I had mentioned this back in my last buyer nightmare with Vitamin Shoppe. How I got lied to by ZipZoomFly and caught them in the act. Who would have ever thought emails and receipts would come in this handy. Just wait until you hear this buyer nightmare!
Going back to the beginning of this year, most of you may know that Microsoft released a new version of their Office product - Microsoft Office 2007.
Since I use MS Office quite a bit with my work, I had been following the new product prior to its release. I really liked the new features and design... so much, I bought it within a day or two of its release.
Well that and I really wanted to use the new PowerPoint for my next client presentation that following weekend.
Well that is when I went online to find it. Not many online stores had it listed. I finally found it on ZipZoomFly. Without hesitation, I purchased the “MS Office 2007 Small Business OEM”. It cost me $229.99. And man was I was excited!
After 2 days I got a ship notification. Finally I thought it’s on its way! Man I couldn't wait to get it! Of course it took another 6 days to get to me, even though FedEx ground should have only taken 5 days. They had issued the ship notification prior to the product actually getting picked up. Go figure.
Well the day came. My package finally arrived! I met the FedEx guy at the door. Took the box to my kitchen, grabbed a knife, and quickly cut open the box.
There it was! There it was. Jut as I had imagined, the new MS Office 2007 CD Case. I grabbed it out of the box and opened the case. Guess what, NO CD! I did get a nice postcard size piece of paper though.
The paper told me to go to some Microsoft link to get your media. Remaining optimistic, I thought to myself I guess I have to download it from their site with the product key from the case.
I now felt like I was on a scavenger hunt.
I quickly ran down the hall to my computer and typed in the website link from the card. Low and behold the page I was looking for. Well at least I thought I was looking for.
It stated that I needed to fill out some online form, pay another $9, and then wait yet again to have the CD mailed to me? What kind of crap was this?
Well as you could imagine what had been a smile quickly turned upside down. My head quickly felt like it was on fire. And I wanted to scream to the top of my lungs.
I immediately went to ZipZoomLie and submitted an RMA. Here is what I said in my RMA:
This item was misrepresented and needs to be replaced with the right product. I would also like to have it overnighted for free.
I was expecting to have this for an upcoming presentation this weekend. When I ordered the product description said Microsoft Office Small Business Edition 2007 Single-Pack CD OEM. I have the order confirmation email to document this.
Now I get it and it doesn't have a CD. Says I have to go to the Microsoft site. Then MS wants another $9 for the CD and then we have to wait on again for it to be shipped.
It also looks like someone changed the item description on your site to cover themselves? It now says: Microsoft Office Small Business Edition 2007 Medialess License Kit OEM.
Let me know how I need to return this. This has been a really been a poor experience. I hope this get resolved quickly.
And quick it was not. One day later I get a reply from Andy Huynh (andy.huynh@zipzoomfly.com):
Dear Sir,
There NO error on the site. Is listed clearly ( Please Note: License ONLY! NO CD/DVD included! To receive CD/DVD from Microsoft, follow instruction in the Kit. )
Microsoft Office Small Business Edition 2007 Medialess License Kit OEM ***Free Shipping***
Please Note: License ONLY! NO CD/DVD included! To receive CD/DVD from Microsoft, follow instruction in the Kit.
ZipZoomfly Part#: 604703
In Stock:
Manufacturer: MICROSOFT
Manufacturer SKU: 9QA-00444
Our Price: $229.99
Quantity Limit 20 Per customer
Regards,
ZipZoomFly
RMA
At that point my blood was boiling. This guy was clearly shouting at me in his email like I had done something wrong and basically calling me a liar. And maybe its just me, but all this trouble to copy/paste this crap in his email shows a clear sign of guilt to me.
I had had enough. So Andy got an earful back from me. Here is my reply:
You have until 8pm EST to resolve this problem and email me back with confirmation.
It was NOT, I repeat NOT like that when I purchased it!! No where during my time of purchase did it say that there was no CD. I have a sales receipt from your company to prove it.
You questioning my integrity is making my blood boil! Someone there apparently updated the product reference after the fact to cover themselves.
You can either ship the product that I ordered or I will take the following actions: Dispute the charge with the credit card company, resulting in a chargeback; post to online community about my experience; and file complaints with the Federal Trade Commission and your local Commission of Revenue.
Quit playing games with me, trying to make it look like my fault. Have some integrity and FIX YOUR ERROR! Send me the Office 2007 Small Business product per my original order. I need the software before the weekend!
I can definitely say after this experience, I will think twice before ordering from your company in the future.
====================================================
ORDER NO : XXXXXXXXX
ORDER TIME: Tue Jan 30 2007
ORDER CONTENT:
1 x (604703) Microsoft Office Small Business Edition 2007 Single-Pack CD OEM ***Free Shipping*** @ $229.99
------------------------------
SUBTOTAL : $229.99
SALESTAX : $.00
SHIPPING : $.00
TOTAL : $229.99
------------------------------
PAYMENT METHOD: Credit Card
SHIPPING METHOD: 5-7 Day Delivery
SHIPPING ADDRESS: (removed)
BILLING ADDRESS: (removed)
====================================================
Guess Andy didn’t think I could shout back. Well he took his sweet time getting back with me. I never got my reply by 8 PM. And being a man of my word, I filed a dispute with my credit card company. The next day I got this from Andy:
Dear Sir,
Thank you for your reply and email confirmation copy. I do apologize that our web team has updated the web site due to typo error listed at the time of you purchase and I was not inform of this matter. We will email you a return label to return the product back to us for a full refund. Again we do apologize for any inconvenience may cause you in this matter.
Regards,
ZipZoomFly
RMA
I guess Andy got my point – but after the fact. And I still wasn’t satisfied by his so called solution, so I sent him another reply:
I don't want an apology. I want a solution to the problem at hand. And your suggestion only solves part of the problem.
I need the software I ordered for a business presentation this weekend.
I am greatly disappointed at the way this has been handled altogether so far and the time it has taken.
Reply back with a resolution to this problem.
Well I got the FedEx return slip for sending the product back that day. As for a reply from Andy, I never heard another word from him. So two days later I sent him my final thoughts:
The product is on its way back. You have lost my business going forward. You neglected to resolve this issue and I didn't get to make my presentation because of it. Complaints will be filed.
As you could imagine, after this whole mess I was burned out on the issue. At that point several online stores carried the software. I ended up buying it from one of them at around the same price. And I was very happy with their service and the product itself… and still enjoy using it still today - everything is a lot easier to use, in my opinion.
I had spent too much time on this already, so I just filed bad reviews on several websites. I had already filed a dispute with my credit card company because I didn’t get my reply back in time – hopefully they got a chargeback fee because of it. ZipZoomLie did finally credit back my card.
And come to find out when filing my reviews, I wasn’t the only one with disappointment in ZipZoomLie. I have to say on each website most of the reviews were bad reviews. Guess I should have read them beforehand. Live and learn.
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