Choiceonedigital - how can I get my money back?

I bought a Minolta A1 from Choiceonedigital in NY via an eBay auction

last April. Camera arrived, and everything was great, however, I made

the BIG MISTAKE to also order an 512 MB Sandisk Ultra CF card for $149

at the time. They sent a generic 512MB card and didn't send the 128MB

card that was supposed to be part of the auction. When I complained by

phone, they claimed it was an "upgrade". They asked me to return the

unwanted 512MB card, I did, and they send me the 128MB card. Fine,

however they have not yet refunded the $149 for the 512MB card. Four

months later, I am still waiting for a refund to my credit card...

 

I trieds to email- no response. I tried to call - no response. I sent

them a certified letter with return receipt - according to the USPS

website, this letter is undelivered (a note has been left for them to

pick up the letter at the postoffice) - yeah, right, what are the

chances that someone from Choiceonedigital actually walks to the

postoffice to pickup my registered letter?

 

What are my options? How can I get my money back??? Any advise

appreciated.

Exhaust all legal options, then get down on their level and retaliate,

its gettin weird out there.

You need to find copies of your e-mail to the company.

 

 

 

Xerox the e-mail notes, and your letter to that company.

 

 

 

 

Write a letter contesting the charge to your credit card company.

Explain why you are a unhappy camper. (If the company Choiceone digital happens to be in New York City, plus one for you: the city has a consumer affair office: you can submit a written complaint to the bureau that issues business licenses in the city. Too many complaints for shady deals, more fun in renewing their business license.)

 

 

 

 

And contact e-bay and see if they care......

$149 is a pretty good way to learn to buy from reputable companies next time.

 

You will not be getting your money back.

 

http://www.resellerratings.com/seller3086.html

Gerald's suggestions are all good, especially working with your credit card company. Of course keep all copies of correspondence. Also contact the attorney general of the state they are located in. You can usually do that by internet. I've done that with big name companies who tried to weasle out of paying rebates. (No names, but their initials are PNY).

FIGHT BACK!!! Even if you still don't get your money back, you can still gum up their works and make them pay in time and trouble. They have to respond to complaints from AGs and consumer affairs.

Also, post your experience with this site and resellerratings.com.

Ben.

Thanks Bob, had I seen resellerratings feedback, I wouldn't have done it, but Choiceonedigital did have a very good track record on eBay (over 98% positive feedback on 1,000+ transactions). Usually I do buy from Keh.com or B&H and never had a problem before.

$149 is a pretty good way to learn to buy from reputable companies next time.

 

I agree 100%!

 

I never buy from internet, when i need something i go to retail store, look and feel what i get, pay that extra dollar and leave store happy. If anything goes wrong i can go back and get 1-hand help.

 

You should know that it's much easyer to lie over internet then to look in the customers eye, and if the customer is not blind he usualy suspects if anything is not right...

 

So for all of you suckers that wants to save few bucks by buying over internet i say this: Stop complaining, sometimes you'll save money, another time you'll loose!

 

I understand if you buy quantities, in that case you can realy save some money, but if you buy 1 camera and want to save for a beer... ;)

This occured in April. I think you're outside the time limit, both with eBay and your credit card company, to do anything about it. I think you have lost your $150 by procrastinating about it.

All is not lost. If you have the paperwork to prove yourself you are covered even if you have spent six months trying to resolve this. Call them and request their merchant number. Tell them if they don't try to resolve this you will contact your cc company, send them the information and request a chargeback on them. Chargebacks stay on a companys record and it makes them look bad to issuing banks. Kind of like when you don't pay load debts on time. If you did this enough it would be hard for you to get another loan from any bank. They have no control on crediting you if the cc company see's in your favor. It will be deducted from their account by their sponsoring bank and it will go on their record. Too many of these on a companys record can cause them to be dropped from their bank. If they cannot find another sponsoring bank due to past history then guess what, they can accept no more credit cards! Never give up on something like this. Deal with THEIR boss, the cc company directly.

Have all your ducks in a row and good luck.

 

Thomas

Andreas: I think you may have waited too long to do anything about it through eBay's Fraud protection program. I didn't take the time to read through the pages, but I think you have to wait at least a month then file a claim within 60 or 90 days.

 

I find it very odd that the company took care of the 128mb card that was supposed to be part of the auction but not the 512mb card. It sounds like there may have been a communication problem.

 

No answers for you this time, but the next time go through eBay's resolution process and then, if that doesn't work, file a fraud claim. I belive there is a $25 copayment, but it sure beats getting nothing. <a href="http://pages.ebay.com/help/confidence/isgw-fraud-protection.html"> http://pages.ebay.com/help/confidence/isgw-fraud-protection.html </a>

Well, I filed a complaint with BBB, but I don't expect to get that money back - lesson learned...

 

Melissa: this had nothing to do with eBay, the Minolta A1 that I got from ChoiceOne was brand new and works just fine. The problem was with that additional CF card. I believe, they had never the intention to refund me the $149 I paid for it, so me returning the unwanted 512MB card and they sending me a 128MB card instead, was a "good deal" for them...