FTC ACCUSES MAIL-ORDER FIRM OF VIOLATIONS

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, March 6, 1993                   TAG: 9303060259
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NORFOLK                                LENGTH: Short
FTC ACCUSES MAIL-ORDER FIRM OF VIOLATIONS
The Federal Trade Commission has accused a Virginia Beach mail-order computer supply company with failing to ship orders, missing order deadlines and refusing to issue promised refunds or credits.
The complaint, filed Wednesday under seal in U.S. District Court, named Business Computer Systems, also known as Megasource, and founders Tal Shamgar and David J. Masuck as defendants. The seal was lifted late Thursday.
Phil Geib, an attorney for BCS, said he had just been made aware of the complaint. He said some of the allegations were a year or more old but that any amounts owed to customers would be paid promptly.
"This is no fly-by-night operation," Geib said of his clients. "They're certainly going to pay any outstanding debts."
BCS and Megasource have different telephone listings but the same address in Virginia Beach. A woman who answered the phone Friday at BCS said Shamgar and Masuck were not available.
According to the FTC, BCS has sold computers, printers, facsimile machines and related supplies and accessories through national magazine and computer publication advertisements since at least November 1989.
In numerous instances, the agency said, BCS violated federal rules on time frames for shipping mail orders, on giving options to consumers for delays and on making refunds.
The FTC also accused the company of irregularities in the repair and replacement of defective merchandise and of substituting less-expensive equipment for what was originally ordered.
A hearing on the complaint is scheduled for March 15.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB