Flamingo Intervest, Nikdar Masih, Bogabids, Wippy, Ziinga.com
Complaint 302469 Details

They reply with standard forms

NEVER USE THESE SITES OR ANYTHING WITH FLAMINGO INTERVEST OR CONNECTED TO NIKDAR MASIH

TO: THE MANAGER
SEE ALL BELOW CORRESPONDENCE AND MAKE YOUR COMMENTS.
WE HAVE ALERTED CYBERCRIMES UK AND OTHER SITES, E.G. HELLOPETER AND RIPOFF REPORT AS TO YOUR CRIMINAL ACTIONS AND FRAUDULENT DEALINGS, BOGABIDS, ZIINGA, FLAMINGO INTERVEST AS WELL AS ANYTHING PERTAINING TO YOU, MR. NIKDAR MASIH. WE ALSO HAVE ALERTED ALL BANKING INSTITUTIONS AS TO YOUR SLY, UNETHICAL, SHADY & UNDERHANDED DEALINGS AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO PUBLICISE BOTH YOUR PERSONAL AND COMPANY NAMES AS WELL AS ALL WEBSITES THAT YOU OPERATE. THIS MATTER #1245 IS NOT SOLVED.
I purchased an item on auction for R46. The following day my account was debited for an additional R558. When queried I was told I had signed up for GOLD membership. I did not sign up for GOLD membership, the site did this for me without my consent. I then asked that my GOLD membership fee be refunded and the GOLD membership cancelled. They then told me they could not refund it as I had already used 3 bids. The bids, they said, where placed automatically by a "bid agent"! THESE PEOPLE ARE DECEPTIVE, SLY AND CRIMINALS that degrade peoples trust in online services. DO NOT USE THIS SERVICE and please pass this message on to whoever you can!
Since then: Have discovered that the operator, Flamingo Intervest, Mr. Nikdar Masih (whois information) has quite a few similar sites operating. http://www.bogabids.com and http://www.ziinga.com are 2 I know of, but am sure there are many more. After doing some research, it seems as if this guy has been taking loads of people to the cleaners. They use standard reply forms for the queries and are not even interested in entertaining any complaints. They are just coining the money in. Furthermore, they refuse to ship the item, which they now refer to as a "promotional gift" until I have signed a credit card waiver form and sent a copy of my identity document. They want these documents within 14 days or apparently, the "promotional gift" which I have paid for + shipping will no longer be valid. Everyone else seems to have a similar rip off story by this guy. Find this bloke and lock him up or send him back to the land he came from, he is a rotten apple in a great country. I don't know how someone can be getting away with this! Fortunately, I cancelled my VISA card the minute I saw the debit of R558 by bogabids, it seems other have lost more, one guy even reporting 3 or 4 consecutive debits over a week period!!!