Krystal Anangono planned to use the $328 she earned from selling her DVD and video game collection to an online vendor toward two months rent for an apartment in Equador.
Like hundreds of other consumers who shipped their used video and audio discs to Broomfield-based , Anangono, 24, waited and waited for money that never came.
“I’ve seen nothing since October,” said the Cheshire, Conn., resident, who is bound for Equador in a few weeks.
An agreement announced Monday between Colorado Attorney General John Suthers and Uzed owner Steven Bonneau, in which the firm will pay about $40,000 to more than 400 consumers, means Anangono will likely see her money after all.
“When a business makes a specific performance guarantee to a consumer, it has a legal obligation to fulfill that promise,” Suthers said.
Bonneau could not be reached for comment Monday.
Sellers expected to be paid within 10 days, as the firm promised on its website, but the average time was 33 business days. Some victims waited up to a year for a payment that never came, Suthers said.
The company was the focus of more than 200 complaints since at least 2003, including reports to the Internet Crime Complaint Center and . The complaints included beefs about ignored calls.
“I never heard a word,” Anangono said of her requests.
Similar businesses have since sprung up, including ., whose website is a duplicate of . Authorities said Newtown uses the same online technology, but Bonneau is not involved.
. purchased CDs, DVDs, video games and electronics in exchange for an advertised payment, then resold them for a profit through retailers such as Amazon or eBay.
After slow payments, the most prevalent gripe was from consumers paid by Uzed with a bad check and then slammed for additional bank fees, Suthers said.
The agreement prevents Uzed and Bonneau from operating any Colorado business that pays customers without first acquiring a bond to protect them.
Said Anangono: “I guess I should have checked Uzed out before sending them my collection first. I learned my lesson.”
Staff writer David Migoya can be reached at 303-954-1506 or dmigoya@denverpost.com.
Whom to call: People owed money by Uzed can call the state attorney general’s consumer protection division. 800-222-4444
