HP Took my money but didn't send me product = THEFT! Palo Alto, , California

This is being posted on behalf of my partner:

I am a digital artist and decided to expand my business by ordering a large printer. After doing months of research I settled on an HP model, along with the paper and ink. The order came out to a little over $1800.

Just after placing the order I get a call to confirm I am who I say I am. Understanding that the order is large and HP doesn't want to ship out product without confirmation, I patiently supply the info the man asks for and wish him a pleasant evening.

The next day I get an email saying the order could not go through and to call customer service. Before calling, I checked my bank account to see if the funds were still there. The purchase price was missing from my account, so I assumed it must be a misunderstanding on HP's part.

The first of five customer service reps I would speak to told me the billing address I supplied did not match the one for the card. I asked him how they were able to get the funds from my account. He said he didn't know but that we could try running the card with a different billing address.

Lucky me, now I have twice the funds out of my account (over $3600!), and still no product coming to me. I love HP product, but their customer reps are either incompetent or con-artists.

After battling with HP for four hours I still have not made any headway. As a purchaser for larger groups, this deplorable personal experience has essentially black listed HP from all of them.

"Don't use HP's site," that's their advice. We hear you loud and clear HP.