grabswag.com refusal to send prizes won Internet

First like many others I was lured into checking out the site becaused it offered 50 free bids.  When I went to the site there was no place to put in the promotional code, thinking it would be on the next page I went forward.  There still was no place to put in a promotional code, but I had already put in my credit info.  They only gave me 10 free bids, not the 50 that was advertized.  I then called them up to complain and opt out of their service.  I was told that they would not refund my money.  After more complaining and threating to stop the payment on my visa card, they finally agreed to give me a $24 discount off the $99 price. 

I went on their site and noticed that quite frequently that the count-down on the Item I was bidding on would freeze at 1 second, the other counters for other Items would continue to count down.  On many of these frozen countdowns I would be listed as the currently winning bidder.  when the countdown continued, many times I found out that someone else had won the Item.  Sometimes I would get a msg. that I had lost connection with the site, and sometimes there would be no msg., but in every case the other counters for other Items continued to count down and my Internet connection would remain strong.  I believe that they regularly stop countdown in order to recieve more bids on the Items or that they allowing other bidders to win so that they will continue to buy bids thinking that they will win more Items.



I was the winning bidder on a netbook and an Ipod.  These Items should be shippen within 72 hours (as guaranted by their statement on their website.  I made no less than 4 phone calls concerning the shipment of these Items, each time I was promised that the Items would be shipped shortly.  After one month and a couple more phone calls (talking to a mgr. (Veronica) I was informed that they had a problem with their shipper and that I would not be recieving the Items, instead they were going to refund the amount of bids that I had used in winning these Items.  The Items were listed as valued at $348.99, and the of the bids I had used to win the Items was about $15.  I have refused their offer and indicated that if the items were not availiable that I would accept comprable items or other Items worth the same amount. I was told that that was not their policy to offer other Items.  I then said that I would accept that credited my visa account the amount of $348.99, they refused, and said that they would only refund the amount of bids that were used to win the Items.  I then stated that I would accept nothing less than $348.99 (the value of the Items that I had won).



I have read their terms and conditions, and nowhere in them can I find that they can refuse to send the Items that were won on their site.