I read your site often, and I now have a situation of my own that I would like to share with you. I am hoping that you might be able to help me or provide some guidance as to how I should proceed.

I ordered eight bridesmaid dresses from Ann Taylor on November 2. The dresses were on sale for $69.44. Even though I only needed four dresses, I decided to order eight after checking the return policy, which stated that I could return the unworn merchandise for 90 days. I did this so my bridesmaids could try on the extra dresses to ensure that they ended up with one that was the right size, and I planned to send the ones that did not fit back to the store. Like many women, I often order two sizes when I am buying clothes online, and send the wrong size back. This is not an unusual practice.

Two days later, I checked Ann Taylor's site out of curiosity to see if the dresses were still on sale. They were, but the site indicated that they were marked "Final Sale." The price was the same. I was very relieved that I had the opportunity to buy all 8 before they went on Final Sale. I double checked my confirmation to ensure that I had not
purchased the Final Sale dresses, and I had not.

Today, I got home and opened the box of dresses. The printed receipt indicates that the dresses were Final Sale and therefore cannot be returned. This leaves me with four extra bridesmaid dresses that I am now apparently unable to return. I called Ann Taylor to explain the situation and they told me that there was nothing they could do, even though my confirmation clearly indicated that the dresses were not final sale when I purchased them. The customer service representative, Carolyn, and her supervisor, Connie, continuously stated that the dresses were always Final Sale at the price of $69.44. This may have been the case internally, but the external website available to the customer did NOT indicate anything about final sale until at least November 4. As an aside, I have copies of past confirmations from orders in which I purchased a final sale product, and both the website
and confirmations clearly indicate that. So it's not that company policy is not to mention that on the confirmation, they do and I have proof. Connie eventually told me to email the customer relations address tomorrow, which I'm sure will get me nowhere.

I am very upset right now about this situation. I am actually a very loyal Ann Taylor customer! I spend a lot of money there each month, and have never had any issues with their customer service. I cannot believe, in this economy, that they would do this to any customer, much less a good one. Ann Taylor changed the terms of the purchase (adding the designation of Final Sale and therefore getting rid of my ability to return the item) after it was sold, which cannot be legal.

There's always a chargeback, but since you enjoy shopping at Ann Taylor, it would be nice if you could get them to honor their return policy so that you don't have to escalate it to that level.

Instead of dealing with phone support, consider writing a concise, clear letter explaining the problem, and showing the proof you have of past "Final Sale" notifications. In addition to the details of the situation, let them know the kind of loyal customer you've been, both in financial terms and word-of-mouth advertising.

Instead of sending it to the customer service address in Utah, however, try sending it to the executives at the corporate office in New York City.

We'll include both addresses, just in case you feel like blanketing everyone at once.

Ann Taylor Customer Service
100 Ann Taylor Drive
P.O. Box 571650
Taylorsville, UT 84157-1650
fax: 1-866-232-9266

Ann Taylor Corporate Info
Kay Krill - President & Chief Executive Officer
Michael J. Nicholson - Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
Barbara Eisenberg - Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary
Christine M. Beauchamp - President, Ann Taylor Stores
Brian Lynch - President of Corporate Operations

Ann Taylor Corporate Offices
7 Times Sq # 14
New York, NY 10036
(212) 541-3200‎
(212) 719-0120‎
(you can also try these two numbers: 212-541-3300 / 800-677-6788)

(Photo: Marcin Wichary)

(Photo: Wayne Gunn)

Vickie writes:

I have used the Delta PermEnamel Products for several years with marvelous results. This was an isolated incident which I would not expect to recur. This isolated incident has been resolved to my complete satisfaction. Thank you, Delta Creative, Inc.

Vickie Silcox/Artist
A Painted Setting

(Photo: Getty Images)

I have used the Delta PermEnamel Products for several years with marvelous results. This was an isolated incident which I would not expect to recur. This isolated incident has been resolved to my complete satisfaction. Thank you, Delta Creative, Inc.

Vickie Silcox/Artist
A Painted Setting

Congrats, Vickie! We're glad Delta Creative came through in the end.

If you're finding this for the first time, you can still read the original post below:

First of all, this is a story about Delta Creative, not Delta Airlines. Delta Creative makes craft and hobby supplies, including something called PermEnamel glass paint. Vickie, a glass artist who says she's painted "literally thousands of pieces" using PermEnamel, had it fail on her recently. It ruined almost 100 of her pieces and cost her approximately $2,000. She says Delta confirmed the product failed, and approved a reimbursement request—but then "the President of Delta Creative, Bill George, stepped in and said they don't guarantee their products, nor is he in the business of reimbursement," and he denied it.

Here's Vickie's story:

I have lost nearly 100 pieces, at a value of nearly $2,000.00, due to the failure of Delta Permenamel surface conditioner. Their technical department confirmed the failure, the Director of Marketing approved the claim for time and materials, and the President declined reimbursement to me stating that Delta is not in the business of reimbursement! Most importantly, he stated to me that the company does not and will not guarantee the products.

I have painted thousands of pieces, with fantastic results, never one dissatisfied client....you might say I was a Delta disciple, proficient in every way in the application of these products.......but I am no longer that gal. I will never touch this product again.

I lost the ability to sell these 100 pieces and Delta Creative is responsible, and I am now suffering the aftermath. Loss of inventory to sell, loss of revenue to purchase glass, paint, book future shows. Cut off at the knees.

I'm posting this to give other Glass Painters using Delta Permenamel products the opportunity to weigh the risk that they are taking when using this paint. And to seriously evaluate the consequences, if the process fails. You will have no recourse.

I have reported Delta Creative with the Better Business Bureau, and will take further steps if necessary for them to right this wrong.

Finally, when you read that label that says "dishwasher safe", what it should really say is "sometimes dishwasher safe" or perhaps...."dishwasher safe only at the Delta Plant.

You may not be in the business of "guaranteeing" products, Bill George, but you'd think some sort of goodwill reimbursement at the very least would be a smart idea. Regardless of your behavior, however, we agree with Vickie that other glass artists should know that if (when?) PermEnamel fails, it will be their problem, not Delta Creative's.

(Photo: Getty Images)

Here's a quick summary of why neither I, nor anyone else I can convince, will ever shop at Pottery Barn (or any sister company - looking at you, Williams-Sonoma) ever again. On May 22, we ordered a nice three piece slip-covered sectional, for over $3300.

After the usual six to eight weeks, we received the three frame pieces, and one of the three slipcovers. After another two weeks passed without receiving any more slipcovers, we called Pottery Barn, and were cheerily informed that the remaining portion of our order had been canceled, as Pottery Barn had run out of the fabric that we requested for our slipcover.

