Advice needed on problem with United Micro

[Camelot One]

I have a mess going. I called United Micro on 3-12, to inquire about the Gainward 4600Ti. Its a $385 card. The rep I talked to said they would be in 3-15, and if I ordered now I would definitely get one on that date. So I ordered, and paid extra for overnight shipping. When i hadn't even received a tracking number by 3-18, I called and emailed, getting the same answer with each. My order had not been fullfilled, because they had 280 orders, and only got 180 cards. Ok, sales rep messed up, no biggie. I was told that I was first in line to get one from the next shipment, 3-28. I called again on 3-21, and offered to upgrade my order to the Gainward w/3D glasses, another $30 or so, if it would increase my chances of getting a card on time. I was told again that I was first in line for the 3-28 shipment with my original order, so there would be no need to upgrade. Well, here it is 3-29, and I am once again told that they oversold their shipment, I will get no card until ATLEAST the 4-7 shipment, but that there is no guarantee even then. So, I came back to resellerratings, and noticed a post for United Micro from their new sales manager. I tried caling, getting only his voicemail. I left a message on 3-28, 2:00pm, still nothing back. I also emailed sales, putting " Please direct this to:
> Justin R Grabowski
> Sales Manager (As Of 3/25/02)
> Ext. 221
> (800)943-7255"
at the very top. I explained the situation, and asked that Justin get back to me. I was nice, but firm, asking if there was any sort of guarantee I would get a card from their next shipment, or if I should cancel the order and call someone else. I got a responce back from "Gene, ext 219" saying there was no guarantee I would get the card. Nothing else, no appology, no explanation as to why I am the one who has to initiate contact when they don't fullfill my order on time, nothing. So, thinking I would cancel my order, I went to pricewatch.com to find another dealer. If you run a search for "Gainward 4600", 3 dealers pop up. United Micro, NewLinePC, and Atacom. I tried the number listed on the NewLinePC website, and guess what... " thank you for calling United Micro" Now the really odd thing is, the pricewatch listings for each give different ETA dates. I tried atacom, and they assured me if I "ordered today, your card will ship in our next shipment, next friday".
Now the bigger problem. UM. has already charged my debit card, and sales says it may take up to 3 weeks for them to put the credit back on. ALL I WANT IS THE CARD! I don't care where it comes from, I'm just sick of waiting. Any advice?

One more thing, how exactly does UM get shipments on Sundays? 4-7 is, unless my calandar is out of date.

-Sorry the rant took so long-

[Camelot One]

Update - I called some of the other dealers listed on Pricewatch, and found that NewLinePC's telephone was answered "Thank you for calling United Micro". NewLinePC doesn't pull up on the resellerratings, is this a new name? And is this common practice? I also found Component Authority and OCSystem to be the same.

[SteamersFAN]

You should realize that they are using your money as a loan to
finance their other biz.

Lesson #1 for i-net orders : Use a "true" credit card, not your
debit card. For clarity, talk to your bank, but a 'debit' is automatically paid and up to you to recover "bad" transactions.

[Camelot One]

Well, I don't think thats entirely accurate. When I first placed the order, the money was removed from my account. (debit card) However, it was placed back in a few days later. This seems consistant with the bank "holding" the money in the account after receiving the authorization request, then returning it when the purchase never came through. As far as I can tell, United Micro has not charged me yet.

[Camelot One]

I had lunch with a guy from work yesturday, and in the course of the conversation, this came up. He laughed at me for waiting so long. We went back to the office, where he hopped online, went to newegg, and ordered one for himself. He paid the extra $$ for overnight delivery, and fedex just dropped off his order. (yeah, that less than 24 hours.) I feel like such a sucker.