Another problem with DeepDiscount (what do I do?)

argh923 · 12-03-07, 02:57 PM

I placed an order on the last day of the 20% off sale for three DVDs - a couple of SNL Best Ofs, and the Nightmare on Elm Street collection - all as Christmas gifts. Yesterday, I realized they still hadn't shipped. Went to the website, and there was nothing indicating that they were backordered, so I emailed DD to check on the status of the order.

The email returned to me indicated that the items were indeed backordered, and would ship on 12/12. OK, no big deal...error in the website. That's cutting it close to Christmas, though, with Media Mail, so I emailed back and asked to upgrade shipping so that I could be sure I'd get the items in time for Christmas.

The response indicated that this would not be possible - that I would have to cancel the order and re-order the items with the new shipping. The email specifically stated that if I wanted to do this, to just respond and it would be taken care of. I didn't want to do this, however, as then I wouldn't get the 20% off. I replied saying as much, and requested again that the shipping please be upgraded, because I didn't want to miss these items before Christmas or miss the discount that I had when I ordered.

The reply to that again stated this wouldn't be possible. I was a little frustrated, and just figured I'd be out the $11 that was discounted, and cancel/re-order. So I sent an email to do this.

However, when I got a response to do that, I was now told that I could not cancel my order OR upgrade my shipping, and that if I did not want the order, I could write "Return to Sender" on the package when it was delivered. This response also specifically stated, again, that the items were not in stock.

So first I'm told to cancel and reorder, but when I try to do so, now I'm told I can't cancel either? Despite the fact that the items won't even be in stock for nine more days? What can I do about this?

DVD Josh · 12-03-07, 03:04 PM

This is what credit card challenges were made for.

argh923 · 12-03-07, 03:13 PM

Part of me wants to call them and demand to speak to a supervisor, but the other part just doesn't know if it would do any good.

BTW, did you get my PM, Josh?

DVD Josh · 12-03-07, 03:59 PM

http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showpost.ph...3&postcount=43

Mosskeeto · 12-03-07, 05:12 PM

If you haven't already, you should call them to straighten this out. I've had no problems cancelling a couple of backorders in the past when I just didn't want them. With DVDPlanet it's impossible but it was easy at DeepDiscount (unless they've gotten worse).

RonG617 · 12-03-07, 05:21 PM

I canceled 1 of my orders during the sale through email with no problem. I have had problems in the past with Deep Discount, but my 3 orders during this sale shipped quickly and arrived pretty fast.

argh923 · 12-03-07, 10:27 PM

I'm going to call tomorrow if I haven't gotten an email reply. I'll just ask to speak to a supervisor right off the bat, though, in hopes that I can still get the shipping upgraded.

KARNEDGE · 12-04-07, 11:40 AM

Good luck reaching them.....

I have sent 3 e-mails on 3 seperate orders requesting them to cancel the order because items that were 'in-stock' at the time of the sale suddenly changed to 'backordered' after the order was submitted.

They acknowledged my mail and told me the orders were cancelled, but they are still coming up as pending/open orders under my account.

I tried calling 800-264-5076 to speak to someone, but all i get is a busy signal.

I have orders for items that say backordered going back to 11/21 and guess what - the very same items in my wishlist indicate the items are in stock and ready to ship in 2-3 days.

For example when I bought the book "The Red Hat Society Night Before Christmas: on 11/30 it was in stock, now my order indicates the item is backordered, however when I searched for it today and re-added it to my wishlist it says it is 'in stock". So what the hell is the truth?

I think i am going to cancel all my pendings order and spend my money elsewhere for the 1st time in about 5 years simply because they can't get their act together.

In my humble opinion.... I think they got slammed during their sale, couldn't support the influx of orders, and their inventory and computer systems are all screwed up as a result.

up to recently I was their biggest fan, but lately they are having a ton of issues. Anyone else feeling this level of dissatisfaction and disappointment with deepdiscount, or deepdissapointment as I now call them?

Tracer Bullet · 12-04-07, 12:42 PM

Whatever you do, do not follow their return instructions. I made that mistake and we went back and forth for a while before I basically had to accuse them of stealing my money to get it back.

argh923 · 12-04-07, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KARNEDGE

I tried calling 800-264-5076 to speak to someone, but all i get is a busy signal.

Same here. Ridiculous and unacceptable.

Er...as I wrote this, I got through and placed on hold.

argh923 · 12-04-07, 02:55 PM

I remember calling them a couple of years ago and had barely any wait time, and the line actually identified itself as DeepDiscountDVD. Now? It's just hold music from the get-go - I've been on hold for about 5 minutes and have yet to hear a single voice identifying the company.