So, trying to see things philosophically, we chose another, similar color from our local Pottery Barn, and sat back (on our blanket-covered sofa) to wait. After another 3 to 4 weeks, we received another one (1) slipcover of the three (3) we ordered; this one fit a different piece of the sofa (the corner).

We called Pottery Barn, who helpfully informed us that the remainder of our order had been canceled, as Pottery Barn had run out of the second fabric that we requested, and would we like to pick a third color?

We requested a refund, and scheduled a pickup of our mix-and-match sectional sofa set (one green loveseat, one slightly-different green corner, one even-more-different green blanket-covered loveseat). The pieces were duly picked up, and we were presented with a receipt for the delivery (! - not the pickup - !) of all of the pieces that had previously been delivered (not all of the pieces we had ordered - an important distinction).

Two weeks later (four months to the day from placing the order for the sofa), we receive a refund check for $2300, the value of the pieces that were picked up - not the value of the pieces we paid for, some four months back.

So, Pottery Barn has had our money for four months, we had the use of around 2/3 of a pretty eclectic-looking sectional (one section of which we had to cover with a blanket) for a month or so, much to the amusement of several houseguests, and we eventually got 2/3 of our money back. We haven't cashed the check yet, as we don't know whether that hurts our chances of getting the rest of our money. We've left messages for the customer service rep at Pottery Barn asking if we could please have the rest of our money back, since after four months, American Express tells me that a charge-back is out of the question (their 'system' won't let them start the procedure after two months). When I point out that we didn't even receive the sofa for two months after paying for it, the AmEx rep was very sympathetic, and assured me he would be frustrated, too.

In fairness to Pottery Barn, the sofa was at least comfortable, and they have promised us a gift card "for the inconvenience." Of course, they made that promise in early August, and we've so far seen no more sign of a gift card than we have of any competence at Pottery Barn. Odds are, they'll eventually deliver 2/3 of a gift card (literally, with a chunk missing), and cheerfully inform us that they've run out of the plastic from which the gift cards are made, and would we like a rattan one?

This seems like just the sort of thing that could be solved with an EECB (Executive Email Carpet Bomb.) Your situation is obviously not getting the TLC that it needs.

For more information about launching an EECB, click here. Pottery Barn is owned by Williams Sonoma, and you can find a list of their executives here.

If attracting the attention of someone competent doesn't work, you can always file a small claims lawsuit in order to recover the difference. Here's some information about small claims court.

(Photo: afagan )

UPDATE: Pottery Barn's rep says that they were able to speak with Joshua and resolve the issue. Here's their statement:

We at Williams Sonoma, Inc. recognize that Customer Service is our number one priority. We appreciate the facts being brought to our attention and it is only through feedback, such as this, that we are able to meet our goal of providing world class customer service.

Please accept our sincere appreciation for your advocacy on the part of our consumers.

Under the terms of a preliminary settlement agreement, [Timberland and e-commerce company GSI] will pay $7 million into a cash fund to reimburse those who received the messages, according to KamberEdelson LLC, one of the law firms that helped bring the suit.

To sign up for your slice of the $7 million pie—pending court approval—visit www.timberlandtextsettlement.com and register as a claimant. You have to register by Feburary 2nd, 2009.

"Timberland pays out to settle text spam lawsuit" [InfoWorld via IntoMobile]

Here's their email:

We fixed the error on iPod pricing on our website this morning. And anyone who bought at the wrong price is going to be refunded without asking, no matter how long ago they purchased. Plus we are sending them a $10 gift card so they can add some tunes to their new iPod.

Thanks to your reader for pointing out the mistake. Apple changed prices and discontinued some models with their latest upgrades, and our system—for a reason we have fixed—didn't reflect that.

Inflated prices are not in our repertoire. Actually, getting gear in musicians' hands at the lowest possible price is what we are all about. We appreciate the fair shake we got from The Consumerist. Keep up the good work. No problem will ever appear on your site that we do anything other than solve

From the Associated Press:

Citigroup's "account sweeping program" automatically removed positive balances from customers' credit card accounts, Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. said. For instance, if a customer double-paid a bill by mistake or refunded a purchase for credit, that positive balance was then taken from the customer without notification, Brown said.

The news stories that announced the settlement last week don't explain why the sweeping program was set up in the first place, or why it ran for so long. They do point out, however, that a whistleblower brought the program to the attention of an internal audit team in 2001, but that person was ignored and later fired.

One unnamed Citibank executive explains Citibank's position pretty succintly in the AG's press release:

In the words of a Citibank executive, “Stealing from our customers is a business decision, not a legal decision.” The same executive later said that the sweep program could not be stopped because it would reduce the executive bonus pool.

Citibank says it admits to no wrongdoing, although we're not sure how you can characterize pocketing overpayments and credits for yourself as crime-free.

According to the settlement (PDF), Citibank must identify all affected accounts and mail a notice via first class mail to the account holder's last known address, or to the person in charge of the customer's estate. You'll have to respond within 60 days of this notice, and then will be reimbursed the skimmed fees plus 10% interest. The bank has until June 1st, 2009 to refund the money.

"Citi pays $18M for questioned credit card practice" [Associated Press]
"Citibank Stole From 53,000 Customers" (Thanks to Claire!)
(Photo: Getty)

That stinks, the policy was neat. If you bought something from Amazon and its price on the site dropped within 30 days, you could contact them and get a refund for the difference.

Now according to emails people are getting, the policy is no more and only items bought before September 1st will be eligible. Must be the economy, stupid. We're waiting on a confirmation/explanation from Amazon, but here's the email Jason got...

Hello from Amazon.com.

Thank you for contacting us to take advantage of our Post-Order Price Guarantee.

I've confirmed that we now offer a greater discount on item than at the time you placed your order.

Since your purchase shipped within the past 30 days, I've requested a refund of $5.78 to the original payment method used for your order.

This amount reflects the difference between the price you were originally charged for the item and the current price offered by Amazon.com. This refund should be processed in the next few days.

Only orders placed before September 1, 2008 are eligible for a price difference refund under the Post-Order Price Guarantee policy. As of September 1, 2008 we are no longer offering discounts if prices change on our website after you make a purchase.

Thank you for shopping at Amazon.com—we hope you'll visit us again soon.

RELATED:
amazon no more post-order price matching??? [High-Def Digest]
Amazon Dropping Post-Order Price Guarantee Effective Sept 1st [SlickDeals]
No more post-order price matching!?!? [Amazon Forums]

(Photo: nedrichards)

Here's Brian's letter:

I thought you might be interested in an unbelievable experience I recently had at a restaurant.

