....

Don't.

[Sooka615]

Yes, the title of this thread is sarcastic. As of today, I am owed over $1000.00 by GPal. Not as much as some, I know. As of tomorrow, my business on Gunbroker will freeze, and even though I have emailed them about the situation, my customers and the people I have bought things from will probably assume I flaked out on them. Truth is, I have been owed money for 3 weeks and haven't seen a penny of it. I keep getting 'press excuses' which in my book is just GPal stalling for time until they can either get this resolved, or Mr. Cannon can skip out. Either way, I'm not able to pay the monthly fees for Gunbroker, and that is the only income I have to pay my bills and survive. I have been living on savings since the end of May and I'm tapped out.

So thanks GPal, my business is now like yours... down the toilet.

[SimplySebastian]

If I have crossed any lines here I am sorry. I will limit my posts to my own personal experiences getting my money back from GPal.

I appreciate you leaving this venue open to those of us who want to commiserate about GPal. Many other site owners are not so accommodating. One site owner told me that they were contacted by GPal and threatened with a libel suit for hosting customer comments. If the owner of this site is in a similar camp and has chosen to ignore Ben's intimidation tactics I thank you.

I have submitted a new ticket expressing my desire for the "check is in the mail" payment option. I also tried to call GPal today however their phones are down, again. They say on CalGuns that the phones are "overwhelmed." My ticket has been active since last night and as of now I've received no reply. I'm sure they're swamped to I'll give it to tomorrow. They never really responded to my tickets before however I'm hopeful that they'll take this one seriously.

There's still no mention of any of this on their website. According to the site it's business as usual. If PayPal was without the ability to disburse funds they would probably do everything in their power to inform their customers of this fact. GPal continues to try to hide their condition and put on a false front.

Sebastian

[zxcvbob]

This is like watching a train wreck in slow motion. I can't look away!

Has anyone else noticed that the 1 person on calguns that allegedly received his money was banned -- and already banned by the time he posted about getting the money. How does that work? :confused: (has anyone verified that he received his money?)

http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-eatdrink062.gif

[SimplySebastian]

I too was puzzled by that. A lot of the (now deleted) posts I've seen have indicated that people who were complaining about GPal early on were getting PM's from CalGuns members telling them to shut-up and that they're hurting "the movement" by complaining. Maybe that guy got banned for getting in a heated PM fight with a mod there? Who knows. Ben still claims to "own" CalGuns and his dumpy hosting company hosts it so I'd imagine he can ban whomever he wants.

There are also a few Ben Cannon fan-boys on CalGuns calling everyone names for wanting their money back. I have to wonder how they'd behave if Ben had their money as well. For some reason they don't seem to get banned for their quasi-threatening comments.

I noticed that Auction Arms pulled the GPal logo off their site today. They put it back up a little later but with a note on it that says they're working with GPal to get their members their money back. If you spend any time on the Auction Arms forums you'll see a lot of the dealers there are very upset. Like elsewhere on the net Auction Arms has been deleting the majority of the negative GPal posts. I don't understand why these sites allow endless bashing of PayPal but warning people about GPal somehow crosses the line. I'm guessing Ben's threatening a lot of these sites with litigation if negative comments aren't removed.

My ticket was not responded to again today. GPal's phones remain broken or disabled. I broke down and created a user account at CalGuns and asked that GPalVP guy to call me as he seems eager to help. The thread was deleted five minutes after I posted it. I remain pessimistic that I'll be reunited with my money.

Sebastian

[Sooka615]

deleted.... by myself

[SimplySebastian]

Still no response to my ticket with GPal (the phones are as useless as ever) however some people are saying they got checks in the mail on CalGuns. That's a good sign. Once people start posting that the checks have cleared it will be a better one.

On the Action Arms forums someone posted an interesting statistic.


The lowest unresolved Gpal support ticket number on the forums is 127793 and the highest number is 904874, that is a total of 777081 unresolved Gpal support tickets that fall in between the highest and lowest numbers posted.


That's A LOT of tickets. About four of those are probably mine.

Nobody's getting a refund for GPal service fees. That would be too complicated. I've only got about $1,100 tied up in this but a few dealers (Elite Ammunition for example) had over $20k owed to them. 3% of $20K is $600 plus interest and any penalties he racked up for not meeting minimum balances, bouncing checks, etc. I'll bet the owner of that company is just happy to be able to make his payroll and buy new supplies, $600 be damned.

