Don't trust Memory Suppliers.com

[Kuulei]

check here for info on recording phone conversations in the US
http://www.callcorder.com/phone-recording-law.htm

[amaroq3]

Thanks for the link Kuulei. That is some useful information.

[LostMemory]

My experience with MemorySuppliers.com convinces me that they are an absolute wholesale fraud (albeit very polite).

They advertised merchandise they didn't have in stock and sent me cheap knockoff merchandise that didn't work. They told me that the item they sent me was in fact what I ordered, but that they would exchange it for a working replacement. After delaying my replacement well after the guaranteed date, they refused my request for a refund stating that their policy did not apply to my merchandise (clearly in violation of their guarantee) and then pretended that they had already shipped me a replacement instead of honoring my request for a refund (while also using a fake UPS tracking number to explain the delay). As a final insult, they did not reimburse me my shipping costs back to them (also in violation of their guarantee).

Since then, I have read many other accounts of how MemorySuppliers.com tries to blackmail customers into retracting negative publicity as a condition to issue refunds as well as illegally charging cards again if the customer does not comply.

I believe virtually all the positive accounts from MemorySuppliers.com "satisfied" customers are really just Astroturf publicity posted by the company itself. It is evident by other negative accounts that MemorySuppliers.com makes far more effort to eliminate negative publicity than they do to fulfill orders correctly or to make their customers happy by issuing refunds.

I am glad the word about MemorySuppliers.com is getting out. I believe it is just a matter of time before the owner, Leo Friedman, and the customer service agent, Yan Bashkin, are punished for their shameless practices. I believe Leo had to close down his old business (Premier Systems) because his reputation for these practices finally caught up with him and he was forced to start again (search for Premier Systems on ResellerRatings.com to see what I mean).

If you have been victimized by MemorySuppliers.com, make only one attempt to request a refund. After MemorySuppliers.com either ignores or refuses your request, simply call your credit card company, explain the situation, and ask to reverse the charges. You will have to jump through a few hoops, but you will save yourself endless hassle and frustration to get your money back than you will otherwise experience in dealing with Yan or Leo.

It is also a good idea to cancel your old credit card and get another because MemorySuppliers.com is alleged to have illegally charged customers' cards after a refund has been issued by the credit card company.

For what it's worth, you can also file complaints with the Federal Trade Commission, your state Attorney General, the Illinois Attorney General, and the FBI (I wouldn't bother with the BBB; they can neither get your money back nor punish those responsible for taking it). Just don't expect any meaningful results. It seems clear that MemorySuppliers.com has enjoyed immunity from any government penalties for a long time now.

I honestly don't know how a company like MemorySuppliers.com can exist for so long. I suspect ample evidence has been filed with the authorities to shut them down. It really is a testament to the slow action of government to act on behalf of consumers and/or really says a lot about the State of Illinois that gives free rein to MemorySuppliers.com to operate within their borders (and has for many years).

I can only speculate that MemorySuppliers.com is well connected with some powerful men in Chicago and elsewhere. I suspect they've paid very well for the protection they enjoy at the expense of their customers.

If any class action attorneys or law firms are reading this, I believe MemorySuppliers.com would be absolutely ripe for lucrative litigation. I don't believe it would be too difficult to obtain an award that could be quite substantial considering the dollar amounts that MemorySuppliers.com receives from it's victims.

Good luck.

[LostMemory]

I would like to follow up on my earlier comment. If you are a victim of fraud committed by MemorySuppliers.com (or any merchant), please read the following guidelines to help you get a refund.

I am not a lawyer. The following comments are not legal advice, but are only opinions and suggestions based on the facts of my own experience. Therefore, I absolve myself from any libel or inaccuracies pertaining to these remarks as your circumstances may differ from mine.

That said, I believe (based on others' and my experiences) that MemorySuppliers.com is a racketeering front that engages in wholesale credit card fraud (see my original comments above). By diligently pretending to be legitimate merchants, I believed they've exploited a loophole in what would otherwise be a clear case of fraud. MemorySuppliers.com shipped me damaged junk merchandise that was superficially similar to the item I had ordered while engaging in stalling and stonewalling tactics after I demanded a refund when their replacement item shipped well after the "guaranteed" time.

