I purchased a DVD from Sam McAbee at http://5mtl.com/ email: [protected]@5mtl.com on 9th November 2008.
I waited a month for delivery but nothing came.
I emailed on 27 Nov, 29 Nov and 2 Dec asking when it will arrive and got this response on 3 Dec: Hello, Your order was shipped. However, we can not track international orderswith USPS shipments. Please let us know if it does not arrive within theweek. regards, sam mcabee5mtl.com
I then waited another week and e-mailed him again to let him know I did not get the DVD. E-mails sent 10, 12, 17, 19, 23 December with no response.
If I was anyone wanting to buy from this site don't bother just burn your money and save yourself the hassle. I have reported this guy for Credit Card fraud, his web site needs to be shut down as it is just a scam! From what I see he does this to a lot of people. How hard is it to post a DVD?
Still unsure then check out his record here: http://atlanta.bbb.org/WWWRoot/Report.aspx?site=39&bbb=0443&firm=6009392#complaint
5mtl is a complete rip-off check this out: http://atlanta.bbb.org/WWWRoot/Report.aspx?site=39&bbb=0443&firm=6009392#complaint
If you can't contact Sam through his web site try using this e-mail: samuelmcabee@me.com
Make sure you tell your friends never to buy anything from 5mtl.com amd they e-mail all their friends.
Help stop internet fraud.
also try this e-mail samuelmcabee@gmail.com
don't give up until you get your money back!
Tell your friends to aviod 5mtl
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I ORDERED A MOVIE FROM THIS SITE LIKE 3 MONTHS AGO AND HAVE NOT RECEIVED IT YET AND IVE ALREADY PAIED FOR IT.
I too ordered a number of DVDs from 5 Minutes to Live in August 2008 and have recieved nothing and no response to emails and even MySpace messages (even though whoever owns the MySpace profile at http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=168602 continues to login on a daily basis).
I got a confirmation email stating that
"Dear Martin Neill, This is a confirmation of an online transaction placed with 5 Minutes to Live. The Sale transaction totaled $104.93 and will be processed to your account. Order Number : [protected] Approval Code : 681196 "
On his site he says allows 6-8 weeks for international orders. I have never even got a reply to an email never mind a DVD.
Avoid Five Minutes to Live at http://5mtl.com/
It's a complete rip off.
Marty Neill - marty@nomoreart.co.uk
I ordered a cd movie which hadn't arrived since 1/6/09 and it still hasn't arrived. This should be prosecute for fraud.
I submitted an order for a CD on 1/6/09 and I haven't received it since. Today is 3/8/09. Ant suggestions how I get my money back?
I ordered a CD movie from 5 Minutes to Live and have not received it. It was ordered on 1/6/09. Cna anyone help me to get my money back?
I ordered 10 dvds from 5mtl a few years ago and got them all right on time, no problems.
This mid-January, I ordered another dvd from them, waited through mid-February, and did not receive the product. I sent several emails and did not receive any responses. Finally, in late february, I sent the following email to contact@5mtl.com, as well as the other 2 email addresses listed in these comments:
Hello, there-
I sincerely hope that you actually look at this note. I hope that I will not be forced to pursue other actions. I am still awaiting an order that I made from your business in January, order #[protected]. I already sent you a few emails about this. Having not heard back from you, I googled 5MTL, and was dismayed to discover a bunch of recent complaints about your business. Apparently you have been charging customers for their orders and then never sending the product. This is truly upsetting to me- not just because it means that I will not get the copy of "House" that I have been so excited about seeing, but because it means that your once completely amazing business is now an internet scam. That is truly disheartening. Your integrity has been marred. Perhaps there is still a chance to restore it, though, and be great again. I hope that you will make such an attempt, and that you will start by making good on our business transaction, either by sending me the dvd that I have paid for or by reimbursing me.
Sincerely,
-M.R.
I never received an email response, but i did receive the dvd that I ordered, in perfect condition, in mid-March.
I did a search on "5 minutes to live" and "complaints" and this was at the top of the list. So I guess I'm one of the suckers. I've actually never gotten taken on an internet purchase...across the board. But this is awful. I ordered back in February, just one flick for about $15. I was charged, I got a confirmation email, but no tracking #. And all of my emails to them got nothing in response. I'll keep trying, but this is fraud.
I'm just surprised b/c this site has tons of very obscure titles and it's not like they're selling "Twilight" or the most popular movies in the world. He can't be making that much money or maybe he is. I also thought since he's selling this rare stuff, there's some respect for the cineastes out there.
