little-ginge

This is a bit of a long one, and has been typed whilst in an extremely bad mood so I apologise for any errors which might occur!!

Early December, I ordered some guitar stuff (Xmas pressies) from an internet company called Soundsmusical.

I received confirmation of my order, and noticed that the £90 was taken out of my bank account the day after the order was placed. Expecting a relatively swift turn around, when I hadnt received or heard anything further after 10 days, I phoned the company direct. To cut along story short, after queueing and being cut off a few times, I got hold of someone and was assured it was on it's way.

A few more days waiting, it still hadnt arrived. I spoke to a sales lady, she assured me that my goods would be with me. They still didnt arrive and so I called and spoke to her again on the Monday before Christmas. She assured me that the goods would arrive by Thursday of that week.

They didnt turn up, and so I called again only to be told that their shipment hadnt arrived and I could expect my order after Christmas. I demanded a full refund and was told it would take 10 days to process to my account - bearing in mind it was Christmas, I knew it would take a few days longer.

The money didnt appear in my account, and so I telephoned again to be told that in line with their 'Terms & Conditions', the refund could take up to 30 days!! This deadline ran out Friday last week. I called again yesterday and demanded to know what was going on, and when my money would be in my account. The guy said he couldnt answer my query but would pass it on to the 'Accounts department'. I was told they confirm by email what was going on - I requested that this be sent by close of play yesterday but was told they have a 24 hour turn around on emails.

Guess what? I have just gone to check my emails..and big surprise there is nothing from this company!!

Now I know £90 isn't a huge amount of money, but I am absolutely furious! I have made numerous calls, resulting in sitting in their bladdy phone queue for at least 2.5 hours since 4th Dec, and thats before talking to someone!!

I know they have an actual store in Enfield, and short of going there and causing a scene, I don't know what else to do...

They state refunds take 30 days - although I ordered goods, I never received anything so technically is it a refund? They have broken their T&C's... can I do anything about that?

Has anyone else had similar problems with an internet order? Or can anyone suggest what I can do next?

TIA.

Scooby Soon!

Contact your credit card company and report the transaction as fraudulent, give them the contact details for the company and tell the bank to sort it out. Just say they have not supplied the goods.

little-ginge

I know you can do that on a credit card but it was a Debit card.. can I still do it??

I know I should have used my credit card... I'm crap with things like this...

Scooby Soon!

Not sure but I cant see a problem, I have disputed debit cards transactions before and they were for about 5k still got the money back. Ring your bank and ask them, tell them you have tried contacting the compnay but have had no luck getting a refund.

RLE

iTrader: (2)

Yes you can still report it to the bank mate.

As for 30 days to refund your card I think they will find that they are in breach of strict guidelines under their credit license agreements.

First stop is to get your card issuer involved who will in turn direct a query to the bank the company use to process their transactions. They have 15 days in which to respond failing which an immediate reversal will be affected and your money will be refunded.

little-ginge

Am on the phone to the bank atm...

little-ginge

Typical... the deptartment I need to speak to has just shut up shop for the night..

MikeCardiff

iTrader: (2)

I do think some shops use internet sales as a way to mess people around - its so easy to load up a website with stuff you dont have in stock, then order it in once the customer has paid - which can often lead to problems if their supplier is out of stock and they cant get something the customer has already paid for.

If you dont get any joy with your bank, just start proceedings through the small claims court against the shop - they'll lose, and when they do if they dont pay the bailiffs will go in and remove stock worth 5 times what they owe you, so its in their interest to get you paid back quickly.

The other good thing about small claims is that for businesses its very hard for them to say they dont have any money or assets and offer to pay you back £2 a week like private sellers can.


I did hear of someone who had a similar problem with a guitar shop in Germany ( quite well known for ripping people off as it happens ) - ordered a couple of thousand worth of stuff, and despite loads of BS promises it failed to appear.

So, he cancelled the order and asked for a refund, which again didnt materialise.

When he threatened legal action, they told him 'we will just declare ourselves bankrupt and be open again with a different name the same day - we have done this before and it is very easy for us in Germany'.

What they didnt expect was him and two of his larger mates to fly over, visit the shop and start removing items from the display ( while one mate stood over the phone to stop the police being called ) - the owner soon came up with the blokes money in cash, plus a bit extra 'for his trouble'.

RLE

iTrader: (2)

Fair point Mike but you would have to pay £30.00 to commence proceedings in the first instance. Assuming you have no defence or acknowledgement to the Claim and enter Judgment a further £30.00 would be payable if you decided a Warrant was your best way of enforcement. By this time you are at the very least three months down the line and although you would recover your fees and additional interest @ 8% if successful its a stress you can do without.

I'm sure the bank will recover the money on his behalf.

EddScott

From past experience, banks don't want to know if theres a problem with a purchase.

Not quite the same but I had a problem with wanadoo who kept taking money out of my account. The bank allowed the money to be taken but when I asked the bank to step in and refund the money (as it clearly states on any Direct Debit Guarantee) they didn't want to know.

By all means try your bank but they may not want to know. One idea would be to contact the shops local trading standards agency. Speak to them for advice and maybe write a letter to the shop stating they've breached their T&Cs and you've approached their local trading standards office. If they are that bad the TS office may already have a file on them.

Good luck.

chris singleton

Don't recall a store by that name, any idea whereabouts in Enfield it is?

Want me to pay them a visit

suprabeast

always buy stuff with credit cards

little-ginge

Lea Valley Road AFAIK... If you hear of a red headed female psycho being arrested in your area you know who it is!!


Am attempting to converse wtih the CAB and Trading Standards.. but both places appear to be out to lunch - they shouldnt be allowed to eat

little-ginge

Havent been able to get hold of this company today. Phone message says their offices are closed.

Been on to Barclays - they cannot do anything without email confirmation that the company is to refund me - all discussions have been verbal so that avenue is a no go atm..

Spoke to Trading Standards and have logged an official complaint against the company. They have not only broken their T&C's but also the 'Distance Selling Act/Consumer Protection Act 2000.

Apparently my next course of action should be through the small claims court...but I am mighty tempted to take a trip to their store first..

little-ginge

Well, we took the trip on saturday...

According to a sign on the gate, they were supposedly closed until today due to 'annual stock take' but their phone line have been closed all day....