Complain about a product or service

Infinitiphoto.com

Paul of Torrance CA (10/30/05)
On August 15, 2005, I ordered two camcorders (Sony DCR-VX2100) from InfinitiPhoto.com for $1049 each ($2098 for 2) plus shipping and handling. A couple of days later, a sales representative called me and asked what size battery I wanted. When I found out how much they were selling the battery for ($250), I told him that I would buy it separately from somewhere else. The sales person told me that I would receive the camcorders in 6 to 8 weeks. He told me they have to get them from overseas and it takes longer. I said "fine".

After a week, I noticed the price of the camcorder went up to $1479.55. This is important later on. After 8 weeks, I called the company and they told me the camcorders were still on backorder. I complained with the manager asking how long it would take to get them in and he told me sometime after Christmas... maybe. In shock, I asked why and he told me they are not authorized dealers of Sony and it is very hard getting camcorders because they have to get them from resellers overseas. I found this odd, because they claim on their website that they do not work with resellers and that all products are factory fresh from Sony. After arguing for a while, I hung up.

Today, October 30, I called their sales department pretending to be a new customer interested in the same camcorder. I asked how many they had in stock and the sales person told me they had eight Sony DCR-VX2100 camcorders in stock. He also told me they were $1479.55 and they can ship them out within 48 hours. I called back and talked to a customer service representative. I asked him when my camcorders would be ready and he told me they were still on backorder. I then told him that I had just called pretending to be a new customer and I new they had eight Sony DCR-VX2100 camcorders in stock. He then told me that if I wanted to get the camcorders for $1479.55, I could cancel my order and call back sales.

Of course, I declined…that’s $430 more than what I paid. He then told me the ones in stock were part of kit and in order to get those camcorders, I would have to order the kit. After looking at what is in Kit#1 ($2000), which is a rip-off, I realized most of the products should already be in the original box from Sony (I checked the Sony website). He then told me the camcorders I ordered were OEM versions. This means I do not receive the accessory items in the box, I only receive the camcorder body. He told me the OEM version is a special order from Malaysia and that it takes a long time to get them. He even said they may never get them.

Nowhere on the website are the camcorders listed as OEM. I then asked if the camcorder listed for $1479 was an OEM version and he said “yes”. I then told him that he wasn’t making sense because earlier he told me I could get the camcorders that are $1479 within 48 hours, but now he is telling me they are OEM, which obviously are in back order. He had no reply. I told him that I did not believe his OEM-Malaysia story. I told him that I wanted my camcorders and since he has them in stock, I should get them. He told me that I would have to buy a kit, but I argued that what I bought should include everything that is in the original box the factory sends. I then referred to their website that claims all products come factory fresh. He then told me that factory fresh is OEM, which is not true. Factory fresh is what comes from Sony in the original box. He then told me that he was going to cancel my order.

I did not know what to do and I got tired of arguing with him. I do not want my order to be cancelled, but I have a feeling he did. All I want are the camcorders InfinitiPhoto.com sold me on August 15...and they have them in stock. Why do I want these camcorders? Because they sold them to me for a good price. Ultimately, I believe Infiniti-Photo.com is advertising low prices in order to sucker people to agree to buy their kit later on. If you do not want their kit, they choose not to sell you the product and they ignore you until you cancel. I want what is shown on my invoice and I am writing because I am hoping there is a law that forces them to honor my invoice. Since they did not charge my credit card, is there any way I can force them to sell me the camcorders they advertised on their website.

Jamie of Selden NY (09/11/05)
I have been a police officer in New York City for the past 8 yrs and have just recently been the subject of a scam, and after a little research I have found out that many other people have fallen victim to the same scams, and something needs to be done. Hopefully you guys can help bring other hard working people's attention to these scams. Basically my story goes like this;

I was shopping for a television online when I encountered a website that searches for the cheapest price by comparing many online stores. The name of the website was Streetprices.com. This site showed me an online store, Infinitiphoto.com, which was selling the television i was looking for for about $200 cheaper than reputable dealers. Most dealers were selling it for $850 to $900. When I called the store to inquire about the television, I was greeted by a fast talking salesman, Adam, who quickly told me that it was essential that i buy a wallmount for this television for $299. When I told him that the television comes with a stand, he insisted that i needed the wallmount, which is untrue.

The television also comes with a one year, out of the box, factory warranty, which I knew from previously researching the television online. "Adam" told me it did not, and that I would have to purchase an additional warranty offered by the store for $300. The television is also capable of hooking up to a basic cable box, without a high definition hookup. "Adam" told me that the television would not be functional unless i purchased a high definition cable for an additional $200. But after all of the fast talking, he offered me the television, warranty, wallmount, and high definition cable for a price of $1000. I then asked "Adam" if this was the final price, including shipping. He told me it was.

After he badgered me for about 10 minutes about how great of a deal this was, I reluctantly agreed and gave him my credit card number. "Adam" then told me that the total would be $1300. I was shocked to hear this after he had already given me a bottom line price of $1000. When i inquired as to where the additional $300 charge came from , he stated, "What...you never heard of sales tax and shipping insurance?" $1300 is a far cry from the original $650 I planned on spending on the television.

I politely told "Adam" that i would have to think about it and get back to him, when he proceeded to call me "cheap" and stated, "Dont waste my time." I couldn't believe that this was how they were treating a customer. And to top it off, he told me that my credit card would be charged a $100 cancellation fee for a price that I never agreed in on the first place.

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