I purchased PS2 and a couple of games from Playstation's UK web
site on October 11, 2001. The total value of the purchase
was around £330, and I made the payment using my Visa/Debit
Card. As all the products I had purchased at time were on stock
I was hoping to get my package within couple of days.
The package never showed up and I was unable
to check the status of my order from the web site. I called
in the customer service many times.
First they told me that there was a problem with my credit card,
and advised to contact my bank. When I did, I found out that the
money was physically taken out of my account as of October 16,
2001 (as I paid with a debit card, which obviously was not a very
smart move).
I contacted the PS customer service again and told them that the
money was already out of my account, they than said we have to
contact the finance department, which was not there, and told
that they would get back to me ASAP. No one called in. I called
back and spoke to an advisor, Anup, who again asked me for time
to figure out what was going on. He never called back, and each
time I called him, he was either out or on a meeting.
Next time I was able to talk to someone I found out that the
status of my order was now "cancel requested"??
Summary of 2 weeks: £330 taken out
of my account, 15 calls to Play Station CS, and no one even knew
where my package was.
After loosing contact with Supervisor 1: Anup, I finally caught
another one, Mandy. Who again told me that she would look in to
the issue and get back to be. Guess what, no calls. When I called
her back for 2 days, and finally found her (she too was always
out by 1600, or always in a meeting???).
My adventure took another turn as she told me that there was a
security issue, and that was why they were not shipping my package.
After insisting for 5 min, she revealed that the issue was with
my address?? I kept asking her what it was (should I contact the
police??), her response was, they are investigating the issue,
but we can not make the shipment for your own safety. Apart from
game consoles, Sony was obviously into Federal Security, as FBI
is currently overwhelmed with the current issues.
In the meanwhile my spare dualshock controller that I had ordered
2 days ago from amazon.co.uk had arrived, to the same "dangerous"
address. Obviously Amazon was not paying enough attention to its
customers' safety.
I somehow crossed Mandy this past Monday, and told her that I
only wanted my money back, as I gave up on the PS2, which was
going to be a birthday gift, due last week. She sourly sad, "Oh,
I spoke to the warehouse and they "might" have shipped
it from Netherlands, in which case you can not cancel your order,
I am sorry". So was my order on its way? I don't know she
said , I will get back to you as soon as I find out, but if it
left Netherlands it will only be 5 working days....I than asked
her who was she reporting to, and she said "I am the manager
of CS". -Ok, than who do you report to? I want to make a
complaint. She replied "I will have them give you a call,
I can not give you their number".....no calls, but I was
not expecting anything anyways.....Maybe that person is one of
you guys.
Yesterday (day 12, 23 October 2001) I called CS again as usual,
and asked for Mandy. She already had left for home. The customer
rep on the phone said "Your case is personally handed by
Mandy, I can not help you, but I am sending her a personal e-mail
now. She gets in at 8, but that's too early, so she will for sure
give you a call at 9AM sharp, tomorrow morning". "she
will call you for sure"...and guess what happened this morning...................(No
Call)
I have been shopping online for 2-3 years
now. And I have never experienced such a thing, even when shopping
from small shops. I would never expect Playstation.com to withdraw
£330 from my account, not shipping my products, and not
being able to find one person to explain what was going on.
Instead I have been chasing 2 CS supervisors,
who are either never in or on a meeting, and never call back.
As you can imagine I am very upset. I have been putting together
an article on this mess, and will do my best to get it published
in as many places as possible. I already have sent it to a journalist
friend. I gave up on receiving my package, but want my money back
ASAP!!
A Right of Reply email has been sent to Sony Computer Entertainment.
Anyone else out there with problems relating to playstation.com?
We would like to hear from you.
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