Below is a detailed account of my case filed against Mercantila with the Oakland Bay Area Better Business Bureau.
Despite charging my card IMMEDIATELY, it has been over six weeks now with no tracking number sent (other than a bogus tracking number for an item delivered to California, which has nothing to do with me), no product delivered, and no refund given, although I have TWICE requested one.
They still list the item I ordered (hampton Olympic 1500 lb capacity bar) as "in stock" and still continue to list the bogus tracking number on my order update page, despite being notified 3 weeks ago that it was not correct.
I have so far contacted the Better Business Bureau, the California State Attorney General's Office, The Federal Trade Commission and an Official at Mercantila. Despite all this, nothing has changed. I cannot get a refund or the product.
Here is a "cut a paste" from my complaint files with the Oakland Bay Area Better Business Bureau..
Case Description: Purchase date 09/15/06
Order # *
Hampton Olympic 1500lb capacity bar
Promised processing time: 7 days
Promised delivery time after processing time: 3-7 days
as...
Purchase date 09/15/06
Order # *
Hampton Olympic 1500lb capacity bar
Promised processing time: 7 days
Promised delivery time after processing time: 3-7 days
as of 09/29/06 no estimated time of delivery or tracking number provided
An online review of this company from various rating sources seems to confirm this as standard practice for this company (Less)
Category: Delivery Issues
Case opened date: 10/02
Case closed date:
Desired Resolution: An estimated true shipping date to be provided, or the option of a refund issued. Communication for this company needs... (More) An estimated true shipping date to be provided, or the option of a refund issued. Communication for this company needs to be improved and shipping times need to be truthfully expressed. (Less)
(note: the following is in reverse chronological order!)
10/31 Consumer Rejects Business' Final Offer (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
My order update page has been updated, but no tracking number has been provided. The old, bogus tracking number that has been erroneously provided is still being provided. The order update page claims the order has been shipped OCT 4th, which is an obvious lie.
I can no longer take anything Mercantila says seriously. Too many lies and too much "passing the buck" to the manufacturer.
Six weeks from purchase date and I have received nothing but lies.
I request (once again!) an immediate refund in the form of a check, sent to my address within three days.
If this is done, I will consider the matter closed.
10/30 More info received from the consumer Tomorrow 10/31/06, I will file a dispute with my Credit Card Company if a legitimate tacking number is not provided by 1 pm eastern time.
10/30 More info received from the consumer 6:29 PM eastern time SIX WEEKS FROM TIME OF ORDER FOR A PRODUCT THAT MERCANTILA STILL SHOWS AS "IN STOCK" Quote by Mercantila "As per the records the item has been shipped out". Excuse my reluctance to believe this. From my perspective, status unchanged. No tracking number, no product delivered, no refund. Never a notice of backorder given.
I have contacted the BBB, the California State Attorney General's Office, and the Federal Trade Commission and yet 6 weeks from date of order I still have no product. Not my normal way of doing business. Again, let me state that Mercantila is the worst company I have ever had dealings with, and they should not be in business. It is obvious that Mercantila has no desire to conduct business in an honorable manner. How they can be a "Member in Good Standing" in the Better Business Bureau is beyond my comprehension.
10/30 Forward Final Response to Consumer CLT. Cf. Rtf
10/30 Receive Final Response from Business Dear Mr. Robinson,
Please note that we have requested for the correct tracking # from the vendor, as per the records the item has been shipped out. We sincerely apologize for the delay and the inconvenience caused to you.
Once the correct tracking number is updated you will get an e-mail from mercantila stating the same.
Sincerely,
Mercantila Customer Service
10/27 More info received from the consumer 5:23 Eastern Time Status unchanged, Complaint being filed with the Federal Trade Commission.
10/27 Forward Consumer Rebuttal to Business
10/27 Received Consumer Rebuttal - Send to Business 8 pm eastern time NO refund, no communication from Mercantila of any sort, no product, no tracking number.
10/26 More info received from the consumer 8 pm eastern time NO refund, no communication from Mercantila of any sort, no product, no tracking number.
10/25 More info received from the consumer6:40 Eastern time status unchanged. Complaint will be filed with the Federal Trade Commission if this issue is not resolved by 10/27/06.