I have no idea what GPal's overhead is like or how long they can maintain this hemorrhaging. They probably have close to zero new revenue coming in right now. They most likely rent a tiny office somewhere and they only had one support guy working there for a while. Phones are a new thing for them. They've supposedly hired some new support people but who knows if that's true or not. Ben has lied consistently about GPal (and every other business he owns) so I really don't put much stock into any of that. With their reputation destroyed, I don't see business picking up again in the near term. I wonder how much they can pay out before they go belly up?

Hopefully I (and you) get paid before that happens.

Sebastian.

[Kamelkisser]

Alright, well I did just under 40k in sales ALL through GPal about 2 months ago. It took them nearly 6 weeks to get me 32k of that. In the mean time, I have a month in a half of customers complaining and doing chargebacks.

How Am I expected to ship customers there items if I don't get even some of the money?

Its now going into the 3rd month and I am still waiting on 8k from them. I have been individually promised wire transfers, ACH deposits, and paper checks over the last 4 weeks.

However as of today, they told me that they do not feel "comfortable" giving me my money and that they will be holding all of it until they feel reassured that there will be no chargebacks coming through.

Well no crap there will be. I have orders that are now going into the 3rd month of waiting for there items and I can't ship them without my money.

I am filing Charges with the FBI, FTC, COC, and every state department possible.

Also, for 4 weeks now I have not been able to issue refunds through the GPal system to my customers due to "server errors" Chad even tried to manually process some with no luck and told me I would have to wait for the DEV team to fix the issue.

This is fraud. I don't care what issues you have, not informing your customers whats going on, and not providing a way to refund the transactions is against all FTC and FBI procedures and constitutes fraud.

Good luck everyone you will need it.

[SimplySebastian]

Another day passes and I have received no response to any of my GPal tickets, the phones are still broken and I've no real indication that I'll get my money back anytime soon. It seems that a few people on CalGuns and Auction Arms have got their checks and that they're good. That's nice to hear. Now if I could only get GPal to communicate with me. I'll be attempting a new post on CalGuns tomorrow. Hopefully that post with my name, ticket number and a request that they call or PM me won't be deemed too offensive and deleted like the last one.

Auction Arms' response to all this has been interesting. They were GPal's first big "grab." They recommended GPal heavily to all their members and made GPal their preferred payment method. Now that GPal is in the toilet, Auction Arms is being very cautious in separating itself from GPal. Many of Auction Arms long time sellers have a ton of money tied up in GPal. These sellers blame Auction Arms for this debacle as they never would have switched to GPal if not for the AA endorsement. Auction Arms won't come out and condemn GPal. All they'll say is that they're working closely with Ben Cannon and they'll get their member's money back.

Auction Arms' strange response to this drama has driven a lot of it's long time sellers to Gun Broker. GPal isn't the preferred anything over there and as a result auction prices seem to be ending a little higher then at AA where people are stuck with the nightmare of GPal.

Auction Arms forum members have also noticed a new phenomenon: People are using the money in their GPal account to buy things as a way of "passing the buck" on to someone else. If I was feeling dickish I could take the $1,100 in my GPal account, purchase something from one of the few dealers left that will take GPal, and essentially pass the disbursement problem on to someone else. I get my stuff and the kindly dealer that sold me my items has to hire bounty hunters to find Ben Cannon. I can keep my purchase or turn around and sell it somewhere and get the bulk of my money back using a functioning on-line payment system like PayPal.

This technique may have worked a while ago but I think I'll have a hard time finding a dealer selling anything I want that will accept GPal.

Finally, the GPal website still implies that all is "business as usual." They've still got over 20,000 users, tickets are still answered in 24 hours or less and PayPal is still shaking in its boots. What a load. Break with character and tell your current and potential customers the truth Ben, your company is totally broken right now and no one should be using GPal until these issues are corrected. Your compuslive lying has gotten you to this point, only the truth can have any hope of fixing things.

Sebastian

[SimplySebastian]

Another day and nothing new. No check, no response to my tickets and no calls back. My post on CalGuns was deleted, again. The downward spiral is tightening.

[cybor462]

I see there are issues with gpal. It seems many have had ok dealings. From what I see it seems the big ticket stuff is the trouble.

Ok I am not a gun dealer and sell a spare gun once in a while or when I want a new gun I may sell an unwanted gun. It seems anywhere you can sell a gun the option is gpal.