Last night I went to Friendly's restaurant in Norristown, PA to get ice cream. My wife and I each ordered a sundae with butter crunch ice cream. After we paid for them, the cashier realized that they were out of butter crunch. My wife is pregnant and has dietary restrictions that prevent her from eating chocolate or nuts - which rule out almost all of the other flavors. So, since they didn't have butter crunch, we just asked for our money back.

However, she told us that she isn't allowed to give refunds. The cashier explained that their manager had been giving too many refunds recently, and that the manager would get in trouble if she issued any more. So because they didn't want the manager to "get in trouble", they refused to give back our money - despite the fact that we had paid for two sundaes that they couldn't give us.

We then asked if we could speak to the manager about a refund. After a worker disappeared into the back for a few minutes, we were told that the manager was in the back and on the phone, so she couldn't come out. I was astonished that the manager refused to come out and help us deal with this issue. After waiting another 5-10 minutes, the employees told us that the manager would not be coming out from the back. I suspect that the manager was not even in the store and the "on the phone" excuse was just used to cover up for her.

We asked for the manager's name, and were told by three different employees that they aren't allowed to tell anyone her name. So not only did they refuse to let us speak to a manager, but they wouldn't give us her name! However, I managed to overhear one of the other workers mention the first name of the manager [redacted.] The employee looked terrified after realizing that the manager's name slipped in front of customers.

By the time we had been waiting at the counter for about twenty minutes, the cashier said that she would be willing to return the cost of one sundae. This was completely unacceptable, since we had paid for two sundaes that we never got!

Eventually, after about thirty minutes, one of the employees agreed to get one of the half gallons of butter crunch from the take-out freezer to make our sundaes. Finally we got the food we paid for and left.

So apparently the manager at this Friendly's restaurant:

— has instructed her employees not to issue refunds - even when they are fully justified - because she doesn't want to "get in trouble".

— has strictly forbidden her employees from even telling customers what her name is.

— refuses to talk to customers, even if they specifically ask to speak to her. In fact, I strongly suspect that she was not even in the restaurant, but told her employees to say she is "on the phone" to cover for her if she is not there

I tried contacting the store's general manager about this, but his business card only lists the phone number of the restaurant. I've put out an "email carpet bomb", but haven't yet gotten a response. Maybe getting the story out on your site will encourage them to do something about this.

Thank you.

-Brian

You might want to also give your local consumer affairs department a heads up about this new "policy." Selling a product they don't have and then refusing to issue a refund isn't, um, cool. Ya know? Come to think of it... it's not exactly friendly, either.

(Photo: *nomad* )

"If they thought I was a cranky old biddy, they should just have given me my money and let me go," Christina told the Star-Tribune. "I paid in good faith, and I wanted my money back. That's all. It's the principle."

"They can put you in jail for this," she says a cop told her. "Well, I've got nothing else to do today," she replied. "Besides, I may meet a better class of people in jail."

The store wouldn't budge. Christina wouldn't bend. A stretcher was brought in.

Christina was strapped to it, and taken by ambulance to North Memorial Medical Center. Her physical and mental health was supposed to be evaluated.

Attention shoppers: You won't take a gift certificate? You must be nuts.

"They thought I was loony or something," Christina says, her voice still incredulous. "That's the real crazy thing. I just wanted my money."

In the emergency room, they looked her over and sent her home that day. She seemed to be an elderly lady who was upset. From Christina's account, she also seemed to have a good reason.

Target's Fransen says store employees were concerned for her health.

"It's not anything she did," he said. "Team members were concerned about her well-being and her safety, and wanted to make sure she wasn't endangering herself."

Perhaps, so. But this could be one case where three $10 bills would have done a lot more — and done it more cheaply — than an ambulance ride to a hospital.

Christina Brown wants an apology, she wants her money (including getting her medical bills from the unexpected hospital trip paid), and she wants this: "I want the staff trained in how to treat customers."

Christina won't get to help train them. Target signed a trespassing order against her, meaning she will be arrested if she returns to the Plymouth SuperTarget.

That, friends, won't be a problem.

"I wouldn't go back to that store if everything in it was free," she says. "If they're waiting to see me again, they're waiting for a cold day in hell."

'Cranky' lady tangled with 'Mr. Nasty’ [Star-Tribune]
(Photo: spinadelic )

• Holding $5,000 in tickets from a family for six months, then telling them the day before that the flight has been canceled;
• When confronted with the fact that the flight hasn't been canceled, telling the family that the reservation has been lost;
• Finally admitting that they've bumped the family from the flight and were lying about the cancelation and the lost reservation;
• Offering replacement seats on multiple planes and days, splitting the family up on different flights and depositing them at different islands;
• Offering to get them there 5 days into a 7 day vacation, part of which was scheduled to spend time with a family member who was dying in a hospice in Hawaii;
• Refusing to write a letter on the family's behalf so that they can collect their insurance payment on the house they rented but never used.

How could United mess up a trip so badly? The mother who arranged all of it, Anita Cabral, suspects it has to do with the bottom line:

Cabral has a theory for this shabby treatment: fuel prices.

Between January and June, as the oil industry mounted its historic shakedown of consumers, the price of those tickets tripled. The folks who paid the most got to fly.

The columnist who wrote about the Cabrals' problems said he called United directly for a response, and was never called back.

"Bad airline stories are nothing like this" [Sign On San Diego] (Thanks to Randy!)
(Photo: Cubbie_n_Vegas)

Matt writes:

I have had the most unbelievable experience with Citi Card this week. In a nutshell, an error on their website led me to schedule two full payments and they won't give me the money back. Hopefully this story will prevent some of your readers from experiencing a similar problem.

On July 12, I received my Citi Card statement via email. The bill was $755.34 and was due on August 4. I went to the Citi website and scheduled a full payment to post on August 1. A couple weeks went by, and on August 1, I was getting ready to leave on a business trip, so I decided to check and make sure that the payment was indeed scheduled. I went to my Scheduled Payments page on Citi's website and it told me I had no scheduled payments. I then went to the page with my account status, and it still said I owed $755.34 by August 4. I assumed I either didn't schedule the payment, or I did and something went wrong. Either way, the website told me I had a bill due in three days and no payments scheduled, so I scheduled another payment of $755.34 for August 4.

