Complaint Review: Event Sales - Los Angeles CA

3/4/22 - I called the number advertised on the website and a gentleman named Larry answered the phone.  I inquired about the folding chairs and tables that were on his website.  He asked me what price I saw on his website, and I told him what I saw.  He then told me that is an old website and he doesn't have the ability to remove it, and also that the prices aren't accurate and they are now double.

I asked for a quote for 500 white chairs, 24 8ft banquet folding tables, and 48 6ft banquet folding tables and shipping to MA.  He explained that the chairs would come on 3 pallets and the tables would also come on 3 pallets.

I said I need lift gate service (since there is no loading dock) and to add that to the quote/invoice. I asked how long it would take to arrive and he said the order would be shipping out the following week (week of March 7th).

After this, communication fell apart.  I called and emailed almost daily (sometimes multiple times a day) asking for tracking numbers for the shipments.  When I was able to get him (Larry) on the phone, he consistently would tell me he was out and that he would call me back in an hour.  This became his go-to answer for every call.  He never called back.

I finally got him on the phone and I told him I needed a tracking number ASAP.  Days later he got me a tracking number, which was wrong.  A delivery eventually showed up on 4/11/22.  The delivery driver showed up in a truck, which did not have a lift gate and the bill of lading had lift gate service unchecked (he never even ordered it).  On the truck were 2 pallets of 200 chairs. My employees were forced to unload the entire order themselves by hand.

Also on the bill of lading was the shipment origination, which said "Belnick", which is a distributer for an online chair/table company named Bizchair.com.  It appears he simply placed a partial order with them for 200 chairs and had them sent to my address.

I called and emailed Larry after explaining that we're missing 300 chairs and 75 tables.  He said that's odd, he also said they were definitely shipped and that he would check and get back to me within the hour.  He never got back to me.

Since 4/11/22 I have emailed and called almost daily asking for an update. They've stopped returning my calls and emails.

Finally (4/21/22) I opened a case with the Better Business Bureau (case # 1044039) and I sent a final request for update via email.  Larry responded at 2:08pm with "Call u in 1 hour", which he never did.  My email stated that this would be the last time I personally reach out asking for an update and I gave him until 8pm EST to reply, which he has not.

I then opened a complaint with the FTC (report # 146900069) and reported this to the FBI. I started investigating this and I've actually found a decent amount of info around this individual scamming others with the same scenario, dating as far back as 2011.  

One thing is for sure, Larry is not very good at hiding his trail of evidence.  Here is a list of URL's that I have found to be associated with Larry Hoffman and this fraudulent activity.  Running a broad internet search on his email (he appears to always use the same email address for the most part - [email protected]) pulls up a TON of articles.

https://www.scampulse.com/event-sales-reviews

http://www.1stfoldingchairs.com/

https://1stfoldingchairs.wordpress.com/

https://1stackablechairs.com/

https://www.wattpad.com/amp/239437280

https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/culver-city/profile/wholesale-chairs/chiavari-chairs-direct-1216-354502/complaints

https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/culver-city/profile/wholesale-chairs/chiavari-chairs-direct-1216-354502/customer-reviews

https://www.california-chiavari-chairs.com/Default.asp

https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/hollywood/profile/wholesale-chairs/the-chair-company-1216-411486/customer-reviews

https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/tarzana/profile/wholesale-chairs/world-event-sales-1216-892086

https://issuu.com/1stfoldingchairs/docs/larry_hoffman_presenting_banquet_st

https://www.trustlink.org/Review/CT-Direct-Inc--The-Chair-Company-124008

https://www.trustlink.org/Review/CT-Direct-Inc--The-Chair-Company-166822

http://slideonline.com/presentation/284754-unlimited-benefits-with-1stfoldingchairs-com-pptx

https://www.myadsclassified.com/5/12/104/471838-ghost-chair-1st-folding-chairs-larry-hoffman.html

https://fdocuments.in/document/table-and-chair-caddies.html?page=1

https://demidov-art.ru/stol/stoly-derevyannye-skladnye-skladnye-derevyannye-stoly-dlya-dachi.html

https://mebpilot.ru/raznoe/stoly-iz-fanery-idei-na-temu-stol-iz-fanery-90-v-2021-g.html

https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/21033301/GIEA_SA_de_CV_v_Lawrence_H_Hoffman_et_al

https://www.facebook.com/groups/347440168995373/

I don't have any evidence that the person in the article below is THE Larry Hoffman in this scam, but it seemed too coincidental to disclude.

https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/roommate-sentenced-for-fatal-beating/article_8182cc80-69b1-517a-887e-462bc8d3b60a.html