10/24 More info received from the consumer 6:00 pm eastern Despite assurances by Mercantila to "take care" of things by October 23... No refund (by check) offered, no notice of product shipment, no change in the status quo. Bogus UPS tracking number still appears on my order update page. 1500 lb capacity bar still shown as "in stock" on Mercantila's order page.
10/23 Forward Consumer Rebuttal to Business BLT. Cf. Rtf
10/23 Received Consumer Rebuttal - Send to Business (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
The only way I will accept a refund is if it is by check and received by me by October 27th (this coming friday).
The actions by Mercantila have been inexcusable. Perhaps the following link will prove to be of use to them:
Http://www.ftc. Gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/mailorder.htm
10/21 Forward Business Response to Consumer CLT. Cf. Rtf
10/20 More info received from the consumer A simple refund to my account is not satisfactory at this point.
10/20 More info received from the consumer Note: this item is still listed as "in stock" on their web page
10/20 Receive Business Response Contact Name and Title: Jude Fonseca
Contact Phone: 800-718-1710
Contact Email: [email protected]
Dear Mr. Robinson,
We apologize for the delay and sincerely thank you for all your patience on this order. We have requested the vendor to provide us with the correct tracking number, if not possible, the actual status of the order. Unfortunately we have not received any details so far.
We request you to please bear with us till October 23. If we still do not receive an update we will ensure that the refund is made on your account.
Sincerely,
Jude Fonseca
Mercantila Customer Service
t: 800-718-1710 x 4704
10/20 More info received from the consumer 6:50 pm eastern time Status Unchanged
10/20 MBR-Resend Complaint to Business - 2nd Letter
10/20 Member No Response to First Notice
10/19 More info received from the consumer 7:00 pm eastern Staus unchanged. I will be most interested to hear their response to you, as today is the deadline for them to respond.
10/18 More info received from the consumer 5:02 pm eastern time status unchanged. Bogus tracking number still provided on my Mercantila "order update" page. Legitimate tracking number not provided. Backorder notice not provided. Estimated shipping date not provided. Offer of refund not provided.
10/17 More info received from the consumer 5:45 pm eatern: status unchanged
10/16 More info received from the consumer 6:30 PM Eastern Time Status unchanged
10/13 More info received from the consumer Another week goes by with no backorder notification, estimated shipping date, offer of a refund, or legitimate tracking number. My order update page from Mercantila still contains a non-valid tracking number for a product already delivered to California, even though Mercantila was notified of this error a week ago.
10/12 More info received from the consumer Status Unchanged. Obviously, the email I received from Mercantila dated 10/04/06 informing me that my order, # 189665, had "shipped, " was a lie. I would hope that the BBB would take a dim view of such actions by their members.
10/11 More info received from the consumer Status Unchanged. No product, tracking number, backorder notice given
10/10 More info received from the consumer 10/10/06 6:45 pm eastern time No tracking number, no backorder notification, no product delivered
10/09 More info received from the consumer 10/09/06 5:40 pm eastern time Still No product delivered, backorder notice or legitimate tracking number provided
10/06 More info received from the consumer 10/06 5:00 pm eastern time Still no product delivered or legitimate tracking number provided, despite email notification from Mercantila that Bar has been shipped. Update page for my order still provides wrong tracking number for item already delivered somewhere in California.
10/05 More info received from the consumer 10/05/06 5:00 pm Eastern time. Still no legitimate tracking number provided. Tracking number provided was for a product already delivered to california, which had nothing to do with me. Mercantila has been notified of their error.in many years of online transactions through Ebay and Online Merchants, Mercantila is by far the worst company I have had the misfortune to come across. How they can be a member in good standing in the BBB is beyond me.
10/04 More info received from the consumer 10/04/06 7:45 pm eastern timeI am now provided with a tracking number: 1ZX1X1650354717318 Unfortunately, this number has absolutely nothing to do with my order, and is for a package that has already been delivered in California. The farce continues...
10/04 More info received from the consumer I received an email notification from Mercantila today 10/04/06 informing me that the item has shipped. As of 3:47 pm eastern time, I have not been given a tracking number
10/02 Inform Member of Complaint - 1st Letter
10/02 Inform Consumer - Member Complaint
10/02 Member Complaint Validated by Operator
09/29 Complaint Received by BBB
Tim
Dunbar, West Virginia
U.S.A.
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