In August I ordered a DVD from bestprices.com. When I placed the order, their website stated that it was in stock and would ship within 48 hours. About three hours later I received an email stating that the produce was out of stock and would take an additional two weeks before it would even ship.
Two weeks later it still had not shipped and I emailed customer service to find out why. I got a reply stating that the video distributor was out of stock as well and waiting to get more from the studio so there was no way of knowing when I would get my DVD.
This happened shortly after the Sept. 11 attack and subsequent airline shutdown, followed by Post Office anthrax attacks, so I was willing to give them an extra couple of weeks to let everything shake out and shipments start arriving again. However, by the middle of October, the DVD still was not in stock.
I found another copy at an equivalent price on another website and cancelled my order with bestprices.com. I received two email confirmations that the order was cancelled and did not think any more of it. Then, about a month later, in the middle of November, I got an email from them stating that my video was in stock and had just been shipped. I immediately sent them a reply stating that I had cancelled the order, attached a copy of the cancellation confirmation, and told them that I was no longer authorizing them to charge my credit card for this order. I got a reply the next day saying that it was too late, the order had been processed, but they gave me a return authorization number and all I had to do was write the number on the outside of the package and then take it back to the post office and tell them I was refusing the shipment and it would be sent back.
I did this, and two weeks later, when I got my credit card bill, there was a charge on there from bestprices.com for the DVD. The DVD was $45 with an additional $5 shipping charges, so I was charged $50. I immediately emailed them to compain and was told that the refund was being processed and should appear on my next bill. I continued to follow up with my bank every couple of days, and a week later, the refund still had not been posted. I sent another email and got a reply stating that the previous customer service person who had been handling my account had quit and this person was trying to get caught up on all the work he had left behind but that he would process my refund immediately.
Another week later, the refund still had not been processed. This time I called customer service and complained and was informed that he was typing it in right away. I checked with my bank a few days later and of course, no refund had been processed. I sent another email and again got the same reply that it was being worked on. After another week went by, I called again and complained and was told that it would be looked into.
Finally, a few days later, the refund was posted, but only the $45 dollars that the DVD cost. They did not refund the shipping cost even though it was their fault they had sent the DVD in the first place. After having gone through all of this, I was not in the moode to haggle for another month over $5 and just let it go as a lesson never to do business with bestprices.com again.
Unfortunately, this incident did not end here. At the end of January, I received my credit card bill and discovered a $45 charge from bestprices.com. I logged in to my account on their website and discovered that they had charged me again for this DVD. I sent them an email informing them of the mistake and threatening legal action if it was not immediately cleared up and also sent a letter to my credit card company disputing the charge. About a week later the refund, again just for the $45 was posted and I have not had any more incidents with bestprices.com.
However, it still irks me that they still have my $5 shipping fee when I had cancelled the order a month before they shipped it and so it was their fault they shipped it in the first place. They should be responsible for that fee. However, I do not want to go through this all again for $5, so I am writing this report to let others know not to order anything from bestprices.com. They may have slightly lower prices, but the hassle is not worth it.
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