Frustration.com.....UPDATE!
Written: Feb 24 '02 (Updated Feb 24 '02)
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Ok now that my dispute is finally resolved I'll give you my final thought on Half.com.
Ok Half.com is a site where sellers and buyers...sell and buy stuff through the middleman that is half.com.
Selling:
OK so you want to sell something Half.com offer an outlet to sell pretty much anything from BOOKS to VIDEO GAME CONSOLES.
When you list your item half.com doe make it easy by allowing you to fill in the UPC # from you which takes out a lot of the legwork.
Once you list the item your asked to rate it which half.com SEEMS to be rather anal about. "New" "Like New" "Good" "Acceptable" and "Unacceptable" what is considered what varies on the object your selling and that can be found here: http://www.half.com/help/index.cfm?helpsection=list
Contrary to some of the "top" reviewers and "editors" here half.com DOES take a percentage and the commission is as follows:
Can be found here : http://www.half.com/help/index.cfm?helpsection=getpaid
Under $50.00 - 15%
50.01-100.00 - 12.5%
100.01-250.00 - 10.0%
250.01-500.00 - 7.5%
Over 500.00 - 5%
You’re paid either by check or direct deposit. I choose DD so I can't say how good or bad the check method is.
Every 15th and last day of the month half.com totals up your earnings and with in 4 days you get a e-mail that tells you with in a week you will get a deposit in you account. My experience with this was rather bothersome I had sold my items in the second half of January but didn't get the DD (which mind you is supposed to be faster then check) till the middle of Feb. If it's faster I hate to see how long it takes for a check. Your reimbursed for a percentage of the shipping (generous right?) depending on how you ship it. Usually Media Mail is the preferred and slowest way of half.com.
Well anywho as soon as your sale is confirmed you now have 2 days to ship it out of the sale is now null and void...which yeah is an empty threat. Again my experience was mixed I sold an item the Saturday before MLK JR. day and well apparently Half.com didn't realize it. They gave me 2 days including MLK Jr. Day?!?! Post office is closed that day.
BUYING:
Well you can pretty much find anything you can find on ebay and well it works kind of like Ebay sans the bidding. Say you want a DVD you type the name of the DVD where it says search most of the time you'll get a direct hit. When you get to the items page you now have a choice to buy (if available) NEW, LIKE NEW, and well I wouldn't suggest beyond that. WARNING!! BE EXTREMLY CAREFUL WHEN BUYING PS2 GAMES, X-BOX GAMES, PSX GAMES, NGC GAMES, CD'S AND DVD'S. PLEANTY OF PEOPLE HAVE PURCHASED STUFF FORM HALF.COM AND HAVE BEEN SOLD HORRIBLE ITEMS!!
Well once you buy your item I suggest you pay with a Credit Card/Debit Card and you'll see why later. Now it's in the Sellers hand to confirm the sale. Now the annoyance begins if your impatient, the waiting. You get a rough estimate of when your item will be sent, no tracking number. I didn't receive one when buying an item nor was I asked to supply one when selling. IT works on the honor system and empty threats. WELL you get your item and now you get to rate the seller. In my case the item I got was broken so I gave the seller a horrible rating as did most other who bought from this seller and oddly a month later all the 1 rating are gone (again contrary to what some "editors" and "top reviewers" say I can have the other buyers vouch for me on this)?!?! So it really doesn't matter what you rate him/her.
My Story:
Well here it goes.....
SO! Lets begin:
On January 20th I purchased a Like New X-Box from the seller Gr8DealZ. I figured that I was saving $50 and how used can an X-box be since it was released 4 months pervious to that. So as I waited and waited and I noticed that Gr8DeaZ is selling an awful lot of ps2's and X-boxes....something like 10 like new systems a week...odd but I paid it no mind.
Anyway I finally get my X-box and low and behold the box looks like it was mauled by a bear..no biggie I thought as long as it works I could care less about the box. I open it and the right analog stick is jammed and busted. Annoyed I se if at least the X-box works. Nope there a ghost image in the screen...like the screen is creased. So I re-read the Buyer agreement. Seller Agreement, and The Buyer Protection plan.
So what did I find out?
