I'm so mad I can't even see straight ) On 5/12 I purchased a light for my aquarium-to the tune of $550. I bought it locally through a pet store that I shop at quite frequently. When I bought it the box had been opened up (owner said it was just due to showing it to customers, etc.). When I got home I noticed a ring mark on the top of the system (kinda like a sweating soda can/glass would make) I began to wonder if the system had been used before. I decided to just hook it up anyway, well about 5 hours after I hooked it all up - poof - it blew out. I contacted the manufacturer of the system. They told me I could ship it to them, have it repaired/replaced or I could just contact the pet store and request a refund. I brought the system back to the pet store a few days later (I had already contacted them). The owner assured me he would take care of it. He said he would ship it to the manufacturer for me and have them ship it directly to me. He called me on the 21st and told me the system was shipped out that day and to be expecting it in around 10 days. I called the manufacturer on 6/3 because I still had not received it. Much to my surprise they had not received it yet. I immediately called the pet store wondering why he told me it had been shipped out if it had not been shipped yet. The owner said oh yes it was sent out on the 21st, he said let me do some research and I'll call you back. I get a message on my machine yesterday saying that the item was at one of the UPS stations because it had been damaged in route and that it was going to be shipped back to the pet store and they should receive it today. So I call the pet store today, they don't have it yet. I finally just say- look I just want a refund of my money. They say NOPE! That I bought it - and its my problem, they will not refund my money. They say that they didn't have to take the system back that they just did that as a courtesy to me and that it is not their problem that the system is now damaged. I'm like - what a minute you sold me a defective product and now that product is damaged while under your responsibility all I want is my money so I can purchase a new system. They said NOPE that when they get it back, they will ship it back out to the manufacturer for repair. The package was insured, I don't know for how much or the tracking number for that matter (owner is not in today and the assistant won't give me that info). I don't know what to do now. I'm thinking....they can make a claim against UPS and get reimbursed right? Then just send it back and get it repaired and return it to me. So basically they'll get paid twice. Then I'm stuck with a repaired product MAYBE a new one? There has to be something I can do - I just want my money back! I bought it on a CC is it too late to dispute the charge (the billing cycle has already ended)? I want revenge ) or am I just being petty about it? Sorry this has turned into a book and thats its unrelated to credit
P.S. sorry I forgot to add this... All the employees know my hubby and I by name-thats how often we are in there. I always spend $200-$300 per visit. I am a VERY good customer and have been going there for years now. I have 4 saltwater aquariums - all bought there too! Thats what makes this even worse - in my opinion
Donna, Initiate a dispute via phone to the credit card isuer IMMEDIATELY;you should advise the company that you purchased defective equipment & the merchant REFUSES to refund your money. Sister Girl
did you pay by CC? if so dispute the charge immediately! does the store have a return policy, that you know of? i don't think they have to give you your money back, although you would think they would at least give you another unit - in other words provide CUSTOMER SERVICE! is think a large(Target type) store or individually owned? try to contact the owner/president of the store and explain the situation.
Thanks! I will dispute the charge immediately. It is a small pet store and I am dealing with the owner and the assistant manager. The problem is with the pet store as the manufacturer is well aware of everything that is going on. They confirmed to me that if they(pet store) refunded my money they would replace the unit for the pet store. I have told this to the owner over and over now.
I would follow up your phone call to your cc company with a letter. You want to invoke "claims & defenses" or the "special rule for credit card purchases" and tell them you want them to issue a chargeback. It doesn't matter even if the store has a policy of no refunds. There's a sample letter & brief summary of your rights here: http://www.povertylaw.org/legalresearch/hotline/me/credit is loan-me.htm And here's a link to the FCBA - the section entitled "Rights of credit card customers" applies to you. http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcb/fcb.pdf I would also check your library for "What Every Credit Card User Needs to Know" by Howard Strong. It has some good sample letters.
Thanks skittens for the links! I think they will be very usefull. I did a search for the tv investigaters, but all the stations locally seemed to focus more towards community problems/issues. I think I will send them an e-mail and find out for sure though...
Tom Martino does a "Trouble Shooter" radio show. It's on a lot of stations. Check out his web page and call him up. He'll eat them alive!
There's a time limit of 60 days after the statement date it you're claiming a billing error. One of the billing errors defined by the FCBA is "goods or services not accepted by the obligor ... or not delivered ... in accordance with the agreement made at the time of a transaction" which would seem to apply in this case. If you have other problems with merchandise quality, use claims & defenses/special rule for credit card purchases - there's no time limit if you haven't paid the entire charge yet.
Thanks everyone for all your help! I tried calling today, but conveniently the owner was not in again. I talked to the asst. manager and basically told him to pass along the following message - either refund my money or order me a new system (of course he couldn't make any decisions) and that I expected to hear back from the owner by Monday. If I do not get satisfactory answer by then - well its not gonna be pleasant. On a side note - in discussing things with the asst manager in my sentence I said something along the lines of being inconvenienced by this whole matter and was surprised by his response "well what about all the trouble and inconvenience this has been to us we are just doing YOU a favor?!?" hhhmmmm.....talk about customer service there-HA!
You can also try Clark Howard. He's another consumer advocate. www.clarkhoward.com You can call and/or email him.
Nope George and you're both right, Geo said: 90 days from the billing date. Skittens said: 60 days from the statement date. You're both right because there is 30 days, or so, between the billing date and the statement date. Right? I've alwasy heard 90 days from the charge.
I had a similar experience once. I bought a denim dress and when I got it home I noticed one of the buttons were hanging off. These are the kind that are riveted or whatever into the material. They can't be sewn back on. I immediately took it back to the store and asked for an exchange. She refused to exchange it because she said it was defective and they couldn't resell it. I argued that was exactly why it shouldn't have been sold to me. We went round and round, manager said same thing. District manager called via telephone but would not respond. I finally went home and called their headquarters, I ended up speaking with the vice president who asked me to take it back to the store again and he promised I wouldn't have anymore trouble. I did and the woman at the counter just glared at me, she was pissed. Afterwards she silently handed me a 50.00 gift certificate with a note of apology. Anyway.....is this a chain ie petsmart, petco. If so, you can always go up the chain of command. Hopefully you'll get something more out of it than a refund. Oh....and 550.00 for an aquarium light....OH MY GOSH!!!!!!
Make sure never to spend your money there again. For you to be on an first name basis with this small pet store, they don't seem to value you or that supposed relationship at all. Even when you do get this resolved, let them know they have lost a good customer. I can't believe you didn't tell them a thing or two!
LOL - I know!! In the beginning I used to keep all my receipts....I started to add them up once....and once I hit around $6,200 I stopped - I did not want to know anymore ) !! Since then I have aquired 2 more tanks. I don't even want to guess how much I have wrapped up in them all now. Believe me I have some choice words for them, but I think its best to keep in together until I get what I want-ya know. I will definitely let them know once this is over!!