Have any one time sales gone bad with them.

Heck I do not even know how they work.

I guess I need to check them out if it seems most problems have been fixed.

Any suggestions?

[Mal H]

Any suggestions?
Yes, a very serious one, you and anyone else responding to this thread needs to be sure to read the forum rules for this particular forum before posting:
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=336632

This is not a discussion forum, it is a feedback forum for those who are directly involved in the stated topic.

[cybor462]

Sorry

[SimplySebastian]

No answered tickets this weekend, no check, no calls. I'm not going to bother posting my ticket number at CalGuns any longer. It just gets deleted and my PMs to GPal staff are apparently ignored.

I've noticed that several brand-new users have popped into the GPal vendor section at CalGuns to "enlighten" those of us who are owed money about the inner-workings of the anti-gun banking system and assure us that we're "lucky" to have people like Ben fighting for our money. Ya, I feel real lucky alright. I hope Kestryl (or whatever the owner's name is at CalGuns) will scrutinize these accounts as thoroughly as he has with all the new posters looking for their money or at least a status update. The talking points and cadence of these pro-GPal posters seem strangely familiar to me.

Ben, if it was impossible to provide this service you probably should have figured that out prior to opening shop. Most importantly, you should stop taking people's money until this is fixed or at the very least until your business is able to communicate effectively.

One thing about the whole GPal, evil anti-2a banks story that does stick out a bit is that GPal has absolutely no problem receiving people's money. I could add $10,000 to my GPal account right now if I wanted. If their banking partners are holding up their ACH transfers or have frozen their accounts why is it that I'm still able to add money to my account? Usually when banks freeze accounts or processors terminate service its a two-way street; nothing in, nothing out. For some crazy reason that doesn't appear to be the case here.

Mal H, you'll be relieved to hear that I'm done posting here for awhile. I've officially written off my $1,100. If I get my money or if anything completely crazy happens I will update this thread.

Sebastian

[Mal H]

"Mal H, you'll be relieved to hear that I'm done posting here for awhile."

Your posts aren't a problem. It's those who have no stake in the game or no experience with the subject business who are breaking this forum's rules.

[mpthole]

I haven't been on TFL for years, but started poking around again now that I too am having issues with GPal. It's not a ton of money compared to some of you guys, but I still had intended to pay bills with it.

My ticket # is in the 231xxx range. No communication, phones inoperable. Just sent them another e-mail wondering where the check is that they promised me.

[SimplySebastian]

Mpthole; a lot of people have had success going to CalGuns.net and posting your situation in the GPal section of that forum. For the record I haven't had any luck there, all my posts have been deleted but you may be one of the fortunate few that gets through. The ticket and phone systems are a joke. I've never received a meaningful response from GPal using those tools.

As an update still no check and no contact on any of my previous messages and tickets. As I stated before I'm done trying to chase them.

Sebastian

[sksmatt]

I finally got my Gpal funds but it took a total of 30 days and several email and phone calls to support. Learned my lesson, I'll never use Gpal again :barf:

[df662]

I have about 1k stuck in my gunpal account, I requested a check from them but still no reply...

[langloisandy]

I have been waiting for 2+ months, I am now getting the "Check is in the mail" excuse.

It is sad to see, the Gpal service HAD a good rep then slid downhill quickly into lies and what I consider theft at this point.

Andy

[GoingQuiet]

When I got my FFL about two months ago I tried to set up a gpal account.

They said I'd see two small deposits to my account that I'd have to verify to get account set up.

Keep in mind this is TWO MONTHS AGO. Late June/Early July. Checked my bank account religiously. NOTHING.

Yesterday I got 90 cents from gpal.

It sounds like they are getting their system unstuck.

[DKA]

Had a transaction of money sent to G Pal 6/19/10, went through the same BS as everyone else. On 7/20/10 got an email that check would be in mail within 10 Business Days, as of today no check?

[Combat Controller]

Well, me as well. It has been a month since I tried to withdraw money and put it in my account. I had used it successfully for a year or more prior but now....

The funds don't show in my gunpal account nor in my bank account. I received one email asking for my mailing address on the 2nd and that's it. As I sit here it has been an hour I have been on hold with these guys.

If I don't get a response to my umpteenth email, I am reporting them to the AG and I suppose the FBI.

