StevieD

OK, here's the setup. I placed two orders with Playcentric, starting in May. All DVD's showed as in stock when I ordered, and they charged me up front (as is their policy). Then....Surprise, some of your DVD's are on backorder!! OK, I waited....and waited..and noticed that the DVD's were still showing as in stock, and others (particularly Thanador) had received the product. OK, I started with the e-mails. After 6 weeks of back and forth e-mails, we finally got it sorted out...or so I thought (there was also a dispute regarding my order of Disney Swiss Family Robinson, but them trying to send me the 1998 version, but they resolved that in my favor). OK, then I start getting multiple copies of DVD's for which I ordered (and had already received) one copy. So now I have 2 copies of a DVD sitting on my desk, and one more on the way. Playcentric wants me to send these back on my nickel, and trust us, they will credit me for the shipping costs. These guys are a nightmare to deal with....here is a summary of my recent e-mails with them:

_____________________________________________
Angela,
I'm sorry, but I made my position very clear as outlined in my e-mail to you. My order is complete - I have received all the DVD's I ordered. Regarding the two DVD's which were sent to me, but which I did not order, they will sit on my desk until I receive an indication from Playcentric that you are willing to pay for my shipping and handling costs (I will have to be credited for the cost of the packaging as well, since I will have to purchase shipping packages).

Steve
________________________________________________
Dear Steve,

Thank you for your email. I am terribly sorry for your bad experience.
Unfortuantley I must ask that you ship the items back and send me an email
with the shipping cost, I will see that you get credited for the cost you
incurfor shipping, as I have with customers in the past. If you choose to then
be credited the full amount (if you already have not been) for the ite s you
have not recieved, but ordered, I will gladly do so as well. I sincerely
apologize for the inconvenience. Please email me back when you have shipped
the items and I will ensure a full refund for the cost.

Sincerely,


Angela Curtis
Customer Service Representative
PlayCentric.com
________________________________________________
Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 15:38:41 -0400
Angela,
I'm sorry, but I am not willing to go to the time, money, and effort
up-front to send back DVD's which I did not order, and expect Playcentric to
refund me me shipping costs and packaging costs. As I have already
explained, Playcentric has a policy whereby it charges customers up-front
for DVD's, regardless of whether the items are in-stock. This is your
policy, you have made it clear it is your policy, and I have no problem with
the policy. However, it is disingenuous for Playcentric to then object to
providing me with the funds to ship back product I did not order. I do not
want to get into further disputes with Playcentric regarding whether you
have refunded me the appropriate shipping/handling costs, etc., etc. The
only way I can guarantee that I won't be troubled further with these issues
are to ask for payment of shipping and handling up-front. It all revolves
around issues of trust. You are a Canadian company over which I have no
control. Given all the problems I had with my order (and judging by the
letters I have seen on a number of DVD online forums, my problems are not
unique..You are quickly acquiring a bad reputation as an online retailer), I
am not willing to place further trust in Playcentric.

So.....until I receive an affirmative e-mail from you indicating you are
willing to pay up-front for the shipping and handling costs to send these
DVD's back to you, they will sit on my desk. In addition, I will be
monitoring my credit card bills carefully to ensure that Playcentric does
not charge me for these DVD's, as I did not order them. If any charges
appear on my credit card, I will quickly do the following:

1. I will immediately dispute the charge with my credit card company and
forward to them all copies of my e-mails to Playcentric showing that a)
these DVD's were not ordered by me, and b) I was willing to return them as
soon as I get paid for the shipping and handling charges.
2. I will immediately file a compaint with the proper authorities charging
Playcentric with fraud - the practice of shipping items to individuals and
then charging them for items they did not order is considered fraud in the
United States (and I suspect so in Canada as well). This is a well known,
fraudulent practice that has been used in the past by unscrupulous online
businesses, and it will not be viewed favorably by U.S. authorities. I will
also contact the Postal Inspectors office as well.

Please let me know how you would like to proceed. As for me, I am more than
willing to send back these DVD's I have not ordered - however I am not
willing to front the shipping/handling costs for a mistake made by
Playcentric.

Steve
_______________________________________________
Dear Steve,

Thank you for your email. Our apologies, but we do not carry
pre-paid mailing labels. As well, I have just been informed
that another copy of SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON has been shipped out
to you as well. We truly regret all this inconvenience.