As you can probably guess by now, on August 4, Citi made a deduction of $755.34 and then on August 5 made another deduction in the same amount. This brought my checking account within $52 of overdrafting, and my family and I were about to take a vacation to a small town where not every store takes credit cards. I called Citi and explained the situation, and they offered to return the money in 7 to 14 days, which was unacceptable. This was Wednesday. My wife and I would be paid on Friday, but we were going to be in a car without access to cash all day Thursday, so we needed the money immediately. They also blamed me completely for the debacle. When I repeatedly explained that I checked the scheduled payments page and was told nothing was scheduled, all they would tell me was that I should have called or emailed. But, why would I call or email, when I assume I can trust their website? Should I call or email every time I schedule a payment to confirm they received it? They then told me to call my bank and claim it as an unauthorized charge. I did so and was told an investigation would take place and I would have the money back in 7 to 10 days. Again, completely unhelpful. I said no thanks.

I called Citi back, argued with a supervisor for half an hour, and got absolutely nowhere. Just the same unbudging runaround. Completely infuriated, I told her to go ahead and put in the refund request, even though it didn't really do me any good.

So now, I get my mail today and find a letter from Citi, again blaming me entirely and telling me that no refund will be issued after all. So, Citi Card has a shitty website and gets to take out a $755 interest-free loan from me without my permission, and the whole stupid thing is my fault. I've dealt with a lot of bad customer service, but never any as sloppy and stubbornly unhelpful as this. I will be closing my Citi Card and would urge all of your readers to do the same.

Matt, we think you should escalate this higher up the Citibank food chain. It's unreasonable that a bank would hold their customer responsible for an error on their part, and it's absurd to think that it takes a bank up to two weeks to electronically re-deposit funds that they removed within a fraction of a second. Check out our Consumer's Guide to Fighting Back for suggestions on how to appeal to (hopefully) more reasonable minds at the executive level, including how to launch an Executive Email Carpet Bomb.

According to the Jackson Hole Star-Tribune, a 55 year-old man was arrested for suspicion of property damage and disturbing the peace after he became enraged and threw a monitor through a glass door and into the mall food court.

"Officers responded to the theater just after 7 p.m. and found Vaughn sweating profusely near the shoe department at JC Penney," says the paper.

The man had apparently requested a refund and when the theater employees offered him a "voucher." He then started yelling at employees and other customers that he was being ripped off.

A customer says that the man shouted that he was going to get his money's worth before grabbing the monitor and hurling it into the food court.

The officer who arrested the man says that he told him that "he had done the right thing in the war against injustice in the world."

Well, no.

Man fights movie theater 'injustice,', lands in jail [Star-Tribune] (Thanks, A.!)
(Photo: Getty)

If you're thinking of doing business with either website, read this post first and look for an alternative you can better trust.

(Photo: Getty)

First, here's the official revised policy that Yahoo announced today, according to the Associated Press:

The company said Wednesday it is offering coupons on request for people to buy songs again through Yahoo's new partner, RealNetworks Inc.'s Rhapsody. Those songs will be in the MP3 format, free of copy protection. Refunds are available for users who "have serious problems with this arrangement," Yahoo said.

John Healey at the Los Angeles Times' blog Bit Player published this additional information, which sounds like a hidden perk of the Yahoo Music Store closing:

Carrie Davis at Yahoo provided these nuggets of detail: if you're looking for a coupon or a refund, contact Yahoo's Customer Care department. There's no need for proof of purchase. The offer expires at the end of the year. By the way, coupons can be redeemed for any track at Rhapsody, not just the ones the customer purchased from Yahoo.

Of course, you'll have to explicitly request the coupons, then take the time to re-download your songs—or download new ones if you didn't like the ones you originally bought (although that's pretty shady, especially if you don't delete the DRM-wrapped ones)—so it's not the smoothest transition to DRM-free music. On the other hand, we're glad to see Yahoo isn't totally abandoning its customers after all.

"Yahoo offers coupons for music that stops working" [Associated Press] (Thanks to Chris!)
"Yahoo rethinks, offers refunds for DRM-wrapped songs" [Bit Player at Los Angeles Times]
(Photo: Getty)

Last week, my dad was headed off to the dump with his old (4-5 years) cross country skies. They had become delaminated as a result of plain wear and tear (and storing them in the hot attic probably didn't help). My brother had to pick up a jacket for summer camp, so my dad figured he's see if REI would take them back to dispose of (saving him 20 bucks that the dump would have cost). Not only did REI take them back, but they gave him a full refund. Kudos to REI for honoring an abnormally long warranty that we didn't even know existed.

Tom's story isn't unique. We found others online that mention a similar no-questions-asked (other than, "Is this used?") return/exchange policy. This forum thread on the backpackinglight website suggests you should try going into a store or calling rather than using the contact form on the website—here's a typical entry: "I never had any luck thru email with a pack I had, but when I called them, they jumped on it. Let me use the defective pack until the new one came in, and sent me a return label."

(Photo: Getty)

Trevor sent us his exchanges with Delta. His initial letter:

Dear Delta,

In June of 2007, I experienced a collapsed lung. At the recommendation of my thoracic surgeon to avoid flight for three to six months from the time of my operation, I was unable to use tickets booked on June 11, for a flight from NY JFK to Toronto—flight XXXXXXXX.

After being made aware I would not be able to use the tickets, I called a Delta representative who informed me that once receiving a signed letter from my physician, I would be given full cred ($365.58) for the flight. The credit would be available for one year. On both occasions I spoke with Delta representatives—when canceling the flight and when confirming my letter was received—I was not made aware that the credit expired on the date the flight was booked (June 11) and not the date of departure (Aug. 3). This information was only relayed when I attempted to use the credit on June 24, 2008. No email or letter acknowledging the restriction was ever offered, just the instruction to call when I wished to apply the credit. On top of that, nowhere in the confirmation information given to me by Travelocity is the booking date listed, only the flight date and I’m sure you can imagine, given my health circumstances, how that is unsatisfactory if you expect me to consider June 11, the key date in this situation.

I understand Delta must have restrictions and expiration dates for credit; however, I feel my medical condition was taken advantage of by inadequate customer care that neglected to communicate the central piece of information. I am using the credit in a window well within a year of the flight date. This is the first time I’ve booked a flight since my injury and am dismayed by a lack of sensitivity by Delta’s policies and customer care representatives.

I appreciate your consideration and understanding.

Delta's response:

Thank you for your correspondence to Delta Air Lines.

We realize you expect to receive accurate information when you call us. Our Reservation Sales representatives are carefully trained in all our procedures, including providing a positive experience for our valued customers.

Please be advised most unused international tickets can be applied towards new travel, domestic or international, to commence within one year from issue date of the original ticket.

Delta tickets and other travel-related documents are valid for one year from the date of issue. Once a ticket or other document has expired, it has no further value and cannot be refunded, extended, or exchanged.