I have no idea how they screwed this all up so badly, but I don't know if this is a recoverable event from a business perspective. AS a business owner myself I have had customers mad at me, but I always communicated with them and worked to solve the problem. From my perspective right now, I think this will all end badly and I will never see my money.

[jonnyballc]

I've been waiting for $144.00 to be transferred to my account since 7/28. Some guy will answer the phone, but keeps telling me that if I want a paper check, it'll take 3 weeks. I did finally get him to send me an e-mail telling me that my money will be deposited in 2 to 7 days. I'd suggest everyone here expose Gpal's wire fraud to the FTC at 1-877-382-4357. Don't let them get away with this. We need to complain!!!

[foghorn leghorn]

I have had 2 transactions with gpal this year, both times utilizing my credit card to pay for a handgun, over 400.00. I have had zero problems, and it was very smooth.

I think feedback should also be positive, not just negative.

stay sharp

[zxcvbob]

Foghorn, the question is, did the people you made the payments to ever get the money? Or did they just get a credit in their account? A credit is fine, until you try to retrieve the funds and then can't.

(it's like the Hotel California for money)

Some people do seem to be getting their money; that's a good thing.

[Combat Controller]

Well after a number of back and forth emails I finally put down an ultimatum, Fed Ex or ACH by Friday or I report you to the AG and FBI. No fee's charged etc.

I got a deposit yesterday of my balance, less the fee's of course. But I have finally withdrawn all my money, albeit more than a month later.

I posted this here so those who have not gotten it can try to leverage their cash out of them and have a chance of success. To GPal's credit they took me seriously (and I was) and did the right thing eventually. Still no communication, but I now have the funds so I consider it closed except for the sport of trying to get my fees refunded.

There is still the matter of it happening in the first place, the bad communication, and so outright lies that took place in our communications, such as I never sent my address to them, after I had several times. Pure delaying tactics. Honesty is the best policy and this is a prime example of why.

To those of you out there still waiting, good luck!

[Onward Allusion]

Man, I feel lucky that I only have $33.50 stuck in limbo. Too long to describe here but it's been almost 2 months! Of course the seller won't send me my stuff because he didn't get the money from GPal but it's already been deducted from my account. Never again...

[foghorn leghorn]

Foghorn, the question is, did the people you made the payments to ever get the money? Or did they just get a credit in their account? A credit is fine, until you try to retrieve the funds and then can't.


I assume they did, they asked for gunpal, and shipped the pistolas to me.
My CC was charged with no extra nonsense. I was worried on the first one, when I opened my account, but I dont have any funds deposited with them. I do have money in my paypal, but never had any problems with them either.
I mean Gpal was created to use for firearms, because PP was discriminating against us.
So we use our own and its a disaster. I use GB a lot, a lot for me anyways, and I dont mind chucking in a 2% fee if that is what the seller is getting clipped for, but I sometimes think between shipping, and all the other mumbo jumbo, it's all BS to get extra $$ from the buyer. If I send you $ on PP, why would they charge you extra? I get that a lot, the guy says I take PP but they charge me extra, so you have to pay the fees. I think its bull.
I also don't like risking my $ on a money order and mailing it in the PO. So for me it's worth the 7 or 9 bucks to get the item shipped the day I bought it, especially a used pistol, Im curious about anyway. Then you have all the FFL guys jumping on the bandwagon, one charges 10 to call it in one charges 4, then cabelas charges if you use the gun counter to do the transfer, but the gun library doesn't charge. one FFL wont call it in until it is acquired, and one will call it in when you fill out the forms.
There is no standard way of controlling your interests, everybody's out to get some, and some of these guys aren't anything but employees, so why do they care one way or the other.

I think these are valid points when considering any benefits of using Gpal.
vs the snail mail or creditcards


God help the USA, we need it.

[Mal H]

sorry admin, but I think these are valid points when considering using Gpal.They are indeed. I'm not sure what the implication of that statement is. The Staff of TFL is not involved in this discussion, but we are deeply involved in keeping it on track, and having everyone adhere to our forum rules.

[foghorn leghorn]

No implications sir, just know you fellas try to keep things on track, and I thought maybe i was a little on either side of the lane. I didn't want to violate your topic is all.

just apologizing in advance

[Shane Tuttle]

No worries, foghorn. You've provided your own experiences with GPal in earnest. Nothing wrong with that at all...

