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Victims of Park West Gallery, Park West at Sea and Celebrity Cruises Art Auction Fraudulent Misrepresentation and Deceptive Trade Practices, and Enforced Customer Dissatisfaction

Debbie Seagle and David Urbanski

Victims of Park West Gallery, Park West at Sea and Celebrity Cruises Art Auction Fraudulent Misrepresentation and Deceptive Trade Practices, and Enforced Customer Dissatisfaction - Seagle Case Study. Download Print Media Version PDF

(This is another in a series of many case studies of reported fraudulent misrepresentation and deceptive trade practices at art auctions conducted at sea on cruise ships and vicious customer services practices for their customers. Fine Art Registry® has received request for help from over 220 Park West clients to date.)



Passengers

Debbie Seagle and David Urbanski of Dublin, Virginia.

David Urbanski and Debbie Seagle (center) with Park West auctioneer Marc Glaser (far right) and a Park West assistant (far left)

Cruise line, ship and details of the cruise

Celebrity Galaxy August 21 - September 1, 2008.


I met my fiancée for R&R. We became engaged the night before he left for Iraq and we had not seen each other for four months. This cruise was something we were very excited about.

Park West Auctioneers


Marc Glaser and a female associate whom he attempted to make us believe was his sweetheart.

What was bought?


Supposedly an original Pablo Picasso Sculpteur et Son Modàle for $39,600.00 plus buyer's premium of $5,940.00. Total including shipping and handling ($45 for this and $45 for a free poster give-away) and "In-transit handling" - whatever that is - ($454.95) and $35.00 custom framing, $46,074.95.

Details of the Purchase


We were in the casino; David walked through the art gallery to the bathroom. We had talked to Marc a few times while passing though. I had inquired about a Monet because I just wanted to look at one... I am in love with Monet. David came back to the blackjack table and said he had bought a Picasso. His credit was not approved for the entire $46,000, so somehow Marc of PW persuaded me to apply for their credit line with GE. The next morning we went onshore and when we returned, had three messages from PW on our stateroom phone saying they had wonderful news and to please stop by... they had bottles of champagne for us and wanted to celebrate with us, etc.

It was a deliberate hype to appeal to us as a couple on our first vacation together. We were not in an analytical state of mind at 2 am after being in the casino for three hours.

Were you sold the art as an investment? What was said exactly?


Yes, Marc said it was a great investment, appraised at $66,000.00, but worth much more. He said that the very lowest he could sell it to me was $45,000. He went into great detail about how few pieces of art were actually signed by Picasso and that this one is. He said the Vollard suite is one of the most sought after series of artwork in the Picasso collection, and most museums don't even have the full collection. Marc told us that this particular piece is a missing piece which would be extremely valuable as collectors attempted to acquire the entire Vollard Series, etc...

Were you sold the art as a bargain? What was said?


He showed us his starting bid price on a piece of paper and said that if it were sold at auction, $45,000 would be the starting bid price for this Picasso which had been appraised for $66,000. I tried to negotiate a lesser price, but he said this was rock bottom price for something this valuable and rare.

Were you able to do due diligence on board before buying? Did you try? Was there any problem with that?


I tried to get onto the ship's internet several times, but it was not working properly. The IT cruise employee refunded some of the minutes I purchased because of their poor connection. I was unable to stay online long enough to get to any sites.

How did you pay for the art? Have you paid off the credit cards?


GE credit; I have disputed the charge in writing with GE and canceled my account with them, but still have the $46K bill.

Deborah C. Seagle
Dublin, VA

August 20, 2008

GE Consumer Finance / FCBI Billing Error
PO Box 981438
El Paso, TX 79998-1438

To Whom It May Concern:
Per your requirements, I am disputing the charges to my account and attempting to cancel my account in full, in writing. The required information follows:
Deborah C. Seagle Acct. Number: XXXX XXXX 9546

On 9/20/08 I was billed for $46,074.95 from Park West Galleries. I have attempted to cancel this account with Park West since 9/09/08 because I have learned that the artwork I was sold as an investment is only worth about 1/5 of the quoted and guaranteed value. I have been defrauded and am a victim of deceptive trade practices as are hundreds of other enlightened Park West customers. I am seeking council to eliminate this transaction.

On this basis, I am disputing the entire amount of this scam. I have not and I do not wish to receive the art from Park West and have told them so on numerous occasions. I have requested that they cancel my order, and I will refuse delivery.

Please let me know what I can do to delete this account from my credit portfolio. I attempted to cancel this account the same day it was opened without success.

Thank you,

Debbie Seagle


Have you received the art? Any problem with the shipping or delivery?


I have asked numerous times that they not send the art, and I will not accept delivery.

What led you to suspect that there might be something wrong?


As soon as I returned from the cruise, I researched the artwork to find out more about it. I discovered that it was only worth about 1/6 of the price Park West said it was appraised for, and worth about 1/4 of what I paid for it! I couldn't believe I had been so trusting.


What research have you done in the pieces you bought? What did you find?


When I first returned from the cruise, I called several galleries and realized that I'd been scammed... but didn't keep records at that point as I was in shock and denial! I just spent two days researching and inquiring for values.

As a result of extensive research in which she obtained records for over 24 recent sales of the Picasso print she determined that the average sale for a genuine one was about $10,000 - $12,000. She did not get the one they were sold by Park West authenticated (she never received the print) so she has no idea whether the one she would have received would have been a genuine, hand-signed Picasso limited edition print or not. But even if it was, the misrepresentations on the part of the auctioneers and sales people involved, and Park West’s customer services became obvious to her.

Example of just one of many records from ArtNet:

Pablo Picasso
Title
Sculpteur et son modèle devant une fenêtre (from Suite Vollard)
Medium
Etching
Size
7.6 x 10.5 in. / 19.3 x 26.7 cm.
Year
1933
Misc.
Signed
Sale Of
Auktionshaus Koller Zürich : Tuesday, December 2, 2003 [ Lot 3369]
Moderne Kunst - Schweizer Kunst - Moderne Graphik
Estimate
10,000 - 15,000 CHF (7,593 - 11,389 US $)
Sold For
10,155 CHF (7,710 US $) PREMIUM
Pablo Picasso, etching record from ArtNet


By Fine Art Registry®   |   February 9, 2009  |   Discuss Story on FAR® Forum   |   Print   |  

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