Are ALL Forum Members to be Trusted?

[Peter@AEW]

As unpleasant as this story is I have after deep thought decided to bring it to this community's attention.

A great number of the regular forumites are aware that I have a soft spot for Warren "Gizmo" as well as Moosa "Moose".

I equally for the purpose of full disclosure have done a fair amount of work on Moose's cars.
Moose although considerably younger than I has on many occasions been my sounding board on serious matters as he is a steadfast and well balanced man whose opinion I value.

I am told that there was a recent "scuffle" on a group chat involving Gizmo and Moose among others.
Following the scuffle I get the following message from Gizmo...

10/07/2020, 06:43 - Warren gizmo: Tell your boy moosa that blackmail only works if you withhold the damaging information...?
10/07/2020, 07:36 - Peter Karvelas: I shall next time
10/07/2020, 08:07 - Peter Karvelas: Good morning  Warren
10/07/2020, 08:07 - Peter Karvelas: Now explain what it is that you are talking about
10/07/2020, 08:16 - Warren gizmo: I'd rather not, perhaps another time when I've had time to cool off.
10/07/2020, 08:17 - Peter Karvelas: ?
10/07/2020, 08:22 - Warren gizmo: Sad times we living in is all I can say.
10/07/2020, 08:23 - Warren gizmo: Eye for an eye, we all go blind.


I eventually met with Moose and quizzed him about Gizmo's message to which Moose responded by telling me the circumstances that
led to the group chat altercation whose route and origins are some 6 years old.
Following my discussion with Moose I responded to Gizmo as per below...

[size=small]15/07/2020, 14:32 - Peter Karvelas: Warren hi[/size]
15/07/2020, 14:35 - Peter Karvelas: Spoke to Moose about his blackmail and he tells me that you swapped his diff from the m3 and sold it to Mark who he bumped into and told him the story of how Mooses diff was  being swapped for another one.

Is that true?

15/07/2020, 14:35 - Warren gizmo: Not at all

15/07/2020, 14:36 - Peter Karvelas: Ok so what is the story

15/07/2020, 14:38 - Warren gizmo: I'm done with him is all I'm going to say. Moving on.

15/07/2020, 14:43 - Peter Karvelas: So you basically stole his diff and sold it to someone you thought he would never meet

Not at all the honourable thing to do to someone you have known from your school days

In addition Moose is very circumspect and I believe that you are wrong

Pay the man for his 60k diff and stop acting irresponsibly 

Life has a way of creating balance.

15/07/2020, 14:56 - Warren gizmo: You very quick to make assumptions when u havent heard what actually happened, what moose has told you is complete bs. I want nothing to do with him anymore.

15/07/2020, 14:58 - Warren gizmo: Not going to play back and forth with you, it's because I followed your advice and opened myself to blackmaol

15/07/2020, 14:58 - Warren gizmo: Will talk to you in person next time I see you. You know I'm no good with text

15/07/2020, 14:59 - Peter Karvelas: Ok in the absence of you explaining what happened I must by default accept what he has told me.

It was at your request for me to speak to him that I did so best you tell me your version without clouding the issue

15/07/2020, 15:00 - Warren gizmo: As I say, in person

15/07/2020, 15:00 - Peter Karvelas: You are running away again

15/07/2020, 15:01 - Warren gizmo: Is he claiming 60k? First I hear of it.???

15/07/2020, 15:01 - Warren gizmo: Not running away from shit

15/07/2020, 15:02 - Warren gizmo: The fucker knows the truth and he still feeds you that bullshit...shane

15/07/2020, 15:05 - Warren gizmo: He has no respect fo or you either.

15/07/2020, 15:13 - Peter Karvelas: No the diff had covered 60000Kms

15/07/2020, 15:13 - Peter Karvelas: So tell me

15/07/2020, 18:09 - Peter Karvelas: Warren I am now at home so can attend to this better

You asked me to tell Moose that blackmail works best when you do not divulge things.

By implication this means that he has something over you. 

I duly spoke with him and he presented his side of the story about how his 60000Km me came for an oil service and left some 3 weeks later with a changed diff which was sold to Mark.

Your refusal to present your side of the story makes me very uneasy.

I invite you to tell me what happened one last time.

Ball is in your court.

Also my subsequent action will depend on whether you respond or not.

