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- Path: sparky!uunet!portal!lll-winken!fnnews.fnal.gov!unixhub!linac!att!cbnewsm!ka1gt
- From: ka1gt@cbnewsm.cb.att.com (robert.m.atkins)
- Newsgroups: rec.photo
- Subject: MAIL ORDERING (was Re: Avoid FOTO CELL!)
- Message-ID: <1993Jan26.173837.23927@cbnewsm.cb.att.com>
- Date: 26 Jan 93 17:38:37 GMT
- References: <1993Jan25.160423.2565@ucbeh.san.uc.edu> <1k2kn3INNesk@geraldo.cc.utexas.edu>
- Distribution: na
- Organization: AT&T
- Lines: 40
-
- In article <1k2kn3INNesk@geraldo.cc.utexas.edu>, schen@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu () writes:
- > I agree. I have had a similar experience with FOTO CELL about two years
- > ago. I ordered five items from them at the time totaled about $150. They
- > charged to my Discover card in about one week. They started shipping the
- > first two items after I waited about three weeks. The third one after I
- > waited about 6 weeks. The last two items never showed up. I called them
- > about every three weeks. The answer was always "it is on back order",
- > "it will be here any time", "we will ship it tomorrow", then after
- > several weeks, it would be "on back order".
- > I wrote to Popular Photography twice with no response at all. I called my
- > Discover card, they said they were going to check on it. Finally, after
- > 6 months, (YES, half an year) I asked the student attorney(they are real
- > lawyers working for students at UT) to write a letter to demand the money
- > back. They almost immediately credited the money back into my credit card
- > account. It was not my first time order to them, but it was the last and
- > also I always tell my friends to avoid them.
- >
- > FOTO CELL really sucks! They also rarely sell items at advertised prices.
- >
- > schen@microbot.me.utexas.edu
-
- Re: the use of credit cards to pay for mail order. Whenever I order stuff
- I use my Mastercard (AT&T Universal card if it makes a difference). The
- store I order from can bill me for whatever they like, but I only pay
- for what arrives. If I have not received an item by the billing date on
- my card I simply call up the credit card toll free number and tell them
- why I won't be paying the full amount billed. They take note of my
- complaint and do not charge me interest on the disputed amount. When the
- stuff finally arrives I pay the bill. Is the Discover card different?
- If not, why pay for stuff you have not received, just because you have
- been billed for it? If you don't pay, the company you order from has a
- better reason to get the stuff to you fast. The only time I would pay
- up front is if that had been agreed on at the time of sale (e.g. deposit
- on a special order item), or it was a company I really trusted, or the
- amount involved was not worth fussing over.
-
-
- ===============================================================
- Bob Atkins AT&T Bell Labs email (direct) att!clockwise!rma
- ===============================================================
-