Dealings with Tall Tom

[Mark K]

Morning all I would imagine some of you have noticed Tall Tom ( Thomas Crossley) has been banned and I guess in some small way I am responsible for that so I would like to start at the beggining.

Not long before Christmas Tom offered me a BGS Sumpftarn jacket he was willing to sell me he had known I had been looking for one for a while so he posted photos in the BGS Sumpftarn thread for me to see and the jacket looked to be in good condition so we agreed on the price and it was a done deal . Then Tom added to the post that the antique shops were rather good again and posted a photo of an M43 style Sumpftarn cap and a description of two sets of trousers that the antique store had for sale after much discussion on the thread and private messaging about the cap and the trousers, we came to the conclusion that the cap was probably a private purchase cap manufactured by ( STURM ). This I had no problem with as the are a high end manufacturer that supplies the military and private security companies around the world. I had questioned Tom on the pants and he had informed me they were a 100% original so I thought it would all work out well and I would be able to complete my BGS Sumpftarn uniform in one deal. So I sent Tom £240 which was for the jacket, cap, pants and shipping costs. After a little bit of fussing around with a courier I received the parcel a few weeks later. Upon opening the box it was apparent right away that the cap and trousers were modern reproductions . I posted the Jacket to the Sumpftarn thread as it was original, but it was not the same as the original photos in the thread. I then sent a PM to another member and asked him to please look at the photos and description from the thread and compare them to ones I sent him via Email. At this time I did not want to publicly post them till I had an idea what was going on? The other member that looked at the photos agreed that they were modern reproductions. I then confronted Tom and he wanted to know why I thought they were repos after I explained it all he said he was sorry and that he would pay me back but new information came to light that he was not who he claimed to be so after being in contact with a moderator, I decided I had better file a paypal claim against him. After many many emails between Tom and I, 63 all together, he agreed to pay me back £150 and I would keep the Sumpftarn.

I had paypal send him a message to make sure he was going to agree to these terms: he waited till the last day and refused. The only other option that is open to me is to return it all for a full refund and I am out about £16O for the shipping costs plus the customs and duty taxes, so as far as I am concerned it is a no win situation. No matter how I look at it I am going to loose money, so I have decided to keep it all and bite the bullet as it were.

There is a lot more of this story to tell but for my part I have said enough I will look at this like a learning experience.

Regards Mark K

[Frundsberg]

Well, maybe some of our Moderators can also say why talltom was banned? As I understand talltom can not post here any more and so he can not tell his story or defend himself.

[rbminis]

Sorry to hear of this Mark.
It is a sad day when people have to rip off other people to get ahead.
Ralph.

[Mark K]

That is very true and that is why I have kept this stricktly to my dealings with Tom and I have kept copies of all the Emails and private conversations concerning this matter .

Regards Mark K

[Datrus]

I think Mark is in his full right to post. I personally wondered why "Tom" got banned. Furthermore, i think it is a disgrace such things happen here.

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Guys, bear with me a few mins. I have a lot to post about all of this and need to put it all together. Stay tuned....

Cheers, Ade.

[Mark K]

Thanks folks I will not let my personal feelings on this matter sway me everything I am posting here is fact based and I would not post it here if I was not 100% positive and I could not back up what I saying ( THIS WILL NOT TURN INTO A MUD SLINGING MATCH OR I WILL CLOSE THE THREAD )..

Regards Mark K

[Frundsberg]

Well, I have not had any deals with talltom and I do not know him personally. But during last 13 years I have sold and also bought several thousand items (mostly militaria) worldwide. For me it is still very hard to belive that a reputable forum member wants to cheat another forum member for several hundred £. But sadly such things happen. And when he got a ban I belive that Moderators had a good reason to do it.

[StuG III]

It is really sad when one cannot trust fellow collectors. I actually liked Tall Tom, such a pity.
Tom

[Mark K]

I did as well and I considered Tom my friend and that is why I did not go public with this and I tried to resolve the problem in private .

Regards Mark K