Included is a copy of the Better Business Bureau complaint against ubid.com. As you can see, BBB closed my claim even though nothing was resolved.
Consumer's Original Complaint:
I bought 6 Ipod touchs for $19.00 each ($1 plus $18.00 shipping) Ubid responded with this
Dear Kimberly Prehoda,
At uBid, we attempt to thoroughly check the pricing of items before approving them for auctions. Your order C11111820 has had a pricing discrepancy and we are not able to ship the product at this time. Because uBid is an auction site and merchandise is liquidated, we are not able to fill this order and have not charged your credit card. We would like to offer a $5.00 coupon toward your next uBid purchase as a token of our apology for this discrepancy. The coupon can be used towards your next winning bid at uBid within the next 90 days. You will be receiving a subsequent email, which will serve as your record of the coupon. This email will also contain instructions on howto redeem the coupon on your next winning auction. We apologize for this error and thank you for your patience. If you have any further questions or comments, simply reply to this email.in order to assist you properly, please do not change thesubject in your reply.
Sincerely,
Kristin S
Seller Solutions Account Support Representativeubid (r)
Consumer's Desired Resolution:
I would like to have what I ordered at the advertised price honored (6 ipod touchs for $19.00 each). If this mistake was made anywhere else, the company would have to honor it.
BBB Processing
07/21 dhh BBB Complaint Received by BBB
07/21 dhh BBB Member or MIP Complaint Validated by BBB Operator
07/21 Otto EMAIL Send Acknowledgement to Consumer
07/21 Otto EMAIL Inform MIP Member of Complaint
08/01 OttO BBB No response to first notice to member
08/01 OttO EMAIL Second Notice to MIP Business
08/12 OttO EMAIL Consumer - Have You Heard From the Company -Member
08/12 OttO MAIL FINAL NOTICE SENT TO MEMBER COMPANY MARIA
08/15 WEB BBB RECEIVE BUSINESS RESPONSE: Contact Name and Title: Brianna Neal
Contact Phone: 2175542999
The item was no longer available and is stated in our help pages and user agreement that we have the right to not send any item out. We were unable to send the item and therefore gave a coupon for a future purchase. Thanks Brianna
08/15 ntt EMAIL Forward Business Response to Consumer
08/21 WEB BBB RECEIVED CONSUMER REBUTTAL: (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Below is an excerpt from Ubid's OWN privacy policy located at http://www.ubid.com/help/topic57.Asp
Your Transactions and Obligations. Bidders and buyers create different obligations by accessing the Site and using the Services.
In the Certified Merchant Marketplace, the seller must sell the product to the highest bidder that meets or exceeds the minimum price. Similarly, if a Certified Merchant offers to sell an item by means of the uBuy It feature, the seller must sell the item to any buyer who elects to purchase the item through the uBuy It offer. For bidders, a bid or uBuy It election is a legal offer to buy the product. Once the transaction closes, both the buyer and seller are obligated to complete the transaction.
From Ubid's own policy, they are obligated to complete the transaction. If they no longer have the product, maybe they should order some more so that they can fulfill their own policy.
The above excerpt was not from the privacy policy. It was from the help pages and user agreement. The same document that the business was referring to when they stated "we have the right to not send any item out." I'm sorry but by stating that "if a Certified Merchant offers to sell an item by means of the uBuy It feature, the seller must sell the item to any buyer who elects to purchase the item through the uBuy It offer" you are legally obligated to send the item even though you thoughed you covered yourself by reserving the right not to send it.
08/25 ntt EMAIL Forward Consumer Rebuttal to Business
09/08 OttO BBB No Response from Business re: Consumer Rebuttal
09/08 cbb MAIL FINAL NOTICE TO MEMBERS - NO RESPONSE TO REBUTTAL
09/19 cbb EMAIL Consumer Have You Received Response
09/19 cbb MAIL Roxanne Letter
09/25 cbb BBB RECEIVED BUSINESS' RESPONSE TO REBUTTAL: The item had a pricing error and if this happens the seller does have the right to take the auction down. Therefore the order was cancelled and the customer was not charged. The customer was also given a coupon. Thanks Brianna
09/25 cbb EMAIL Send Business' Response to Rebuttal
09/26 WEB BBB CONSUMER REJECTS BUSINESS' RESPONSE TO REBUTTAL: (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
The pricing error was not an issue until days after the auction sold out of items. Basically, the seller did not pay attention to their listing and the items sold at the undesired amount. Also, is it a pricing error or did the seller not have the items that he/she listed? I'm getting both answers here. It's really irritating to keep getting the run around. It sounds like Ubid allows lousy sellers to offer bad business to their customers and nothing is done about it. Oh yeah, three $5.00 coupons were issued if you call that doing something about it. The coupons were actually an insult. Why would I want to do business with a company that gives me a coupon that is considerably less than the value that I lost out on by not getting the items that I had purchased? The coupons are just a way to get me to buy something else from you. I'm not going to do that if this is the way you handle your customer service issues. I should have listened to my sister and not bought anything from you. Regretfully, I did not judge you based on her bad experience.
10/08 ntt BBB Bureau judged complaint resolved
10/08 Otto BBB Inform Consumer - Case Closed AJR
10/08 Otto BBB Inform Business - Case Closed AJR
10/08 Otto BBB Case Closed AJR
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