This guy is literally a thief. I initially contacted Todd Barber and All Around Town Mobile RV…read moreRepair on October 24, 2023. I have an RV that I rent out, and the repairman I usually use had come out to diagnose an issue with the refrigerator. He told me what parts I needed, but the RV was rented starting on 11/1/23, but he was going to be out of town and would not be able to get the work done in time since the parts needed to be ordered.
I found All Around Town Mobile RV Repair on Google, and called the phone number listed (727-860-9753). I received a call back from someone who identified himself as Todd Barber, the owner, and told me that he would definitely be able to get the parts and work done by 11/1/23. Todd then texted me at 9:42pm on 10/24/23 from (727) 900-6260, saying that he had found the parts and could have them here in 2 days.
I called Todd the next morning (10/25/23), and he said that he had been scammed by customers in the past, and so he now makes customers pay up front for parts. Therefore, he told me that I had to pay him by PayPal for the part that day. He also told me that I had to classify it as a "friends and family" payment on PayPal, because otherwise he would not be able to access the funds right away and wouldn't get the part here in time for the upcoming rental.
He sent me screenshots of the part listings he had found online. The costs for the 2 parts, with shipping, were $67.61 and $269.40, for a total of $337.01. Unfortunately, I was working at the time and didn't really look at these numbers.
Todd then sent me a PayPal request for $484.43. I asked him via text whether this amount was for both parts, which he confirmed. On October 25, 2023, I sent him $484.43 via PayPal.
Todd confirmed by text receiving the money and said that he would place the order that day and send me the invoice as confirmation.
At 5:43pm on October 25, I asked him again via text if he had placed the order. He confirmed that he had placed the order and would send the invoice to me. Having not received it, on October 26 at 3:59pm, I sent him another text asking for the invoice/receipt. He confirmed that it was at his office and hadn't had a chance to send it to me yet. I reminded him that I needed the parts installed before 11/1/23 for the rental. I even asked him if he wanted to just return my money, which he replied that I had nothing to worry about, etc. Later that evening, he even asked me to confirm my email address, apparently to send the receipt.
On October 27, 2023 at 10:14AM, I again texted him asking for the receipt. I texted him again at 11:30AM and 3:58PM. I did not receive a response to any of these messages.
On October 28, 2023, I texted him again asking if he was really going to just steal my money. Again, I received no response.
On November 2, 2023 at 9:12AM, I received an email from Alexandra Jeweet (alex@allaroundtownrvrepair.com) stating that Todd had a seizure on 10/26/23 and was in the hospital, but she would process a refund that day, and I should have the funds within 2-3 business days. I immediately thought this was suspicious. First, if they returned the money through PayPal, it would be returned immediately and would not take 2-3 days. Secondly, I read on All Around Town's Google reviews and Better Business Bureau reviews that other customers had similar experiences where Todd claimed to have been in the hospital and then promised to return money that customers had already paid him. In those reviews, the customers had never received their promised refunds. Furthermore, one of the Better Business Bureau reviews said that the customer was suspicious that Todd was lying, and had called around to local hospitals and couldn't find a record of Todd being hospitalized. Therefore, I responded stating that if I did not have the money returned by 3:00PM that day, I would be calling the police. Of course, I did not receive any money or response, so I called the police that afternoon.
On November 5, 2023 at 6:47 PM, I received a text from Todd stating that he planned on returning my money.
As of November 12, 2023, I have not heard anything further from Todd, nor has he returned any part of the $484.43 he stole. The police officer has now given him until tomorrow to return the money before charges are officially filed.