While we would like to offer special consideration in cases such as yours, we are unable to honor the many requests that we receive from others in similar situations. We follow a consistent policy to ensure that Delta is fair to everyone who travels with us. Accordingly, we must respectfully decline your request.

Again, thank you for writing. We recognize this was not the response you expected to receive and trust you will understand our position. We value your business and hope you will continue to choose Delta. Should you need to contact us in the future, or find information about our service or operations, please visit us at delta.com.

Sincerely,

Irene M. Roberts
Manager
Customer Care

Can't you feel the love and care of their velvet-covered sickle?

Trevor responded:

Dear Ms. Roberts,

I’m sure it comes as no surprise that your response is completely unsatisfactory and no, I do not in any way understand your position. Due to human error, Delta has stolen—that may sound like a strong word, but is in fact the ONLY way to refer to it—almost five hundred dollars from me.

You can claim your “Reservation Sales representatives are carefully trained”; however, all experience in this situation points to quite the opposite. Just one example, it took two hours and the escalation of the issue to a supervisor before anyone could even figure out how to locate my reservation. I understand the challenges of staffing qualified people to low-paying positions, but don’t screw your customers when they slip up. If you have many requests from “others in similar situations” than you have an institutional problem that needs to be fixed and I do not feel I should pay the price for that failure. It is certainly not Delta being “fair to everyone who travels” with you. Quite the opposite in fact.

In a business whose success and failure hinges on the ability to create customer loyalty—one ticket, just one, bought by me could erase any loss you’d take from giving me MY MONEY back—it’s shocking to me that you’ve decided to give me the middle finger and I'm sure, a contributing factor to Delta's struggles. I will NOT “continue to choose Delta.” In the internet age, I’m just shocked Delta doesn’t understand this costs more than it saves. You have no right to this money and with poor customer service from top to bottom, have taken advantage of my illness.

Attached you’ll find signed statements from just a few of the people who’ve heard my story and agree that Delta has abused its corporate powers and hidden behind policies that avoid accountability. This will be just the beginning as I feel it’s important people hear how your company approaches its customers.

I will be happy to forgive and forget if you decide it’s worth actually considering my case individually and realize the importance of respecting your customers especially when they are confronted with life and death health challenges.

We've shown that a well-crafted, reasonable Executive Email Carpet Bomb can decimate arbitrary airline deadlines. Send an EECB to Delta's executives using previously published contact information, and don't forget to cc the Department of Transportation.

PREVIOUSLY: EECB Scores Direct Hit On Delta's $25 Extra Bag Fee
(AP Photo/David Kohl)

Last year, I worked for Walmart.com as an inbound frontline agent, and was promoted to a resolutions agent several months later...so I know my stuff. This is my advice to the person with the issues with walmart.com.

I used to work for one of the walmart.com call centers a few months ago and have heard stories like this way too many times, especially with the Nintendo Wii bundles. That is part of the reason that they have removed the number from their website and require customers to send in emails now, that a good bit of the agents that are in the US instead of the Philippines barely read...which explains the reply you received. That experience is why I don't even shop at walmart now.

In Walmart.com world, the charge "supposedly" does not clear until the order ships. Until then, it is placed as a hold on your account. If the item has not shipped by the date promised, it can be marked as "lost in transit", even though it really isn't lost, it can be placed in this category according to walmart.com policies told to us agents. Some company documents specify a time period of a week after the estimated arrival date to be considered lost in transit. Because of the price, a supervisor will have to mark the customers account so that they can be refunded. After this happens, the funds will take around a week to be credited (even though a supervisor will tell you 2-3 business days).

Another way to get refunded is to have your credit card/bank card issuer to contact walmart.com and verify that the order is technically "lost in transit". This will verify to the bank that this item is not going to be shipped. By doing this, the bank can then lift the hold. Walmart.com agents can also contact your bank to have the hold removed.

These are the only two ways that I know of that walmart.com will be able to refund the money. Mind you, I did work there until late last year, so some policies may have changed. I hope that you will be able to resolve this soon. I know how hard it is dealing with walmart.com.

Sincerely,
A former Walmart.com Call Center Resolutions Agent

Update - 06/27/08: The Unicorn says Wal-Mart called her today and offered to cancel the order!

Update - 06/26/08: The Unicorn posted a slight correction after we published this story: "hey, just to clarify — after Chris (I think) responded to my email re: the Terms of Service issue, I doublechecked my bank account & the funds haven't actually been withdrawn yet." However, she notes that since she can't cancel the order, those funds remain unavailable.

Here's her full story:

So, the Monday before last (6/16), my husband & I came to the unfortunate realization that the 80GB Playstation 3 we'd been saving up to buy was only available through a limited-edition bundle, & that the Metal Gear Solid 4 bundles were basically unavailable in any store near us. After contacting every Game Stop, Circuit City, Best Buy, Target, etc. in the Chicagoland region, we reluctantly expanded our search to the Walmart website, & after checking back several times, all of a sudden an "add to cart" option appeared next to the listing for the MGS4 PS3 bundle. And rationalizing that patronizing Walmart was worth it in order to get a rare piece of game equipment, we placed an order for the system, which the site said would arrive between Friday 6/20 & Tuesday 6/24. After the order was placed, it showed up as "processing" in Walmart's order tracking system, & I was told I'd receive a second email whenever the system shipped. I figured that was good news, but I was a little worried, because the MGS4 bundle showed up as "out of stock" immediately after the order was placed, & it seemed like a crazy coincidence that I would've gotten the last one.

Here's the thing: don't ever buy anything from Walmart, ever. I knew this, & ignored it, & now I'm paying the price.

Coincidentally, that same Monday night, my husband & I rented a movie from Blockbuster, & in the course of some chitchat the clerk randomly told us that they were the only Chicago store to have the MGS4 bundle in stock. (This was the one in Uptown, for any fellow Chicagoans, although I don't know if they'd have any more.) Since the order from Walmart hadn't shipped yet, we decided a PS3 in-hand was better than the promise of one from a retailer we hated, we took the Blockbuster clerk up on his offer & went home with our new toy.

Our plan was to cancel the Walmart.com order, but as it turns out, it's not possible to cancel online orders once they're placed. Fair enough; we figured we'd just sell the second system at cost on eBay or Craigslist whenever it arrived, or else return it to the store & eat the shipping charges.

