Valley of the Subconscious

The purpose of this blog is not for my rants, however, I have just been subjected to some of the worst and deceptive customer service that I have ever experienced in my lifetime. I feel that others should be aware of the experience before they themselves are subjected to the same treatment.

This is what happened and my opinions of these events, along with documentation from others that also shared my experience, and research.

On August 31, 2008 I purchased a Fuji Finepix S700 Package 1, which included a UV filter, 1 GB XD card, USB XD card reader, camera bag, full size tripod, LCD screen protector, lens/LCD cleaning system, and the new factory sealed camera, 4x AA alkaline batteries, USB cable, A/V cable, lens cap, lens cap cord, shoulder strap, software CD-ROM (FinePixViewer-S), owners manual, 1 Year Limited USA Warranty, for $159.00, from TVs Depot, online.

On Tuesday, September 2, 2008, I received a call of them, where the representative proceeded to tell me that the camera would not work without an additional battery pack, which he was willing to sell me at this one time offer of $39.99. I told him that this camera was new and sealed from the factory, and that it came with 4 AA batteries, to which he insisted that was not sufficient to operate the camera. There was nothing in the literature, or on the website that stated anything about needing to buy any additional parts to operate this camera, and I found this to be deceptive practices. He just kept telling me that the camera would not operate without this battery pack, so I told him to cancel the order all together.

Then he wanted to argue with me over the fact that I wanted to cancel the order, and that they had the lowest price around, and I was welcome to go to Circuit City and pay several hundred dollars more. I instructed him to cancel the order and abruptly ended the conversation, by hanging up. Then I called Fuji and asked if this was in fact true what I had been told, and they informed me that all that was needed was 4 AA batteries, which came with the basic camera purchase.

The more I thought about it, the angrier I got, so I called TVs Depot back, and spoke with another representative. I told him what had transpired. He also proceeded to start an argument with me. Stating that it needed the batteries to operate, to which I informed him that I had spoken to Fuji themselves, and that all that was required to operate the camera was 4 AA batteries, which came with the basic camera plan. He responded to this by babbling some bullshit jargon about how they were a wholesale company, also referring to how much more expensive Circuit City was, which sells this exact same camera for $20.00 more than they do, by the way, minus the shipping and handling. They do not, however, sell the added bonus items for the same price; however, I did not bother to mention this fact to this imbecile. I told him that Circuit City was not the issue here, the issue was that I received a call from one of their representatives, that told me I had to spend an additional $39.00 to purchase a battery pack that he insisted the camera would not work without, and that the camera would not operate with the 4 AA batteries that came with it, which was a bold face lie! Instead of admitting that they were both liars, he tried to flip the whole thing on me, by trying to insult my intelligence, and stating that apparently I had no idea what a battery pack even was, and insisted that I explain to him my complete knowledge of what the definition of a battery pack was. My knowledge of what a battery was consisted of was irrelevant, the fact still remained that all the camera needed was the batteries that came with it. Well of course it needs batteries to operate, he kept repeating.

I told him I wanted the original package that I purchased, to which he replied that it was cancelled the moment I requested that, and that once it was cancelled it was not their policy to un-cancel an order.

I later went back to that site to compare features and prices with another company that offered a similar price, only to find out that they had raised the package that I had purchased from $159.00 to $189.00.

Hmm, guess that answers that.

It also appears that this company also goes by the names of: Fotoconnection; TheWizStore.com; ephotoclub; 1stopcamera.com;Inoax.com;TheNewConnection; GBShopping; 4udigital.com; digitalnetshop.com, and Superior Dealz, that I am aware of at this moment.

This is the report on them at the Better Business Bureau.

Here is a lot of research a pissed off customer has done on the owners, along with a few other names that they may go by. This person has gone so far as to get pictures of their stores, along with a lot of other information.

A very informative article from PC World that exposes some of the other companies, along with the tactics that they use. If you are planning on buying electronics online, you need to be aware. A MUST READ.

Here are 594 negative reviews on this company from just one site, for your viewing pleasure.

134 here of which 89 are negative and 5 are neutral.

Others who have experienced the same type of treatment from the same company, as shown here.

And if you keep looking, you continue to find more, and more, and more; too many to list here. This company did me a big favor by canceling the order the way that they did, and refusing to go ahead with it. I should at least thank them for that.

I should have done my research before I placed the order, instead of waiting for the negative experience to motivate me. Please do not make the same mistake! There are also several Price Comparison Sites that show each one of these companies, including the ones that are listed in the PC World article. So please be aware when you use these sites.

Posted by searchingwithin at 9:20 AM