On Sept. 5 I received an email from buy.com advertising a specially priced item... A 250GB external hard disk at $99.95. This was a good deal and although I had a cheap item on perpetual backorder from buy.com I decided to go for it and order the hard disk. I ordered it right at that time.
The web site indicated the item was in stock. At the same time I ordered a PCI card that had to be installed in my computer. This card was necessary to use the new hard disk as the USB ports on my computer were already full. I ordered both devices at the same time and provided buy.com with my credit card info.
I received the PCI card in a few days. Anticipating the arrival of the external hard disk I went ahead and installed the card so I would be all ready to back up my computer when the disk arrived.
The first thing I didn't like was when I checked 10 days later on the delivery of the hard disk and it still had not been shipped! The web site specifically stated the item was in stock when I ordered. I check a week later and noted that the item had been shipped and my credit card charged.
I checked the tracking link every two days to see the status of the delivery. To my surprise FedEx was stating they had attempted delivery but no one was there to accept the parcel. That couldn't be true. It was being delivered to a business that opens the doors before 5 AM and typically closes after 6 PM. On two of the days the delivery was attempted during the middle of the day and that could not possibly be true. We receive FedEx and UPS packages every day. I contacted buy.com about this.
They responded that I elected to use 5-9 day shipping and that there was nothing they could do until the specified delivery time had elapsed. Let me state here that 5-9 day shipping for free was the DEFAULT shipping method. I received the first package without a problem... Why so much trouble with the second package?
I waited patiently for the 10 day period to expire and once again inquired about my package. I was told that they would file a claim and I could expect a response in 3-5 business days. Mind you... They've got my money and I've got nothing and they can check the tracking on the package every bit as easily as I can. And because they are the shipper they can do something about it. I cannot.
It is now Oct. 12 and still they have not resolved a thing. The recommended that I cancel the order and reorder the item. Yes... The price is now considerably higher and I would have to pay the higher price. And because 30 days has passed since the PCI card was shipped I can no longer return it, even though I ordered it for the item I never received.
And now when I try to contact customer service I'm directed to a server not found error. If someone else here in the office logs on to buy.com and wants to contact customer care they don't have a problem getting to the site. Only when I log on to my account does this occur. Nice, eh? This is what buy.com calls customer service.
At this point I am so frustrated with these people I either want the replacement drive NOW or I want them to take back the PCI USB card at their expense and credit my card for the full amount.
You can be sure I will not shop with buy.com again. I've spent tens of thousands with them over the last few years but no more. I'll find someone else with a real customer service department to handle my future needs.
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