Buyer Beware of "the_general"

1glibby1

1glibby1

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
It is not my intention to do anything more than warn future buyers from doing business with the_general.

I requested a pair of cues last April. Two sister cues for my son in the Navy and myself. We ordered two identicle wrapless cues except the handles were made of different material. We ordered both cues with extra shafts and paid $1000 dollars, in advance, to Les. His itrade was perfect with orders being shipped every week. I was promised the cues in 5 months at the latest.

At the six month period, I was told the rain was delaying the production. Then the same at 9 and 12 months. He sent me pics of the handles and promised me them by late april/early may.

Recently he stated he wanted to do something......anything to satisfy his obligation but please give him more time.

Communication has been zero for the last three weeks and I feel I should warn anyone else of this fraud and scam.

My patience has ended and I expect my investment is lost so I want to warn others of my dealing with "the_general

I have no personal issue, I tried to be patient but I'm sure we can all agree this man is a menace and has been living off the prepayments of AZ members for over a year now. And this has to stop.

I hope my cues arrive some day. They have been paid in full for 14+ months now

greg libby
 
There have been a few threads on Les and one started by Mervin.
If you do a search you will find them.
Sorry to hear you got screwed like meany others.
Godd luck to you though on getting a cue or a refund.
 
That's horrible!....

That's just Horrible!!! Money doesn't grow on trees!!! We all work hard for what we have, and this just straight out sucks! I've been burn in the past by an oversea transaction, so I know exactly how you feel bud. I'm a true believer in KARMA! I hope the General does the right thing. Best of luck.
 
a possible explanation?

"03-24-2011, 06:42 AM
Hi Allen,

I am out of commission for a while and I haven't been on-line for the past weeks or so. I have explained and asked for indulgence and I do respect your side. I can not do anything about things beyond my control. I offer no excuse now and I believe you are right in your terms. I will process your refund but for the last time, I humbly ask for your indulgence as I can not refund right here right now as I will take this out of my own pocket. I will return half this end of month, then half by end of next month. I only have my meager office work salary to get this from. I, or we may be poor, but we won't rob anybody of their money. After full refund, no need to return the cue we shipped.

Since this is public, I would take this opportunity to do a public disclosure as well. We are not perfect and we accept that fact but we try our best to provide within the limitations we face. Delays have been caused by uncontrollable instances like weather disturbances which really hamper production, and of course the cuemaker's state of physical conditions. People get sick also. People experience personal tragedies - bebot's niece was in a tragic accident and had both legs amputated. Just imagine the stress it put in the man's heart and mind. I don't think anybody can just pick up his chisel and work as if nothing happened the next day. It is not the first time I get harsh remarks due to some delays, I get cursed, called son of a b*tch, I was accused of a scammer, a robber, a scumbag, you name it. I just absorb them quietly, though it hurts as I am also a human being. At the time when we were hit by a super typhoon, the shop was under waist-deep water, no power (electricity) for more than 2 weeks, and everything was a standstill... what can we do. There was even a time when I got a comment that "I hope nobody dies again in your family as it will just be another excuse for you". It was Q3 last year when my father in-law died and I failed to communicate for a while. How worse could it be for someone to receive a comment like that, knowing you have no control of the circumstances.

But at the end of the day, i chose this path and I still firmly believe that the customer is always right, and I rather choose to resolve issues than go around them. It's just sad that at times resolution doesn't come as fast as I hope it would.

For almost 3 years since late 2008 since I came around in the business, we have shipped more than a hundred cues. If we intend to scam, we would have been US$20K-30K richer now. No business is perfect. We all encounter bumps on the road. The important thing is to be given the chance and to be able to resolve.

For all those with pending orders, all plain janes are on track, those higher value cues we will finish and deliver starting by this mid-year until the end of the year. I haven't posted recent ones as my work limits my internet access but last week alone we have finished and shipped 6 cues. Latest is the 4-pointer 4-veneer ivory inlays ivory hoppe ring. We are working double-time to catch up and fulfill our commitments, and so we will.

Our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience.



Sgd.


Les Lacson "

This is a post of him from few months ago...
 
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Your "recent" explanation is dated 3-24-11

You would think I would get replys and updates of the pics he sent me 5 months ago. A transaction initiated 14mth ago.

$1000 dollars is alot of money to just "lose". I have read les's posts and he is a very good writer and speaker. That is how he got my money in advance in the 1st place.

Personally I think he has put himself in a "no win" situation and I am the victim that lost $1065 including w/u fee's. My stomach turns over thinking all I wanted was a pair of idenicle cues to share with my Navy son. He comes home July 1 and I am very disappointed is all.

My intention is to keep all AZ members in the loop so as to not let this happen again. I used to think Les was a nice guy and I would eventually get my cues but I don't think that any longer.

Les should be removed from this forum until he honors his commitments as he is a threat to all he deals with.

greg libby
 
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Tsk tsk...

And there were supposedly just 5 or 6 of his "customers" to whom he owed or had "delayed" deliveries...

Hope you get back your money... or your cues...

nbc
 
I recently received a PM from a "les13ter" ..........Please read


Good day. I read your post and since I am close to my father, I can feel your burden in trying to give your son a nice gift on his homecoming. Coming from a close-knit family, my father is always like that to me too, trying to provide what he can to make me and my siblings happy as always.

