They ultimate scammers of all time! Absolutely awful to deal with, unscrupulous and disgusting!
They had a camera I wanted at a very low price. And they were offering a free memory card if you purchased their extended warranty. I ordered the camera and the extended warranty online... Camera price: $309; 3-year service plan: $169.99. I received an email instructing me to call to confirm my order. When I called, I was told the free memory card wasn't powerful enough for my camera (he recommended a high-speed card) and that he would apply the cost of the free memory card to the purchase of a high-speed card. The price for the card would be $99.99.
I agreed to this because I did want the high-speed card. He the proceeded to try to up-sell me to a "better", very expensive battery. I declined. And I declined again, and again and again. He finally gave up and processed my order.
My order should have consisted of 3 items: The camera at $309, the service plan at $169.99 and the high-speed card at the reduced price of $99.99, plus shipping of $19.91. That's a total of $598.89.
My items arrived 2 days later. When I opened the package, the packing slip stated that I was charged $699.99 plus a shipping fee of $50 for a total of $749.99. I received a bunch of "free" merchandise like camera bags, AND I received the expensive battery I had declined 5 times, and both memory cards (I was only supposed to get the high-speed card at reduced price).
Thinking a mistake had been made, I called their customer service line. I told the woman I spoke with that I only ordered 3 items and that I was overcharged and could she run through the pricing of each item listed on my slip (there was a total of 8 items on my bill, and no prices associated with any item—just a grand total).
She told me that I had been charged the "Package" price, which had been done to save me the most money, and that she couldn't give me the price by item. I told her that it definitely DID NOT save me money, that I received items I didn't want and can I send back those items. Her answer was NO, I could not send back individual items because I received the package deal. I told her I didn't request the package deal. Maybe so, she said, but you received this item for $XX and that saved you $XX and you received this item for $XX for a saving of $XX and so on. So in the end its really a good deal.
Round and round we went with me saying I didn't order the items, so the package deal DID NOT save me money. It cost me more than I wanted to spend because I received items I DID NOT WANT and DID NOT order. And they overcharged me on shipping on top if it all!
After becoming VERY frustrated, I asked if I could return the whole package. Sure, for a 20% restocking fee! How could I be penalized for sending items back that I didn't order?!?!?!? They would not admit that they sent items I didn't order. I told them I would report them to the BBB and dispute the charge on my card. Fine, they said, but the credit card company would require me to return the package, which would still incur the 20% restocking fee.
But, I could still be a satisfied customer, they said. To make you happy, we'll send you kit with accessories worth $200 for free! No thanks! Well, we'll refund you the $50 shipping. Over half of that should have been refunding anyway!
The only other option, they said, was that they could open an investigation, as some, but not all, of the phone conversations are recorded. IF my initial conversation was recorded, they could determine what I actually ordered and what I was charged for. Great, I said, let's do that. But wait... And investigation will take at least 2-3 weeks, and you can only return your items for 7 days after you received it.
I wanted to EXPLODE! They got me every which way. They absolutely had the process and scam down to a science so that the consumer had little recourse.
I hung up the phone without a resolution, totally pissed off and not knowing what I was going to do.
If I returned the order and paid the restocking fee, I would have to order the camera someplace else for a price that would end being just as much as I had just paid.in the end I would be paying at least $150 more for the camera and accessories if I did this due to the restocking fee. Same if I disputed the charge.
So in the end, I ended up keeping everything and getting the $50 shipping refund, because it was the easiest and least costly option. Something I'm sure they realize and bank on when pulling this kind of rip-off scam.
I have been shopping online, at both well-known and smaller boutique sites, for more than 10 years. I have NEVER been scammed, and I was left feeling completely helpless and taken for a fool, and unable to do anything to stop it from happening to someone else. I felt scammed and enraged and stupid. If I had done my homework, I would have read similar reports on 86th Street Photo & Video. But I was in a hurry and I didn't do the research... A mistake I'll never make again.
Given the complaints I have since found online, its amazing to me that this company remains in operation. Can't something be done? Isn't illegal to treat consumers like this and take money that isn't theirs? How can then send items I didn't order, charge me for them and refuse to take them back and refund my money?
I think its taken weeks for my blood pressure to return to normal after this!
This is definitely BUYER BEWARE!!! It was an awful experience with an awful company and I recommend to everyone to STAY AWAY!
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