I used the summitsource.com web site to place an order for a satellite dish for my RV. I chose this merchant because their site stated that they had been in business for over twenty years, they had a good price on the item and most importantly, because their policy stated that orders are usually processed and shipped "same day" if received before 2:00PM EST. I needed this within a week for a planned trip so this was the determing factor.
So far, so good. I immediately received email order confirmation. Four days later I decided to call and check on the status and was informed that they would investigate and email me the status. An hour later I was emailed that they had "just received" my order and that it would be shipped that day. Shortly thereafter I received another email informing me that the item was "temporarily out of stock" and that they would have to have it drop shipped on me by the manufacturer. It further stated that there would be "at least" an additional 8 days of time required by the manufacturer.
I immediately emailed them back that this was too late for my situation and that I would like to cancel the order and purchase the item locally and asked that they please release the authorization for $241.99 that they had placed on my credit card.
They following day I learned from another email that I would be charged a 15% restocking fee if I cancelled my order because it was a "Special Order Item". Nothing I had seen while ordering this item indicated that it was out of stock or that is was a special order item. I also learned that they had charged my credit card for the full amount AFTER I cancelled the order.
They want to charge a restocking fee for an item they never stocked? In my opinion this is nothing more than a snare for unsuspecting consumers. I would expect a cancellation rate at or approaching 100% by consumers expecting same day shipping (this is expressed in bold and enlarged type on the site) when placing orders and only after they are locked in being told that the order won't be filled for weeks. That's the scam. They can make 15% any time they aggrivate a customer enough to cancel an order.in my opinion they would rather do this than fill orders and they likely make a higher profit margin since the cost of goods sold is zero.
I have placed this matter in dispute with my bank and hopefully this internet bandit will not be rewarded for this scam.
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