4 Companies: Mercantila.com, South Shore Furniture, UPS, And VISA ripoff: Conspiracy to Defraud: Won't give me what I PAID FOR, nor my $$ back! San Francisco//Atlanta/California//Georgia/

On 09/08/2006, I ordered a full size South Shore Copely Collection Platform Bed ($159.99 + FREE shipping) from an online company called, "Brown Box," which turned out to be a front for Mercantila.com. I received a confirmation email on 09/09/06 confirming they'd received my order (#187811) and would inform me of shipping info soon.

On 09/11/2006, I received another email from Mercantila saying, "Thanks for your order, here's a 10% off coupon for your next order." No shipping info or order status info included. But, on the same date, my Credit Card was charged the $159.99--as if it HAD shipped.

On 09/15/2006, after hearing nothing more from Mercantila, I went to my order-confirmation page in my email inbox and used their link to check the status of my order. All that came up was my original order page! So, I emailed them asking the status of my order. I received an "email-received confirmation" page telling me they would get back to me as soon as possible.

On 09/21/2006, after STILL hearing NOTHING back from Mercantila, I emailed them AGAIN asking for status info on my order. No response. So, I telephoned their "800" number, but could only leave a message on their voice mail service. I included my order #, name, and phone number for them to call me back. No response.

The next day (09/22/2006) I called their 800 # again, and finally spoke with someone, who, even after giving her all pertinent info, STILL had no information for me about the status of my order!! According to her, I should have received my bed by the 14th! The woman claimed they were waiting for an update from the manufacturer, and asked me to "wait until Monday" for that status info.

I asked her for the manufacturer's telephone number or address, so I could contact them directly. She claimed they had no contact info for the manufacturer! So, I asked to speak with her supervisor, and she transferred me.

I spoke with "Bob Woolmer," who, after I explained the situation, said, "Let me put you on hold and find out what's going on." At which point, he promptly hung up on me. I called back to re-connect with him--in case the disconnect was accidental--and was told he was "in a meeting." I could only leave a voice mail message if I wanted.

By this time, I had had enough. I told the woman to just cancel my order and credit my account, so I could go buy a bed elsewhere. She said they had to wait to see if the product had shipped first." I said, It's already been TWO WEEKS, I'm SURE it hasn't shipped! If you're not going to credit my account, let your supervisor know I am going to sue Mercantila for fraud!"

When I got off the phone, I searched the Internet for the furniture manufacturer, and found southshorefurniture.com, which listed the company's address as being in Quebec, Canada. to ensure I had the right company, I searched their product catalog and found the exact bed I ordered. Then I emailed the company, describing the entire situation with Mercantila.com, and asking for status info on my order--if it existed in their records (I had my doubts!).

Then, I called my bank's customer service department and initiated a fraud investigation regarding the $159.99, and explained Mercantila's behavior. I am not including that file #, as the investigation is still current. My card is a VISA.

Monday, 09/25/2006, I received an email from "Melissa Gilbert" at South Shore Furniture, saying, "The order has left the warehouse on Friday the 22nd, so you should receive it early this week. The tracking number with UPS is 1ZR189950345794738."

Uh, not according to UPS.com! When I first tracked my shipment, UPS showed their pick up date as Monday, 09/25/06! Over the next few days, I tracked my shipment at UPS.com using that number, the results listing a "rescheduled delivery date of 09/29/2006." On 09/28/2006, the results showed "a late train" on 09/27/2006 in "Hodgkins, IL" was the "reason for the delay."

Today, 09/29/2006, the tracking results I received showed my package going from Hodgkins, IL to "Laurel, MD" and then to "Landover, MD" where it was reported at 7:42 am (eastern time) to be "Out For Delivery." My bed never went west of Hodgkins, Illinois!

I found this odd, since I LIVE IN COLORADO!!! So, I called UPS, and spoke with one of their representatives, who could not fathom why my tracking results were so wrong. He said my bed was still "scheduled for delivery today," but could NOT tell me WHERE my package IS. He told me they don't actually scan the packages during transit (which should be the METHOD of "tracking shipments," right?!).

Out of sheer frustration, I told the guy to just return my package to the sender, since it was only going to be delivered to some unknown person in Landover, MD, anyway--instead of ME!

Then, I called Mercantila to notify them and again ask for my $$ back. I was told I could only leave a voicemail message for their "returns" department (as if I'd actually RECEIVED something and was returning it!!!), which I did, but so far (over two hours later), no answer back. Why am I not surprised!

In the meantime, I called my bank's dispute department to update them, and found out that VISA's regulations give merchants 30 DAYS to refund their customer's money--even in fraud cases!!! Worse, those 30 days start AFTER the merchant receives the "returned" merchandise! So, it's conceivable that the entire Mercantila organization could be safely out of the country by the time UPS returns my wayward shipment--if they haven't deliverd it to that stranger in Landover, MD already!!!

I went to VISA.com to get contact info in hopes I could state my case and maybe get the regulations changed to REALLY protect consumers against fraudulent companies. Oddly, VISA.com does not have a "contact us" page, or even any ADDRESS for VISA Corporate!!! They don't even have a "Prevent Fraud" or a "Consumer Protection" page!!! I had to go to VISA's "History" page just to find out that it began with BofA in San Francisco! If anyone out there knows a telephone number--or even a valid physical address--for VISA Corporate, please post a response to this report!

So, my only conclusion is that I've lost $160 dollars, and I can't do anything about it! CONSUMERS BEWARE!!! Regardless of what the "Powers-That-Be" tell you, you are ON YOUR OWN!! If you happen to buy online from a criminally fraudulent business, you are SCREWED, just like I was.

Catherine
Castle Rock, Colorado
U.S.A.

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