Camera purchase leads to difficult return, customer service problems
Written: Jun 05 '06 (Updated Jun 05 '06)
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I had an awful experience buying a digital camera from Overstock.com. I've actually waited a few months to write this review so that the venom I feel about my experience could subside.
I saw a camera for sale, thought it looked great, couldn't beat the price, and ordered it. I paid with PayPal instead of a credit card because ... I don't really know why. Because I like using PayPal.
When the camera came, the case was scratched all to hell. The writing had been worn off. This was absolutely NOT a new camera and I would argue that "refurbished"/"reconditioned" didn't apply either. This was a used camera that had been sold as "refurbished" but was quite clearly and obviously USED.
I decided I didn't want to keep it and would return it to Overstock for a refund. This, dear readers, is when the nightmare began.
The customer service that I received was below subpar. It was awful. It took three days to initiate a return - which could only be done via e-mail, not by phone. I was told to wait for a second e-mail with a return label to send it back to Overstock. I was also told that there was a STRICT 20-day return policy that I must adhere to. (Whether it was "20 days after purchase" or "20 days after initiating return" or "20 days after receiving return label" was never clear.)
After three days with no return label (now six days after receiving the camera), I e-mailed again. Another three days later, someone got back to me with the same spiel: "we will send you a return label soon." Three more days passed and it never came. So I decided to call customer service. The first half-dozen times I called, I either got a busy signal, no answer, or was dropped after the first menu options. After being lost in their menu-option Purgatory for FORTY FIVE MINUTES, I was disconnected as I was being transferred to a human.
I called back and again spent an inordinate amount of time on hold, being disconnected upon transfer, etc. Two days later, when I got through to a real person, I was agitated and irritated and had now spent 11 days since my initial return request just trying to get my stuff sent back.
I had to speak to four customer service reps, on two occasions, two supervisors and a tech in order to get my return paperwork. The 20-day window was almost expired by the time I got everything in order and back into DHL.
The crowning glory, though, was still to come. Overstock.com does not refund purchases made with PayPal. That's right. Once you give them money via PayPal, you can't get it back. Sure, they give you a store credit but ... after a nasty ordeal trying to return something that wasn't satisfactory, what would possibly possess me to endure that same kind of torment and pain all over again??? Isn't the definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result?
(In the end, my roommate ordered stuff using the credit they issued and gave me the cash equivalent.)
I have black-listed Overstock.com and won't make another purchase with them in the future. It is much, much, MUCH to the buyer's advantage to spend a few extra bucks and buy items from a place with substantially better customer service.
Recommended:
No
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? A digital camera
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Epinions.com ID:
dmentia777
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Member: Jessica
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Reviews written: 24
Trusted by: 2 members
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