I am self-employeed. I am a wholesaler who sells different odds and ends (items that could be given as a gift or just items to decorate a home or and an office) A couple of months ago my wife and I had decided to sell our products at the yahoo store.
My wife and I had trouble setting up the store. Yahoo's system was not making it easy to start our very own busibness at www.yahoostore.com. Yahoo store asked to choose a name for my business at the Yahoo store. I tried Plugging in the name of my business in the designated box. Not all of my business name would fit it the designated box. I had to choose a shorter name for my business.
The next problem that we had encountered was Yahoo's system would not accept our bank information. Their system asked for the expiration date on our credit card. Their system said that that expiration date was invalid. I tried another credit card. Thier system would not accept the expiration date on that for that card.
I have had these cards for quite some time so there should have not been any reason as to why Yahoo's system would not accept when the cards had expired. Both cards were due to expire 2004. Next problem that my wife and I had encountered was Yahoo's system asked for the starting date of our business. I put in the system 04/02/02 (this is the actual date that my home business was started) and their system showed me an example as to how they wanted me to fill in the start date.
I plugged my start date in the designated box and yahoo's system said that start date was unacceptable. I tried putting the date in all kinds of ways but Yahoo's system said that start-up date of business was invalid. My wife and I thought maybe we should skip right down to adding merchandise to our store.
We tried to add products to Yahoo's system. Yahoo's system would not let us add products. At this point me and my wife had become very frustrated. I was able to locate the section where it says contact us. I found an email address and I proceeded to write in this email to Yahoo that I was having a hard time setting up my business at their Yahoo store.
I also wrote that I was very frustrated and that I gave up on trying to setup business at Yahoo store. I told them to please cancel because I was having so much difficulty setting up the business at Yahoo store. I also said please don't take money out of my bank account. For several days I checked for a response to my email. The only reponse that I did get was an email fom Yahoo asking me to take a survey on how well they did with yahoo store.
I again stated in the surveys the problems I was having setting up Yahoo store. Couple days went by no response from Yahoo on my complaint, just more (please take surveys on how well we did.) A month went by still no response to the complaints, just more surveys. Today 12/20/02 I looked at my online bank statement. I noticed the amount of my bank account was much lower than it should be. When I looked at the statement this is what I saw
Description withdrawl
Purchase Yah*yahoo store 408- $ 49.95
349-515 CA.
I called the telephone number. Unfortunately I did not get a name of the man I spoke to. The man I spoke to told me he was a supervisor and that I could tell him the problem. I told him that Yahoo took money out of my account and that I was not able to setup my Yahoo store and now I have nothing to show for the $49.95 that Yahoo took. I gave him my name.
His records could not find my name and his records showed no withdrawls from any bank account listed under the name I gave him. His attitude was that he did not believe me and that it sounded to him like I was making up this story about yahoo taking money out of my account. I told him I would give him the phone number to the bank I deal with and he could talk to someone there, they would tell him that this withdrawl had really been taken out by yahoo store.
He said nothing when I told him to call the bank. The worst part of it all is that the money that yahoo took out of my account was meant for the stay at at hotel. I was planning to fly home and spend Christmas with my family on the east coast. Once I got to the east coast the money that yahoo took out of my account was meant to stay in a hotel in my hometown.
I told the guy on the phone that was what the money was meant for. He displayed no sympthany for my situation. I was getting so very frustrated talking to this guy that I let my wife talk to him. When my wife talked to him he still could not find my name in the system and he could not explain how $49.95 was taken out of my account.
My wife finally remembered the name that we called our Yahoo store. He found our yahoo store name in his system. Then eventually he found my name listed under store name but he had no bank account information in his records. Then I got back on the phone with him and I asked him how is it possible that you have my store name, my full name but no bank information. He could not explain it. We told him that you have our $ 49.95 and we have nothing to show for it.
We told him again and again that we just could not open a yahoo store. He said that his records show that we had in fact opened up a yahoo store. We told him there were no products added to the store becuase yahoo's system would not let us add any items. He said that it was not his problem. Then my wife said "so what you are saying is that regardless if there is products added to that store or not, that just becuase we tried to open a store that he was going to charge us for it anyway., His response is yes.
We will be charged for an empty store. It is not his concern if the store has any items. What matters is that we are paying for the space. I told him that I had sent an email canceling the yahoo store due to having difficulty setting up the store. He said that he receives all emails that come into the system and he does not recall such an email from me canceling service.
So I told him that basically what you are saying is that you stole my money and there is nothing that I can do about it. He did not see it as stealing. I told him that if you have no record of money being taken out of my account but my online bank statement shows yahoo store withdrawl the money from my account and I have nothing to show for the $49.95 I consider yahoo stealing money out of my account.
My wife got back on the phone she said since you refuse to help us I guess this time we have no choice but to lose $49.95 and she said that we won't be using yahoo again.
John
Cheyenne, Wyoming
U.S.A.
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