Stop & Shop

William of Savannah, GA November 23, 2009

On August 26, 2009, I called StopandShopDigital.com (hereinafter "stopandshop") at 1-800-481-6102 to purchase a Canon T1i Digital Camera Package. The package was listed at 759.00 on their website and included: Canon EOS T1i Camera Body, Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM AF Lens, Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM AF Lens, 4GB SD Memory Card, Secure Digital Card Reader, Deluxe Medium Camera Bag, 50 inch Deluxe Tripod, Lens Cleaning Kit and LCD Screen Protectors. The salesman's name was David. David said the battery and battery charger were not included and must be purchased separately. The battery cost 90.00 and the charger 119.00. David said stopandshop was running some specials: 1) A "free upgrade" to a "high capacity battery" and "quick charger", 2) A "free upgrade" of the 4 GB Memory Card to an 8GB High Speed Memory Card, 3) Buy 1 Lithium Battery get 1 free. David then said the "import camera package" I wanted was unavailable but he could substitute an equal package with a much superior lens. He changed the lenses to a EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS/AF and Sigma 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 DG Macro SLD, then rattled off a list of items and got my Discover Account information. He gave me a confirmation number and told me the total would be 1,389.98. I told him I did not want to pay that much and he said "I think you will be happy with these lenses" and hung up.

I looked up the "substituted lenses" and they retail for 129.00 and 159.00 respectively. I realized I was being scammed, so I called stopandshop back to cancel the order less than 5 minutes after David hung up on me and was put on hold. When no one answered after more than 45 minutes, I hung up. I called back the next morning at 9:30AM when they opened to cancel the order and was told to call back at 11:00AM to talk to Customer Service. I called at 11:03AM and spoke with Allan in Customer Service who said my order had shipped, but that if I was unhappy with the lenses or anything else they would work with me and make it right. I was uneasy, so I did more internet research and found that the Better Business Bureau had 73 complaints against stopandshop and found many articles on the internet about Brooklyn, NY merchants involved in camera scams. Essentially, they advertise very low prices on cameras and lenses, but when you call to order the item they deceive you and convince you to buy different items or unnecessary accessories. If you refuse to upgrade or buy additional expensive items, the original item you wanted suddenly is "out of stock/backordered". They also tried to deceive me by saying that the camera I originally wanted to purchase was an "import model", that the menu, manual and buttons were not printed in English and that it was "backordered for 17 weeks".

I called Canon USA and spoke with a sales manager and technical support manager and they said all Canon cameras are printed in English, the manual is in English, the battery and charger are included in the box, and that the menus are user selectable in 22 languages. I received the package at 2:00PM on 09/02/2009 and inspected it. I was charged for the battery and charger Canon said are included with the Camera, & there was only 1 battery(even though the special said buy 1 get 1 free). I called stopandshop several times over the next few days and tried to negotiate with Allan to allow me to return the package and get the package I had originally wanted, or to allow me to exchange the lenses for the lenses of the package I originally wanted. I got nothing but the run around and Allan became combative and threatened to charge a huge restocking fee and shipping fee if I returned anything. The only "deal" he was willing to make would have required me to pay them several hundred more dollars (remember the package I wanted was listed at 759.00 and I had already paid 1,389.98 for the same package with vastly inferior lenses). He threatened to refuse the shipment if I returned the items, but would not give me an RMA number. I returned the package to them which cost me 18.23. They credited my Discover card for 1,169.99 and I have disputed the transaction. I expect stopandshop to reimburse me for the remaining 219.99 + 18.23 shipping.

Arleen of Levittown, NY November 3, 2009

When I spoke to Scott back in February of this year about buying a Nikon DSLR camera, I spoke to him about just having a bad experience with another online store trying to sell me a Japanese model Nikon, and asked him numerous times, before purchasing it, if the one they were selling was a US model Nikon. He assured me that it was. Now, I love my camera and had had no problems with it until recently, when I noticed a slight delay when I take pictures.

I got in touch with Nikon and was delighted to find out that one of the only 2 Nikon Service Centers in the US was in Melville, NY, about 20 minutes from my house. I walk into the service center with my camera in hand and explain the problem, she said that as long as I had bought it in the last year (which I had) it should still be under warranty, great (I had also purchased an extended 3 yr. warranty with Stopandshopdigital.com) As she starts to take my information and turns the camera over to write down the serial #, she informs me that the camera I had purchased was not a US product and could not be serviced by them.

