I assumed that there was some safety in shopping through the "Yahoo Shopping Network". Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that Yahoo not only provides an avenue for fraudulent merchants to dupe unsuspecting customers, but they even get a percentage of the "take"!
I placed an order, through Yahoo, with a company called Mystic Dreams. My first indication that there might be a problem was when I found that my credit card had been charged $9 more than the amount authorized. Emails and phone calls to the merchant went unanswered. The only response to my complaint with Yahoo was that I should contact them again in 24 hours if I did not receive a response from the merchant, which I did apparently for no good reason.
Weeks went by and the merchandise was not delivered. Actually, my order mysteriously disappeared from the Yahoo provided "Order Status" site. Yahoo provided me with forms to fill out and hoops to jump through but would not respond to my inquiries as to why they continued to sponsor this merchant.
At this time I decided to check with the BBB. I found that the merchant, Mystic Dreams, had many unresolved complaints over an 11 month period for non-delivery. Obviously, since this vender sells through Yahoo, it is safe to assume that mine was not the first complaint Yahoo was made aware of. Nor is it the last. There are now, 2 weeks later, 3 more BBB complaints.
I contacted Yahoo again and was told that I should check with my credit card company to have the money returned. "But, " I asked Yahoo, "What about the merchant? Why isn't Yahoo removing them from their shopping network? Other people will be ripped off!" Same response... Check with my credit card company.
I checked again to see if perhaps Yahoo had done the right thing and removed this merchant from their network... NO!!! In fact, the merchant was now displaying a "Yahoo Award for Excellence" logo on their web site.
I later discovered that Yahoo receives $50 per month for hosting a merchant's web site as well as a percentage of all sales made. Yahoo is knowingly abetting theives and accepting stolen money.
I eventually got most of my money back from my bank, minus a $15 charge back fee.
Poor Yahoo, they must be so hard up for money that they have to steal it.
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