Sincerely,

Virginia Cambridge
Customer Service Representative
PlayCentric.com
_______________________________________________
Date: Fri, 12 Jul 2002 08:27:40 -0400
Virginia,
I would prefer not to pay for this postage and handling on my own, and then
be reimbursed. Anytime I have had a situation requiring to send back
product from any other e-tailer, I have always been provided a return
authorization label which includes pre-paid shipping. This way, you can be
sure of getting the proper shipping instructions, and I don't have to worry
about being reimbursed for shipping charges. Can you send me a pre-paid
shipping label?

Steve
_________________________________________________
Dear Steve,

Thank you for your email. Our apologies for the extra
copies. No, you have not been charged for them and we
regret the error and inconvenience.

Please return the SEALED merchandise with this exact
address and note:

PLAYCENTRIC RETURNS
Attention: D. Sharma
468 Morden Road
Oakville, Ontario, Canada
L6K 3W4
Attention: RETURNS DEPARTMENT
Note: Return for Shipping REFUND.
ORDER ID: #

Please do not return this order COD, as we cannot accept
COD returns. We will only accept returns sent via regular
mail. Please write on the outside of the return
package "RETURNING PRODUCT". We will process your refund
for the return postage once we receive your return. If you
have any other questions please feel free to contact me once again.

Sincerely,

Virginia Cambridge

PGHFlyer

Steve - sorry to hear about your troubles with them.

However, just to be fair, I have to say that I LOVE this company. I have ordered twice (once for the $1 off per title and Free Shipping promo & once with the $3.50 off every title promo) and gotten GREAT deals.

The first order was in my hands in PA in less than a week - with the DVDs at about 40% MSRP (including shipping).

The second order was given a complimentary Priority Shipping upgrade and arrived in 3 days - this resulted in my getting DVDs at over 50% off MSRP (including shipping).

As to their charge/ ship policy, that does stink a little bit. They do charge you for the whole order when you place it, irrespective of pre-order/backorder/in-stock. However, as a plus, I had one title on backorder with the other 3 in-stock - they went ahead and shipped the first 3 and will ship the other one at no additional cost.

Anyhow, I couldn't be happier at this point. I have gotten multiple Disney DVDs that MSRP for $29.99 for around $11.50. (As a side note, they are the Canadian edition - which has the IDENTICAL features as the US plus an additional French language track......oh, and there is a little yellow circle on the cover saying that french is included).

So, that's my experience.

Wolf Husky

So, why bother to return the DVDs in the first place? Did they charge you multiple times? Their mistake. You are not the thief here.


Personally, I love the company.

StevieD

Actually, I considered not mentioning it at all to Playcentric since they did not charge me for the extra DVD's. But...I tried to do the right thing and let them know about their error. That explains why I'm a bit worked up about this. I realize its only $3-4...but why should I front that to Playcentric with some expectation of getting reimbursed. Anyway, the update is this...they finally agreed to credit me the $3. I've got the DVD's sitting in a mailer, ready to go...but still no credit. If they want them, they know how to get them.

But, after doing a bit more research on these folks I shouldn't have ordered from them in the first place. Take a look at Bizrate.com and read the reviews on Playcentric...you will see quite a pattern. Also, do a google search on Playcentric's owner, Paven Bratch. You'll end up finding a press release from a company know as Century Business Services, indicating they bought Bratch's company and hired Bratch. Research their 10K's on Freeedgar.com and you'll find that within a few months, Century Business Services had terminated Mr. Bratch and filed a lawsuit against him for, I believe, fraud or misrepresentation. Anyway, enough with the rant. I've put these guys in the "fly by night" category. Enough said on my part.

zutroy

This is the worst company I've ever dealt with... Unbelievable business practices! I ordered a "Bug's Life" CE last month, and the next day noticed it was "temporarily out of stock", but they charged me anyway! Make a long story short, they said they shipped it, never got it, I had to battle with their "customer support" to get a credit... it was just a nightmare. Their turnaround time on email responses is pretty bad... and no customer service #!

My advice to anyone is never deal with this company! To be fair, I've heard good things about them, but more often then not, they are scumbags.

Die Playcentric.

Bill Geiger

Funny thing is, I had my share of problems with them previously... forever to get a response, backorders, etc. However, I recently received all of my items on a new order... which took 8 days (pretty crappy for priority) and on the day I received them, I had sent them an email. I come home from work, DVDS are there, and I check my mail.. so is an email from a REAL PERSON from Playcentric. I was shocked.