If I get charged for this order, what do I do to file a chargeback with my bank? (I'm at Chase)

argh923 · 12-04-07, 03:02 PM

OK, just got off the phone...that went better than expected. Apparently, between the time the emails were sent, one of my DVDs came in and is shipping today, and thus they were unable to cancel at that point. The nice woman on the phone did tell me that they received a memo today stating that any shipments after December 10 would be automatically upgraded for no charge so that they would be received in time for Christmas. So I'm cautiously optomistic.

KARNEDGE · 12-04-07, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abrg923

OK, just got off the phone...that went better than expected. Apparently, between the time the emails were sent, one of my DVDs came in and is shipping today, and thus they were unable to cancel at that point. The nice woman on the phone did tell me that they received a memo today stating that any shipments after December 10 would be automatically upgraded for no charge so that they would be received in time for Christmas. So I'm cautiously optomistic.

Sure they are.... Sure they are.
I would have asked her to fax me that memo.

Something is just plain messed up over there. I have seen this before a company expands too quickly and implodes.

i86time · 12-04-07, 09:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abrg923

OK, just got off the phone...that went better than expected. Apparently, between the time the emails were sent, one of my DVDs came in and is shipping today, and thus they were unable to cancel at that point. The nice woman on the phone did tell me that they received a memo today stating that any shipments after December 10 would be automatically upgraded for no charge so that they would be received in time for Christmas. So I'm cautiously optomistic.

Please let us all know if they told you the truth. During the DD sale earlier this year, I ordered both books and DVD's. The DVD shipment was also supposed to contain a book (listed as in stock during my order and in the confirmation email). The book was also listed in the shipment invoice, however there was a large mark-out indicating it was not in stock and would ship separately, despite being charged for it. I was credited the amount about a week later. I received an email almost a month later letting me know the book was back in stock and shipped; I was also charged. After a month of it not arriving, I called DD. Got a real polite guy, and after I gave my order #, he knew exactly what item I was calling about. I told him it never arrived. He put me on hold, came back and said it was in stock and it would ship, upgraded priority, in the next couple of days. After 3 weeks, still no book. I called back. This time I was told the item was not in stock, and it had not been in stock since I placed my original order. I asked the CSR how I could have received a notice that it came in stock and shipped, then been told at a later date it was still in stock and would be shipped by a previous CSR. She told me that the system automatically generates shipment notices when the werehouse recieves shipments that SHOULD contain the item- basically they think they'll be getting it, so it tells me they DID ship it. How's that for a tight ship? I then asked how the other CSR could have checked and confirmed it was in stock. She just said it was inventory error.

Service like this destroys customer loyalty. I can understand that DD raised prices on a large amount of items, but to do so and not increase service is idiotic. Customers will just go to the next cheapest retailer.

argh923 · 12-04-07, 11:23 PM

Oh, believe me, I will definitely let you know. I'll raise all kinds of holy hell if I don't get this in time for Christmas.

tonyjg · 12-05-07, 02:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abrg923

Oh, believe me, I will definitely let you know. I'll raise all kinds of holy hell if I don't get this in time for Christmas.

where is it written in your 'contract' for purchase of these items from DD that they have to deliver them to you 'in time for Christmas' ???

cdollaz · 12-05-07, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tonyjg

where is it written in your 'contract' for purchase of these items from DD that they have to deliver them to you 'in time for Christmas' ???

It was in section 7B of my contract. I'm not sure about his.

argh923 · 12-05-07, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tonyjg

where is it written in your 'contract' for purchase of these items from DD that they have to deliver them to you 'in time for Christmas' ???

Uh...the fact that I was told by a company representative yesterday that it was guaranteed?

WhovianZorker · 12-06-07, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tonyjg

where is it written in your 'contract' for purchase of these items from DD that they have to deliver them to you 'in time for Christmas' ???

Quote:

Originally Posted by abrg923

Uh...the fact that I was told by a company representative yesterday that it was guaranteed?

IANAL, but I think that verbal "contract" was only as good as the paper it was printed on.

cdollaz · 12-06-07, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WhovianZorker

IANAL, but I think that verbal "contract" was only as good as the paper it was printed on.

Wrong. Verbal contracts are legally binding except for a few specific cases.

domino harvey · 12-06-07, 04:24 PM

I doubt a DD customer service rep has the authority to enter into legally-binding contract with a customer.

cdollaz · 12-06-07, 06:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by domino harvey

I doubt a DD customer service rep has the authority to enter into legally-binding contract with a customer.

