Bamboozled by Park West Galleries on the High Seas !!!

[Twobags]

Good Afternoon,

I first want to thank David Phillips (International Writer & Photographer) and Theresa Franks (Fine Art Registry, CEO) for all of the helpful information and informative research provided to us regarding the art we purchased under fraudulent terms from Park West Galleries. I hope the information and story below will help others out there from becoming scammed, lied to, and conned as we were during our cruise to the Western Caribbean aboard the Carnival Cruise Line (Ship Valor). We want to make it clear that this is not a case of buyer’s remorse but rather a case in which we purchased art under false pretenses and were lied to about the “investment” opportunities this art would have. Not to mention the overall worth of this art is nowhere close to what we were led to believe it was.

In December of 2007 we boarded the Carnival Valor for a cruise to the Western Caribbean. While becoming familiar with the ship’s layout and how to get from place to place we encountered numerous paintings and artwork along the walls and hallways of the monstrous Valor ship.

While looking at the artwork we were asked by the Park West Cruise Art Auctioneer if we would like to attend the Art auction and he wanted to know how much we knew about art in general. Upon telling him that we were “novices” when it came to understanding art, we agreed to attend some of the auction to learn more about what Park West had to offer.

While previewing the thousands of artwork strewn out amongst the room, we were greeted again by the lead cruise auctioneer and were told that all of the art found on board would be 60%-80% cheaper than what we could get “on land”. We asked how that could be and we were told that Park West bypasses the layers of middlemen and dealers and offers work directly from the artists' studios.

We were first told that the art to be auctioned is investment quality art and will be auctioned at extremely reduced prices because we were "at sea." We were told, that “on land” this could not be possible and to miss this "investment opportunity" would be foolhardy. The auctioneer was persistent and adamant that this art would cost significantly less aboard the ship and that all the art would be accompanied by a 3rd party appraisal. We were also assured that all authentications are performed by objective, licensed third parties. We had no idea the appraisals would be performed by someone internal to Park West Galleries. Defeats the purpose of having an appraisal done doesn’t it (case of the fox guarding the hen house).

Below are the descriptions of the so-called artwork that we purchased. Thanks to weeks of research and the help of Fine Art Registry (FAR) we have been able to successfully understand that what we purchased on the ship from Park West Galleries is valued at an estimated $1500.00 vs. the over $9,000.00 we were conned into spending aboard the Carnival Valor. This value was derived from reputable auction houses, independent assessments researched by Fine Art Registry, auction results, and Fine Art bluebook values.



During the auctions we purchased the following items:



Peter Max “Zero Prism” -- Mixed Media Serigraph – Edition Number XXX of 500.
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Charles Lee “Cosmopolitan Evening” 2006, hand embellished giclee in color on canvas.
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Rembrandt Van Rijn “The Golf Player” The Etching is from the "MILLENNIUM IMPRESSIONS" Series.
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Upon learning about this art and its “real value” we are disputing the charges and will take whatever action is necessary to have these charges removed and erased. We will not accept any shipments from Park West Galleries and all deliveries will be refused. I would like to resolve this matter amicably but will pursue any and all legal action needed to rectify the situation. I’m sad to say that more precaution should have been used before dealing with a company like Park West Galleries. The lies, misrepresentation, and horrible business ethics should stop and people should learn about this scam before doing any business with a company such as Park West Galleries.

S & J

[Twobags]

Hello all,

My fiancé and I had a conversation with Park West this morning. We called and disputed the charges with Customer Service. We mentioned that we were lied too and that the prices and appraisals for this artwork was no where near the value that we paid. We mentioned that we had been in contact with FAR and that a lot of research was done to verify that our artwork was not worth what we paid and that the artwork would never be an "investment opportunity"

Jessie "PW Customer Service Rep" put us on hold for about a minute and came back to tell us that she wanted us to talk with "Jennifer" at extension 1859. We left a message for Jennifer to call us back and we have not heard back as of yet. Jessie indicated that Jennifer was familiar with FAR and could help more in this case. We are waiting for a call back.

They did want to know where we were getting our comparisons from and how we knew are artwork was not valued at what it was said to be. We told them that we got our values from Independent Auction houses, Internet research, Art Blue book values, and from FAR information pulled from your databases.

I was hoping we could really find out what this artwork compares to because it is already looking like it is turning into a battle of "our information is better than your information". I just want all the back up that I can get to show PW that what they sold us for 9K is worth 1.5K and that is not acceptable.

I will keep this updated and let everyone know how this dispute is going... thanks for everyone’s help in this.

Twobags

[Twobags]

Afternoon...

Jennifer at Park West did call back and we had a good conversation that lasted about 10 minutes. Jennifer backed up Park West and that they are competitive in the Art world and that they do stand behind all their sales and appraisals. Jennifer did discuss the relationship Park West has with most of the artist they represent and indicated they do get special pricing due to the business relationship with the artist.

We laid out our case and went into great detail about why we felt the art that we purchased was not really valued or could be appraised for what we paid for the 3 pieces. We told her we were very upset that we could have purchased the same identical art for 84% less on land. We felt duped and felt that we were lied too about the value and the "investment opportunity" this art claimed to have.

After the back and forth... Jennifer was very pleasant and wanted to make sure that Park West retained happy and satisfied customers. She agreed to remove the charges from the Park West GE account we have and that the charges for the "Peter Max" "Charles Lee" and "Rembrandt" would be removed as soon as possible.

Jennifer is sending us the cancellation paperwork and assured us that this would all be handled with no problems and she was happy to help us get this resolved.

Park West customer service "Jennifer" was very professional during this call and did everything she needed to do in order to make sure that we were satisfied customers. She will be removing the amounts that we felt were in question and was a pleasure to deal with.

This is not over as of yet but we are awaiting the paperwork to get this situation corrected and I will keep everyone posted as to the status or making this Wrong... a Right.

Twobags

[farandaway]

That's great news, Twobags... Lightning fast turn around, I'd say.

Now if only Park West Gallery and the cruise lines would stop this practice altogether, it would be a better world--and I'm not talking about "Peter Max".

Keep us posted on your progress.


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FarandAway

[Twobags]

Hello all..

I want to thank FAR (Teri and David) for all the advice/knowledge/information provided (free of charge mind you) to helping us get a full refund for art purchased from Park West. We did have to fill out a non disclosure form staying that we would not discuss any of the details of the agreement but I can tell you that we did come to an agreement with PW and that all of our money was refunded and we prevented them from shipping us any of the artwork ordered.

I will tell you that Park West was very professional about everything and was able to provide a quick refund (near 10K) in a very short time. I believe that was in part because FAR provided me with some very helpful and knowledgeable information and we had a very clear case that was ready to move forward if something was not done about the charges.

FAR and the FAR website was a blessing and we are happy to report that our dealings with PW are over and it was a hard lessoned learned. It could have been a lot lot worse if not been for David and Teri.

Please keep up the great work as you all are helping protect thousands from being scammed. Thank you soooo much and I hope people understand how much free time you are all investing into this cause to protect future buyers.

Twobags