I reside in the Philippines and I am a close friend of Bebot to which I believe you wish to have a cue made from. Please don't get me wrong but I just wish to offer you any or two of my cues that Bebot made for me recently. I can always have one made by him any time. I would offer you much less of a price than what you paid for your two cues. I know this is another cost for you again but my intention is just to make you feel good for now and especially to your son. I would send you pics if this is alright with you.

This person with no itrade and post #1 wishes to offer me one of two cues for a very low cost and identifies himself as Bebot's friend. No signature or name attached. He has been a member since 2009 but no coorespondence til now.



Beware of this new potential threat. "les13ter"
 
Just curious, why would you pay 100% up front??

I have dealt with alot of custom cue makers and none have asked for full payment.
 
1glibby1 said:
I recently received a PM from a "les13ter" ..........Please read


Good day. I read your post and since I am close to my father, I can feel your burden in trying to give your son a nice gift on his homecoming. Coming from a close-knit family, my father is always like that to me too, trying to provide what he can to make me and my siblings happy as always.

I reside in the Philippines and I am a close friend of Bebot to which I believe you wish to have a cue made from. Please don't get me wrong but I just wish to offer you any or two of my cues that Bebot made for me recently. I can always have one made by him any time. I would offer you much less of a price than what you paid for your two cues. I know this is another cost for you again but my intention is just to make you feel good for now and especially to your son. I would send you pics if this is alright with you.

This person with no itrade and post #1 wishes to offer me one of two cues for a very low cost and identifies himself as Bebot's friend. No signature or name attached. He has been a member since 2009 but no coorespondence til now.



Beware of this new potential threat. "les13ter"
Click to expand...

Is "the_general" and "les13ter" the same person?
 
I feel damn lucky that I got the "Pink Ivory Cue" to help make up for my stolen money. Paid $930 for a custom cue of my design but had to settle for the "Pink Ivory Cue" as payment given the current circumstances.
I sold the cue for $850 So I will chalk this up to an $80 lesson I will never forget. In retrospect I wish all my poor decisions I have made over the course of my lifetime averaged out to $80 per, I'd be a much richer man today.:thumbup:
 
Guys, I know Lester Aguirre very well. His name here is les13ter and he most certainly is not Celestine Lacson aka. The General. I have dealt with both these men and can assure you Lester is a top notch , super great guy that does pay,buy, and sell with 100% honestly and is a perfect gentleman.
I have done many deals with Lester, I will stake my own rep to vouch for his, his is great friends with Bebot and family and owns many Bebot Hand made cues and does visit Bebot's shop regularly and contracts Bebot and his sons to build cues from his own private wood and supplies stock. I know , because he buys many woods and supplies from me and always has shared the pics of the completed cues Bebot has done using my woods and supplies supplied from Lester.
No worries here guys, if Lester says it's a deal, he is 100% genuine.
Thanx and hope this helps the confusion...
 
i second this! i know lester through bebot, his the one who supplies bebot with the woods.

you can definitely trust this guy 100% , i have bought quite some items from him and until now i still get my supplies and other stuffs

definitely his not the " THE GENERAL "
 
I was mistaken in what I thought might be another potential threat.

les13ter seems to be a standup guy looking to ease my loss. He and I have communicated via pm and he understood my apprehension. Although his offer is admirable, I have lost enough through this attempt of purchase and elect to not send anything prior to inspection in the near future.

I am tired of this transaction and want all to be aware of the_general and bebot.

again, I apologize to les13ter for any frustration that may have boiled over to his offer. I will survive.

greg libby
 
I guess...Bebot also is a victim of les lacson act...
I hope many member try to give Mr Bebot another chance to prove he is not the robber...
 
We need for our Filipino pool playing friends to put the pressure on "the General" to make good on his promises and obligations, both to Bebot and our members on here who he has taken advantage of.

Joe
 
Bamacues said:
We need for our Filipino pool playing friends to put the pressure on "the General" to make good on his promises and obligations, both to Bebot and our members on here who he has taken advantage of.

Joe
Click to expand...

Agreed...I've seen more than one incident like this happen, and the buyer DID end up with the cue he had purchased after some pressure from people around the seller...
Oddly enough...the general was the one responsible for the cue ending up in the buyer's hands after the seller disappeared in one incident...weird how the tables have turned since then...
Good Luck to all of those affected by this situation...Hopefully, there will be justice...
 
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To Al AZ members

I am currently getting personal texts from Les on how disappointed he is for this post. How hurt he is that I needed to go public as we have communicated and he has stated he will make good. (This statement being months old)

I have seen half built photos of my cues over 7 months ago. I have heard enough promises from a man that only tells me of his whoes.

Les has been notified that I will only communicate via AZ post publically.

My son came home from the Navy this weekend and a pair of sister cues, 100% prepaid, designed for both he and I, were not at the celebration.

I am both pissed and disappointed, to say the least

greg libby

Stop all this private texting and phone calls and communicate the same way as you solicit your cues
 
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Let this be a lesson to all that buy overseas...

They are a long way away to do anything about what happened if they do not hold up their end.

BTW is this the same cuemaker that got busted for making copies recently?

JV
 
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