[SimplySebastian]

Hopefully it's okay for me to follow up. Its been about a month since I last posted and I still haven't seen a dime of my money. I haven't been as persistent as the rest of you however as I don't have the time to keep hounding GPAL. My account still shows that my balance is $0 but the check I was supposed to get three weeks ago never came. If I get my money I will post back with my "positive" resolution.

Sebastian

[Combat Controller]

That's what I did Sebastian. Although I am cranky as heck about the situation I had to at least post my resolution so guys like you knew it was even possible to get small amounts back. Mine was only $300, but that is enough to buy a gun with...

[sksmatt]

I've had 2 large withdrawals from Gpal this summer that were both problematic. In each case it took a month to get my money. I did a "test" withdrawal on 7/30 and took out the rest of my balance...a measly $4.40. It's been over 4 weeks and still no $4.40 yet. I've written Gpal off for good and will NEVER use them again. They are a horrible company to deal with and have crap customer service!!!

[MrsCollins]

I am still waiting for my $733.83 from Gunpal/Gpal.net.. call them whatever. Have been waiting since 7/28/2010. First they claimed they had a mess up caused by my bank.. WRONG. Second they claimed there was a mess up on their end. They for three phone calls it was " a new guy who didn't know how to work the system to help". Then they commited on 8/18 to make sure my money was to me within 2-7 days.. Didn't happen. This is so wrong. They do not answer the phone most often. Sending in "tickets" to support yields absolutely nothing. I want my money!

Mrs Collins..
Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did AND she did it backwards in high heels.

[carolina45]

I got my money when promised - oh well they must have run out of money guess the new wait will be till xmas when santa brings some new cash:D

I know its not funny but what else can you do ...

[MrsCollins]

Hello, successfully money showed up randomly in checking account after filing with the following agencies.. Yes, I do believe these filings made a difference after forever of not being able to get Gpal on the phone or engaged in email.

Try doing this:
File with the USA Better Business Bureau (not local but USA)
File with the California Attorney General's office
File with the Attorney General office in the state you live in
File with the Federal Trade Commission.

I filed with all of these.. it made a difference! Surely hope it does for you.

Julie Collins
[email protected]

[michael t]

I finely got my money got a check in the mail . Not over night plain old mail started in June and money in mid August . Last I look was still taking money from people that don't know any better.

[SimplySebastian]

If GPal still hasn't transfered your money to you and you would like to contact law enforcement about it please call the following individual.

Carl Chapman (707) 265-2372

He's with the Marin County DA's office. They'll be taking the lead on the investigation I think. Mr. Chapman is also a supervisor in the Northern California Computer Crimes Task Force. Here is their website.

http://www.nc3tf.org/default.aspx
http://www.nc3tf.org/contactlist.aspx

I would guess that the task force will be investigating this matter. It is important that you call him if you want a shot at getting your money back. I think the BBB has been forwarding complaints to Marin County so they may already have your information if you've gone that route.

It seems like it's been a while since GPal's paid anyone and Ben/GPalVP is MIA. Now is the time to try to get something out of them even if it takes a while. It's too bad but I don't think any of us will see a dime. :(

[Al Norris]

Recently started as a clearinghouse for information on troubles with GPal, please click on the link to GPal Info.com (http://gpalinfo.com/doku.php).

[mpthole]

Just got off the phone with Mr. Carl Chapman. Very nice guy and sounds like he wants to help. I'll be collecting all correspondence with gPal and sending it on to him.

I'm not out that much money, but it is still my money that customers paid me for services rendered.

[chris96324]

I am having the same problem I transfered 206.71 on 9-3-10 and 743.28 on 9-9-10 and still has not been deposited to my account. And they DO NOT respond to emails and DO NOT answer the phone anymore. Anybody know what legal authority to contact??

[Spats McGee]

Welcome to The Firing Line, chris96324. Look at SimplySebastian's post, about 3 posts above yours, and Al Norris' post just below that.

[deblaw223]

I just talked to Carl.

He said to send reports to the Internet Crimes Complaint Center because he is getting overwhelmed. They will send info to him for his investigation.

[scottl]

Copied from email from GunsAmerica:
Now, back to Gpal. Because even though we never endorsed Gpal or integrated it into GunsAmerica, a number of our sellers did take payments through them. Many have emailed us that they are unable to withdraw their funds now and have asked for help. We also have a lot of buyers who buy guns on all the online sites who are caught in the middle and have emailed us to see if we know anything.