15/07/2020, 18:10 - Peter Karvelas: M3*

15/07/2020, 18:10 - Peter Karvelas: Not me*

15/07/2020, 18:32 - Warren gizmo: I'm not refusing my side, I said I will tell you. Be patient, this shit happened like 6years ago anyway...

15/07/2020, 18:36 - Peter Karvelas: You say you will tell me best you do.
[size=small]I insist that it is a written response so that there is no room for "he said you said" and "I meant this or that"
[/size]


[size=small]In summary and should this need further clarity I am hopeful that Moose shall elaborate some 6 years back Moose took his Carbon Black mint e46 M3 with 60000Kms to Gizmo for an oil change.[/size]
[size=small]Gizmo took some 3 weeks to get the car done and during that time he removed the diff from the car and sold it to another owner by the name of Mark.[/size]

[size=small]As luck would have it Mark and Moose met at an unrelated event and Mark commented that he new Moose's car from Gizmos workshop where his car received the diff from Moose's car as Moose was fitting a new one to his car.[/size]
[size=small]All of this done without Moose's knowledge or sanction.[/size]

[size=small]I understand human error[/size]
[size=small]I do not understand theft.[/size]

[size=small]Gizmo was given the opportunity to explain himself to me and he has done nothing else other  than continue to lie and blame the whole world but himself.[/size]

[size=small]I have more of my conversation with Warren which I shall post should the need arise.[/size]

[size=small]As a community I would think that you shall make up your mind.[/size]

 

[Kyle]

Would be quite suspicious if my car was at a shop for three weeks just for an oil change. I guess there's always two sides to a story...

 

[TBP88]

Sho, this might turn pretty ugly #dodging

 

[RAArmstrong]

opcorn:

This is bound to get interesting

 

[Nikhil]

Sjoe  :fencelook:

 

[ChefDJ]

opcorn:

 

[Jive_E46]

This post broke my heart. Very queezy to read as a keen Fanatics noob.

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[Rishie Rish]

This reminds me about an e36 with an engine that was "toast"

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[Nikhil]

This post broke my heart. Very uneasy to read as a keen Fanatics noob.

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Bud that's why the forum exists, so you know the do and do nots. Imagine you take your N54 somewhere and it comes back with one less turbo :dunnoanymore:

 

[FiRi@Rennzport]

This post broke my heart. Very uneasy to read as a keen Fanatics noob.

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Bud that's why the forum exists, so you know the do and do nots. Imagine you take your N54 somewhere and it comes back with one less turbo :dunnoanymore:

Dead as if n54s don't have enough problems already

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[IWannaGoFast]

I'm glad this issue has come up, not for the conflict but because I trust recommendations given by members of this site.
If a recommendation or forum sponsor is not reputable then it tarnishes the reputation of the forum

 

[Peter@AEW]

I'm glad this issue has come up, not for the conflict but because I trust recommendations given by members of this site.
If a recommendation or forum sponsor is not reputable then it tarnishes the reputation of the forum

It is with a heavy heart that I posted this.
It has been mentioned on this forum a number of times that I am protective of Gizmo which is not entirely true but neither entirely false.
However this type of indiscretion is inexcusable.

 

[Captain_Stealth]

Not gonna lie I have trust issues with people since I got scammed by Ztorm Racing.

Such a pity things like this happen, especially in our small car community

 

[///Moose]

Dear fellow forum members:

Firstly I would like to apologize for this coming to light on a public platform however as mentioned above, I guess as unfortunate as this experience has been I will be glad if it saves another fanatic from experiencing the same as I did.

Strangely, I didn’t think much of the recent encounter with Warren (Gizmo) where he was questioning another forum member’s integrity and I merely reminded him of he’s double standards.
Following this I received a message from Peter where I am being accused of blackmail by Gizmo so I duly obliged to explain the below.

Here is a brief summary of my experience of the issue and the events leading to it:

This particular issue dates back to 2015, I contacted Warren (Gizmo) whom I’ve known since grade 3 since we went to the same primary school and whom I met again via this very forum, at this point I’d entrusted Warren with doing work on a number of my cars since I followed he’s previous threads and having known him for many years.

My request in this particular instance was to undertake an oil service on my E46 M3 with approximately 60,000km on the clock, I subsequently dropped the car off as per usual.
A few days went by and I contacted Gizmo to enquire about the progress and he mentioned that he’s extremely busy at the moment and the car will take longer than expected, not thinking much of it I said no problem and waited patiently.
A few more days went by and I eventually get a message from Gizmo saying that the car is complete and I may collect.
I picked up the car as usual and off I went, not having the slightest idea of what was about to unfold.....

