Rasputin IS annoyed (OT RANT)

[Djeta Thernadier]

Update

I finally managed to get through to a manager. I had to call 3 times and talk to 3 c/s reps on the phone before one would transfer me. The manager I got seemed pretty certain that she did not want to deal with me, and thus cleared my account of all charges and closed it.

So I'm rid of them, but I am still going to go out of my way to write letters, emails , make phone calls etc. to the BBB, to local news etc. to try and get someone to spotlight what a terrible rip off they are.

I think CBS news does a thing each week on bad businesses to deal with. Maybe I'll start there...

 

[Dimwhit]

I finally managed to get through to a manager. I had to call 3 times and talk to 3 c/s reps on the phone before one would transfer me. The manager I got seemed pretty certain that she did not want to deal with me, and thus cleared my account of all charges and closed it.

So I'm rid of them, but I am still going to go out of my way to write letters, emails , make phone calls etc. to the BBB, to local news etc. to try and get someone to spotlight what a terrible rip off they are.

I think CBS news does a thing each week on bad businesses to deal with. Maybe I'll start there...

Congrats! Glad you're rid of them. If I start having problems, I know who to call. Just remember the phone number you called in case I need it later...

 

[RangerWickett]

I think CBS news does a thing each week on bad businesses to deal with. Maybe I'll start there...

Just remember, Columbia House. . . . CBS = Columbia Broadcast System. Makes you wonder. . . .

 

[knitnerd]

This has nothing to do with D&D, RPGS, or any manner of gaming. This is just an angry, angry rant and I need advice.

I am having a serious problem with Columbia House DVD club. NO ONE I know has ever had a problem with these people it seems, except me.

So I joined up about 2 years ago. I order once and everything was fine, then I ordered again and they switched up my copy of American Psycho with Rudolph and the Island of Misfit Toys (because, you know, that mistake is SO easy to make). So I say, whatever, errors happen.

But then it literally took me 6 months to get a call tag to return the wrong movie and they NEVER sent me the right one. They still charged me for it and I could not get any one on the phone (they have no humans you can speak to on the phone) and so to avoid getting sent to collections, I wasted $20 on a movie I never got.

Now, you know those stupid movies that they send you every month? I always go online and cancel them. I never get sent the movies, but I ALWAYS get a bill. It has hurt my credit (they have reported me at least once) and despite the fact that I email them, ALL they ever send me back is a form email. I emailed once and asked for a direct phone number to a human and got no response. Eventually they credited my account, but not after reporting me to the credit bureau.

NOW they are sending me to collections again for another movie I canceled, and never recieved that they say they have been trying to get payment for me for.

So I can either pay $27 dollars for nothing and allow this to keep happening, or I can deal with having really bad credit and them writing me off.

I'd cancel my account, except their phone number leads you no where.

Anyone ever have a similiar expereince? If so, how did you handle it and what happened?

Would reporting them to the BBB help?

Thanks,
Sheri

The Better Business Bureau is set up to keep you from reporting them to the people who can do something. You should report them to the Postal Inspector and Attorney General of your state. You should also get your credit card company customer service representatives to help you. You do not have to pay for merchandise that you have never received!These "Clubs" always have problems. I would never order anything from any of them, but I live in NYC where you can get almost anything at a discount.

 

[Angcuru]

Wow, you actually spoke to a real live, human employee of Columbia House?? ASTOUNDING!!!

As for the reporting to higher powers to supply them with the trouncing they so dearly deserve, I say give 'em hell.

 

[jdavis]

Columbia House used to send me thing 20 years ago, I'd never joined the club but for some reason they wanted to send me free tapes. They did threaten to turn me over to a collection agency, but then they wuld have to prove I was ever a member (I wasn't, somebody at school had bogus regisetered as me had them send them the free cassettes to his house then changed the address to my house) and explain how they got a 14 year old registered to a account. It's amazing what a phone call or a letter from an actual lawyer can get done. They actually tried to take my step-sister to court over $50 worth of CD's she didn't order. I can't think of any person I have ever heard who has a good story to tell about Columbia House, this scam has been going on for over 20 years now and there have been several suits filed and "expose's" done on the company yet they are still around and kicking.

Try Googling: "Columbia House" complaint

 

[DMScott]

I'd cancel my account, except their phone number leads you no where.

Glad to hear you got it resolved. If you ever run into a similar situation, one way to resolve dealings with a non-responsive company is to file against them in small claims court. That almost always involves some kind of conciliation procedure where both parties meet with a judge to settle, and if you can show you've made attempts to resolve the problem and finally went to court because you couldn't get in touch with a real person, chances are the court will come down on your side.

 

[KnowTheToe]

This was 20 years ago, but what I did was never cancel the books of the month (book club) and then never open them and write return to sender and stick it back in the mail. After 4 or 5 times they sent me a letter saying I was too irresponsable or a pain in the tookus and I would no longer have the option of buying the books of the month. I ordered books regularly so they did not kick me out.

 

[milotha]

And there's just nothing we , as consurmers, can do about it??

You can report them to the Better Business Bureau. It won't really help you, but if enough people complain, it will hurt them.

Welcome to the modern age of customer disservice. I have decided that not only is Customer Service dead, but that it's Ghost has been ressurected by some evil cleric and its spirit is now haunting me. I've currently been dealing with similar problems for about every major corperation I've dealt with recently, so no, in the grand scheme of things you are not alone. I recently moved, and ABSOLUTELY everything that can possibly go wrong went wrong without injury occuring.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

I can't help with your problem, but I'd like to report that as a result of this part of your post:

So I joined up about 2 years ago. I order once and everything was fine, then I ordered again and they switched up my copy of American Psycho with Rudolph and the Island of Misfit Toys (because, you know, that mistake is SO easy to make). So I say, whatever, errors happen.

my monitor is now dripping tea. Thanks. A good spew always brightens my day

Good luck!