I spoke to Carl Chapman from the Marin County District Attorney's Office, who is in charge of managing this case. The Gpal case is an open investigation, not a case that has been labeled criminal at this time. There are several agencies involved and as far as I can tell, nobody should assume right now that Gpal did anything illegal. Everyone who made and accepted payments with them trusted them to be a successful enterprise. This could just be a speed bump from which they have yet to recover. Even PayPal had speed bumps, and they too were accused of fraudulent activity at the time.

We are sending this email to let you know how to file a complaint. We have nothing to do with Gpal and have no knowledge of their relationships with other online gun buying and selling sites and/or internet discussion forums. We elected to not do business with Gpal from the start because of exactly these concerns.

Mr. Chapman has asked that all complaints go through The Internet Crime Complaint Center. The URL for the form is at http://www.ic3.gov/complaint/.

Don't worry, this is not a black hole of government inaction. All the complaints for this case go right to Mr. Chapman in spreadsheet form that is easier for him to deal with than individual complaints on the telephone. There are SEVEN TO TEN SCREENS to click through of questions to get to the final form (which you see hanging on the right here). Hang in there! The questions don't really fit this case, but answer them as close to what makes sense. I clicked through a few times with different answers and it didn't seem to matter how you answered them. They all lead to the final form.

Hopefully the situation with Gpal will resolve itself and everyone will get their money back. Many small gun dealers, accepting the endorsements of trusted entities (GunsAmerica not being one of them), trusted Gpal and took payments through them. They need those funds! We pray that Gpal does make it through and that no fraudulent activity is found so that everyone gets their money. The gun industry is a very small place and we are attacked from the outside by people and organizations every day. It is better for all of us to assume the best in each other, not the worst, and let the problems work themselves out if at all possible.

Whether you choose to use Gpal now or in the future is up to you. We do not authorize any third party payment system. It is still a free country to some extent. And we most likely will not be updating our information about Gpal in the future as we have nothing to do with them. The only public support forum we know of was recently closed by those hosting them. Regular customer support at Gpal is [email protected] and the customer support phone number is 1-800-813-4725

Attached is pic of the form they included in email.

[SwampYankee]

I got this in my mailbox from GPal today. I'm not sure what to make of it. I have not and will not use them until they get their act straightened out. If they get it straightened out.

Dear XXXX XXX,

As some of you may be aware of, GPal has been experiencing growing pains that are typical of a startup business in an industry that banks are often are hostile to. As a result, a small number of GPal customers have experienced delays and extra requests for information related to their transactions, involving our Automatic Clearing House (ACH) bank withdrawal payout system, affecting the timely dispersal of funds outside of GPal.

Please note that credit cards and GPal-to-GPal transactions have not been affected, and that most customers at GPal are completely unaffected. Only a small number of customers that have had transactions occur at critical times have seen these delays, however we felt it important to notify our customers about these issues.

We at GPal know that this letter has been a long time coming and we sincerely apologize for any delays or inconveniences regarding this matter. While we cannot get into particulars due to pending litigation, we can give our customers a summation of what has been going on and what we are doing to fix it.

The Situation.

When we founded GPal, I knew life would be difficult for a firearms-friendly and otherwise pro-rights payment processor because banks generally do not like working with payment processors, especially ones that cater to the firearms community. Combining the two proved to be a non-starter for years.

Eventually, we were connected to Bank 1. Bank 1 agreed to take on our business but only with with a substantial cash reserve, which I funded out of pocket. Gpal utilized this bank’s processing services for several months and with excellent results. Then, one day, we received a notice that our ability to disburse funds via ACH had been cancelled. It was found later that our ACH access was cancelled a week prior and without notice. This caused a noticeable delay in funding and thus the first "ripple" that GPal experienced.

After finding out about Bank 1, we quickly moved to using Bank 2, a bank we were already in negotiations with. Within two weeks, the ripple was over and ACH disbursements continued but my team had to complete each transaction by hand until Bank 2 finished our back-end integration. This process usually takes a grueling 6 months or more but we were ready in less than 20 days.

Within a short period of time, Bank 2 unceremoniously shut us off. At that point, we decided to begin issuing paper checks to our customers, a solution that cost many thousands of dollars in mailing and printing fees out of my own pocket. We used an established third-party payment vendor to print and send these checks but many of the banks who received these checks told our customers they were fakes. After many teleconferences, all of the banks eventually reversed their opinions and concluded the checks were real, thus allowing our customers to access their funds.

