I ordered the midlevel (about $15) iPhone headphone/mic adapter from Fastmac.com on 1/15/08 after macintouch.com listed them as a source for such devices. The item was ordered with 2-3 day USPS shipping (for $7.75) requested about two weeks before I'd be heading out on a trip on which I planned to use the adapter. After two weeks went by and I needed the adapter in the next day or so, too late for shipping to be timely, I researched and purchased an equivalent locally and contacted Fastmac on 1/28/08 requesting that the order be cancelled.
That same day, sales rep Gary Parks responded and informed me that the order had been cancelled and that a refund would be issued. (He also said that I could have requested faster shipping for free, but if they had shipped in a timely fashion when I ordered in the first place, that wouldn't have been necessary, nor would I have needed to find a local place to buy an equivalent item). In a separate email, Mr. Parks let me know that the refund would take up to three weeks to post. No problem; I wasn't in that much of a hurry.
But then, after Mr. Parks informed me that the order had been cancelled and that a refund would be processed, Fastmac shipped the item anyway. I wasn't expecting to receive anything other than junk mail at the address it was shipped to, so it was thrown away and I do not have the item anymore.
Here we are a month later and the refund still hasn't posted. Attempts to follow up with Fastmac have been stonewalled by requests to ship back, at MY expense, something I have repeatedly stated I do not have and did not ask for!
According to USC Title 39 Section 3009, it is illegal to bill for unsolicited merchandise sent through the US Mail; the recipient has the "right to retain, use, discard, or dispose of it in any manner he sees fit without any obligation whatsoever to the sender." As the order was cancelled well before Fastmac put the envelope in the mail, and after the cancellation was entered into their system -- by its own admission -- there was no "prior expressed request or consent of the recipient".
I have been forced to open a claim with PayPal (I regret not paying directly with my credit card at this point; never again!) and ask them to investigate and hopefully force the refund through; Fastmac's sole response so far to the formal claim is the same as it has been in other communications: that they want the adapter returned at MY expense (good luck finding it now!), and have yet to send the refund -- so my claim is, for the moment, stalled as they continue to fight and refuse to take responsibility for what they admitted was THEIR mistake, and continue to try to push the cost onto me.
I have also sent a complaint to the BBB and to the CA Attorney General's office, am considering filing a mail fraud complaint with the US Postal Inspector's Service due to violation of Sec. 3009, and have contacted my bank and sent a summary of the whole mess to them and asked if I'm eligible for a chargeback if Paypal won't help, as I did fund the sale with my credit card. Should I also file with the AG of the state I live in?
The issue is simple. I will not pay for something that they didn't have consent to send. Their rep even admitted they "dropped the ball" and yet they won't fulfill their promise to credit me despite having had a month to come through.
I am not giving up on this until I have done everything possible. They need to step up and fix their error and issue the promised refund. I don't think it's right to try to make customers cover the cost of a business' mistake.
What experience do others have with filing a chargeback through a bank when/if Paypal refuses to make things right? Fastmac is claiming that their precious tracking number (for unsolicited mail!) will stop me from getting the refund that is due me via Paypal's claims process. My bank issued me a provisional credit for the money and told me to contact them again before 60 days post-charge passes if I am still not happy with the resolution.
And so far I'm not happy at all; they responded today to my BBB complaint with basically the same old excuse that boils down to: "send back the unsolicited merchandise you didn't ask for, that by law you don't have to pay for, at your expense, and we'll give you the money that we refuse to refund for a confirmed-cancelled order". I have had to repeatedly state what they're doing wrong and they seem unable to comprehend what I am saying, offering up the same ridiculous excuses as a reason to hold onto my money.
I also tried to file a mail fraud complaint today (since they still won't make it right; I did give them multiple chances before reporting it to the feds) and the server errored out, so I'll be mailing a complaint in the next day or two.
Where else can I go to expose them? Salinas (CA) news? Any other shaming organizations? There's got to be something I can do. I know it's not a lot of money but I don't appreciate having money held hostage in violation of law.
Don't order from Fastmac. They don't deserve your business and will hold YOU responsible for THEIR mistakes.
That same day, sales rep Gary Parks responded and informed me that the order had been cancelled and that a refund would be issued. (He also said that I could have requested faster shipping for free, but if they had shipped in a timely fashion when I ordered in the first place, that wouldn't have been necessary, nor would I have needed to find a local place to buy an equivalent item). In a separate email, Mr. Parks let me know that the refund would take up to three weeks to post. No problem; I wasn't in that much of a hurry.
But then, after Mr. Parks informed me that the order had been cancelled and that a refund would be processed, Fastmac shipped the item anyway. I wasn't expecting to receive anything other than junk mail at the address it was shipped to, so it was thrown away and I do not have the item anymore.
Here we are a month later and the refund still hasn't posted. Attempts to follow up with Fastmac have been stonewalled by requests to ship back, at MY expense, something I have repeatedly stated I do not have and did not ask for!
According to USC Title 39 Section 3009, it is illegal to bill for unsolicited merchandise sent through the US Mail; the recipient has the "right to retain, use, discard, or dispose of it in any manner he sees fit without any obligation whatsoever to the sender." As the order was cancelled well before Fastmac put the envelope in the mail, and after the cancellation was entered into their system -- by its own admission -- there was no "prior expressed request or consent of the recipient".
I have been forced to open a claim with PayPal (I regret not paying directly with my credit card at this point; never again!) and ask them to investigate and hopefully force the refund through; Fastmac's sole response so far to the formal claim is the same as it has been in other communications: that they want the adapter returned at MY expense (good luck finding it now!), and have yet to send the refund -- so my claim is, for the moment, stalled as they continue to fight and refuse to take responsibility for what they admitted was THEIR mistake, and continue to try to push the cost onto me.
I have also sent a complaint to the BBB and to the CA Attorney General's office, am considering filing a mail fraud complaint with the US Postal Inspector's Service due to violation of Sec. 3009, and have contacted my bank and sent a summary of the whole mess to them and asked if I'm eligible for a chargeback if Paypal won't help, as I did fund the sale with my credit card. Should I also file with the AG of the state I live in?
The issue is simple. I will not pay for something that they didn't have consent to send. Their rep even admitted they "dropped the ball" and yet they won't fulfill their promise to credit me despite having had a month to come through.
I am not giving up on this until I have done everything possible. They need to step up and fix their error and issue the promised refund. I don't think it's right to try to make customers cover the cost of a business' mistake.
What experience do others have with filing a chargeback through a bank when/if Paypal refuses to make things right? Fastmac is claiming that their precious tracking number (for unsolicited mail!) will stop me from getting the refund that is due me via Paypal's claims process. My bank issued me a provisional credit for the money and told me to contact them again before 60 days post-charge passes if I am still not happy with the resolution.
And so far I'm not happy at all; they responded today to my BBB complaint with basically the same old excuse that boils down to: "send back the unsolicited merchandise you didn't ask for, that by law you don't have to pay for, at your expense, and we'll give you the money that we refuse to refund for a confirmed-cancelled order". I have had to repeatedly state what they're doing wrong and they seem unable to comprehend what I am saying, offering up the same ridiculous excuses as a reason to hold onto my money.
I also tried to file a mail fraud complaint today (since they still won't make it right; I did give them multiple chances before reporting it to the feds) and the server errored out, so I'll be mailing a complaint in the next day or two.
Where else can I go to expose them? Salinas (CA) news? Any other shaming organizations? There's got to be something I can do. I know it's not a lot of money but I don't appreciate having money held hostage in violation of law.
Don't order from Fastmac. They don't deserve your business and will hold YOU responsible for THEIR mistakes.
