Importing DVD's from Italy (1 Viewer)

[Irina]

I am surprised that your credit card has not credited your account for the full amount (item cost plus shipping) right away. They should be on your side 100%; otherwise, it's time to use another credit card. The best card to deal with disputes is Discover Card. When I had to dispute a charge in the past, they credited my account right away and did not even ask to fill out any follow up documentation. Unfortunately, Discover card is not accepted anywhere except the US. Chase Bank is pretty reasonable, too. In one case, they have offered to credit my card immediately as we spoke on a phone and then follow up with proper dispute documentation. From my Italian buying experience, I have to admit that dvd.it has been the best so far in terms of service but they did not have two items I was particularly interested in and I ended up ordering them from IBS.it. I also agree that none of these problems will stop us from buying abroad. We just have to consider these potential problems as part of the entire experience.

 

[Steve.P]

Well, the whole credit card thing has been a pain in the arse ever since I moved to America -- from Britain -- five years ago. For the first two years I was here I couldn't get a card to save my life, even though my credit in Britain was perfect. America is so solipsistic.

Then, as if from nowhere, I was inundated with CC offers. I went with Fleet, who were great until they got taken over by Bank of America about 18 months ago. BOA's customer service is shit. Earlier this year they suddenly started cancelling all my foreign orders without even asking me. Imagine the hassle that caused!

The Devedenaute incident was complicated by the fact that half my order was correct, and the thickos at BOA couldn't understand simple math. But, yeah, they were pretty shitty about it. Life is mad enough at the moment -- I'm still dealing with Hurricane Katrina issues here -- but I will be changing CC companies soon.

 

[Irina]

By all means, don't kill yourself getting frustrated. I find it easier sometimes to just forget about an entire ordeal altogether and move forward. There is only so much we can do. I am sure we all can recall some unpleasant experiences in our lives when things were beyond our control and we just could not do anything. Maybe in your case, it would make sense to forget about the whole thing. It's only $28 after all. Your health and well being are priceless.

 

[Steve.P]

I'm not that pissed about it, but I WILL have my money back. $28 is $28, and it's better in my pocket than in some French bank account. But it's the principle at the end of the day; I don't like being ripped off.

Bank of America just didn't want to deal with it because a) it was a foreign transaction, b) it involved some simple math, and c) they couldn't get their head around how two movies with the same title could be completely different. That part killed me. I kept having to give the guy from BOA different examples -- The Omen, The Pink Panther, etc. -- before the penny finally dropped.

Cancelling my orders DID piss me off, though. I had about ten orders on the go at the time, from Europe to the Far East. It took weeks to sort them all out.

So to sum up, don't deal with Devedenaute, and don't take a credit card with Bank of America.

 

[Irina]

Hi Steve,
I understand how you feel. Ordering abroad is fun as long as there are no problems. Resolving issues with foreign retailers, on the other hand, is several times more difficult than resolving similar issues in the US. I also understand how frustrating it is to deal with ignorance. How difficult could it be to understand that the same title could mean several different movies or even several different editions of the same movie. I hope you resolve your dispute with Devedenaute to your satisfaction. Thank you for warning us about this retailer.