WingnutPC

It all started innocently enough in late March of 2014, as I was referred by a mutual acquaintance. My computer died right before tax season, and I needed to access some files. I thought it might also be a good time to upgrade my Windows XP operating system, debating between one more desktop or a laptop. I stopped by the office location in Wilmette and Raphael determined it was the power supply. The motherboard and hard drives were unaffected, so I could simply replace the power supply and be back in business. He helped me get the files I needed onto a thumb drive so I could do my taxes, then discussed what to do with my tower. We went over many options, and he said "I can do whatever you want" a dozen times or more. We finally agreed on a new tower, more speed, more memory, and a new OS since mine was no longer supported by Microsoft. I also said I'd want my two current hard drives installed as slave drives, or the data transferred to the new computer. We agreed on a price, I gave him my credit card, and he said he likes to get things in and out, so it would only take 3 or 4 days. After a week, I called and he said he was waiting on some deal to acquire a bunch of computers from an office. I asked what that had to do with me, and he said he would get me a barely used tower for free. I said that's fine, but please keep me updated. Another week went by with no word from Raphael. I left several messages over the next couple weeks without a response, so roughly a month after I dropped my computer off, I went back to the Wilmette office. He wasn't there, so I called and left a message that I stopped in to see him and was disappointed with the lack of communication, the lack of pretty much everything, and I just wanted my computer back. He returned that call immediately, was angry that I voiced my dissatisfaction, and "surprised" I hadn't picked my computer up already. To which I said, "What am I supposed to pick up? What condition is my computer in?" He responded with "I can do whatever you want." The funny thing is, he hadn't done anything I wanted in over a month, and somehow it's my fault for not picking my computer up?! Because I still had hopes of seeing my hard drives again, I backed off and asked for a window of time that I could come in and get it. He said he would get back to me, but never did. After another month of frustration, he finally returned one of my calls while I was driving to Minnesota. During the conversation, we got disconnected. I immediately called and texted back, over and over, but never reached him again, and he never reestablished contact. We were trying to set something up for the following week, but didn't discuss anything specific. He later claimed he hired someone to sit in his office all week waiting for me to pick up my computer. He never told me about this until way after the fact, and still failed to tell me what, if anything, had been done. By this time he had communicated in some form using three different phone numbers. The main business line on his website, 847-242-1440, which he never answers and is nothing more than voice mail. The time we got disconnected, he called me from 847-512-7359. I have called and texted that number since, but only one conversation ever happened on that line when he called me. The number that has worked the most, both for calling and texting is 847-769-1511. He has answered and returned calls and texts from that line. The next several months were pretty much the same. I tried to walk the line between persistence and patience, all the while hoping I'd eventually get my data back unharmed. I called, texted, and occasionally stopped by the office on a day off, but he was never there. Nobody was ever there. When he responded to my attempts at contact, he was always too busy with some network emergency at a hospital or going out of town for two weeks. He began to do adult things like hang up on me, say he would only deal with our mutual acquaintance, and lie about the dozens of appointments I blew off and all the time he wasted on me. The truth is, we only had ONE scheduled appointment on July 9th, 2014. HE changed the time twice, then couldn't wait 15 minutes for me to get there. There was one other time, on August 12th, 2014, he texted he'd be at his office late afternoon. Within moments of that text, he called to cancel. I initially had reservations about the mutual acquaintance getting involved. She had no idea what my tower looked like, or if all the parts would be there. When there appeared to be no other way, I agreed, and even that took several months, but finally . . . On December 13th, 2014, she called to say she picked up my tower. I was on my way to Detroit that weekend, but was relieved to think this disaster might finally be over, after ONLY nine months. A few days later, I picked up my tower and to my surprise it was mine, and seemed to be in good condition. The only problem was that it felt light, so I opened it up to find both of my hard drives were missing. He returned all the stuff I was willing to lose, but still had the only items important to me. I told her about it and contacted him again via text and voice message. Eventually he admitted to her that he has a box, or pile, or even a room full of hard drives, but has no idea whose is whose. I didn't know if this was good news or not, or if it was even the truth anymore. After two more months of getting nowhere, and a couple ignored letters from my attorney, I made another trip out to his office and saw a piece of furniture in the hallway that appeared to be his. There was a note on it that said Raphael Kelling will pick this up shortly. I took a chance and hung around. He eventually showed up and when he saw me said, "Hey, how's it going?" I said, "It would be going a lot better if I had my stuff back." At that point, he said, "Hang on a minute," exited the lobby, and made a phone call. He said he was talking to his lawyer and that I was trespassing, threatening him, entrapping him, etc. I suggested we call the police, which we did. An officer showed up, we both told our side, he lied, but essentially nothing was resolved. I finally had the face-to-face that I wanted, but instead of dealing with it like a man, Raphael dodged me and his responsibility, and again provided no answers. At no point has he explained to me why he did nothing with my computer, why he won't return my hard drives, why he's dragging this out, and why he is so angry with me that he won't even give me the courtesy of a conversation. He never did charge my credit card, so I have no idea what could possible be his motivation, other than he's too lazy to take the time to locate my hard drives, with or without my help. It would have been much easier to fight a bogus credit card charge than deal with all this stolen data. I will look into all possible options based on the advice of my attorney, but for now, the Better Business Bureau will be my next stop. In conclusion, I trusted Raphael Kelling at WingnutPC with my most important, sensitive, and personal data, and he treated me as well as that responsibility with all the respect of an old, worn-out shoe. He took hundreds of hours of my work, both personal and professional, thousands of songs, and countless irreplaceable photographs, and tossed them on a scrap heap. It haunts me to think that I was standing just a few feet away from my hard drives when I was in his office building, and neither he nor the cops would do anything about it. He's potentially lost or destroyed 15 years of digital work and memories, like the picture of my Dad and me with the Stanley Cup in 2010. This isn't the type of behavior you'd expect from a US Veteran and apparently a religious man - More like a self-centered coward. If he has any shred of decency, he'll break from his ridiculously busy schedule, find my stuff, and return it. Until that day, whenever he says "I can do whatever you want," he should follow it up with, "but I probably won't." Please spread the word. Don't let this guy continue to cause pain and misery.