Dirndlexpress www.dirndlexpress.com Reported ordered item backordered, then never fulfilled the order and kept the money... Internet

I ordered a Bavarian "Dirndl" (folk attire) and some Bavarian paper napkins from Dirndlexpress in September of 2009 and paid for it on PayPal. I received an order confirmation via email, then nothing happened. I sent an email to the store to inquire about the shipping date and in the reply I was told that the apparel was on back order due to the popularity of the item but would be shipped a.s.a.p. I replied that I was willing to wait. What a mistake!

A month later I still had not received the items (not even the paper napkins!) and I decided to stop the charge on PayPal as this was the only way I could get a message through which would motivate the seller to reply. Within a day I received a reply, asking me to be patient, the merchandise was coming. PayPal unfortunately has a limit to the amount of time payments can be suspended, and when the time ran out I still had not received the delivery. PayPal advised me that they could not place another hold on the charge, I would now have to deal directly with the vendor. I sent several emails to the vendor, and after the first initial reply I never received any response. The phone number seems to be phony, it is a number in Germany and is not working ("Your call cannot be completed as dialed.").

The vendor never even thought it necessary to respond and I now believe that this company is purposely trying to defraud me out of almost $300. Once they saw that the PayPal guarantee had expired, they decided to ignore my emails.

My last communication to the vendor was that I would involve legal counsel in this, which I am currently working on.