Well:
Like New meant "Like New - Item still in shrink wrap or looks as if it was just taken out of shrink wrap, no wear and tear, all facets of product flawless and intact." (as seen here http://www.half.com/help/index.cfm?helpsection=pricing under CD, Movies, Videogames...X-box being under videogames)
Broken controller is wear and tear and NOT flawless sooo I report the problem(as told to do here http://www.half.com/help/index.cfm?helpsection=buyerorderprob#6) and wait.
Now 2 days later I get 2 e-mails one form the Seller saying
"It Took This Long For Us To Get The Information To Contact You We Can Send Out A New One If You Like. Please Let Us Know" - Gr8DealZ
this was through half.com so no real way to contact this seller to let him know what I'd like to do. (please take notice that it DOES NOT say I am getting a replacement) To make matters worse I got a conflicting E-mail from half.com saying:
"The seller 'GR8DEALZ' has responded to my email. He is sorry for the inconvenience this order has caused you. He has agreed to send you a 'Like New' 'Microsoft Xbox Game System'. He thinks that the wrong system was accidentally sent to you. I gave him your shipping address, you should be receiving your new item within 4-14 business days" - Loni C. M.
Now is it me or does the seller say one thing and half.com say another?
Well I write back saying basically once bitten twice shy I'd be more comfortable with my money back...I get told...
"As per Half.com's policy, the seller's obligation in this situation is to either send you a replacement item or refund you. In this case, he has chosen to send you a replacement item. In this situation, therefore, we cannot refund you.
Of course, if the item never reaches you, or if it, too, is in unacceptable condition, we can pursue the matter further. Otherwise, you'll be receiving your replacement soon." - Matt R.
So being one who is knows his consumer rights, I seemed to be left out of the resolve of this problem. Never was I given the choice, and now from the 2 conflicting e-mails Half.com can't prove to me that I'm getting my actually Item and I have to wait 14 days to get a refund. Well NJ state laws say different (since I live in Jersey the sale took place in NJ). Not to mention a sale is a contract, by law if one party doesn't live up to their end of the bargain the sale is null and void and well I get my money back. Also half.com being the middleman has no right what so ever to speak n my behalf.
Interesting tid bit about refund form half.com:
"Half.com determines that the seller had misrepresented the item's quality according to the quality rating guidelines we provide, Half.com will refund the purchase to the buyer, deduct the sale from the sellers account, and return the item to the seller at the seller's expense."
(as seen here http://www.half.com/help/index.cfm?helpsection=pricing)
Well seeing how the seller admitted to sending me the wrong item there not much to prove now...so what did I do?
Wrote them a looooong letter stating my consumer rights, NJ laws, BBB rules, and stuff right out of their own user agreement. I also asked them how can they be sure that I am getting my new X-box if well Half.com says it's coming and Gr8DealZ says I have to let him know.
The response was a VERY apologetic one and here is a VERY important quote to what will soon turn into a good cop bad cop situation:
"I also want to note that I have taken ownership over your case, therefore all of your emails will be forwarded directly to my inbox.
I want to ask, *****, that you do not contact your credit card company or any other third parties on this transaction." - Gary W.B.
I found it odd on how they INSISTED I didn't contact my CC company or the better business beaur since according to them they did no wrong?!
Well in the same inbox that day I get a E-Mail from half.com confirming what I said form the get go about me getting a new X-box:
"The seller has wrote me back and indicated that he has not sent this item back out to you and would grant a refund to your account.
Therefore, I have refunded your account.....This process will take a few days to be completed and will appear in your Half.com account.
You may verify your refund from your Half.com account. Please follow the steps below.
1. Click the 'Your Account' link.
2. Click the 'Your Purchases' link.
3. Locate the order in question. A line itemizing the amount of the refund is under the total cost of the item."
- Gary W.B.
OK so that was the 9th TWEENTY DAYS after my initial purchase. Today is the 24th...I have yet to get my refund.
I wrote 3 more times questioning where my refund was I was told:
On the 11th:
"I researched this transaction and found that Half.com has begun the process of refunding your credit card for this
transaction. Please note that the refund takes approximately 3-5 business days to be completed."
From a few days to now at the most to now 7 days..so they say.
Then asking again a couple of days later I was told (sorry I think I deleted this e-mail so I can't quote from it) that if no refund is reflected as of the 15th let us know.
