I purchased a Canon 60D Digital SLR from Fumfie.com via a link posted on CNET.com as a five-star seller.
This company is a bait-and-switch company. Within minutes of placing my order at the $795.00 stated price of the camera I also opted for faster shipping at an additional cost of $19.99. The grand total should have been $814.99.
A salesman calls a few minutes after placing the order and attempts to upsell me on "8-hour, high capacity batteries" and other accessories I do not need. I have been a pro photographer for more than twenty years and have all the ancillary gear already - that's why I only bought the body.
After hanging up with the salesman I received an emailed invoice a few minutes later stating that my account had been debited $886.54 - $71.55 over and above what I agreed to pay and which was NOT the amount displayed on the checkout screen at time of purchase.
There was NO indication at checkout that I was "required" to pay the additional $71.55 for "shipping insurance." Insurance is for the seller's assurance, not the customer. A customer should not have to pay such an outrageous surcharge without being warned beforehand and especially not, be automatically charged without prior full disclosure.
I immediately called the company and spoke to a woman in the fumfie.com billing department who proceeded to tell me I am obligated to pay the additional fee because it is stated in their Company Policies page, a text link at the very bottom of their web site and for which no direct link or reference to required shipping insurance surcharges is enabled from their checkout page.
According to the FumFie.com billing rep I should have read their company policy page prior to placing an order. No, total charges MUST be displayed on the final display at checkout. Any additional charges must be fully disclosed before applying any such charge to a customer's credit card. It is unethical to blame a customer for not being told about charges that are not plainly explained during the buying process.
At this point I tell the billing rep that I hereby am cancelling my order and that I want a full refund. She then tells me that the product had already been sent to shipping and that she cannot cancel the order. This is a deception as only 30 minutes have elapsed since I placed the order.
Shortly afterwards I get an email that UPS has a shipping label ready but that the item is not yet in their posession. Hours latter I get another email from UPS that states that "an exception" has been filed on the delivery and that there wuill be a delay in shipping. Obviously, the item is still at FumFie and has indeed not actually been shipped. Another deception.
After this infuriating experience I discover dozens of virtually identical complaints have been filed with various online rating services by simply Googling "FumFie.com complaints." Others ave reported that FumFie's goods are grey market and do not carry full USA warranties as they are made for foreign markets.
Its to my bank, running the risk of being charged again without my permission and any number of potential additional aggravations.
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