Need some advice please....UPDATE!

OK so I ordered something 12 wks ago from the States, paid for it via paypal, I was supposed to have it by the 14th June, but it still hasn't turned up.

I have e-mailed them 3 times, and got one reply to the first e-mail, but although they have acknowledged the other two on my account they haven't actually answered me.

I wasn't nasty all I wanted to know was when could I expect the order to be mailed to me, but they seem either unable or unwilling to answer that question.

This morning they have put on my account that it needs immediate attention.

What would you do, would you give them more time? if so how much longer? or would you raise an action against them with paypal for goods not received?

I really want this order, so I don't want to be unreasonable and over react, but I don't want to lose my money either because it was quite expensive.

Thank you for your help

UPDATE 16th 7 08

Well having e-mailed the company and failed to get a reply again, I checked them out on BBB they seem to have quite a good reputation, but have had some complaints against them.

Anyway 13 weeks on and still no sign of my order even being ready, I e'd them this morning telling them that if I don't get a reply, and a tracking order for my order/substitute item by this Saturday then I was going to lodge a complaint against them with BBB, so I guess I will just have to wait and see. I don't want to put a complaint in with BBB, but enough is enough, they have failed to deliver on time, failed to respond my e-mails (4 of them), failed to give me a reason for this delay, and failed to offer any kind time span of when I can expect to receive it.

hey anndjoe.

i've ordered from the US many times; sometimes it's quick, and sometimes it's slow.  when it's slow, more often than not, it's hung up in customs.  can you track the package?  before you go legal, you might want to request shipping information from your vendor; they should be able to provide that (they should have done so already).

Hi PG,

The problem I have is the order hasn't been mailed yet......the one and only e-mail I got from them said that when it is they will send me a tracking number. They also said that there had been a slight problem with the colour that I wanted, I assume that that has now been sorted.

But they just don't seem to be able to tell me when the order will actually be ready for shipment.

I don't want to get all huffy with them, but I mean how much extra time do I give?

So far I have given them 4 weeks extra.

I ordered some batteries for my DSLR camera from eBay also with paypal, they only sent me one. After getting no replies to emails I opened a complaint, where paypal contacts them to get a resolution and you communicate that way. Well it worked and I got my 2nd battery. I am not sure if it's just an eBay option, but would think it's for paypal purchases in general. If you aren't getting any answers from them, it's an option.

anndjoe, i guess it depends on how specialized the item is and how patient you are ;)

if i were you, i would try to gauge how much you really want it, and based on that, set an absolute deadline.  communicate that deadline to the vendor, then stick to it. 

but i hope you're keeping all your correspondence so you can communicate that to paypal.  maybe let them know what's going on in the meantime.

PG, it is quite specialized, hand made so I guess I should be a little more patient, seen as they did say that there had been a problem with it a few weeks ago. I am probably just panicking unnecessarily, I am more concerned by the fact that they won't give me a date of when it will be ready, but they may not want to give a date in case once again it can't me met. 

Just not sure how much longer I should give them, maybe two weeks?

 

vicereine...yeah you are quite right, Paypal operate that way regardless, I always look for companies which use paypal for that reason. I just don't want to over react and piss them off because they are probably genuine in their reason for the delay. I think I may contact paypal and let them know that there might be a problem but I want to give the benefit of the doubt and give them a little more time.

Awe!! why can't things just run the way there supposed to

I have used ebay with good and bad results.. I ordered a flat iron and he would not send it until I finally opened a dispute resolution thing with him though paypal.  I (finally) received the item and he BLASTED me, saying that I wanted something for nothing... thing is HE GOT PAID, I just wanted what I already paid for!  That guy does so much business, that he has a pretty good rep on E-bay, but there are those that he screws around.  It happens.  I hate to say it, but there are people out there JUST looking to scam others... It has been almost a month... If they refuse to return your e-mail it is time for action.. Paypal gives you ONLY 2 MONTHS to do so!!! (I know this from experience too... :(

You're much more patient than I, aj.  Not very good customer service on their part.  No phone # for them?  Probably not....any research you can do to find one?

Thanks for all the replies. Just to say though I didn't buy it from ebay.

HB....I tried calling them but just kept getting a voice-mail service. It looks like I may have lost all my money unless they still come up with the goods, because I have been on the phone to paypal and they said that they have a 45day limit on raising a claim and my order is over that!! so there is nothing I can do except sit and hope that they send it too me.

I am just sick, don't know whether to laugh or cry and I got a bit of a cheeky e-mail saying that I was nagging because I had sent 3 e-mails!

Do any of you know who it is that you report companies to over there for this kind of thing "taking money but not producing the goods" in the UK we report it to "Trading Standards" but I don't know if they can do anything when it's in the US I think I would need to contact your equivalent to that, who ever that would be?

