Original order was last Thursday. I'll assume this is a new order since I received a new confirmation today 10/06/08.
Original
12819A002 Canon 52mm 250D Close-up Lens $69.00
17640A001 Canon ACK-800 AC Adapter Kit for PowerShot A100, A200, A300, A310, A400, A500 Series Digital Cameras $23.00
1cleankit5 5 Pc. Camcorder/Digital Camera Lens Cleaning Kit $6.99
“Upgraded"
CLEANKIT5 5 Piece Cleaning Kit $ 6.99
CH-1010 Universal AC Adaptor For Digital Camera 3 Year Warranty Short-Circuit Protect, Automatic Thermal, Overload Cut-Off $ 23.99
CL-52 4 Piece 52mm Super Close-Up Lens Set --Top Rated-- Includes 1/ 2/ 4/ 10, 15 Yr. Warranty $ 69.99
BOWA570IS Lens Adapter Canon A570IS/590IS Accepts 52mm (Metal Finish) $ 13.99
After an email this morning 10/6/08 at 8:14am "your order requires some attention" and during a call at 9:45am informing me that my Canon Close-up Lens was on back order, I first said it was no problem and that I was in no hurry. What seemed to be a very sweet male operator at extension 3302, said they would “upgrade” my order to another product for the same price for my trouble.
The operator new my Canon camera well and said there would be no problem. When I asked what the difference of the product would be he replied the original is made of glass and the new would be of crystal and something about high definition. Without knowing the difference, I agreed to an "upgrade". I don't find these items an "upgrade" which implies "better quality". He said that they would expedite the order for the trouble and asked me something like, when have you had a company “upgrade” for the same price just to keep the customer happy, I replied, never.
I received the new invoice at 9:56am. All but the cleaning set was replaced. There were no brand names, so I searched item numbers on their site and found Digital Optics/Opteka products. I still can not find the “BOWA570IS Lens Adapter Canon A570IS/590IS Accepts 52mm (Metal Finish) $ 13.99” so I don't know what that looks like. The items I found cost more on their site, so in that respect I guess they would consider it an “upgrade”. Searching the products on a number of sites, I found that the products were not known or considered cheap substitutes. At that point, I called back on the same number to cancel the order since their email states the only way to cancel is to call. I was told that I could only cancel an order by email. Hmm…sent an email and told them I was annoyed about the inconsistency in their instructions and that I wanted to cancel the order. Which got me these responses
RE: Online info from XXXXXXXX@hotmail.com
From: NWV Direct Sales & Support Team (info@newworldvideodirect.com)
Sent: Mon 10/06/08 12:37 PM
To:XXXXXXX@hotmail.com
Hello. Order shipped per your instructions.
Our apologies.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RE: Order cancellation?
From: NWV Direct Sales & Support Team (info@newworldvideodirect.com)
Sent:Mon 10/06/08 12:49 PM
To:'Karen X' (XXXXXXX@hotmail.com)
Hi Karen. I understand your change of heart. However, you instructed us to send you the products that are being sent. It seems there is only one inconsistency here. We will retain this email for our records.
Thank you
So I tried to find out about returns
From: Karen X [mailto:XXXXXX@hotmail.com]
Sent: Monday, October 06, 2008 5:06 PM (this is ET)
To: NWV Direct Sales & Support Team
Subject: RE: Order cancellation
Hi,
The fact that the order was placed is not in debate. That does not change my desire to cancel
the order. The email you sent me says I can not cancel an order by email; that is a fact, and
yes, these emails will be kept for my records as well. My attempt to cancel by phone, which was
the only option given to me, was met with an employee telling me that an order can only be
canceled by email. That is an inconsistency, one that a company concerned with keeping satisfied
customers returning, would want to know about and correct. Also, such a company would
understand that just because a customer is not happy with one order, they can become their best
word of mouth advertising if the situation is handled correctly.
So, going back to the issue, I do not want the items being shipped. Once the order has been
shipped, how does the customer proceed if the order is no longer wanted?
Karen
I was sent the link to their return page at 2:08pm that also mentions the restrictions.
“…The following products are not acceptable for credit, refund, or exchange and must be repaired or handled by the manufacturer or a manufacturers' authorized service centers: Blister-packed items, tripods, opened media, including tapes, cd's or dvd's, lights, flashes, extended warranties, lenses, filters…”
Since the lenses are the main problem, and they don't take returns, which i'm sure they knew well, I’m out of options except to tell as many people as I can.
At 3:32pm I was sent an order shipment confirmation.
As of 7:40pm the UPS tracking site has this info
Your package is on time with a scheduled delivery date of 10/13/2008.
Tracking results provided by UPS: 10/06/2008 10:39 P.M. ET
U.S. 10/06/2008 5:29PM BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED
BROOKLYN, NY 10/06/2008 10:23PM ORIGIN SCAN
Scanned at what would be 7:23PM my time? Long time after it was supposedly shipped and unavailable for cancellation at 12:37PM.
Never again, they would rather lose customers than cancel a $100 order. I would have been willing to wait for the other products, but now, make no mistake, if they are reading, I still want it canceled and refunded.
By the way, I did do a search before the purchase. Apparently depending on the sort of the
reviews, the negatives can be buried. Sort by rating and the negatives come out clearer.
This review was modified by its author, truthseeker08, on
10/9/08 1:57 PM.