What they have the actual authority to do is different from what the customer thinks they have the authority to do. If they are an agent of the company and try to enter into a contract, any customer would reasonably believe that they had the apparant authority to make that contract and therefore, the company would be held to that contract.

A promise to ship by a certain date, like in this case, wouldn't be a contract, but an alteration to a current contract. Merchants are held to a higher standard than non-merchant sellers and a post-contract promise would probably be upheld in court if it came down to that.

strife · 12-06-07, 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cdollaz

What they have the actual authority to do is different from what the customer thinks they have the authority to do. If they are an agent of the company and try to enter into a contract, any customer would reasonably believe that they had the apparant authority to make that contract and therefore, the company would be held to that contract.

A promise to ship by a certain date, like in this case, wouldn't be a contract, but an alteration to a current contract. Merchants are held to a higher standard than non-merchant sellers and a post-contract promise would probably be upheld in court if it came down to that.

yea right you didnt get my items to me like some rep told you would and I'm gonna sue.

cdollaz · 12-06-07, 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by strife

yea right you didnt get my items to me like some rep told you would and I'm gonna sue.

Read up on your UCC and get back with me. Of course no one would actually sue someone over a dvd. The point is that a rep CAN legally bind their company even though they do not have the actual authority.

tonyjg · 12-06-07, 10:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by strife

yea right you didnt get my items to me like some rep told you would and I'm gonna sue.

you have to remember that the OP also posted in the first DD 20% thread about priority shipping and backorders - go read that one as well

Complaining about shipping times and when you actually get it is all pointless. Once its out of DDs hands - it's in 'god's hands' - ie - the postal services / customs agents / government officals etc. Is it a terrorist bomb or a dvd box set ??? should we open it up and see ??!!??

Hell !!! - overseas orderers like me play a game of 'russian roulette' each time we order stuff from the US and UK = "will it arrive today ??" "will the bigger parcel arrive or the single parcel arrive earlier ??"

12-03-07, 02:57 PM	#1
argh923 DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Muncie, IN [Member formerly known as abrg923] Posts: 5,826	Another problem with DeepDiscount (what do I do?) I placed an order on the last day of the 20% off sale for three DVDs - a couple of SNL Best Ofs, and the Nightmare on Elm Street collection - all as Christmas gifts. Yesterday, I realized they still hadn't shipped. Went to the website, and there was nothing indicating that they were backordered, so I emailed DD to check on the status of the order. The email returned to me indicated that the items were indeed backordered, and would ship on 12/12. OK, no big deal...error in the website. That's cutting it close to Christmas, though, with Media Mail, so I emailed back and asked to upgrade shipping so that I could be sure I'd get the items in time for Christmas. The response indicated that this would not be possible - that I would have to cancel the order and re-order the items with the new shipping. The email specifically stated that if I wanted to do this, to just respond and it would be taken care of. I didn't want to do this, however, as then I wouldn't get the 20% off. I replied saying as much, and requested again that the shipping please be upgraded, because I didn't want to miss these items before Christmas or miss the discount that I had when I ordered. The reply to that again stated this wouldn't be possible. I was a little frustrated, and just figured I'd be out the $11 that was discounted, and cancel/re-order. So I sent an email to do this. However, when I got a response to do that, I was now told that I could not cancel my order OR upgrade my shipping, and that if I did not want the order, I could write "Return to Sender" on the package when it was delivered. This response also specifically stated, again, that the items were not in stock. So first I'm told to cancel and reorder, but when I try to do so, now I'm told I can't cancel either? Despite the fact that the items won't even be in stock for nine more days? What can I do about this? __________________ My Wrestling Retro Journal XBL Gamertag: Chibul My Blu-Ray/DVD Collection Currently Reading: A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 5: A Dance with Dragons

12-03-07, 03:04 PM	#2
DVD Josh DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: In My Own Little World Posts: 19,355	This is what credit card challenges were made for. __________________ *DVDTALK GOLD TRADER* http://www.invelos.com/dvdcollection.aspx/cwrujosh

12-03-07, 03:13 PM	#3
argh923 DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Muncie, IN [Member formerly known as abrg923] Posts: 5,826	Part of me wants to call them and demand to speak to a supervisor, but the other part just doesn't know if it would do any good. BTW, did you get my PM, Josh? __________________ My Wrestling Retro Journal XBL Gamertag: Chibul My Blu-Ray/DVD Collection Currently Reading: A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 5: A Dance with Dragons

12-03-07, 03:59 PM	#4
DVD Josh DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: In My Own Little World Posts: 19,355	http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showpost.ph...3&postcount=43 __________________ *DVDTALK GOLD TRADER* http://www.invelos.com/dvdcollection.aspx/cwrujosh

