Moral dilemma...

munge · 27 Mar 2013 at 22:40

So I took a punt when I saw a lens for sale second hand in a certain forested marketplace, price seemed very/too reasonable, but as was part of the A to Z guarantee and paying by credit card, I thought I'd give it a go (no such thing as a free lunch, but transaction was safe).

3 weeks later (and just after their estimated delivery date) I email the seller saying not arrived. Very quick email back refunding my money and postage. Reason was stuck in Customs in US and couldn't be released, very sorry for inconvenience...

The original details said UK stock, which was why I ordered it. When I emailed after a week asking if on way, i was told it was in Customs in the US, but was still on its way.

So after I get my refund, I write a scathing review, unfortunately can give a minimum of 1 star. Later the same day I receive another email, apologising for the inconvenience, here's another £50 "correction" fee and would I mind awfully removing the bad review?

So my dilemma - keep the £50 and remove the review, return the £50 and leave the review, or keep money and leave review anyway? Part of me is thinking buggrit, I'll leave the review AND keep the money as you obviously never had the product in the UK anyway.

I've not lost anything (other than 3 weeks waiting for a lens that never arrived), I'm just annoyed at what to me seems like blatant lying, for a reason that I can't yet figure out. Unless they were going to go out and nick it to order I suppose and failed.

Not heard anything from the Customer Services yet when I complained.

P.S. Just had the email below as I wrote the above. Like it's been written by a four year old?

Evening James

I had send u today the refund for the lens as well a kind adjustment for the apologizes and inconvenience.
Can u please confirm u receive them by checking your FOREST account.
As i said, i am very sorry, the lens u bought was shipped from US, and sopouse to be shipped from UK but
in that time was in the possession of my partner and she was abroad.
I never thought it is so difficult with the customs and this VAT and taxes, plus i am very shore she done a mistake with sending the parcel, thats why was returned back to sender.
We buy most of our items from US, as they are more cheeper in the states rather than UK.
Again, very sorry please consider the adjustments for our apologizes and kindly remove the feedback as is so bad for our image.
In the future we will be very careful with the dispatching excluding the shipping from abroad, so this situation can be avoided completely, and never happened again.

With Very Best Regards

Alexander

Quite why his partner is taking a lens abroad that he is selling from his non-existant shop, I don't know!

An Exception · 27 Mar 2013 at 23:04

Leave the review or take the money. To screw the guy over after you have agreed and he has compensated you is plain wrong. Personally I would decline the £50 and leave the review, but we all have our own moral compasses.

munge · 27 Mar 2013 at 23:07

Me feeling like leaving the review and keeping the money is that part of me that feels like I was part of some attempted swindle, though I suspect like you, my moral compass is actually saying return money but leave review.

hyperst · 27 Mar 2013 at 23:32

I'd take the money, remove the review, no harm done and you are £50 up, kind of hard to review a product if you never got it in the first place, and he seems more than fair and wants to keep a good rep, not like it was his entire fault if customs wouldn't release it.

I mean if he mess's other people around it will cost him loads, so I think he will learn from it anyway.

munge · 27 Mar 2013 at 23:35

hyperst said:
I'd take the money, remove the review, no harm done and you are £50 up, kind of hard to review a product if you never got it in the first place, and he seems more than fair and wants to keep a good rep, not like it was his entire fault if customs wouldn't release it.

My main gripe was the blatant (it seems to me at least) lie about the product being in the UK.i have a feeling it was never in the UK. The UK address is actually a chain of cheap hotels, not a camera store as the Storefront info suggests.

I'm tempted to pull the review and keep the money, stick it towards a new UK lens, £50 cheaper!

Rojin · 28 Mar 2013 at 00:39

I would return the money, and if possible add\update your review to add that they offered you money to remove the review...

D.P. · 28 Mar 2013 at 03:29

Rojin said:
I would return the money, and if possible add\update your review to add that they offered you money to remove the review...

This really. Just be honest and don't try to profit out of the situation. Tr most da,age you can do is a bad review where you state their bribery. Trying to profit from the situation only lowers yourself to their level or accepting bribery.

hyperst · 28 Mar 2013 at 03:50

He's not exactly bribing him, he says ''I had send u today the refund for the lens as well a kind adjustment for the apologizes and inconvenience.''

and also ''Again, very sorry please consider the adjustments for our apologizes and kindly remove the feedback as is so bad for our image.
In the future we will be very careful with the dispatching excluding the shipping from abroad, so this situation can be avoided completely, and never happened again.
''

The guy has apologized, says he going to be extra careful in the future, I wish others customer service was like that.

You hold onto the £50 anyway, as he states it's for inconvenience caused, he's just looking to keep his reputation, what is his reputation like? it must be good or I doubt you would have purchased from him.

munge · 28 Mar 2013 at 08:25

hyperst said:
You hold onto the £50 anyway, as he states it's for inconvenience caused, he's just looking to keep his reputation, what is his reputation like? it must be good or I doubt you would have purchased from him.

He has no reputation either way, but I figured everyone has to start somewhere. As it was fully guaranteed, I thought there was nothing to lose. Every big and successful company has to have a first sale...

Derek W · 28 Mar 2013 at 13:22

munge said:
My main gripe was the blatant (it seems to me at least) lie about the product being in the UK.i have a feeling it was never in the UK. The UK address is actually a chain of cheap hotels, not a camera store as the Storefront info suggests.

I'm tempted to pull the review and keep the money, stick it towards a new UK lens, £50 cheaper!

for those two points alone I'd not bother keeping the 50quid and edit your reply to reflect that. He wont get many customers if they read he lies about his products as well as his location.

eyetrip · 28 Mar 2013 at 13:59

Well, normally I'd run a mile, but the guy contacted you in short time, apologised (ok, after the bad review), refunded you without hassle and ALSO gave you the £50.

Iv'e dealt with far more "reliable" online sellers who have messed things up terribly, never apologised, had to fight for my money and would never have dreamt of giving me any form of compensation.

Ok, he shouldn't be giving false address or lying about stock location, but I would just tell him to correct such information, adjust review to average (being honest about all he done, including the good)

But I am not sure about keeping the money or not...

munge · 28 Mar 2013 at 21:42

eyetrip said:
Iv'e dealt with far more "reliable" online sellers who have messed things up terribly, never apologised, had to fight for my money and would never have dreamt of giving me any form of compensation.

Perhaps I've been too cynical then? May give him benefit of the doubt after all.

PhotoPixels · 28 Mar 2013 at 21:50

Rojin said:
I would return the money, and if possible add\update your review to add that they offered you money to remove the review...

Exactly what I would do!

There are already too many negative reviews removed from sites, which don't give a balanced view of a seller, which in turn only makes the situation worse for everyone else reading up & wanting to know if they're a decent/trustworthy business, or not.

munge · 28 Mar 2013 at 21:59

PhotoPixels said:
Exactly what I would do!

There are already too many negative reviews removed from sites, which don't give a balanced view of a seller, which in turn only makes the situation worse for everyone else reading up & wanting to know if they're a decent/trustworthy business, or not.

It's difficult to know how untrustworthy these guys are. They paid a refund with absolutely no quibble and have been fairly effusive in their apologies, though obviously they would be if they were trying to protect their reputation.

What I'm tempted to do is adjust the review to say product didn't arrive, but had a prompt refund, perhaps mention about the item getting stuck in Customs and keep the £50 for the inconvenience of waiting 3 weeks for something that likely was never going to arrive in the first place.