...Except, the order is still listed as "processing" in Walmart's order tracking system. It hasn't shipped, & it certainly hasn't arrived by this past Tuesday like it was supposed to. But Walmart was certainly happy to take $550.00 out of my debit account as soon as the order was put through back on the 16th! I've emailed them through their website three times now, explaining that I need the funds freed from my account so that I can patronize a brick-&-mortar store that has the systems in stock. (I figured it would needlessly complicate things to say I already bought another system; the only reason that was even an option is that we're currently flush with wedding-present money, & usually having $550.00 missing from my checking account would automatically preclude any other purchases of similar magnitude.) My last response from Walmart came on June 21st, & it was just a scripted message explaining that they can't cancel online orders in progress because their distributors usually ship things so quickly that it's impossible blah blah blah — clearly not the case here, when the order in question has been languishing unshipped for over a week & Walmart still doesn't have the item in stock. All of this makes me really glad that I actually bought a real-live PS3 when I had the chance, but given that I don't know if Walmart's even going to be getting any additional MGS4 bundles, I'm starting to get worried this order will be stuck in "processing" for the rest of time.

Do you guys have any ideas as to how I can get them to refund the money they're holding hostage? I saw your list of executive numbers, but I don't know that any of those would necessarily be appropriate for an online purchase, & as much as I dislike Walmart, I'm hesitant to call up random people in their corporate office who probably have no recourse to help me with this issue.

We say it's time to go corporate. Don't worry about bothering them—it's why they get paid, to make things happen. In particular, they need to be made aware that they're not honoring their terms of service as listed on their website.

Update!: A former Wal-Mart call center employee has shared some tips on how to resolve outstanding orders like this one.

Terms and Conditions [Wal-Mart]
(Photo: Clean Wal-mart)

Travelocity stole $2,594.55 of my honeymoon money.

Travelocity is a giant warehouse for wholesale airline tickets who doesn't care about its customers and is masquerading as a travel agency. They route calls to customer service call centers in foreign countries with agents with false names like "Simon" who regurgitate scripts with absolutely no quality control or back tracking ability. Details below.

I booked two flights, a honeymoon, through Travelocity on March 18th to Brazil for June 2nd at a total cost of $2,594.55. On May 27 it became clear our visas were not going to come through on time, and I called Travelocity and spoke to "Simon". Simon assured me if I mailed my paper tickets and was willing to pay whatever cost difference the trip could be rescheduled within 14 days. I quickly Fed-Exed the tickets. On June 4th Travelocity called reporting that the tickets were received and I could now reschedule my trip. I was out of town and returned the call on June 12th. Despite the fact I notified Travelocity that I would not be using my tickets, Travelocity failed to notify the airlines I wasn't going to be on the flights, and the airline credits were lost.

Travelocity is refusing to reschedule or refund my money, because the airlines are considering us "no shows". I totally understand the airlines' perspective, we were not there. However, why did travelocity neglect to inform the airlines of my desire to reschedule or "not show up"? Is that not the function of a travel agent? Do they honestly feel they can just take $2,594.55 of our savings and not provide ANY services to us? After spending 10 hours on the phone with Travelocity, their only answer to me was an email address: customer.relations@travelocity.com. They promised 48 hour response. I've sent two. I've gotten nothing back.

We live in an age were gigantic monolithic corporations are okay with losing customers because it doesn't affect the bottom line due to the total size of their customer base. I am not okay with this. $2,594.55 isn't much to Travelocity, but it's a lot of money to my new wife and I! I'm asking for a full refund from Travelocity.

We're going to assume that you paid for these tickets with a credit card, so we're going to recommend that you get your credit card company involved in this dispute. Call them up and explain that due to an error on Travelocity's part, you were denied the services you paid for. Tell them that you'd like to do a chargeback for the entire amount.

If this isn't successful, you may have to file a small claims lawsuit or talk to a lawyer. Good luck.

Elliott says the act of charity "may have lost a little revenue in the short term, but I think it’s earned a customer for life." A LITTLE revenue? What about all the additional revenue they've just lost in checked baggage fees, drink and snack purchases, self-service seatbelt fastening surcharges, pressurized cabin fees, and that collection plate that's passed around after the flight attendant demonstrates how to put on the oxygen mask?

"Troubled airline refunds nonrefundable ticket to unemployed passenger" [Elliott.org]
(Photo: zonaphoto)

JK Harris wasn't just misrepresenting its services. It also made it very difficult for customers to resolve any questions or complaints:

According to Cooper's complaint, JK Harris regularly advertised it had more than 450 offices nationwide. However, the complaint contends that only the main office in Charleston handled consumers' files.

If a consumer wanted to meet with a JK Harris representative about their file they had to physically travel to Charleston.

The other offices were staffed only by sales representatives who could not help consumers with their tax problems.

JK Harris also claimed consumers' cases would be handled by "tax experts" or "ex-IRS agents" when in fact the people handling the cases did not fit those descriptions and did not have tax expertise.

JK Harris case managers changed frequently, and consumers complained they often had to provide the same information to the company several times.

Under the terms of the agreement, JK Harris now has to:

• pay refunds to customers if it can't help them with their tax debts, or if the IRS doesn't accept the OIC;
• provide accurate information on when a customer can qualify for an OIC and how frequently the IRS accepts such claims;
• stop lying with its advertising and sales practices;
• never offer or perform credit repair services.

If you know someone who lives in one of the following states, they should contact their attorney general's office for more information on how to qualify for a refund from JK Harris (we have the number for NC because that's where the article was published):

If you owe back taxes and aren't sure what to do about them, the best thing to do is pay a visit to an experienced and knowledgeable accountant for help. He or she should be able to help you figure out how much you owe (in some cases you may have actually overpaid, and simply filing the appropriate forms for the missing years will solve your problem) and help you set up a repayment plan that fits within your budget.

"'Pennies On The Dollar' Tax Relief Company Ordered To Pay Refunds" [Digtriad]
(Photo of sneaky snake: Getty)

The “customer service” clerk scanned the shade and said “We don’t carry this lampshade.” Fine. Here it is. Doesn’t fit. Perfect condition. Just give me store credit, and I’ll go drop another $200 today in your store.

Nope. “There’s nothing I can do for you.” she says. My wife goes to see if she can find an identical one on the shelves. She does. Clerk’s Supervisor is here now. She scans it. That one doesn’t exist either. Hmm, strange. Flaw in Target’s system, they’ll probably give me the benefit of the doubt at this point.

Nope. “There’s nothing I can do for you.” I mention how much we spend at Target. Blank stare. Slight nod of acknowledgment. Okay, this is ridiculous. Go get your boss. Surely someone can override this policy. I’ve returned $200 jeans at Bloomingdales with no questions asked, no receipt, nothing.

Enter Eileen (pictured above). C’mon Eileen. You look intelligent. Surely, you’ll run my card, see how much we spend at Target, and give us the store credit. $24. Really now. I’m sure you put out fires around here all day long.