Lousy business practice. 5 Minutes to Live - Sam McAbee. Don't get snagged! I have paid for a movie on Feb. 12th and emailed over 15 times and one at the P.O box which if you want to order stuff thru the mail withhim, yeah right! Have not heard and still no movie. I have contacted the Better Business Bureau and my charge card companyto proceed getting a refund. Too bad. Never had a problem before with online buying. Guess I better stick with Ebay and Amazon at least ther are reputable. MEL in Malden, MA
While it took a while (just under 2 months) - I DID get my order from 5 Minutes to Live. Just be patient and hopefully your order will show up!
Well, good old Sammy is still ripping people off..I am in the same boat..I have reported him to the law and they said they are aware of him and if I had not received my package by the middle of this month Feb.of 2010, , to let them know...
I figure its a matter of time
before 5minutestolive.com is shut down.They are aware of him, , that made me feel better..
Sam wont email us because he is
a coward! Thats what all crooks
are! Cowards! hahaha, , , What a joke 5minutestolive.com and Sam are!
Stay AWAY FROM 5minutestolive.com
I am telling everybody that I know and not know this info..
I never received my order either. I have put a curse on him and his family.
Wow I really wish I had seen this first - cause I finally decided to spend a whole bunch of $ to start getting serious about my movie collection and what do you know - no DVDs and no replies to my emails... there goes $95. What a ###.
I have not been able to get in touch with him. I have sent many e-mails but he won't answer. I tried to find a phone number but the only Sam McAbee lives in Decauter and his name is Sam D McAbee. I wonder if this is him? If anyone knows let me know.
This guy should be taken off the internet.
Same thing with me - ordered dvd's (back in March 2010), never got them, no emails returned. Luckily my credit card credited me back.
5 Minutes To Live posted today on Facebook, and myself and another person commented about the lack of customer service and merchandise. They deleted our comments and sent me a message telling me to email them directly with problems (like I haven't tried THAT before!)
But now they have a NEW web page called cinestrike.com, and it's basically the same site, same stuff. So BEWARE!
Damm CINESTRIKE now! I'm from Spain and as you are my friend I've been robbed by this Sam McAbee, I placed a complaint to consumer's office at that time. Is there a way to close this page down?
We have to at least boicott them on Facebook and write a letter to the people there
I ordered a few DVDs from cinestrike. After two weeks, I sent an email (contact@cinestrike.com) asking how long an order usually takes and what the status of mine was. A week passed and there was no response from anyone so I resent the email again to (contact@cinestrike.com) which is the only email listed on the website and I asked for a tracking number. This time two weeks passed but still not response, so I sent another email... this time to (contact@cinestrike.com; contact@5mtl.com; and samuelmcabee@me.com). My response stated the fact that internet theft across state lines is a federal offense.
I received a response within two hours apologizing for the missing order and that he had shipped it within 3 days of my payment clearing (which cleared the same day I ordered). He offered to resend or refund. I said I would still like my order but I needed it within a week and I wanted a tracking number. A week passed and there was no response back and still no DVDs. So I sent another email. Withing two hours, I had a tracking number and two days later my DVDs finally arrived over 6 weeks after ordering them.
I don't think he's a con man. The service is so specialized, he doesn't charge much compared to legit DVD rarity stores, and he really does have the merchandise. But I do think he is a terrible businessman and this is obviously a hobby business he does here and there to make a few extra bucks. He never would give me a tracking number for my original order which tells me he never sent them. Is that due to not keeping good records, being absent-minded, or does the mail really lose an abnormal amount of orders from him?
My advice: email him at the above 3 addresses and press him about never receiving your orders to see what he'll offer you. Demand a tracking number every time. If you do not receive your order and/or he still won't respond 7-10 days after your followup email, then take action... Reply to this site as well as file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau (BBB.org), and submit a complaint to (/link removed/ There is further action you could take but those 3 sites as well as Tweeting and such are a great start.
I congratulate you for being so lucky El Funk! you might be the only one who has received what you bought. from Sam McBee or whatever his name is. All the information on his webpage (telephone, po box, address and company name) does not exist. So he's offering dvd's without any guarantees -and he sure does not give any- It cost me a 100 bucks to be more careful on the internet on the expenses of this CON MAN.
http://www.facebook.com/samuelmcabee
For those interested, we are a new company called "Schizo Video". We're presently working really hard to build our website and get the legal papers to open a rare movies database were you'll be able to buy the movies and download them directly from the website, wich will prevent this kind of problems. Plus, we're gonna be billingual, plus we're gonna have a better documentation, plus we're preparing a video show with the weirdest films ever, and all that LEGALLY! We're working hard on the project, you hear from us in the future.
Coming soon...
"Schizo Video"
YUP! I had the same problem from his Cinestrike website. DO NOT BUY FROM HIM!
i too never received my dvd order but was credited by my credit card company. looks like they are still around and scamming people in november 2011!