1/5
posted Aug-11-2007
I ordered Porcupine Tree's "Lightbulb Sun" from Tower.com back in May. The website misleadingly said "item available" rather than "backorder". Tower has since overhauled the way items are listed on their website to "in stock", "ships within 2-4 weeks", or "not available". Lightbulb Sun is a difficult-to-find release and I was willing to wait for a backordered CD (they are re-releasing it later this year).
On May 29 I received a shipment confirmation and my credit card was billed. I waited 21 days for the item to deliver before I followed up with Tower.com. Through the web form, I was twice sent a form letter (On June 20 and July 7) that said my item was on backorder. Furthermore, my login was deleted and I could not find a record of my order through their automated system.
On July 11, established phone contact with Tower.com and was told that their system was overhauled on May 29 and that I was erroneously sent a shipment confirmation and that my login information was deleted. The phone rep was able to look up my order and saw that it was still on backorder. It is now August 11 and I have not received any contact from Tower and my order has still not arrived. Lightbulb Sun is now listed as "Not Available" on Tower.com.
Tower.com will take orders that they cannot fulfill in a timely manner. It has been way past the 2-4 week deadline and I will be following up this order this Monday to see if my order has been canceled (I have not received a credit). If you're looking for customer service through the web form, forget it. You'll just receive a form-letter reply that doesn't answer your question. Phone support was satisfactory and I received a follow-up e-mail. If you want a back-ordered item, I would not recommend Tower based on my experience and I will never order anything from Tower again.
Update: I just got off the phone with them and they told me the item was unavailable and canceled the order. Why they didn't tell me it changed status is beyond me and I don't know why I gave them the benefit of the doubt with this order. Now I have to see if the refund goes through smoothly...
This review was modified by
TX297 on August 21 2007 02:47:35 PM
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![Share](javascript:share_rating({"review_body":"I ordered Porcupine Tree\u0027s \u0022Lightbulb Sun\u0022 from Tower.com back in May. The website misleadingly said \u0022item available\u0022 rather than \u0022backorder\u0022. Tower has since overhauled the way items are listed on their website to \u0022in stock\u0022, \u0022ships within 2-4 weeks\u0022, or \u0022not available\u0022. Lightbulb Sun is a difficult-to-find release and I was willing to wait for a backordered CD (they are re-releasing it later this year).<br><br>On May 29 I received a shipment confirmation and my credit card was billed. I waited 21 days for the item to deliver before I followed up with Tower.com. Through the web form, I was twice sent a form letter (On June 20 and July 7) that said my item was on backorder. Furthermore, my login was deleted and I could not find a record of my order through their automated system.<br><br>On July 11, established phone contact with Tower.com and was told that their system was overhauled on May 29 and that I was erroneously sent a shipment confirmation and that my login information was deleted. The phone rep was able to look up my order and saw that it was still on backorder. It is now August 11 and I have not received any contact from Tower and my order has still not arrived. Lightbulb Sun is now listed as \u0022Not Available\u0022 on Tower.com.<br><br>Tower.com will take orders that they cannot fulfill in a timely manner. It has been way past the 2-4 week deadline and I will be following up this order this Monday to see if my order has been canceled (I have not received a credit). If you\u0027re looking for customer service through the web form, forget it. You\u0027ll just receive a form-letter reply that doesn\u0027t answer your question. Phone support was satisfactory and I received a follow-up e-mail. If you want a back-ordered item, I would not recommend Tower based on my experience and I will never order anything from Tower again.<br><br>Update: I just got off the phone with them and they told me the item was unavailable and canceled the order. Why they didn\u0027t tell me it changed status is beyond me and I don\u0027t know why I gave them the benefit of the doubt with this order. Now I have to see if the refund goes through smoothly...","link":"http:\/\/www.resellerratings.com\/store\/Tower_Records\/comment\/328786#comment328786","store_thumb":"http:\/\/www.resellerratings.com\/store\/thumbnail\/Tower_Records.jpg","store_name":"Tower Records","username":"TX297","rating":"1"}, "single");){kind=link}