Nope. “There’s nothing I can do for you. Maybe if you know what date you purchased it?” We do. April 27. $306. Same day we bought a DVD player and other stuff we probably don’t need. “Hmm. No, I don’t see that.”

It's as if Target has employed some sort of Schrödinger's Inventory software, where if the system doesn't "see" the SKU, the lampshade is neither alive nor dead. Just invisible to their employees.

"Come On, Eileen" [After the Jump]
(Photo: Getty)

Will this bring an end to cramming on the AT&T network? Maybe it depends on how many customers demand refunds, although it seems that AT&T is taking steps to rein in the worst of the third-party companies:

[AT&T] now requires customers who sign up for third-party services with recurring fees to confirm by replying to a text message. It also requires the content providers to send monthly reminders with instructions on how to unsubscribe from such services.

"AT&T has taken aggressive action to put industry-leading safeguards in place to protect our customers from unauthorized changes from third parties. We believe this settlement is consistent with that approach," Richter said.

Richter had no estimate for how much the settlement will cost AT&T. Given that the company already let customers contest spurious charges, he said the number who will get refunds through the settlement will be small. The company will pay the plaintiffs' lawyers $4.3 million.

Notifications will soon go out to 70 million current AT&T Mobility customers.

Here's more info on cramming to help you protect your cellphone bill from exploding.

"AT&T settles suit over 3rd-party cell phone fees" [Associated Press]
ThirdPartyContentRefund.com

RELATED
How To Fight The Phone Cram Scam

If you've seen the "Bodies" exhibit at the South Street Seaport in New York City, you're entitled to a refund (click here for info) according to a new agreement between New York's Attorney General's office and Premier Exhibitions, Inc. When "Bodies" first opened here over two years ago, some opponents questioned whether the Chinese cadavers were legally obtained—or whether they were Chinese political prisoners who hadn't consented to being plastinated, flayed, and displayed by a private for-profit company. At the time, Premier Exhibitions' president said all the bodies were documented: "Although he said he was not allowed to keep copies of documents, officials at Dalian University in northern China showed him papers attesting to the origin of the remains," wrote the New York Times in 2005. Then ABC's news show "20/20" aired an investigative report this past February that showed otherwise.

From ABC News:

Premier Exhibitions says that the "unclaimed" bodies on display were legally obtained from Dalian Medical University.

ABC News' "20/20" reported earlier this year that the bodies did not come from the university but instead from a private, for-profit lab about 30 miles away. "20/20" interviewed someone who said he was a former participant in the black market, in which, he said, bodies were sold to that lab for $200 to $300 each. Dalian Medical University told ABC News that it severed its ties to the plastination lab several years ago.

Premier's former CEO Arnie Geller, who is still on the company's Board of Directors disputed the allegations on "20/20." He said that his suppliers assured him that "these are all legitimate, unclaimed bodies that have gone through Dalian Medical University."

"20/20" also reported that the inventor of plastination, Dr. Gunther von Hagens (who has touring body shows that are not related to Premier Exhibitions or their exhibits), claimed he stopped using Chinese-sourced bodies entirely because of his suspicions that they were unethically obtained:

Von Hagens says he had to cremate several bodies he received in China after detecting injuries that led him to suspect they had been executed prisoners. He says those bodies were given to him by a medical school in China to plastinate for teaching models. He said he only used Chinese bodies, all of which he received from the Chinese university, for teaching models, but has never put Chinese bodies on public display.

"There is now no way for me any more to work with specimens in China," said von Hagens, who says his company in China now only deals with animal specimens.

Oddly, there are no customs restrictions in the U.S. with plastinated corpses at the present, writes ABC News:

U.S. Customs has said that since the plastination process changes the nature of the human remains, plastinated body parts can be imported as plastic objects, not as human bodies.

This is why 21 members of Congress have sponsored a bill that would prohibit the importation of plastinated cadavers entirely.

WNYC reports that as part of the agreement, Premier Exhibitions will have to post a warning now that some of the bodies may be those of executed Chinese prisoners, which we imagine would put a damper on any future visits.

We can't find any details yet on how to request the refund, so if someone finds out, please send us a tip. Thanks to Brian and Melt for the refund contact info!

"'Bodies' exhibit avoids a stiff penalty" [Daily News] (Thanks to Alex!)

RELATED
"Cadaver Exhibition Raises Questions Beyond Taste" [New York Times]
"Exclusive: Secret Trade in Chinese Bodies" [ABC News]
"Lawmakers Call for Crackdown on Bodies Exhibits" [ABC News]
H.R. 5677 [GovTrack.us]
"State Reaches Settlement with Bodies Exhibit" [WNYC.org]
(Photo: jemsweb)

An update… A few days after my EECB and post on Consumerist, I received an email from Stephan [redacted], the After Sales Manager at my local IKEA in West Chester, Ohio. His email was:

Mr. [redacted],

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your concerns with us. My name is Stephen [redacted], and I am the After Sales Manager at IKEA, West Chester. It is my responsibility to ensure that your experience with IKEA... before, during, and after your visit is everything you expected and more.

I was forwarded, and after reviewing your e-mail, I would like to extend my utmost apologies for your experience in our store. It is obvious to me that we failed in our efforts to exceed or even meet your expectations. It is our ambition to address and resolve your concerns regarding the return of your merchandise in an expedient and courteous manner.

By your e-mail, I can see the effort you and your wife extended in order to assemble your IKEA piece, and I apologize for the frustration this caused due to the defect in the bookcase's fit and finish. Periodically there are abnormalities in the prefabrication process, which could be the culprit in this situation. In the case of a non-defective product, our return policy applies to products that have not been assembled. In your case, you would not have known your bookcase was defective until you assembled it. Again, I am sincerely sorry for any inconvenience that this caused you and your wife.

If I could get you to do something for me, I can get this resolved right away. If you could contact my resolution team (513) 779-7100 ext 1450, and give them your transaction information, we will refund the remaining $60 back onto your credit card. Along with that, I would like to get your address and contact information, where I will send you out a gift card in hopes you will give us another chance. I only have your e-mail address.

I would like to thank you for bringing your concerns to our attention. It is through customer feedback like yours that enable us to take action to do a better job in the future. Please accept my apology, and trust that I have discussed your experience with all parties involved in order for us to better serve our customers. If you do give us another chance, please contact me at your next visit at the below number. I would like the opportunity to apologize in person.

Sincerely,

Stephen

I called at his request and gave him the requested information. A few days later, I received the following note in the mail with a receipt for the refund (of $63.75) and a $25 gift card.

