On 24, 2010, Sofia registered the trade name 123Mountain with the Colorado Secretary of State september

On 24, 2010, Sofia registered the trade name 123Mountain with the Colorado Secretary of State september

Anna Sofia and Olivier “Oliver” Goumas (picture: Facebook)

That cold temperatures during the Snowsports Industries America trade show, Olivier came across Greg Gantzer, a outside recreations and travel marketer whom has SkiSite.com and styles web sites when it comes to industry. Gantzer claims they quickly finalized an agreement to create 123Mountain’s site. By belated might, nonetheless, Olivier became testy once the web site, featuring its inventory that is massive of items, had not been yet complete. In a message, Olivier published that if Gantzer took until 6 to finish, he’d be paid only 75 percent of his quote for the job june. “After June 6, you might be a tale,” he included.

“I think we possibly may be having troubles with your discussion because of countries and language,” Gantzer wrote back a message he showed to outdoors. “I’d really love to discuss this that we comprehend. with you in the phone so”

Rather, Olivier changed the password on their host, effortlessly using control of Gantzer’s build up to that particular date. “Your are fired,” Olivier published in the slapdash English. Gantzer sued when you look at the Summit County, Ohio, court, alleging breach of agreement, unjust enrichment, and fraudulence, among other fees. Olivier supplied a hodgepodge of defenses, countering that Gantzer had triggered damages “in more than $500,000.” In January 2014, a judge decided in Gantzer’s benefit and awarded him $16,564. Gantzer has yet to see some of the money.

“My hope of gathering out of this guy is near to zero,” he states now. “Our hope is always to make a move to ensure they can not any longer tear people down.”

In belated 2012, the Goumases exposed an additional store that is 123Mountain the Village at Copper Mountain Resort. In a write-up published when you look at the newspaper that is local frequent, Sofia Goumas declared, “We start at where REI ends.” She explained which they would give attention to high-end brands, including European gear, and therefore clients could expect service that is personalized. “You’re likely to get certainly one of us exactly in danger, and we’re planning to attempt to allow you to in any manner that individuals can.”

Olivier allegedly countered negative feedback by publishing reviews that are positive of his shops under both their genuine title together with handle “Mountainblack,” in accordance with one previous worker. Google and Twitter reviews seem to be swamped by lots of good ranks from bots—fictitious pages that share the identical series of links and reviews.

Locals in Lakewood and Copper Mountain remember Sofia investing her days chain-smoking cigarettes while Olivier fueled up with glass after cup espresso. In accordance with employees that are former the couple occasionally made their shops membership-only and created brand new guidelines to exclude consumer visits, preferring to pay attention to online clients.

Workers weren’t pleased with the Goumases either.

Daniel Fluharty started working during the Lakewood store maybe not very long after it started in late 2011 and ended up being in charge of shipping and packaging instructions and answering customers online. He quickly became worried about the quantity of consumer complaints. 1 day, a customer that is irate up during the shop with an attorney and stated that the coat he covered had never delivered. Fluharty had been disrupted sufficient because of the event he quit after four months. His last paycheck, he says, have been docked $350 for the ski pass as a bonus that he believed Olivier had given to him.

In 2014, another worker, Bogdan Peleszynski, won a standard judgment up against the few him $1,082.79 when they did not spend for their final fourteen days of work. (Goumas denied the claim in e-mails and court filings, arguing that the check had been lost into the mail, and provided to send Peleszynski a brand new check minus a $50 termination charge.)

However, the Goumases had incorporated into the Summit County ski community. Their two daughters joined Team Summit, a youth that is nonprofit program that 123Mountain sponsored with $10,000 yearly re payments. The business logo design showed up on team jackets plus the united group internet site, nevertheless the relationship soured in 2014, in accordance with present and previous workers of Team Summit. Following the 2014–15 coats had been printed, Goumas did not spend his sponsorship cash or their daughters’ enrollment costs.

Instead, Goumas delivered Team Summit a bill that is hefty failing woefully to market 123Mountain weekly on latin bride dating Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube—as stipulated in a contract Goumas had penned and Team Summit’s administrator manager had signed. Both events dropped their claims against one another in belated 2014. Team Summit’s bylaws permitted it to revoke subscriptions with or without cause and, in January 2015, the board that is executive to kick the Goumases’ daughters from the group.

Throughout the previous 12 months, 123Mountain’s fortune seemingly have go out.

at the beginning of 2015, Copper Mountain started eviction procedures from the store due to customer complaints and rent that is late but dropped the lawsuit following the few decided to end their rent, in accordance with Gavin Malia, development supervisor for Resort Ventures western, Copper Mountain’s home management company. The few will be sued for over a lot of dollars allegedly owed towards the Copper hill Resort Association for dues that supported trash pickup, recycling, and fire solution. The couple’s brand new outpost in downtown Frisco, which opened in June, had been shuttered throughout the 2016 Martin Luther King, Jr., weekend, one of many biggest purchase weekends of the season. An indicator on the door detailing the shop hours checks out: “Opening hour may differ when we are skiing or perhaps not. General rule significantly less than 3″ no modifications. 4″-5″ at the least a full hour delay. 6″ and above until legs get exhausted.”

Their Frisco landlord, Larry Feldman, states they usually haven’t compensated their $4,500 month-to-month lease for December or January. The Goumases, he states, argued they certainly were withholding it due to difficulties with the illumination and carpeting. Also before they stop having to pay, Feldman claims they kept moving him bad checks, and then he intends to evict them. “I’ve thought about securing up their product,” he states. The Lakewood that is original shop sometime before Christmas time, based on locals, as well as the Goumases put their $500,000 home up for rent on January 15.

If there’s a lesson that customers can study on the 123Mountain saga, it is so it’s always worth double-checking the qualifications of unfamiliar companies online before handing over a credit card quantity. In the place of relying solely using one review web web web site, such as for instance Yelp, perform a basic seek out consumer complaints which may make you a troubling comment thread in discussion boards. Bank card defenses will be the tool consumers that are strongest have actually whenever things go south, so don’t be lured into delivering checks or Bitcoin payments to out-of-state organizations. Attempting to recoup a few hundred dollars through the system that is legal not likely to reach your goals and hardly worth enough time. Shops can invariably hide behind the print that is fine and customer security agencies usually takes years to create an incident strong sufficient to nail perhaps the many egregious scammers. Today, 123Mountain’s items are still noted on Bing Buying, which provides the shop three-and-a-half stars. And there’s little stopping them from showing up again somewhere else by having a brand new title and a slate that is clean.

In terms of Sara Benson, she wound up purchasing her tent from REI. Leigh Attwood cancelled their purchase with 123Mountain, disputed the $123.60 cost on their card to Visa, and complained to Moose Knuckles in regards to the coat fiasco. The organization told him which they had been alert to the complaints and offered him the coat at 50 percent down. It found its way to very early January, and Attwood really really really loves it. “I saved $450 within the end,” he says.