A few months went by and by the absolute will of the Almighty, I happen to have a conversation with a guy called Marc and as it happens he mentions to me that he saw my car at Gizmo’s workshop and that he’s car has my diff on, at this point I was highly confused and I responded by saying yeah Gizmo works on my cars but I doubt you have my diff since I’ve not done any diff replacements or maintenance in relation to this.
Marc was adamant that he has my diff on he’s car and I’m not exactly sure of the story that Gizmo told Marc as to why was my diff available to swop/sell.
At this point Marc noticed that I was surprised and I had no idea of what had happened.

I immediately contacted Gizmo to enquire what was going on and I will attach this initial conversation.
Gizmo in return tried to give me some story around him testing Marc’s diff on my car however the point remains that during this process I was never consulted or asked by Gizmo if this would be ok, even when I collected the car, Gizmo mentioned absolutely nothing about swapping a diff from my car, this obviously explains an oil service taking 2-3 weeks to complete.
At this point I thought about another issue that I didn’t really give further thought at the time however the recent distrust made me think further of a previous instance whereby I booked my E36 318is at Gizmo for high fuel consumption, he’s explanation was that I purchase a new sensor and I have resonators fitted where the previous cats were removed. On this occasion I paid Gizmo for a brand new OEM sensor that he claimed to have fitted and left. Weeks went by and I noticed that the consumption had improved slightly but still high for a 318is and upon further consultation with Alex he also mentioned that it may be the sensor and I said it can’t be since Gizmo fitted a new one. I then explored option 2 whereby I went to the exhaust shop to fit resonators.
While the car was on the lift I noticed that the sensor definitely didn’t look new and was instead 2nd hand, I then called Gizmo to ask whether he changed the sensor and he’s response was that BMW delivered the sensor late so he put a used one instead, bearing in mind that the car was once again with him for a few days and upon collection there was no mention that he fitted a used sensor instead of a new one as per he’s bill to me which was paid.
On this occasion Gizmo said I should come around the workshop as he has the new one which was fitted and all consumption issues was resolved.

Based on these two experiences I then contacted a relative (Ridwaan) whom I referred to Gizmo for work on he’s car for feedback on whether he experienced any issues and below is an extract of he’s response:
“Gizmo told me he had E46 m3 discs which he made me pay for but instead he fitted 330 disks and put m3 discs on his car”
“Then he took my diff put it on his car and when I asked him for it he messed me around for a few months and eventually gave me an old one, I proved to him it wasn't mine cause mine had a MD house initial on it”

At this point I was convinced that my experience wasn’t a once off and all the silly excuses provided around testing diffs was absolute rubbish, in short I came to the realization that Gizmo wasn’t any different to the horror stories I’ve heard whereby “mechanics” strip parts from their customers cars without them knowing.

The sad reality is nevermind the fact that he had done the above but he had abused a “friendship” and trust that was formed for over 30yrs for he’s personal gain and greed.

I once again apologize if I have offended anyone mentioned through my interpretation and understanding of the events that occurred and for raising this publicly however I hope that this provides the relevant awareness to fellow forum members to be careful of who you entrust your cars with.

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[ChefDJ]

@"SubLoaded" this is going to be one for the Blackbox  :uhoh:

 

[TMP TOYS]

Wow. What a doos....

 

[RAArmstrong]

Just woooow. My heart breaks for customers who sent their car to this guy thinking they're getting an expert to work on their car and that it'll be well looked after. Meanwhile this crap happens.

Meanwhile on the forum this oke parades around like god almighty with his fanclub in tow making him feel untouchable.

What comes around goes around and there will always be consequences to one's actions.

This really and truly is the best part about a community like this one is that businesses like these will get outed and you'll know where not to send your car.

To be that guy that speculates... But how many other customers are driving around not knowing they've had second hand parts fitted when they paid for brand new or have had parts swapped out without them knowing about it...

Jaaaaasis

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[Kish2604]

At this point Peter has shared with us his side of the story and Moose has come in with his supporting texts...

For now i will close the thread and wait for @"Gizmo" to let us know when he is ready to reply... It's no use the thread get clouded with 100 finger pointing comments from members before any actual responses come through from the 3rd party in this discussion.  

Lastly i have received pm's about if the thread will be unapproved and hushed and i can assure those members asking that this wont happen, its just closed temporarily to allow @"Gizmo" to respond asap. 


