Posted by Karen McDonald on 01/24/06 18:26

Bought a JVC GZ-MG50 camcorder from this lot just before New Year.
Good price - but when the camcorder arrived it was dead. So I bought
the same camcorder elsewhere.

Empire sent AMTRAK to collect the faulty one on 6th January 2006 - I
had to demand a receipt from this guy.

I am still waiting for Empire Direct to refund my credit card. They
say it should appear on my account by the end of the week.

But hey! Why such a long time holding onto my cash? 'Snot fair huh?

Another thing I didn't know was that, in situations like the above,
you'll probably need what's called 'a refund voucher' from the
retailer concerned before the credit card company will pursue a refund
on your behalf. This was news to me - so if you ever have to send
anything back (to any online retailer) make sure you get one of these
vouchers or your credit card company probably won't want to know.

However, I've never in the past had a refund voucher from ANY online
retailer - which suggests to me that this credit card coy
'requirement' flies somewhat in the face of reality. And let's face it
- credit card companies would much rather any refund was applied later
rather than sooner. Cos then they can charge you more interest. The
greedy things.

And, of course, get a receipt from any collecting courier. Some
couriers do this automatically. But some, like AMTRAK, do not. I had
to get the guy to sign a blank sheet of paper. Very amateurish - but
there ya go.

Hope this helps somebody to avoid hassle when buying online -
especially with Empire Direct ;-)

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