Do not be fooled or distracted by these tactics! This is a fundamental breach of contract and I believe does not require that you do anything other than demand a refund and report the crime. MemorySuppliers.com's guarantees are irrelevant when pursuing action through your bank. Don't waste time trying to redeem any guarantees through them directly. If MemorySuppliers.com's activities weren't fraudulent, I do not believe I would have been able to get the money back from my credit card company (which I eventually did).

YOU ARE NOT ALONE, AND YOU HAVE EFFECTIVE LEGAL RECOURSE TO COMBAT FRAUD AND GET A REFUND.

REPORT ANY AND ALL POTENTIAL FRAUD BY MEMORYSUPPLIERS.COM TO YOUR BANK!

IF YOU USED A CREDIT CARD TO MAKE YOUR PURCHASE, CALL YOUR FINANCIAL INSTITUTION TODAY AND ASK FOR A REVERSAL OF CHARGES. State that you believe you are the victim of fraud and ask how you can reverse the disputed charge. You may be required to (and should) file a criminal report with other local, State, and Federal authorities. Many credit card companies may have other fraud protection programs about which you should also ask. As an extra precaution, be sure to cancel your old account numbers and get new cards issued by the bank.

FRAUD IS A SERIOUS CRIME AND YOU SHOULD TREAT IT AS SUCH! If you are a victim of fraud perpetrated by any merchant, it is important to GET YOUR FACTS IN ORDER (and avoid name-calling). Be very thorough in stating all the relevant facts in a case letter that you will likely be required to submit. Dates, names, dollar amounts, model numbers, and other similar facts are relevant. Be precise. Remember that you are making a legal case that your account number may have been compromised by a fraudulent transaction. It will be a little inconvenient, but I am confident you will eventually get your money back (assuming you used a credit card).

I believe these are a few valid points to address when requesting a reversal of charges from your bank :
- YOU DID NOT RECEIVE THE MERCHANDISE YOU ORDERED; especially for items advertised as "in stock"
- Your merchandise did not work, or failed shortly thereafter
- Your item was used, but not declared as such
- You did not receive a replacement item in the guaranteed time
- Your order(s) arrived later than guaranteed; especially if expedited shipping was paid
- Your replacement merchandise was similar to the circumstances above

With or without any "guarantee" from a merchant, I believe that any of the reasons above represents a fundamental breach of contract and you are therefore not bound by any policies (even a "store credit" clause) if a merchant does not honor their end of the transaction. MemorySuppliers.com's practice of shipping junk merchandise, stalling, and stonewalling did not qualify as a good faith effort to fulfill my order and I believe voided the original sale.

I also don't believe that you are required to remove any negative publicity as a condition of receiving a refund (as long as the facts are true). I find it astonishing that MemorySuppliers.com has allegedly demanded this from victims as well as allegedly charging the credit cards (illegally) of those who didn't. Serious chutzpah. This reason alone should be ample evidence why you should avoid trying to resolve this issue with MemorySuppliers.com directly beyond demanding a refund.

Because of cases like these, it is a good idea to make all your purchases online using a credit card (not a debit card) so that you can reverse the charges in the event of fraud. Check with your bank, but I believe that debit card branded by any of the major credit card companies are also eligible able for charge-back proceedings. Also, if you are the victim of fraud, I do not believe you are required to do anything more than request a refund from a merchant before you request a reversal of charges. This is a huge consumer benefit that also protects the credit card companies from abuse. You will likely find that your bank is all too willing to help as they are also the victims of fraud by identity thieves.

I will give credit to MemorySuppliers.com’s staff for being publicly contrite (if only for the sake of keeping up appearances). It is evident, however, that they will never change these practices, so do not bother trying to deal with them directly. You will only be wasting your time and empowering them to victimize you.

UNTIL THE GOVERNMENT, CLASS-ACTION LAW FIRM, OR OTHER PARTY ACTS AGAINST MEMORYSUPPLIERS.COM, YOUR BEST BET TO GET SATISFACTION IS THROUGH THE BANK.

I hope this was helpful. Good luck.

[amaroq3]

Good post and there sure are common themes between all of us who MS has tried to cheat out of our money. Those are good tips. The credit card part of my bank got my money back for me, it took a few times but it worked.

