Expert: Suzie Eads - 12/18/2007

Question
Hello,

I have been a loyal customer with this particular seller for about a year.  They have a store but allow local pick up in the area I live in.  A few weeks ago, we purchased some items off ebay.  When we arrived by appointment to pick up our items, they only had 5 out of 9 items that we had won available for pickup.  We paid for all the items and were told that they would ship out the other items the following day.  After a week passed we called back to find out that they still could not locate the items.  The end result was to either issue us a refund or allow us to exchange the ones they could not find for other items listed on their ebay site.  That problem was rectified but it seemed to leave them with an attitude towards us.

Last week we purchased another 2 items from them.  We scheduled a pickup for Saturday.  When we arrived to pick up the items we realized that one of the items was too big to fit in the truck with the children in the backseat.  My husband decided to take us home and return to pick up the item.  When he arrived, the warehouse employees loaded the item into his truck.  During load he item damaged our car DVD play LCD screen.  However, my husband did not make a big deal about it.  As he inspected the noticed that it was chipped and cracked.  This item was advertised NIB.  When he tried to get the employee to view the damaged item the employee refused.  Finally the employee instructed him to open is vehicle so he can remove the table.  My husband was under the impression that he was taking back the item in order to issue us a refund.  After the item was back in their possession he told my husband that he was not going to issue the refund and we could not shop with them anymore because they would block us and then started swearing at my husband.  He even threatened to call the police.  My husband left.  He was told that the manager would be back in the office on Monday.  Well, Monday came and he called about 5 times to speak with the manager but was not allowed to speak with him.  To date we have not received our refund nor the merchandise.  What can we do.  We did not pay for the item through paypal, we used our credit card.  

Thank you

Answer
I'm not sure what to say about that! I am so sorry this seller is being SO unprofessional with you.

If this were my transaction,I would contact my credit card company, and do a charge back.  How bad is your DVD damaged in your car?  If it is going to cost you quite a bit of money to replace or repair I would consider contacting an attorney to see if a stern letter might not just change their minds and force them to speak with you.  If contacting an attorney is more than you want to do, I would contact your local Better Business Bureau or Attorney Generals Office.

The biggest mistake you made was purchasing this item OFF of eBay.  Because of this you are not protected by the buyer protection policy and you can not leave feedback for this seller.

I am so sorry this happened to you.  I hope that you are able to contact the owner of the company and let them know what happened, and that this all works out for the best.

**I am so sorry it took me so long to respond.  My email was down and I did not know you had asked a question.