Al Stuart
Stunt Coordinator
- Joined
- Aug 14, 2002
- Messages
- 128
I just had to deal with them fucking around with me. Normally I wouldn't make a big deal about it, but this was over the Criterion release of my favorite movie, Schizopolis, something I have been waiting 6 years for. I placed a pre-order with them several weeks before the release date, but the night it was to be released, they cancelled my order, saying that the warehouse didn't have any. Which I guess means that they never had any. Anyway, after several dismissive and vague emails from them, finally concluding in them saying that they can't get the disc, I decided to file a report with the Better Business Bureau. One thing I couldn't fit into the report, as there is a word limit (which I was under by one), Playcentric didn't offer me any restitution, no guarantee that if they do get it in, I would get the disc at the price I ordered it at. In fact, they act as if now that the order is "complete," there is no record of it at all. The following is a copy of the complaint I made to the BBB.
I ordered the DVD of Schizopolis: Criterion Collection from Playcentric.com on October 14th, 2003. The product was released to the public on October 28th, 2003. On the evening of October 28th, since I had not received a shipping confirmation, I emailed customer service to ask what had happened. The following morning, I received an automated email which was cancelling my order without explanation. Later that afternoon, I was sent an email from customer service representative Beth Stanley, saying that my order had been cancelled, and she didn't know why and was looking into it. By the next day, I still hadn't heard anything, and had been to the local Tower Records to verify the release of the DVD in case the release date was pushed back. Tower Records had more than 30 copies in stock. I passed this information on in another email, and asked for an update. On Friday, October 31st, 2003, I was sent another email from representative Andrea Andrews which said they were still looking into the status of my order. I waited until November 4th to ask for an update, this time more insistent that they provide more concrete information. Ms. Andrews replied to say that they couldn't get it.
Schizopolis had a suggested retail price of $39.95, but Playcentric.com was offering it for $20.73, no doubt less than what they were paying for it. Ms. Andrews wrote to say that the warehouse was not stocking the item and they were not able to attain it from an alternate supplier. This suggests that they never got it in the first place, as it was a pre-order. This was a way for them to get me and others to their site and possibly order something else, as they had no intention of ever sending Schizopolis out at that price. In other words, a classic bait and switch. Normally a supplier receives a disc several days before the release date so they can send it out for the customer to get it on the release date. After they cancelled my order, I went to their website, and the price had gone up, and it was listed as unavailable.
I ordered the DVD of Schizopolis: Criterion Collection from Playcentric.com on October 14th, 2003. The product was released to the public on October 28th, 2003. On the evening of October 28th, since I had not received a shipping confirmation, I emailed customer service to ask what had happened. The following morning, I received an automated email which was cancelling my order without explanation. Later that afternoon, I was sent an email from customer service representative Beth Stanley, saying that my order had been cancelled, and she didn't know why and was looking into it. By the next day, I still hadn't heard anything, and had been to the local Tower Records to verify the release of the DVD in case the release date was pushed back. Tower Records had more than 30 copies in stock. I passed this information on in another email, and asked for an update. On Friday, October 31st, 2003, I was sent another email from representative Andrea Andrews which said they were still looking into the status of my order. I waited until November 4th to ask for an update, this time more insistent that they provide more concrete information. Ms. Andrews replied to say that they couldn't get it.
Schizopolis had a suggested retail price of $39.95, but Playcentric.com was offering it for $20.73, no doubt less than what they were paying for it. Ms. Andrews wrote to say that the warehouse was not stocking the item and they were not able to attain it from an alternate supplier. This suggests that they never got it in the first place, as it was a pre-order. This was a way for them to get me and others to their site and possibly order something else, as they had no intention of ever sending Schizopolis out at that price. In other words, a classic bait and switch. Normally a supplier receives a disc several days before the release date so they can send it out for the customer to get it on the release date. After they cancelled my order, I went to their website, and the price had gone up, and it was listed as unavailable.