3 months is far too long to be waiting for something, and they shouldn't be sending you cheeky emails about nagging when they are nearly 3 weeks overdue with sending the item. Is it a lot of money? I'd send them an equally cheeky email saying that if they had delivered the item as promised, there would be no need to nag. I'd also put in the email that if it isn't sent within the next 2 weeks (with a tracking number) then you no longer want it and want a full refund to your paypal account. The only things I've had shipped from the States is electronics, and they've all arrived within a week, so I have no actual experience with this sort of thing sorry. :( I have friends who get stuff shipped to NZ, but no one has ever waited longer than about 6 weeks to the best of my knowledge.

Report it to the Better Business Bureau and tell your credit card company that they took your money, but did not send the package.  They can dispute the claim if you are still within the dispute reporting period. 

Edit:Also, report it to Paypal as a fraudulent activity.  THAT will get them off of their BUTTS and doing something.  I ordered items from ABROAD and they were at my door within 8 weeks maximum.  Even outside of the US, I received items from the US within 2 months.

pOnda....I paid $500 for it and I am really sick because if it turns out that I have lost the money my Joe(bf)is just going to flip out.....I feel so stupid! I thought I'd be ok with paypal.

betty...awe thanks I've taken a note of the better business bureau. Can I still report fraudulent activity to paypal when I can no longer raise a claim? they said I was out of time.

 

What was the date you placed your order ann?

It sounds to me that you got ahold of a small company over here that isn't very good at managing their customer service and orders. There's more business like this than anyone wants to admit.

Keep sending emails. Keep making them more strongly worded. Ask for a definite ETA. Make it sound kind of threatening in that you'll report them to the local BBB, open a fraudulent claim, etc. BUT, always be polite and business like in your responses.

I hope this helps you.

pOnda.. 16th April 08, and they said I would have it by 14th June, but still not ready.

Thanks moonikins, I will keep e-mailing, what gets me is that they acknowledge the e-mail received on my account but don't actually answer it?

Anndjoe, keep pestering them. It doesn't seem to me that they're trying to rip you off, just that they're very disorganized. If they're not answering it may be because they have a big back load of orders and not enough help to speed things up. One of the easiest things for them to do is to just not get around to answering inquiries and having to deal with upset customers. The squeaky wheel really does get the grease.

I know of a couple of small businesses that do great work. They are very specialized businesses. They are always behind on orders. They wouldn't ever consider swindling a customer, they just never seem to be able to meet deadlines. They're both still in business (and make good profits) because they offer value for the price and their workmanship is awesome. Their repeat customers just know to factor in more time.

I sincerely hope that this is the cause of your delays.  Please be persistent, but polite. It will get your order speeded up.

thanks moonikins, I guess I just had a bit of a panic attack about it as I can't afford to lose my money, with any luck all will be fine  I'll keep at them.

update added at bottom of original thread

I guess you said you would give them until Saturday, so maybe that is ok to start with, but if nothing by then, you don't need to go to BBB, start with PayPal, go to their "Resolution Center" and open a "Dispute".

This just gets Paypal officially involved and basically forces the seller into action.  If they do not resolve the dispute satifactorily, then PayPal will refund your money.

EDIT: I am not sure of the amount of your purchase, and there may be a limit, but anyway check on the paypal site for the fine print there - there is a tutorial there on lodging a dispute and other info.

Also, I would be rejecting their 45 day limit argument as now being too late - if you buy something that has a declared delivery time of 2 months, it makes sense that your 45 days should start from the time that the promised delivery date has passed.

If PayPal will not budge, then I would ask how you normally pay your paypal bill - do you have funds in the paypal account, or is it automatically paid from your credit card?  If from your credit card, and paypal refuse to help, contact your credit card company and stop the payment to paypal citing failure to deliver goods.

Do not give this company more time than the deadline you have set, your options for getting money back get less and less the more time is allowed to pass.

Good Luck!

Thanks oit, but I have spoken to paypal, they were the first people I contacted about this, but they were adamant that they could do nothing because the time had expired. I paid for it with funds I had in my paypal account at the time. My account says that the transaction is complete and offers no way of questioning it.

So with both paypal and credit card out of the window the only people left are BBB, they are the only ones who can either get them to produce the product or give me my money back.

I am not doing this lightly, I have given them plenty of time, and they just point blank don't answer my e-mails, so if they aren't willing to reply to me then they will have to reply to BBB.

I have told them in the e-mail this morning what I intend doing, and when I intend doing it, so once again I am giving them extra time. I have told them the Saturday deadline and that if I haven't had a reply from them then I will lodge a complaint on Monday at 10am UK time with BBB. It's now up to them, Monday gives them 13 1/2 weeks in total.