Buyer Beware of "ACEE1" Katarina Coaching
EDIT: He finally refunded me after I showed PayPal that he had blocked me and refused communication. I'm glad I'm getting my money back, but I worry about future customers who may not be as persistent.
If you ever use PayPal, do not send money as "Friends and Family" when you're paying for a service. Make them Pay the fee and use "Goods and Services" so you have buyer protection. You're purchasing a service, not sending money to a friend.
I have a gut feeling that if I hadn't done anything, he would have just taken the money and run with it.
He tried to scam me out of $100 for coaching, and there's some backstory, so let me get into it.
I found his YouTube channel because I'm a Kayle OTP who was looking for something a little more enjoyable to play. The first red flag was that he wouldn't even schedule a time with me unless I sent the money first. I thought it was a little weird, but I figured maybe he's popular enough that he gets a lot of fake bookings or people wasting his time.
So I sent him $100 through PayPal for a bundle of four coaching sessions. He advertised it as the best way to get the most Katarina information because one hour isn't enough.
About an hour before the session was supposed to start, he was chatting in his Discord. I made a comment saying that you basically have to throw away a split's worth of MMR to learn Katarina because she's such a difficult champion, but that you'll skyrocket the next split because you learn so much through failure. His response was, "I don't know if you're joking or just stupid."
I called him out for that comment and admittedly cursed at him. I guess he didn't appreciate that because he immediately went offline, skipped the coaching session, and stopped responding.
Meanwhile, people in his Discord were making excuses for him, saying things like, "Maybe his house caught fire," or "Maybe he got into a car accident." Maybe he started out as a legitimate coach, but if he didn't like my tone—as he later claimed—then that's fine. Businesses have the right to refuse service. What isn't fine is dodging the session and keeping the money.
I posted in his Discord that I was starting a PayPal refund claim. After that, he messaged me and started trying to act like I was the one who canceled the coaching session so he could win the dispute. He has since blocked me. You can see in the screenshots that he tried to claim I never messaged him that day, even though he had been talking to me less than an hour before the session was supposed to start and had just called me stupid, lol.
I doubt he'll win because PayPal often sides with the buyer in situations like this. I also have screenshots showing what I believe is him trying to gaslight me at the end.
The whole point of this rant isn't actually about the coaching. It's about the integrity that comes with presenting yourself as a successful YouTuber and coach. I own a small computer repair company, and I've dealt with difficult and rude clients before. If someone crosses a line, it's your right to deny service. I don't have a problem with that.
What I do have a problem with is the shady part: avoiding the session, refusing to provide the service, and still expecting to keep the money. That's the issue.