Changing the number only works so far. To really make that work you have to close out your CC account and open one someplace else. I just had the numbers changed so it would have taken longer for the charge to get to my new number, but it would have if I hadn't kept fighting. At least that is what happened to me.

Thanks for adding this.

[LostMemory]

Thank you for starting this thread. FYI, it looks like my original post is experiencing a DDoS attack (the server is down minutes after I posted my comments). Someone doesn't like the truth! :
http://www.all-encompassingly.com/do...lierscom-scam/

[memorysuppliers]

"I will give credit to MemorySuppliers.com’s staff for being publicly contrite (if only for the sake of keeping up appearances). It is evident, however, that they will never change these practices, so do not bother trying to deal with them directly. You will only be wasting your time and empowering them to victimize you."

Max - I gave you my personal contact, however I have still not heard from you. If you by some chance missed it, here it is once again. You could contact me directly via the phone (800) 979-9707 Ext 227 or via e-mail at yan@memorysuppliers.com and I will gladly discuss that Memory Exchange for you, as all of our products are backed up by Life Time Warranty.

"I also don't believe that you are required to remove any negative publicity as a condition of receiving a refund (as long as the facts are true). I find it astonishing that MemorySuppliers.com has allegedly demanded this from victims as well as allegedly charging the credit cards (illegally) of those who didn't. Serious chutzpah. This reason alone should be ample evidence why you should avoid trying to resolve this issue with MemorySuppliers.com directly beyond demanding a refund."

We do not demand a customer to change the rating after rectifying the issue, however we do hope that customers do update their reviews to be accurate and let public know that Memory Suppliers, Inc. has resolved the issue. Most of the customers choose to do that, however some do not. If you go through our ratings, you will notice some negative ones still remain... While they update the "Story" they do not update the ratings, which is fine. If customer chooses to keep the rating as "Very Dissatisfied", while the issue has been resolved then that is the way it will be, however we do appreciate customers updating the reviews to match the facts and the resolution that took place.

As I have previously stated, I am always available via the phone or via the e-mail. I will try my absolute best, and we (Memory Suppliers, Inc.) will go out of our way to have customer's 100% Satisfaction. Once again my phone number is (800) 979-9707 Ext 227 and my e-mail address is yan@memorysuppliers.com


-Yan

[amaroq3]

hmmm A few days of arguing with the people at the returns email for a refund. We told them they didn't send what I ordered and that my computer was hosed. All they could say is "we are sorry for the inconvenience, but you get in store credit only".

Excuse me? You don't do your job and you hose my computer and all you can say is sorry for the inconvenience and you refuse to give my money back? You ask if I want new memory for a dead computer or if I want to risk buying something from you again for the new computer I had to get and am still having to pay off? I had to publicly rant and fight to get my money back (the first time). You have to be a few slices short of a full loaf to think that is worth a good review for a company. Then I was harassed over the period of a month (over the phone) to change my review. When I didn’t make it positive I was rechaged because the owner didn't like my review.

Then the bigger battle that I finally won ensued.

I said I got my money back, but what in God's name do you think makes Memory Suppliers worth a positive review?

When I called Yan after getting recharged the first time he told me he could get my money back AGAIN but next month the OWNER would just RECHAGE me the over $400 for memory that I didn't have (I sent it back to them 2 days after I got it) and that had hosed my computer. It was a while before I finally got written proof of this.

btw for those out there, I've got the emails to prove my hassle with the returns people when I first asked for a refund.

Hey folks, what deserves a good review? A company you have to fight with to get your money back or a company that instantly takes responsibility for its actions and returns your money. btw I never got reimbursed for the hosed motherboard on the old computer or the new computer I am still paying off.

[csoltko]

On 3/18/08 I ordered a Lexar Media 1GB 40X Professional compact flash with write acceleration (WA) that was shown on the Memory Supplier’s web site. I was shipped a SanDisk card. I notified Memory Suppliers of the problem and they authorized me to ship it back and I was credited the return postage. Several days later I received a Lexar Platinum II card. I call the sales manager and told him what had happened. He told me they were out of stock of the Lexar Media 1GB 40X Professional compact flash with WA. He told me he had Lexar Media 1GB 80X Professional compact flash with WA in stock and told me to return the Lexar Platinum II card. Well I received the third package containing still yet another Lexar Platinum II card.

See post 41 for Memory Suppliers response.

[csoltko]

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