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[Gizmo]

A rather fitting thread title seeing as trust is at an all time low...Let this serve as a warning to all so it will never happen again, to anyone!

Let me start off with an apology to everyone involved and to every single fanatic on this forum. This was never supposed to happen, I took advantage of Moose on more than one occasion around 5 years ago, it included his uncle Ridwaan. I will tell you what happened in each case in due time as the story being spun is part truth, part fallacy. You all deserve the truth so Im here to deliver, provided my word still means something...

Peter, I tip my hat to you, you stood by your word and laid out a carefully planned and very well timed preemptive strike against me.
You are a smart man, far smarter than I and you use that to gain the upper hand in our relationship. Dealing with you there are two sides, the one that will speak frankly friend-to-friend with you over a phone call and the other that texts, be it whatsapp or the forum. Text Peter is all business, no flies on him, will never text something that could be used against him or catch him tripping up in any way, shape or form.
Im not smart like Peter, as you can see I text all, even if it may implicate me into something, I am a product of my own doing so its only fitting that someone will try take advantage of me sooner or later.

For as long as I have known you I have placed trust as a friend and confidant as I saw you as a father figure on this forum, I have approached you with my problems or issues seeking help on how to proceed forward.
You are the only fanatic I discuss business dealings in detail with and on average our telephone calls range from 30min to 45min long as we talk shop and bounce ideas off each other.
Majority of the time you have offered sage advice and I appreciate that, however the worst advice you gave me was to submit to blackmail, you said Moosa has me by the short and curlies and I have zero choice but to submit to whatever Moosa wishes of me because I won't be able to cope with the hit to my reputation if Moosa were to release the damaging information he had saved to use against me all those years ago.
You were nice enough to give me a play-by-play on how bad it will go down if I ever wanted to clear my conscience, so far its going as you said it would, one sided and every finger pointing at me.
Just need some clarification on something, explain to me how is it that after everything you and moose knew about me 5years ago didn't stop you two from continuing to use my service free of charge for the last couple years? Surely if I was the enemy with lies and parts swapping and such you would never let me anywhere near, let alone touch your cars again?

What I did to Moosa and Ridwaan was downright inexcusable but also blackmailing me for so long was also inexcusable, having a dark cloud hanging over my head was weighing on my soul and relationships within the fanatics community. 2017 was a bad year for me family wise and within the fanatics family too, it all came crashing down around the time I left the forum. The 3 years off the forum gave me breathing room to reflect where it all went wrong and re-evaluate where my future maybe heading, I did some serious soul searching and coming clean to all previous transgressions however small or large they may be is the only way to wipe the slate clean and start fresh. I came back to the forum 2months ago feeling rejuvinated and eager to post my latest creations but this time being a wiser man about it or at least trying to be a wiser man about it.

I have done some things in my past that would bring my reputation into disrepute, I made mistakes, I have followed poor advice and flushed relationships down the toilet.
I am human, I have made mistakes throughout my life and will continue to as I am self-taught in my profession, learning the hard way has how it has always been with me.
My mistakes are my own cross to bear. I don't save damaging information on anyone or stoop low enough to blackmail any person, ever.
I don't edit and snip my whatsapp conversations and post them online to suit my agenda.
I don't play that selective amnesia game where you have no record of having conversations with me about the matter.

I am done with it all, I will no longer be a pawn in your games, Peter. I will no longer succomb to your next bad bit of advice or even liase with you as I cannot trust you, ever again. Im sure the feeling is mutual so stop sending me work expecting me to do your bidding.
You told me to grow a set of balls, Peter, it will be the last bit of advice I will take to heart. Thank you for the hard lessons you taught me along the way, Im a better, stronger person for it.

In closing, I am at the mercy of the forum, I have stepped on many toes over the years and this is the very thing my haters have been dying for to continue berrating and badgering me. Its ok though, I am at peace with it, I made my bed and am prepared to sleep in it. Im still immensly passionate for the BMW brand and will continue to work on them until my dying days, I love the work I do and the talents God has bestowed on me and I will continue to use them for good and build awesome cars.
If there still is a place for me on fanatics I would love to have it but if not then Im also ok with it.
Thank you all for the good times and the friendships made, there were plenty.

Kind Regards
Warren du Plessis
Gizmo

 

[ChefDJ]

Okay so there's still no third side to this story. Where are the FACTS we were told to wait for? :dunno: