First, I'll state for the record I've had problems with PU and I had arguments with Bryce. However, I am sorry to hear the cancer finally did him in.

Second, I've lost my dad to cancer, a grandmother, an aunt, and several cousins. My sister has battled it too.

Third, I haven't been around in awhile. I'm a CPA who specializes in tax matters, so I've been sort of busy lately. So I check in tonight to see what is happening in the world of NAM and I read the above. What comes next is the purpose of this thread; it is to alert those who may have fallen prey to the above advertisement that based on the wording of it, I believe they will be rudely disappointed if they try to take what I believe to be an incorrectly advised charitable tax deduction.

Yes, leave it to PU to sound like they are doing something honorable and yet still mislead you. Anyone else here know much about tax matters? Do they see a problem with what is advertised above?

OK, before anyone jumps up and down, anyone's premature and painful passing is worthy of mourning and making a gesture to honor them is certainly noble. Did PU though bother to check with anyone who knows anything about taxes before telling prospective purchasers that they will get a "100% tax deductible" purchase by buying this part?

You cannot receive something of value and take a tax deduction for it, which is why when you make a donation to a bona fide charity they state in their letter of acknowledgement to you that nothing of value was provided in exchange (and if it is, it is disclosed and deducted from the allowable deduction). The bottom line here is that the only ones getting a tax deduction in this case is PU. The way the accounting works here is that PU recognizes the sale as income and then gets a tax deduction for remitting the sales proceeds to the charity.

So, why did they go and ruin a nice gesture with false and misleading advertising? Because that is the nature of this vendor; nothing about them is honorable.

If anyone can prove my points about the tax issues here to be incorrect, I will voluntarily leave this site FOREVER. Please PU, make my day.

 

I agree Blackie.

I too respect the loss the the PU family has dealt with, but their advertisement is absurd. This was the first year I had someone prepare my taxes, and when the issue of charitable donations came up, I was asked if I understood what a "true" charitable donation was and how I could prove it if audited. I whipped out a stack letters from each charity that stated the amount donated and that "no goods or services were provided for my contribution."

'Nuff said.

 

Joy:

What I want to know is, why a site administrator has not called PU on this ad. To me there is NO QUESTION this is misleading. I do not even see room for a debate on this one; it is not a matter of personal taste or opinion.

I see this as PU giving tax advice that is wrong. All disguised as a noble gesture, just to sell their parts and get their own tax deduction. Are they really picking the customer's pocket by misleading them to think they are getting something for nothing? Sure sounds that way to me.

If someone based their purchase on the notion they were basically getting the part for free, they have a real beef. The IRS has a whistleblower program. I am not sure how interested they would be, but that is where I would start for recourse. Advertising tax deductions to sell a part seems intentionally a part of this, cloaked behind a gesture to honor a fallen friend and co-worker. The IRS goes after charities who inflate the value of the automobiles people donate to them, so who knows?

 

Perhaps taxes work differently on the other side of the pond.

 

Maybe because not every post is read. The subject line does not indicate the tax issues you mention so unless a mod or admin was interested then it would not be read. To keep up with every post is a daunting task. Thats why there is a little button in each post that you can report the post and it can then be checked out.

 

PU has no honor, they will not get into Stovacor.

I watch too much Star Trek...


Seriously though, that is pretty sneaky of them.

 

Many of my clients are Brits. While I represent them here in the US before the IRS, I do plenty of work with their UK accountants too.

In any event, even if there is some loophole in UK law that the Inland Revenue would allow a deduction for this gambit, the ad is on NAM, which is largely a US audience that answers to the IRS. Do you really think they simply applied a UK principal (that I am not sure even exists) and made an "innocent" error in applying it here? Does the tooth fairy still come to your house too?

Besides, most folks who have spent anytime investigating NAM say they are really a US operation, with a London "front" to make it sound special. I've never invested the time on that part, but they are untrustworthy from my personal experiences and they are certainly taking pains to push product with a mistaken representation. Ultimately, they are responsible for differences in any tax laws, should they exist; if so the ad should have made that plain. No, I believe they knew exactly what they were doing.

 

That is why I sent a link to Mark.

 

...and besides, it is not my thread I expect site administrators to read, but they ought to read the vendor ads, or is that expecting too much? Seriously, I'd like to know.

 

^-- Honestly I was just joking, but much of what you said sounds very "Conspiracy Theory". Really, I couldn't care about Palo Uber, I've never bought anything form them (Did buy one of their light bars from a member on here for almost nothing though), and don't plan to.

 

Nice!
I have been meaning to install a Battleth on the front bumper!

But seriously, charity is the act of giving without compensation. Although PU is misleading in their ad, people should know better. An exchange of money for goods/service is a purchase, not charity!

What I want to know is, if I will live to see PU leave NAM. The stench of their existence is.....wait for it...PU!!!

 

Rusty:

Noting that you are Captain of the BS Police, I figured you were replying tongue in cheek. And there is no conspiracy about it; PU never surprises me at what they will do to sell their stuff, but this has to be a new low - using both a co-worker's death and misrepresenting that you are essentially getting a free part with a tax deduction you're not entitled to take.

 

I do not disagree about people knowing better, but sadly some simply don't, which is why this sort of ad should have been forced off the site (or at least modified to say they would just donate the proceeds without the angle that the buyer would also get a tax deduction). IMHO.

 

Technically even if it was tax deductable it wouldn't be free. Even if someone was in a 35% tax bracket they're still paying for the other 65%.

