About two and a half months ago I ordered a set of Eibach Pro Springs for an A3. Given the fact that everything takes about 3 weeks to make it to me here in Germany, I waited one month before calling the company.

When I called the employee told me that they have not been shipped, then said that they are not even in stock, and will not be in stock for another month. WTF... They never even told me! I have been waiting like a dumb ass for a month because of these people. Grrrr......

I informed the guy of my extreme disappointment and requested my money back. The guy said he would do it that day. Well 3 days later and no money. I called them back and asked to speak to the manager, but of course he was not in. I called again and some guy who was not the manager tried saying they never charged my card. He was real quit when I said I had the bank statement in hand with the charge. Again he said we will credit your card.

This has been going on for over a month now. I have given all my information to an attorney, but I will have to sue them in small clam's court to get the money. I am planning to do this next time I am in the states.

Remember DO NOT BUY FROM DRIVE WIRE!!!!! EVER!!!!!

Ranting is complete.<ul><li><a href="http://www.drivewire.com/index.html">If you would like to express your dissatisfaction with this company and how they screwed me over. Just press here and give them an email ..</a></li></ul>

I have called them all the time, and every time the manager avoids my calls. I have left messages, but he wouldn't call me back or give me an email. They know they have my money, but they are not giving me a refund on purpose.

Personally I think they know I am out of country so they have the attitude of "what can he do about it? Just keep the money."

decent vendor a bad rep. because of poor communication. Contest the charge on your CC or call the Better Business Bureau. Libel is just as serious as fraud in my book!

In this case they have committed it. I was deceived into thinking my order was on its way when they didn't even have the part. I have given them 40 days to credit my card or even respond in some way, but they have made absolutely no effort to resolve this issue. Instead they have turned there backs knowing they have my money.

How much more can i do? Now I have to sue them just to get my $250 back. Thats BS.

them with.

On certain items, I have no hesitation ordering from them . . . . otherwise, there are plenty of places that will pricematch them.

Dave

You will get an instant refund, and they will resolve the issue with the vendor. One of the many benefits of using a credit card. I have done this before with minimal effort (15 minute phone call). Thats it.

IMHO, a lawyer is an empty threat. You'd end up spending more in lawyer fees.

Just call your credit card company and request a <b>chargeback</b>, reason: vendor has not fulfilled your order in 60+ days and has refused further communication attempts. Your CC company will side with you on this one. If not, then cancel the card. You might also want to do this anyway, to prevent possible fraudulent charges in future. There's more than enough other CCs to choose from anyway.

Or is there a valid reason why your credit card company can't/won't do it?

Originally I contacted the bank that the debit card was drawn on for advice. The teller told me there was nothing they could do, and there is no way to dispute the charges.

Yesterday i received a call from a friend of mine at the bank and he told me to write down what happened and they will send in the paper work ASPA. Apparently the first teller I spoke to was new and gave me wrong information.

I'm just glade to get positive movement on this issue.

I've not as much experience with those, but I understand that it's harder to do a chargeback in such cases.

Basically, instead of hooking you up to an ATM system like Cirrus, Star, Plus!, etc, the bank hooks up to a VISA/MC processing gateway. That allows the card to work at any retail store and also any internet site that takes VISA/MC. But the botttom line is that funds is transferred out of your bank account soon as you make a purchase. Compare this instead to say a true credit card, where the CC company has yet to get any money from you. And so to protect themselves, they almost always have a rolling reserve % against a vendor, just for such chargeback/fraud/etc cases. They won't have to twist any arms to get money back from the vendor.

In short, a visa-linked debit card does not give you the same protection as a true visa credit card. It's up to the bank to make up for this lack of protection. Some banks will, some may not go as far. Chargebacks done this way are trickier, requiring more dogwork by the bank. And I wouldn't be surprised if sometimes the bank eats the loss themselves. If your friend will help you out, then you're set (I'd buy him a 6-pack).

ALso, I'd get a proper credit card asap and keep the debit card at home. You can always request a low credit limit on the card, just to keep things under control. I use a tightly monitored CC for my internet purchases.

The debit card has been nice because I don't have to worry about interest or paying a bill before a grace period ends. The money is taken directly out of my account within 1-3 days. Its like cash and carry.

Debit cards have worked well in the past for everyday purchases, but I think I will get a Credit Card for Internet purchases to help protect my self.

Thanks for the information.

I work for a retailer and we get a few inquiries from banks on debit cards. We get many more people who call and say their bank won't do anything about it.

I do agree with your initial point of it being fraud. They shouldn't charge you until the items ship.

Try the chargeback route, if you can. It ding's the merchant's record if they have too many. Their discount rate can be raised or their processor can drop them.

Hope you get your funds back without too much trouble.