After hundreds of accusations of scamming fans, former "Paranormal State" television personality Ryan Buell announced new tour dates for his "Conversations with the Dead" tour on his Facebook page last night. The paranormal investigator was supposed to be on a similar tour in Canada this month but he allegedly cancelled the events and pocketed the money without giving fans refunds.
Ryan Buell is known for appearing on the hit A&E paranormal reality show "Paranormal State" with his team the Paranormal Research Society from December 2007 to May 2011. He founded the Paranormal Research Society when he was a 19-year-old student at Pennsylvania State University.
Buell was scheduled to appear in Toronto, Ottawa, Halifax, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, and Vancouver for the "Paranormal: The Experience" tour from June 4 through June 22. On the event's description, Buell promised to visit each city and do a meet and greet with fans. Lectures, ghost hunts, and other paranormal fun stuff was supposed to be in store for fans but apparently some of the events were cancelled without notice and Buell and friends were allegedly a no-show.
"Refunds are being given out, but it is unfortunately a very slow process. One of the things we know we have faltered on is communication and customer service. We are looking into several services and ways that can help us ensure we are able to improve in this area. We are not sure why there are people claiming that we never announced an event postponement, but we did send out several emails. We will agree that some of the emails could have been sent out earlier, and for that we take responsibility on and are sorry for the inconvenience, stress, and aggravation it has caused," Sergey Poberezhny said on Buell's behalf via his Facebook page.
Many fans are wondering why Buell isn't personally addressing the issue and some of them believe Poberezhny hijacked Buell's Facebook page. Oddly enough after cancelling tour dates in Canada, new tour dates for US cities were added on Buell's Facebook page amid the controversy.
"Join Michelle and I for our Conversations with the Dead Tour. We are hitting up Boston, Chicago, Seattle, San Diego, Phoenix, Dallas, and surprise visits to two other Texas cities, July 14-28, 2014," Buell said in a Facebook post last night.
"Conversations with The Dead: The National Tour" was originally scheduled for a 6-city tour from April 25 through May 6 earlier this year. Psychic-medium and former "Paranormal State" cast-mate Chip Coffee was supposed to join Buell on the tour but he backed out of the event. The tour was ultimately cancelled and rescheduled for this summer.
"Numerous individuals have reached out to me regarding a recent article on Examiner.com about Ryan Buell. My only comment is this: It is my sincere hope that those who are seeking refunds for tickets or classes purchased will receive those refunds very soon. Although I was slated to go on the Conversations with the Dead tour alongside Ryan, I chose to withdraw from the tour for personal and professional reasons. As previously stated, I was never in possession of any funds collected for ticket sales for that tour Additionally, I have not, for several years, been involved in or associated with other tours, classes, etc. offered by Ryan and/or PRS, other than two events that did occur as planned in Raleigh, NC last year," Chip Coffee said in a statement last night on his Facebook page.
Coffee seems to be wanting to distance himself professionally from Buell and PRS. It was revealed that Buell owes his fans thousands of dollars in refunds and Coffee insists that has nothing to do with it.
"The only details that truly matter are this: people are seeking refunds and not getting them. Six figures!" Coffee said in response to a fan on his Facebook page.
Instead of responding to emails or inquiries from fans regarding refunds, Buell and Poberezhny either make excuses, ignore comments, or block people from their Facebook pages.
A few fans claim that they've received refunds from Buell but most have been left waiting for over a year. One fan summed up the situation with this saying: "Ryan robs Peter to pay Paul."