I then e-mail Nikon customer support asking more questions about the origins of my camera and was told that "The camera serial number you listed was not imported by Nikon Inc (USA) and was not meant to be sold in North America. Your camera is considered a "Gray Market" camera." This is exactly what I didn't want and the reason for calling stop and shop digital instead of just ordering the camera online.

I was told I was getting a US model and when I called them earlier today to argue this, I was hung up on the first time, and the second time I called Andy told me "you got the US model, all the materials that came with the camera are in English." I repeated again that it wasn't a US product and again he said that I got the US model.

I think I was scammed and I don't think they should be able to get away with it just because he was very careful with his choice of words. Like I mentioned before, I did purchase an extended warranty, and hopefully that'll cover the repair on the camera, I just don't see why I should have to pack up my camera, and pay for shipping to and from some repair center, when I have one of the only 2 Nikon Service centers in the US so close to my house and it could have been serviced within a few days.

I paid more for a grey market camera than I should have. I saw plenty of other Nikon D80's for sale for hundreds less than what I payed for mine. I have to pay for shipping to and from the repair center the extended warranty is with (a non-authorized Nikon repair center). I won't be able to photograph my products to update my website while my camera is being repaired (2-4 weeks), which potentially means hundreds of dollars in lost business.

Jane of University Park, FL August 19, 2009

After living in Westport for 30 years, I moved to FL. I am visiting Westport this summer for 3 months. The only supermarket left here is Stop and Shop and it is near where I am staying. First experience there was buying some little carrots for my grandchildren who were visiting. When we opened the plastic bag that same day, the carrots were slimy and had turned bad. I threw them out. When S&S is out of an item they usually carry, it can take up to a week to restock the shelf. There are some items that cannot be bought at other stores such as Whole Food Market, like cleaning supplies or in this case, Uncle Ben's rice in a bag.

Next problem: Blueberries and raspberries were on sale, three for five dollars. I asked the young man stocking the vegetables and fruits if the cashier would pro-rate the cost if I only took 2. He said yes. I bought two of the raspberries and two of the blueberries. When i got home and looked at the receipt, I saw that I was charged 2.99 each making the two I bought of each cost 5.98. That same day, I bought Izze grapefruit soda that was in the sale aisle and listed as being on sale. Since this is something I like, I bought 2 small cartons. When I got home and looked at the receipt, I was charged the full price. I also bought some cut celery in a container of water which is good for snacking. You guessed it. It smelled to high heaven when I opened it. It was bad. I have not complained to them yet, nor have I been in the store again. It is very hard for me to find another grocery store because I am 72 years old and not in great shape. I have been trying to make do with Whole Food Market and some other specialty shops.

Magali of New york City, NY July 29, 2009

On Monday July 27. 2009 I was at stop and shop with my 8 year old grandson Efraim Morales. We were at the frozen isle where there appeared to be a leaking refrigerator. In front of that leaking refrigerator was a very large and thick box when my grandson step on that box he fell and hit himself very hard. My grandson was hysterical but refused to go the hospital. Which at this point I checked him and he appeared to be ok but had a little bruise on his leg. So, I went to speak to the manager Mr. Joe and told him what was the problem. He ask me If Efraim was ok. I told him it appears that he ok. However, he told me that he was going to write a report and that someone would contact me and here it is wednesday 29 and no one has yet to contact me. There lack of saftey or concern for others seems vage. I am dissapointed in their lack of concern on children welfare.

Samantha of Yonkers, NY December 19, 2008

Samantha of Yonkers NY (12/19/08)
I bought a BONELESS package of Stop & Shop Brand of chicken cutlets and one of the cutlets still had a 2 inch skinny, jagged bone embedded in the cutlet. It was cooked and I nearly choked on it.

I nearly choked to death because I was unaware of the 2 inch skinny, jagged long bone embedded in the cutlet. I made spaghetti and sauce along with the chicken and I was going to serve the rest of the dish to friends and family for a dinner party. It took me a long time to make the dish and with all the ingredients it costed me nearly 30 plus the chinese food bill for my guests who I did not serve the dish to.

Ken of West Babylon, NY November 28, 2008

Ken of West Babylon NY (11/28/08)
I work for a new york city firehouse and had to work on Thanksgiving. Stop n' Shop advertised pre cooked meals feeding 8 to 10 people. We figured this would work for us being that we are generally busy with not a lot of time to cook. We even orderd extra food because we have good appetites. The amount of food we received wouldn't have fed 8 to 10 children , with half of it being inedible. The suop said right on the container , three servings per container. How can that feed 8 to 10. Feeling hungry and ripped off for the holiday. The FDNY

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