HEIRLOOM TRADITIONS CHERYL ENGEBRETSON DAVID ENGEBRETSON Sold me a FAKE Antique and cut off all communication Refuses to discuss GREER South Carolina

A year a go i purchased an item from Heirloom Traditions through rubylane.com It was intended to be a layaway (the seller agreed i could make payments) After i was late on my first payment, the seller canceled the transaction, so as far as rubylane.com is concerned, this is now a private transaction. The seller and i continued business via email and paypal, i sent her $200 a month payments. My total was $1800. After about a year of payments and a few late ones, i had only paid off $1000, i had a hardship and could no longer continue to pay her. She then told me if i defaulted on payments, i would loose the money i have paid so far, which was news to me. Initially she just told me i could make payments, and never emailed me any agreement with fine print, stating i would loose all payments if i defaulted. She claimed the layaway terms were listed in a particular section of her rubylane shop, and the original transaction was the binding link to her terms, BUT remember, she canceled this transaction.

I contacted rubylane.com and they wanted nothing to do with it, which is understandable, as the seller had marked the sale as no sale made. Which i would think legally terminates and binding terms. In a nutshell, i never signed nor agreed to any layaway terms, nor did she ask me if i even read them. I never knew there was any. Although i realize it was in bad taste for me to back out of a layaway. Since these payments were so old, i could not dispute them on paypal. So, after much arguing, the seller told me to consider my $1000 as a credit, and pick something of that value out from her shop. I reluctantly found one item i liked, a 19th century glass terrarium. Listed as an unusual 19th century French piece, perhaps a store counter display of sorts. Noted NO scratches to the glass. The picture shows a won wooden base, and a beveled glass paneled dome with a finial on top. We agreed to this item, plus a $315 refund to settle the matter.

A week later, i receive the package, upon opening the item, it is obvious i was scammed. This item is not what she claimed. For starters, she claimed the glass was not scratched whatsoever, this thing has scratches on everyone on the 16 glass panels, severe scratches. Upon looking closer, i see the metal in between the glass panels has been faux antiqued. It is bright shiny new brass peeking out from under some caulking of some sort. i turned the glass dome upside down to look inside and see the top is shiny new brass plate, with 2 phillips head screws holding on the finial top. Phillips head screws were not invented until 1930. But these were new. The wooden base IS old. Its likely the base of a column. I did some research after all this and found out what this was before it was faux antiqued. It is a modern beveled glass hanging light fixture.

I emailed the seller photos of what they sent me, and photos of a modern light fixture, and explained i will not stand for this and would like a return shipping label. They did not reply. I sent an email everyday asking to please address the situation with no response. i called the number listed for them and left several messages asking them to please call me back. I finally got ahold via phone and was yelled at before i could get a word out and was told they will not discuss his and hung up on me. I called again and they yelled at me to stop harassing them. Harassing ??? I was scammed and they refuse to discuss this. They have confirmed that they are done communicating with me.

I am now stuck with this huge box containing an item that was falsely advertised. I have a screenshot of the original listing, and photos of the item and photos that prove this piece is a modern light fixture. I myself am an antique dealer and have been buying and selling for 15 years, although even a novice could tell this is a fake. I offered via email to have reputable antique dealers write a letter confirming this item is not antique, but like i said, the seller wont reply. I understand once this item is returned, we are back at the same spot we were in, with the seller refusing to refund my original payment. Although, i see this as the only option after the seller has proven themselves as liars, i wouldn't take another chance on any of their items. Its a good thing i did not invest in the original item any further as there is a good chance that items isn't what they say either.