I never believed in bidding for products at sites like www.100BestBuy.com which ask us to pay Rs.799/- or Rs.499/- for products like Apple iPhone or Samsung Galaxy and then promise that if we are not among the selected ones, this amount will be refunded in the form of Credit Points.
Their advertisements are so tempting that even I thought that there is no harm in spending Rs.799/- and try out luck for an Apple iPhone and at the same time know about the authenticity and modus operandi of these websites. Once i paid that amount, after a week or so I received a call from their executive that I have been selected among top 12 people and out of these top 10 will get an iPhone.
I was told that to qualify for the final step, I need to purchase Zync Tablet worth Rs.4999/- from them and it will be a free gift as this amount of Rs.4999/- + Rs.799/- will show up in my account in the form of credit points, which I can use anytime when I wish just after minutes of this purchase.
The offer was again lucrative because I was not losing anything. If I pay Rs.4999/- and get the product worth the same amount, its not at all a loss for me. So, on 11th February 2013, I paid up this amount too and immediately over the phone itself, I was shown that the same number of credit points showed in my account at their website. I was told that within few minutes, I will get a mail which will have my consignment number and the product will be delivered to me within 3-4 working days. I didnt receive this mail till the next day and so I mailed them, asking for the consignment number.
I received a mail with an apology that they wont be able to ship the product for a few days due to unavoidable reasons. So I waited for another couple of days and wrote a mail again. This time I was told that issue will be forwarded to higher authorities and they will contact me soon. I was asked to wait for 7-10 working days.
Its almost going to be a month now and when I called their office 2 days back, after a long wait, the guy who picked up my phone straight away told me that my product has been shipped today because I asked him that my order has not been delivered till date. To my surprise, he didnt ask me my name, or my registration Id or the order id. I told him that without having any details, how can you tell me this, then he took my order number and again repeated the same and ensured that I will get the mail within next few minutes, which I didnt get till now.
Today I called at that number again and was put into Automated Voice System, where I was asked to pick from various options. After doing that I kept holding mobile for 15 long minutes and could hear only one line "Thank you for your patience". Finally nobody picked the phone, even when I called for the second time and waited for almost 7 minutes.
With no other option left, I called up a friend of mine in Bangalore and asked him if he can visit their office and look into the matter. When I gave him the address, he said its 28km from the city and its obvious that before going, he will need to talk to them because its almost impossible to go there for the second time. I told him not to take th trouble and that he should just try to call them. Incase they pick the call, he can converse with them in local language and follow up in a better way as they would know someone is there in the same city.
Lastly I checked out for the option of using my credit points, which are close to Rs.5,800. When I tried to use them, I came to know that in a single purchase, I can only use 30% of this amount. So to get back this amount, I might end up spending more than Rs.15,000 and that too without any guarantee if the product will ever be shipped.
Left with no other option but to wait, I am looking into other possibilities if any and going to Consumer Court is one of them. I will be thankful to anyone who could suggest me better way out, how I can atleast get my money back or the product that I paid for.
Their advertisements are so tempting that even I thought that there is no harm in spending Rs.799/- and try out luck for an Apple iPhone and at the same time know about the authenticity and modus operandi of these websites. Once i paid that amount, after a week or so I received a call from their executive that I have been selected among top 12 people and out of these top 10 will get an iPhone.
I was told that to qualify for the final step, I need to purchase Zync Tablet worth Rs.4999/- from them and it will be a free gift as this amount of Rs.4999/- + Rs.799/- will show up in my account in the form of credit points, which I can use anytime when I wish just after minutes of this purchase.
The offer was again lucrative because I was not losing anything. If I pay Rs.4999/- and get the product worth the same amount, its not at all a loss for me. So, on 11th February 2013, I paid up this amount too and immediately over the phone itself, I was shown that the same number of credit points showed in my account at their website. I was told that within few minutes, I will get a mail which will have my consignment number and the product will be delivered to me within 3-4 working days. I didnt receive this mail till the next day and so I mailed them, asking for the consignment number.
I received a mail with an apology that they wont be able to ship the product for a few days due to unavoidable reasons. So I waited for another couple of days and wrote a mail again. This time I was told that issue will be forwarded to higher authorities and they will contact me soon. I was asked to wait for 7-10 working days.
Its almost going to be a month now and when I called their office 2 days back, after a long wait, the guy who picked up my phone straight away told me that my product has been shipped today because I asked him that my order has not been delivered till date. To my surprise, he didnt ask me my name, or my registration Id or the order id. I told him that without having any details, how can you tell me this, then he took my order number and again repeated the same and ensured that I will get the mail within next few minutes, which I didnt get till now.
Today I called at that number again and was put into Automated Voice System, where I was asked to pick from various options. After doing that I kept holding mobile for 15 long minutes and could hear only one line "Thank you for your patience". Finally nobody picked the phone, even when I called for the second time and waited for almost 7 minutes.
With no other option left, I called up a friend of mine in Bangalore and asked him if he can visit their office and look into the matter. When I gave him the address, he said its 28km from the city and its obvious that before going, he will need to talk to them because its almost impossible to go there for the second time. I told him not to take th trouble and that he should just try to call them. Incase they pick the call, he can converse with them in local language and follow up in a better way as they would know someone is there in the same city.
Lastly I checked out for the option of using my credit points, which are close to Rs.5,800. When I tried to use them, I came to know that in a single purchase, I can only use 30% of this amount. So to get back this amount, I might end up spending more than Rs.15,000 and that too without any guarantee if the product will ever be shipped.
Left with no other option but to wait, I am looking into other possibilities if any and going to Consumer Court is one of them. I will be thankful to anyone who could suggest me better way out, how I can atleast get my money back or the product that I paid for.
Atleast your story is an inspiration for others. You can also spread the same on social sites.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely Karan. Thats why I posted this on my blog and shared with almost everyone on twitter. I dont use Facebook. If you are using the same, pls do forward this story to your friends so that they dont get cheated of their hard earned money.
DeleteBest Wishes