Now it's the 16th and well I got my CC bill with the charge and no sign of refund. So a as what’s going on I want my refund now. Then the bad cop steps in telling me:
I apologize for any inconvenience that transaction #243476337596 for "Microsoft Xbox Game System" may have caused you. After researching your account and emails, I have found that you stated that you have already called your credit card company to request a charge back. If
this is true we will be unable to process a refund for you. Due to the fact that in the Buyer Protection Policy that you agreed to when you became a member, stated that after communication what would happen if a charged back was requested from your credit card company.
The section on the policy stated "You must attempt to resolve your problem with the Seller through Buyer/Seller Communication before you submit your Buyer Protection Report. While there may occasionally be problems, most problems are simple misunderstandings. In addition, you
may not initiate Buyer/Seller Communication (or submit a Buyer Protection Policy Report to Half.com) if you have instructed your credit card company to charge back the disputed item. Buyers that go though their credit card company to dispute a charge may have their Half.com
membership suspended." - Matt B....hmm where’s Gary the good cop?
!?!?!?!?!?! I contacted my CC company huh since when? Not to mention they can't say for a fact that I did contact my CC and are refusing me a refund cause they assume I did.
Well time for really long e-mail #2..
"Hi Matt,
What I never said I did request my money back I said that I was going to, if it wasn't resolved. What kind of scam is this? If I indeed said I contacted my CC company (which I didn't) wouldn't you have told me right there and then that you couldn't refund me the money, instead of waiting weeks stringing me along? How did you get involved with this supposedly (As you "claim" to have read the e-mails) Gary who said "Chris, I also want to note that I have taken ownership over your case, therefore all of your emails will be forwarded directly to my inbox."
The fact is I NEVER disputed this charge with my Credit Card Company and instead of refunding me my money you make up some story that I said I already disputed it. Please quote me like I have half.com where I say I DISPUTED the charge.
"I want to ask, Chris, that you do not contact your credit card company or any other third parties on this transaction. Please allow me to help you with this. I'll be here every step of the way with you to make sure you understand what is happening with this transaction." Is the response I got about going to my CC company not something you would say if I already went to my credit card company.
Oh by the way say "I have found that you stated that you have already called your credit card company to request a charge back." then "If this is true we will be unable to process a refund for you." makes no sense. So you say I disputed the charge but your not sure.
Ok so NOW I'm going to dispute the charge with chase, and reporting to the BBB that a) you (the middle man) took it upon yourselves to resolve this sale for me (the buyer), ignored NJ state consumer laws that state the buyer has 7 - 30 days to back out of the sale and that if the seller doesn't live up to his end the buyer has the right to his/her money back. Lastly that instead of giving me my refund you string me along." - ME
Well NOW I contacted Chase and they said no, no refund was issued as of 20th of Feb. They requested all the emails and any receipts, I have so they can make getting my money back as easy as possible. Researched my case...HAHAHAH I guess not as well as they would like you to think huh!?
Yet I get one last E-Mail this time from Gary...this good cop. on the 22hd 2 days after chase said no refund was issued:
Thanks for writing back about transaction #243476337596.
****, I apologize for the response that you received. Please note that even though I have kept case ownership on your transaction, sometimes multiple emails are not forwarded to my box. In the future, if you need to write to Half.com about this transaction, please note at the top of the email that Gary W. is handling your situation. That way it is sure to be forwarded to me.
As for contacting your credit card company, please do not ask them for a charge back. However, please ask them to verify that a refund was processed. My records show that on February 6, Half.com contacted your credit card company about the refund and it was processed. So, if you will ****, contact your credit card company to verify that information. If, by some chance, the refund hasn't been processed, write me back and I'll contact my billing department to get the ball rolling on this matter.
Please note, ****, that Half.com will refund you. We're not trying to cheat you about this matter. Sometimes its just simple computing errors that make the process not run as smoothly as it should." Gary W.B.
So from this I get half.com customer service team is sooo horrible that well the right hand doesn't know what the left is doing. Also as for the contacting him directly...I didn't change a thing just clicked on reply?
"My records show that on February 6, Half.com contacted your credit card company about the refund and it was processed."
Yet as for the 22nd Chase has no record of the refund?!? I'm still deciding weather I want to see then squirm and reply to that email with what chase told me or just let it be. yet in the end of the Email he tell me half.com WILL refund me the money?!?!
Take from my experience what you will, use it as a warning. I for one will not be using half.com ever again.
Oh BTW I did go and ask my lawyer (as an Illustrator you need one) and he confirmed what I said.
Thank you for your time
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