Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 21, 1993 TAG: 9304210169
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By LARRY BLASKO ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Frequent readers know I've long recommended checking out mail-order as a source of equipment at rock-bottom prices. For many, it's a painless experience. But every once in a while, things go sour.
Reader Don Nelson of Alvin, Texas, wrote to share a Mail Order From Hell.
The system was a 486-based PC and the vendor was a major mail-order house.
"What impressed me about this company was their `Satisfaction Guaranteed or Money Back' promise," Nelson writes. Plus, he says, they advertised on-site service and system replacement at no charge, if necessary.
The money-back guarantee ran for 30 days.
"After set-up and use for 31 days," Nelson writes, "our computer started giving us boot-up problems."
Then the company started giving Nelson problems.
"Phone calls to their 800 series number took an average of 30 minutes just to get in line to get through," he writes. "It took from 20-30 minutes to get a customer service technician. One time it took two hours."
Then there was an attempt to replace $400 worth of RAM chips that first had to be charged to Nelson's credit card for later credit, even though it was a warranty problem - and didn't solve the PC's ills anyway. Nelson also shipped the entire CPU back for repair, which took a week. That was just long enough to force erasing the hard drive.
When Nelson asked for his money back, he says, "We were told that their policy was not to give us a refund, only to replace the parts. We asked for a new CPU, and the service technician told us that we would have a new CPU by the time they finished replacing all the parts.
"Again, we have sent our computer back. Hopefully, it will be lost in the mail."
Clearly, this mail-order house has lost any hope of repeat business from one family. And unlike a local vendor, where you can at least pound on the counter, scream, turn purple and make a scene, the remoteness of mail-order can add to the frustration.
There are some defenses. If you paid by credit card - as you should - check the card company's policy on payment for goods or services in dispute. The company may be able to withhold payment or back-charge the vendor until the dispute is resolved. In addition to calls to 800 numbers, write to the company involved, stating clearly what is wrong and what it will take to make you happy.
If you're still getting nowhere, write to the Direct marketing Organization Mail Order Action Line, 6 East 43rd St., New York, N.Y. 10017.
If you're considering a modem and exploring the ever-expanding world of telecommunications, think first about getting a copy of "The Modem Reference" by Michael A. Banks (Brady Books, $29.95). Now in it's third edition, the book covers everything there is to know about modems, on-line services, cables, transfer protocols and all the other arcania that go into getting one machine to say howdy to another. Beyond the depth of coverage, what continues to set the book apart is first-class writing that makes the difficult easy to understand and the impossibly complex almost within reach.
For CompuBug's book, "ABCs of Computing, a Plain-English Guide," send $10 to CompuBug, P.O. Box 626, Summit, N.J. 07901. ($7 for active-duty members of the U.S. armed forces). For an on-disk hypertext version, send $10 ($7 for active-duty military) to DPA, 1160 Huffman Rd., Birmingham, Ala. 35215. Specify disk size and monitor. Questions and comments are welcome at either address.
by CNB