Warning do not do business with this company!!!
This is a recount of their unfair and illegal business practices in an internet transaction where I purchased a Solar Birdbath and accessories from the Silicon Solar website. This following pretty much sums up my experience with this business that boasts of it's "HISTORY OF TRUSTWORTHY RELATIONSHIPS" on their website. What a Joke!!!
I ordered a solar birdbath statue/fountain (Invoice # xxxxx, Sale # xxxx) from Silicon Solar via the website on June 1.
The item was received via UPS at 5:10 pm on June 6. Upon inspection of the package, it was noted that the birdbath was broken. I immediately called Silicon Solar (no answer), sent a fax letting you know the condition of the item upon receipt and emailed customer support to report the damage.
I called you again the next morning (June 7), and, after many tries, I finally reached a "live" person"... I believe her name was Jody. I explained the problem, she apologized and issued me a Return Authorization Number (RMA #xxxxxx). I explained that we were having a party and that we needed the replacement ASAP and she assured me that a replacement would be sent as soon as Silicon Solar received the damaged merchandise back from UPS.
She issued a call tag through UPS so that the package could be returned under the same tracking number. She told me to do nothing to the package other than write the "RMA" number on the outside of the package... UPS would do the rest.
UPS picked up the package on the morning of June 8. The UPS tracking information shows that the package was delivered back to Silicon Solar and signed for by Matt Ferrell on 6/10/05 @ 12:43 PM. I have a copy of the tracking information, as well as a copy of the signature when the package was delivered. Meanwhile, I was waiting on this end for a replacement, as was promised during my phone conversation with Silicon Solar on the morning of June 7.
After not hearing anything and not receiving a replacement, I called Silicon Solar on the morning of Friday, June 17."Jody" told me that she needed to call UPS and that she would call me right back. After waiting for two hours for her call back, I again tried to call Silicon Solar. Now, all of the phone calls were being forwarded to a message center "due to high caller volume".
I persisted and, finally, got Jody on the phone. She told me that they would not send out a replacement until they settled their claim with UPS. I stated that this "claim" was between Silicon Solar and UPS and its outcome should have no bearing on me being sent the replacement as previously promised. She reiterated that a replacement would not be sent until their claim was settled.
I decided at this point that I no longer wanted to do business with this company because of their "unfair business practices" and told her to cancel the order and issue me a refund via "Pay Pal", the original method of payment. Before I could finish my sentence, Jody interrupted me and replied, "That's fine... Have a nice day" and promptly hung up. I immediately attempted to call her back, and, again... No answer... Call forwarded to message center because of "high caller volume".
I persisted in calling, but to no avail. I immediately sent Silicon Solar a "Request for Money" via Pay Pal. I then faxed a letter outlining my position and asked that a refund be sent by the end of the day. That request was ignored.
I repeatedly attempted to call Silicon Solar on Friday and Saturday, but no answer. I resent the fax on Monday, June 20, and again stated that I wanted a refund. I asked that Silicon Solar call me to get this dispute resolved and stated that I was going to turn this matter over to the appropriate authorities if they did not contact me or issue me a refund.
They never called, nor did they respond to my request for a refund. I contacted Pay Pal and they have attempted to intervene to get this dispute resolved. Silicon Solar has chosen to ignore their request as well. On Tuesday evening, June 21 @ 7:35 PM, I received a phone call from "Adam" of Customer Support. After asking a few questions, he told me that a refund via "Pay Pal" would be issued first thing the next morning. Again, I waited the next morning for resolution, but no communication and no refund.
I called Silicon Solar late the next morning and Adam answered the phone. I asked him why I had not received the refund as promised the night before and he said that it would be processed today and that he has just been too busy to do it yet. I then received an email from Adam in reply to my "Request for Money" and it was again stated that my refund was being processed.
I sent a reply email to Adam and voiced my frustration as to "why this refund had not been processed" and that I was losing patience. After more waiting, I called and, again, spoke with Adam. Adam stated that they tried to refund my money via "Pay Pal", but Pay Pal would not let them complete the transaction. I told him that I had been in communication with Pay Pal and that they were waiting for Silicon Solar to respond to the request for refund.
Adam continued by telling me that I didn't "understand" because "you are not in business" how difficult it is to get things accomplished via Pay Pal. I explained that I, too, am a business owner and have had first hand experience with working with Pay Pal and that it was not difficult.
It was obvious during this conversation that Silicon Solar had no intention of refunding my money. I told Adam that I was taking this situation to the various Consumer Complaint Agencies and Adam responded by making threats that he would see to it that my business would be receiving some "negative" feedback. His last comments to me were, "I will not discuss this with you anymore" and "We'll see who has been in business the longest" (a comment that still confuses me as to it's relevance to the problem at hand). I then received a Cancellation of my Pay Pal "Money Request" from Silicon Solar.
I have filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau, The Attorney General of NY (Internet Fraud Division), The Federal Trade Commission, The National Fraud Complaint Center, The Internet Fraud Complaint Center, Net Check, and will continue to file complaints in an attempt to make sure that this company is brought to justice! I encourage others who have been "ripped off" by this company to do the same. Perhaps a "class action" suit is on order!
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