I ordered two DVDs from Movie Mars Inc. On eBay for my 2-year-old. Movie Mars' auction pages promised to combine shipping on multiple items ordered, but it didn't happen upon checkout.
I e-mailed customer service five times inquiring as to what my correct order total would be, as I was going to pay by check. I received five very unhelpful automated replies before someone finally responded saying that they would adjust the shipping once the order had been processed.
I mailed the check totaling $30.43 - $14.47 for the two DVDs and a whopping $15.96 for shipping. The check was cashed promptly on 2/7/08.
By the third week in March I was beginning to get suspicious since the DVDs had not arrived. I began e-mailing again to the black hole they call customer service. Automated reply after automated reply assured me that the merchandise would arrive if only I would exercise a little patience.
Finally, I received a reply from someone saying that amends could be made only if I would supply a copy of their confirmation email. PROBLEM: They never sent me one.
However, I was able to take screenshots of the order I had placed through eBay and sent them as an email attachment. Movie Mars claimed they could not open the attachments and furthermore, since I didn't have a confirmation email, they would do nothing to make amends.
It sounded ludicrous to me that the eBay buyer could see the record of the past transaction, but the eBaby seller could not. The only logical explanation is that they were not willing to check their own records.
After another round of equally frustrating e-mails, Beth sent a confirmation of the shipment. However, I noted that they had sent the package to my old address instead of the one that I had indicated when I placed the order on eBay.
When I inquired at the Post Office as to what would have happened to package sent to my old address, they explained that packages shipped via Media Mail were not forwarded and were returned to the sender.
I tried once again to forward the eBay screenshots confirming that I had supplied the correct information (this time in the body of the message and not as an attachment). However, Beth and Movie Mars refused to take any responsibility or send a replacement shipment until the original package was received back in their warehouse.
As I'm sure you know, Media Mail is the cheapest possible shipping option. They charged me $16 for shipping two DVDs and then sent the package Media Mail. I know for a fact that Disney Movie Club charges $3.95 for the first DVD and only $1.00 for each additional - and they ship First Class Mail!
I emailed Movie Mars again to tell them what the Post Office told me: Since I have a forwarding order on file and they're aware that I no longer live there, the Post Office could not legally leave the package at the old address. Since it could not be delivered, they had to return it to the sender.
Therefore, since I could prove that I had supplied my correct and current address and it was Movie Mars that shipped it to the old one, I was entitled to either replacement DVDs or a full refund that included the $16 that they had claimed it was going to cost them to send them (not to mention the fact that that is a blatant lie.)
Movie Mars refused to take any responsibility whatsoever. When I filed a report with the Better Business Bureau, it resulted in a partial refund of $14.47 for the Handy Manny and Zoe's Dance Moves DVDs, but totally excluded the $15.96 they owed me for shipping.
My son was extremely disappointed that he did not receive the DVDs I had told him were coming, and I am fuming over the fact that Movie Mars may have spent a total of $5 to send a package to an address I had not given them and then made a profit of $11 after totally botching up the order, leaving my son with absolutely nothing.
Oh, and the final kick in the teeth is I was trying to play fair and deal with them directly, giving them time to research the issue and respond. As a result, when I went to dispute the matter on eBay, the 60-day window had already expired. That's what I get for trying to be nice about it.
Angry mama
Schenectady, New York
U.S.A.
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