Dear Andrew,

Enclosed you will find the transaction receipt for your refund. We refunded $60 back onto your credit card ($63.75 including tax). I have also enclosed a $25 gift card for your trouble. I hope you received my e-mail expressing my apologies to you and your wife for your experience at our store. I hope this resolution is to your satisfaction.

If you have any questions for further concerns, please feel free to contact me at the store.

I am satisfied with the outcome of this experience.

The EECB got IKEA's attention, for more information about launching your own EECB, click here.

(Photo: yarnzombie )

I am a current RS manager in standing, so I'll renege on giving out my name, however, the actual reason for requiring names and addresses is very simple. First, it is listed on the back of every reciept. So it is part of official policy. Second, the rest of our return process is very I suppose lax if nothing else, our products may be returned at any of our stores, following simple rules that are spelled out.

Now the reason the N&A are needed is because it prevents a LARGE portion of theft which is both internal (as spelled out from one of your posters in the comments) and external such as a snatch and grab. If an item is taken from our store, a customer may attempt to return it at several locations around the city as there are numerous radioshacks around, but this is a very big issue, since beyond the name and address, we are liable on our end for issuing the customer credit for potentially stolen merchandise.

This of course is not saying that 99.999 % of our customers are abusing our return policy, but without this, because of our ability to go the extra step, and take care of you, we as a corporation must protect our assets. This also prevents smash and grabs from cars in mall parking lots, as thieves have stolen out of vehicles and attempt to return the items in the store.

The biggest misconception seems to be against a corporation protecting it's items against theft. We in no sense require ID for a purchase (barring unsigned CC purchases) but it HAS to be required since we will help you with out a reciept if at all possible. Since we as a company do attempt to resolve returns in many cases without reciepts, we do have to have some basic measure of fraud protection.

That customer more than likely could have gotten cash returned if needed without the reciept, but in common sense, a store just won't hand out money over the counter without a ticket showing why the money is leaving.

On top of that, we also need the information to verify vs the signature on the return slip, since we have dealt with people stealing from relatives it also helps during holidays where a daughter may try and return something their parents bought to the store, and if the parents come in asking, or we have some one else complaining that they were not the person returning the item, we at least have some paper work showing who did.

Oh, and as an FYI, the Name and Address is actually for warranty info since a bunch of our small parts, batteries, and such have a limited 90 warrenty. If you have like a battery blow up, we can look up your purchase and hand you a new pack. We recently started a lifetime guarentee with some of our AV cables. We have in every store on at least one register a giant 8 x 11 sign stating our name and address policy. We specifically mention the only people that have your info is the company and related parties (if you sign up for ATT it goes to ATT, if you sign up for Dish, it goes to Dish, If you sign up for Greendot prepaid, it goes to Greendot).

Once again, very basic items that have been blown out of proportion. I cannot deny that we used to years ago, but when we stopped doing it, traffic dropped due to customers no longer recieving the RS catalog (That was huge for many many parts nuts). It's a juggling act, so now we ask for it, it's not required for most types of purchases (contractual, prepaid, and service plans are examples of required), and the actual info just goes into a system that we can use to look up your old tickets if you have problems with your items. The last thing we want is to not be able to help our customer find a resolution.

Certain items like routers can be purchased at any electronics store, and then you run into the potential of having shoplifters hitting up one type of store and returning it at another. If we have the capability of preventing this, all in all, everyone can shop a little safer.

We're not sure how any of this is less complicated than keeping track of store inventory and requiring a receipt for all returns. The refund-without-a-receipt policy is the sort of goodwill gesture that this writer feels mainly benefits the careless consumer at the expense of the rest of us, so by all means, do away with it if it will bring an end to ID requirements for receipt returns, particularly for items paid for with cash.

RELATED
"RadioShack Won't Give Refund On Cash Purchase Unless You Show Your Papers"

To: gerald.grinstein@delta.com; james.whitehurst@delta.com; Macenczak, Lee; joseph.kolshak@gmail.com; Gleaves, Daiquiri; anthony.black@delta.com; katie.connell@delta.com; gina.laughlin@delta.com;

Cc: airconsumer@dot.gov

Subject: Unfair $25 Charge

To Whom This May Concern,

I bought 2 tickets to West Palm Beach from Boston on January 29th.

[redacted]

For the Trip down we brought 3 checked bags with no charge. To my surprise on our return trip we were charge $25 for the 3rd bag.

While I do understand the fee I believe that I should be reimbursed this $25 as it was not agreed to at the time of purchase or at the time of departure.

I appreciate any help that can be given in this matter,

-Justin

Delta replied:

Thank you for your email to our executives. They asked that I reply on their behalf.

I also left you a voice message. As a one time exception, I will be happy to refund the $25.00 fee. Could you please provide me with a mailing address to send the check?

Once received, I will process the check and you should receive it within 7 to 10 business days.

Thank you again for writing and for your business. We hope you chose Delta again when your plans call for air travel.

All my best,

Greg Ingram
Executive Assistant

If you're running into a wall with your customer service problem, the EECB can be mighty effective. For more information about launching your own EECB, click here.

(Photo: So Cal Metro )

M.
 
I just wanted to send in a quick shout-out to ProFlowers.com and customer service rep Angela. I ordered a $45 bouquet to be sent to my mother today for Mother's day. It arrived, and she was thrilled, but her description of the flowers was entirely different than the flowers that I ordered — they sent a dozen white roses, but I ordered a "Spring Days" bouquet — about ten dollars more expensive than the dozen roses that were on sale the day I placed the order.

After a few minutes on the phone, Angela offered to refund all of my money and told me that it would appear back on my credit card in seven to ten days. It's not too often that you get great customer service like this, so I wanted to share the news. I will definitely be ordering from them in the future. Just be sure to ignore their "$10 rebate" after check out — that seems like a big scam to me, especially after reading the recent Consumerist story about "Reservation Rewards."

How long can a company continue to "investigate" what's obviously a failed download before they credit your account? For Xbox Live Marketplace, the answer is 2 months, 2 weeks, and counting. Every attempt Joe makes at resolving the issue lands him in a customer service purgatory from which no solution can ever escape. Joe writes, "The problem is that there is no recourse for the customer in a situation where this actually does happen. Microsoft took my money before my product was transferred to me. The transfer then failed to take place. It is no fault of my own and there is nothing I can do about it." Read Joe's full account below.

I recently attempted to purchase Ninja Gaiden Black from the Xbox Live Marketplace. Recently is used loosely here, as the original “purchase” took place on February 23th 2008.  After forking over $15 in Mi