Personally I just never had much interest in paying $800 for a 1" thick piece of black plastic with 3m tape stuck to it.

 

If there are issues with a thread then use the report post button. With MOTD and having to deal with a move my time on the site is very limited right now. If its reported then other mods have a chance to look at the issue.

For this particular issue I did read it when it was posted and the way I read it was that all the proceeds go to charity. Given my limited accounting knowledge I do know that unless they are organized as a non-profit the end customer can't use this as a tax deduction. In fact Palo Uber, because of patronage, could use the sales as deductions if they were, in fact, donating to a recognized non-profit. The end customer only benefits in that they feel good helping a charity.

As I've said many times P/U doesn't do their messaging/marketing the way most companies do. Even after our recommendations they have continued on their own course. At this point I think that if one of their posts raises issues in how they message they need to hear directly from the membership. I think that this thread serves that purpose.

Mark

 

Technically, you're right. You know that wasn't my point though. It is almost impossible to prevent a paying vendor from selling schlock, but you ought to be able to prevent them from offering incorrect tax advice as a ploy to sell the schlock. I hope we can agree on that one.

I also don't disagree about your observation on the part itself. Maybe that is why the price drop and the attempt at snaring more buyers with the lure of a fictitious tax deduction.

 

Nice to see you pipe in on this one. I hope the move goes smoothly for you. I also hope that other moderators will make PU change their ad, although I think the damage is already done, as the sale seems over. Is there a form of a rap on the knuckles with a ruler or something so they don't do it again, just to remind them to play by the rules (the rest of the world's and not their own)?

 

Has anyone found it odd that both the artist and MINI shop are based out of Newport Beach? The only UK site that shows representation on their website is Mini Mania UK. That has never made any sense to me. Also, why does no one know who this Palo guy is or what he looks like? Not even his art site has a photo of him.
I think he is fake.

 

Maybe a member of the PU camp can post for once to clear up this dirty smell.

 

Anybody think about forwarding this thread to PU? Oh, wait. I just did.

 

Nice try, but nothing will come of it. How come?

They know all about what is said about them here; they monitor the chit-chat and generally avoid stepping into any fray. How do I know?

Well, when I first bought their famous rusting tuner lugs from them and had them rust on me (not once, but twice) just like they had for others (yes, I didn't do the research before buying, so shame on me ), they tried very hard to make it sound as if anyone who complained about them and their crappy products was an ingrate and simply all wrong. They always had an excuse, one more outrageous than the next, as to why a product had a problem, how it would all be rectified, and how anyone who was disgruntled was some sort of fifth columnist for their competition. You couldn't just be a dissatisfied customer; you had to be some sort of paid hater, on the take in one way or another from a competitor (which is exactly what they do to try to win fans - they send you discounted stuff or even free stuff, so you will say nice things about them; well, I think that has worked on about 2 or 3 NAMers, but that is about the limit).

If you really wanted to waste your time trying to give PU the benefit of the doubt (and I did that for quite awhile in an attempt to be fair - actually, I couldn't believe they could be as bad and dastardly a vendor as was claimed by many who chimed in on my rusty tuner lug thread, so I played out the string with PU until they worked themselves into a corner) looking up the multitude of complaints and episodes that are documented in the threads, reviews, and photos here, you would learn just how little these jokers behind the facade care to fix the problem. This is an operational strategy for them; it has to be, but this latest ploy is about as low as they come - I didn't think even they could stoop to use a co-worker's death to foist their stuff off on the unsuspecting. I guess nothing should surprise anyone who has had the pleasure of dealing with them.

 

In all fairness, the add doesn't claim that it will be free -- just 100% tax deductible . . . and yes, even that is wrong . . . but PU does well enough at hyperbole without us adding to it.

 

............and another vendor cop-out. You have the power to get rid of this deceptive vendor. We all know the PU does not read or respond to any threads about their products, there fore it is your responsibility to enforce some kind of standards and remove them from NAM.

 

Companies donate the PROFITS from item sales to charity all the time - it's a good way to be socially responsible while also driving customers to a specific product.

But...

That doesn't mean that the buyer can ALSO write the item off. This is not only misleading but it can be potentially DAMAGING to someone that gets audited. I know that "people should know better", but where does that slippery slope end? There are "Truth In Advertising" laws about this very thing, lasw that PU constantly skirts and even outright violates.

As for Blackie - he really DID give PU the benefit of the doubt. I had a daily, ring-side seat for his rusting lug nuts incident, and he spent like 10 pages defending them, then slowly getting disillusioned by their increasingly evasive answers. If he has an axe to grind, PU did everything they could humanly do to put it into his hands IMHO, and that's why I'll never order form them, even IF they ever manage to actually make a product of their own (a highly debatable claim).

Misrepresenting your products and making false claims is cheezy, but misrepresenting a CHARITY is... well, it's so low that words fail me. I can only hope that their claim comes from ignorance and a lack of intelligence (which is regrettable but CAN be forgiven) as opposed to an outright attempt to play on sympathy to sell mpre crappy product. If they don't retract the claim now that they know it's spurious, then I guess we'll know where their true intentions are...

 

As always thanks for jumping in with a negative opinion when it suits your need to flame me, mods, or the site. If you have a complaint to lodge about this or other vendors please email AutoAdvertiser@InternetBrands.com.

Just as an FYI...I did PM Palo Uber and tell them that they needed to edit their announcement to remove the tax deduction talk.

Mark