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We’re getting closer to our goals!

As shown in the last short column, my client wisely decided to demand the repayment of the purchase price and compensation - the watch trader from Hamburg was offered the defective watch in return.

Within the scope of a very interesting e-mail communication, as well as a detailed telephone discussion with the father of the managing director, who gave the impression that he himself makes the decisions even though his son is the managing director, I finally formulated in writing the verbal agreement we'd made. The Hamburg watch trader paid back the purchase price, presented us with a lump sum as compensation and accepted the legal costs of our case. We then explained to the public prosecutor's office that, following fulfilment of the legal requirements, the client had no further interest in any type of criminal pursuit of the culprits. In favour of both parties I accepted and signed an oath of secrecy with regard to this case.

Instead of confirming this immediately to me, the father of the manager then communicated with me under the motto "Give the Devil an inch and he will take a yard". Suddenly he demanded that I change my present columns and remove the first column completely from the internet, so I decided it was time to "show him on the compass exactly where North lies". I set him a non-extendable time limit with regard to settlement, and rejected his other demands.

Being that he had still not answered 17 minutes before this deadline had run out, I complained again, and then, 8 minutes before deadline expired, I received a mail in which "basically the settlement can be confirmed".

It was then that he saw difficulties with the secrecy pledge - I understandably had no problem removing this clause from the settlement, and happily I'm able to report that the substance of the settlement is mutually acceptable to all parties.

Whether, in spite of this written enshrinement, the Hamburg watch trader decides to pay up on time, and whether our client manages to get hold of their desired watch, we will have to wait to discover in the next column.

Dubious watch offers can be expensive – for the Seller!

My client's case is really now “on the straight and narrow”. At midday of the 8th of August, the purchase price and the compensation amount arrived on the office account by express transfer. As a result I informed the public prosecutor's office that our client was no longer interested in pursuing criminal proceedings. Whether this remains the case remains to be seen, because fraud and deception are seen as an "ex-officio crime", and are automatically pursued, and not solely at a petitioner’s request.

Our client sent the watch back on the 9th of August - of course by registered and insured post - to the Hamburg watch trader. If the agreed costs are also paid onto my account, (and I speak here quite openly of the fact that this amounts to a little more than 1,000 euros) and in a timely manner, then the legal case will be closed from our side.

Our client has already successfully searched through the TrustedWatch watch market for a comparable watch. In 2nd place on the Watchdealercheck ranking is a watch trader with whom I have excellent relations, and from whom I have secured an older IWC Yacht Club for the aforementioned client, which will be delivered next week.

I would still like to give a little advice to the opposing side:

To the Hamburg watch trader: Please do not attempt to "trick" buyers (and their lawyers) again - the insolvent destiny of his predecessor's company has pointedly shown exactly where such deception ends.

To chrono24.com: Those who distinguish watch traders as especially trustworthy ought, in my opinion, to make absolutely sure that this is indeed the case, and "to always have his ear to the market". To state that there have been no recent complaints and that they punctually pay their commissions to the platform is probably not a good example of an evaluation standard - quod erat demonstrandum!
And to you both: Don’t forget, that we’re going to keep an eye on you in the future…