1/5

posted Oct-04-2005

"Placed an online order for a Panasonic digital camera with camera mall on 28 Sep 2005. Recieved a call from a store rep the same day attempting to sell various accessories, insurance and shipping upgrades. He indicated the item was in stock and ready for shipment. After declining these offers I did not recieve notice of order shipment. When I called the store on 3 October to inquire as to order status the rep informed me that the item I ordered was out of stock and she had no idea when it would be restocked.I asked that the order be cancelled. I was sent a copy of the order summary via email, but no indication that my order had been cancelled.
This transaction smacks of a clear "bait" and "switch" operation where merchandise is advertised at low cost. The customer is then subjected to a hard sell process for accessories, insurance and shipping upgrades.I would not recommend this store to anyone. "

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1/5

posted Aug-16-2005

"Ordered a Sony HD video camera at their web site. They had one of the cheapest prices I could find on the web. They called the next day and I got a long spiel about accessories. I declined all of them. I had a bunch from previous Sony cameras and the ones I did need were way overpriced.I got an email the next day that the order was cancelled because they had been oversold.Basically what you do at the web site is not buy what you want but 1.Arrange to be called by a rep so he can sell and 2. make sure that you get a hold on your credit card for the amount that you shopped for. Isn't it time price comparison engines stop listing stores who call you after the sale to sell you more? I can always got to my local CompUSA if I want to talk to a salesperson."

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1/5

posted Jul-09-2005

"I placed an order with TheCameraMall.com (aka PriceRitePhoto aka C&A
Marketing) on June 9, 2005 for a Sony DSR-PD170 camcorder. At the time
the price advertised on-line was very low, which should have raised a
warning flag, but a call to the company confirmed the item was in stock
ready to be shipped, that it was a US model, the user's manual was in
English, and the salesman (Joseph) seemed helpful. There was some
pressure to add unwanted items like a tripod, extra battery, etc, but they
were declined. An offer to add insurance was offered, and initially I
declined but then agreed after being told that otherwise if the product
arrived and was non-functional I would be taking full risk. Before the
product could be shipped I was asked to sign and fax a form, appended
below, that indicated that if I wrote any negative feedback I would agree
to have my credit card charged $100, and that I also agreed to waive my
right to chargeback to the credit card company, and that product could not
be returned for any reason. I signed and returned this form with the
understanding that the company would send the item I ordered. However
after a week there was no indication of a product even having been
shipped, and the customer service contact indicated that only the
salesperson could give me order status, so after several tried I reached
Joseph again, and now he indicated that he couldn't ship the product
unless I faxed him a copy of my credit-card!!! This I refused to do, and
have never, ever had to do for a transaction. I sent email to the company
requesting cancelation of the order, and received yet another email asked
me to sign and fax back a form indicating that I would not post negative
feedback and if I did I was authorizing my credit card to be charged
$100. I refused to sign this.


I did post feedback to
the feedback links provided by the customer describing the details of the
transaction, including the forms I had been sent.

The day after posting the feedback describing my attempt to buy the video
camera from PriceRitePhoto/CameraMall, I received a call from a "John
Hancock", claiming to be the owner of the camera companies, and demanding
that I remove the feedback I posted. He said that he would charge my
credit card for the amount of the camera and and additional $250 for each
posting. He also said that he was shipping a Malaysian version of the
camera, without a lens, to me, and that he would make money on the deal,
and I couldn't stop the shipment, or dispute the charge. My credit card
company confirmed that a pending charge had been placed by PriceRite, but
the charge was not yet posted, and once it was posted, I could dispute.

The next day, July 6, I received several calls from "John Hancock",
demanding again that I remove the feedback I had posted, and when I agreed
that I would remove anything that he felt was not accurate, but if he
could not indicate any inaccuracy, then the feedback would remain. He
screamed and swore at me over the phone, and said that he would post my
credit card number on the internet if I didn't comply.

On July 8 a charge was posted to my credit card for $2139.99 and a second
charge was posted for $100.00. I called my credit card company and
initiated the dispute process. The security department of BankOne Credit
strongly suggested that I cancel my credit card, and complete an internet
fraud report.
Description of how you were defrauded:
My credit card has been charged $2238.99 for an cancelled order.
I've been threatened with additional multiple charges against my
credit card unless I change feedback posted to the Internet, and I've
been threatened with having my credit card number posted to the
Internet. I've had to cancel my credit card on the advice of my
credit card provider.
"

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