Soon after new banking agreements were signed with Banks 3 and 4 and 5, we stopped issuing paper checks and went back to conducting transfers through ACH. This went well for about a month, until Bank 3 shut off our services, less than 30 days later.

We expanded our operations to Bank 6 and Bank 7, who initially accepted our business then reversed their acceptance less than 30 days in. We posted notifications on our Withdrawl Money page, and our support pages, to notify customers that there may be problems affecting a small portion of GPal transactions.

We now continue to operate with Bank 4, Bank 5, and two new banks Bank 8 and soon Bank 9, as a risk-mitigation move. However, the total amount of processing reserves on the outbound side, plus processing reserves on the inbound side, are significantly larger than we expected. In addition, our credit card processing banks scrutinize each transaction, often asking for secondary validation information before releasing (or holding) funds. This is a normal activity and the reason why we occasionally ask you for a tracking number or some other proof of delivery for a product or service.

Credit card fraud is rampant in this day and age, and GPal has seen this first-hand. We were able to build a sophisticated munti-aspect fraud mitigation system, and while we are below industry averages, we have taken our share of fraud related losses. This affects the terms of our relationship and funds required on deposit with our credit card processing banks.

Finally, several individuals hostile to our business have made threatening calls to GPal customers, impersonating GPal staff, and taken other actions against us, which further hurts our ability to conduct business. Please note that GPal will only call you from our support number, and will only communicate with you via [email protected].

Thought all of this, GPal has fought tooth and nail to continue to bring it’s customers the services they need, and we continue to disburse money to our customers within the bounds of bank requirements. It is our aim to provide you the best pro-rights payment processing possible, and we will not waiver in that commitment.

What we are doing about it.

GPal depends on banks both to take in and send out money. Most of what we do is provide a conduit between these banks so that our customers can transact business. We are at the mercy of these banks and their requirements in order to bring you the GPal product, and since banks are involved in both ends of a transaction, we sometimes are asked for more information.

The various banks that GPal processes with need security. To do that, they retain a varying portion of the funds we transmit. At first I financed many of these reserves with my own funds so when the banks would not pay out you received my money. However, I am unable to do that forever, so GPal is expanding.

- GPal is growing it's operations and shoring up it's banking relationships with additional funds.
- GPis is establishing new strategic partnerships that will increase volume and capability of GPal to process payments.
- GPal is going to offer a Debit Card so that our customers can access their funds in realtime, without depending on the long transit time of ACH.
- GPal is hiring more email and phone support staff to help deal with the increased level of customer service requests.


How you can help.

You can help by:
1. Promptly providing confirmation information when GPal Support asks for it (usually this is tracking numbers, description of goods, and personal or business identity documentation.)
2. Please keep issues confined to one email ticket by replying to that same ticket, and do not repeatedly call GPal’s 800 support line so the line can be kept clear for new issues.
3. If you are interested in other avenues of helping, please contact GPal support at [email protected].


In order to get back on our feet and fully recover, GPal must expand it's offerings, including but not limited to offering a Debit Card for easier and immediate funds access for our sellers and expanding our processing base. To do so we need your help.

GPal remains absolutely committed to providing the only RKBA and firearms-friendly payment service in the world.

Sincerely,

Ben Cannon
Chairman/CEO
GPal, Inc.

[Brian Pfleuger]

Well, there we have the story straight from The Man himself. I hope all is as he says and his business is able to ultimately succeed. I never liked the (original) name but I always root for the entrepreneur.

[Onward Allusion]

That letter should have been sent out a few months ago. It might be too late to repair the damage. There are a slew of merchants on Gunbroker that flat out refuse to accept GPal.

[deblaw223]

I have had to explain several customers that we couldn't take gunpal/gpal anymore because they have refused to get us our money on prior sales where we have shipped because our customers paid. So, we are out the money and don't have the product we sold--a double hit.

[SwampYankee]

It gets even better, now GPal is starting up an auction site. Apparently to compete with eBay? If you are successfully selling whatever your product is on eBay, I'm not sure why you would move to a no-name start-up auction site. Especially since GunBroker and AuctionArms pretty much fill the gap. I guess competition is good but considering GPal's previous inability to function, this does not instill confidence.

Announcing Bidscapes Bulk Lister with eBay(tm) Import.