12-03-07, 10:27 PM	#7
argh923 DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Muncie, IN [Member formerly known as abrg923] Posts: 5,826	I'm going to call tomorrow if I haven't gotten an email reply. I'll just ask to speak to a supervisor right off the bat, though, in hopes that I can still get the shipping upgraded. __________________ My Wrestling Retro Journal XBL Gamertag: Chibul My Blu-Ray/DVD Collection Currently Reading: A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 5: A Dance with Dragons

12-03-07, 05:12 PM	#5
Mosskeeto DVD Talk Special Edition Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 1,422	If you haven't already, you should call them to straighten this out. I've had no problems cancelling a couple of backorders in the past when I just didn't want them. With DVDPlanet it's impossible but it was easy at DeepDiscount (unless they've gotten worse).

12-03-07, 05:21 PM	#6
RonG617 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 574	I canceled 1 of my orders during the sale through email with no problem. I have had problems in the past with Deep Discount, but my 3 orders during this sale shipped quickly and arrived pretty fast.

12-04-07, 11:40 AM	#8
KARNEDGE Cool New Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 25	Deep Discount nothing but problems last 6 months.... Good luck reaching them..... I have sent 3 e-mails on 3 seperate orders requesting them to cancel the order because items that were 'in-stock' at the time of the sale suddenly changed to 'backordered' after the order was submitted. They acknowledged my mail and told me the orders were cancelled, but they are still coming up as pending/open orders under my account. I tried calling 800-264-5076 to speak to someone, but all i get is a busy signal. I have orders for items that say backordered going back to 11/21 and guess what - the very same items in my wishlist indicate the items are in stock and ready to ship in 2-3 days. For example when I bought the book "The Red Hat Society Night Before Christmas: on 11/30 it was in stock, now my order indicates the item is backordered, however when I searched for it today and re-added it to my wishlist it says it is 'in stock". So what the hell is the truth? I think i am going to cancel all my pendings order and spend my money elsewhere for the 1st time in about 5 years simply because they can't get their act together. In my humble opinion.... I think they got slammed during their sale, couldn't support the influx of orders, and their inventory and computer systems are all screwed up as a result. up to recently I was their biggest fan, but lately they are having a ton of issues. Anyone else feeling this level of dissatisfaction and disappointment with deepdiscount, or deepdissapointment as I now call them?

12-04-07, 12:42 PM	#9
Tracer Bullet DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: IND Crosstown Posts: 23,363	Whatever you do, do not follow their return instructions. I made that mistake and we went back and forth for a while before I basically had to accuse them of stealing my money to get it back. __________________ Third World countries are worthy of our derision. -Sean O'Hara Personally, I would say that Tracer Bullet is leading you in the wrong direction. -Supermallet Sometimes you have to decide between the guy who won't give you a cupcake and the one who will stab you in the face. -DeputyDave

12-04-07, 02:55 PM	#11
argh923 DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Muncie, IN [Member formerly known as abrg923] Posts: 5,826	I remember calling them a couple of years ago and had barely any wait time, and the line actually identified itself as DeepDiscountDVD. Now? It's just hold music from the get-go - I've been on hold for about 5 minutes and have yet to hear a single voice identifying the company. If I get charged for this order, what do I do to file a chargeback with my bank? (I'm at Chase) __________________ My Wrestling Retro Journal XBL Gamertag: Chibul My Blu-Ray/DVD Collection Currently Reading: A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 5: A Dance with Dragons

12-04-07, 03:02 PM	#12
argh923 DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Muncie, IN [Member formerly known as abrg923] Posts: 5,826	OK, just got off the phone...that went better than expected. Apparently, between the time the emails were sent, one of my DVDs came in and is shipping today, and thus they were unable to cancel at that point. The nice woman on the phone did tell me that they received a memo today stating that any shipments after December 10 would be automatically upgraded for no charge so that they would be received in time for Christmas. So I'm cautiously optomistic. __________________ My Wrestling Retro Journal XBL Gamertag: Chibul My Blu-Ray/DVD Collection Currently Reading: A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 5: A Dance with Dragons

12-04-07, 11:23 PM	#15
argh923 DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Muncie, IN [Member formerly known as abrg923] Posts: 5,826	Oh, believe me, I will definitely let you know. I'll raise all kinds of holy hell if I don't get this in time for Christmas. __________________ My Wrestling Retro Journal XBL Gamertag: Chibul My Blu-Ray/DVD Collection Currently Reading: A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 5: A Dance with Dragons

12-06-07, 04:24 PM	#21
domino harvey Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 810	I doubt a DD customer service rep has the authority to enter into legally-binding contract with a customer.