Dear XXX XXX,

Bidscapes.com, the number one rights-neutral auction website on the net, is pleased to announce the Bidscapes Bulk Lister, which will allow any eBay seller to easily transition onto Bidscapes by simply exporting listings from eBay's Turbolister via CSV and importing them into the Bidscapes Bulk Lister.

To download the Bidscapes Bulk Lister with eBay(tm) Import, just click here: http://www.bidscapes.com/members_area.php?page=bulk&section=details

(Or if the hyperlink does not work, please copy the link and paste into your browser to access)

As a special “Thank You!” to our valued customers, GPal has extended our new sign-up promotion at Bidscapes. Any GPal users who sign up during December 2010 will earn a $10 credit at Bidscapes.com that can be used toward final-value fees for live auctions.

At Bidscapes.com, it is free to list any item and only a small and reasonable final value fee is assessed when an item is sold.

Bidscapes.com is a place to freely trade the legal goods and services of your choice. Bidscapes.com has partnered with GPal to offer the only combination of pro-RKBA Auctions and Payments in the world. Bidscapes.com will accept payment exclusively via GPal for all fees. Bidscapes.com customers may pay each other directly through GPal or via offline payment menthods. GPal.net and Bidscapes.com remain absolutely committed to providing the only RKBA and firearms-friendly payment and auction combination in the world.

Sincerely,
Bidscapes.com and GPal.net
Proud Partners providing a rights-neutral forum for your transactions!

[SimplySebastian]

The FBI has included a description of GPal in it's latest "Scam Alerts" newsletter. Here's the GPal section:


Payment Processor Possibly Conducting a Ponzi Scheme

Since January 2010, the IC3 has received hundreds of complaints regarding a website that victims reportedly used to transfer money for the sales of firearms; however, the website has not allowed them to withdraw the funds after their merchandise was sold.

The website claims to be a payment processor to be used as an alternative to other familiar online payment transfer services and was created to allow for the purchase of items that others of its kind do not allow (e.g., firearms). The website encourages consumers to use their services by advertising that they send money to consumers or anyone with an email address, an individual can easily pay for anything using the web, and sign-up is free, quick, and easy.

The website appears to have been set up as a legitimate business but shortly after operations began, customers started experiencing funding delays. Ultimately, customers who received funds only received partial payments, and those payments were delayed by months.

Additional research indicates that the money submitted for transfer may have been fraudulently misappropriated. This scam appears to have become a Ponzi scheme with previous customers being paid by funds from new customers.


Link: http://www.ic3.gov/media/2010/101202.aspx

The FBI is comfortable calling GPal a Ponzi scheme. Not good for those of us still out money.

[Shane Tuttle]

Nowhere in your link states the FBI calls GPal a Ponzi scheme. If you don't provide SPECIFIC links that say otherwise, then your post will be deleted.

[deblaw223]

Maybe I'm missing your point, but I see the exact quoted language posted by the poster when I click the link and read it.

[zxcvbob]

Maybe they are talking about some other payment transfer processor who is targeting firearm owners and is having trouble completing the transfers. :rolleyes:

[SimplySebastian]

What other service could they be talking about? Are there any other PayPal-style payment processors advertising service for firearm transactions that are currently failing on a grand scale? The hundreds of complaints they site jive with what the lead investigator's told me regarding the volume of reports the cyber crimes task force has received via the FBI/IC3. The language in the report describing the text on the processor's website is paraphrasing the exact wording on GPal's site.

I don't know who else they could be describing. I've looked and looked for another PayPal-type service that will deal with gun sales and, besides GPal, there's nothing. They are clearly describing GPal in this bulletin.

[pax]

Sadly, SimplySebastian is right: there really aren't any other companies filling the need that GPal was created to fill. If the FBI is issuing bulletins about a Ponzi scheme related to this type of company designed to deal with firearms, the FBI can't be talking about anyone else but GPal.

Too bad, too bad, too bad. :( I've rooted for them all along. It's such a desperately-needed product!

pax

[masotti]

I may be late to the gate here. However it looks like gpal and gunpal web sites are gone. I did sign up with them when they opened. However I never gave them my bank information nor did I do any business through them.

[Shane Tuttle]

Appreciate your findings. I'm going to go ahead and close this one up due to the age of the thread.

If anyone has new information to bring up, just crank up another thread. If merging the threads are necessary, I'll cross that bridge when we come to it...