Buy.com: The Do-It-To-Yourself Identity Theft Kit

This is the story about how online shopping ruined my day.

And how much Buy.com's customer service sucks. In fact, Buy.com's service sucks so bad that it - without a doubt - the worst customer service I have encountered in 9 years of making online purchases.

Having cancelled my Buy.com order, I have just purchased an IBM Thinkpad from the Lenovo website. That was no walk in the park either, but at least I will end up with my laptop a month from now.

Buy.com's Do-It-To-Yourself Identity Theft Kit
Yesterday, I ordered the same laptop from Buy.com. Last night they sent me the Buy.com do-it-yourself-identity theft kit. Someone emailed me at 9 pm saying that they needed further information about my credit card and that I should print out a form online that asked me to copy my credit card AND my driver's license and fax them to an unknown place.

Buy.com's UNPUBLISHED Customer Service Number
I called Buy.com at 877.780.2464, their unpublished customer service number. An oxymoron? No, just moronic.

There is no phone number anywhere on their site or in their emails, but they DO have customer service, such as it is. Buy'com's unpublished customer service number is 877.780.2464. Dial it to speak to people in India. And then you learn how bad Buy.com's customer service sucks.

No M'am We Cannot Tell You…
At 7:19 PM, after waiting 20 minutes on hold, I spoke to a woman who identified herself as Jade. No, she could not give me her employee ID number or her last name. After a very long wait, she said that the email request had indeed come from Buy.com and that they needed to verify my address. A utility bill would have done that. Or a letter from my bank. They certainly do not need a copy of my driver's license.

No m'am we do not have supervisors here. No m'am you cannot speak to a supervisor. Blah, blah, blah… I am sorry m'am but time is up." WTF? Time for what is up? "The time I am allowed to speak to a customer has expired."

I faxed a copy of the credit card because I could understand them wanting to see that, even though sending a picture of it in no way proves it is not stolen.

No M'am, We Cannot Tell You…
This morning, I called customer service again. I was on hold for nearly ½ an hour before an Indian-accented man with the improbably name, Cruise, told me that the order is on hold because they need information. But I sent it last night, I said. "Oh, then it will take 24-48 hours for the order to be processed. And then another 24-48 hours for it to be shipped." And, since I was throwing away money on supposed 2-day shipping, the soonest I would ever see this order would be a week, even though they claim it is in stock.

"No m'am we do not have a supervisor here. No m'am I cannot tell you my last name or ID number…..blah, blah, blah. I cancelled the order.

Imagine what you'd go through if you had a problem with the actual laptop!

They hold all your cards…
I went to the bank to cancel the card, put an alert on the account to refuse this order. Lo and behold, frickin Buy.com already has a hold on the money, even though the order isn't finalized. Not to mention that I cancelled it.

And, because of a Federal law, the bank cannot refuse the charge on my corporate debit card. I have to wait for Buy.com to put through the charge. Then I have to fill out a form, and then give Buy.com 10 days to refund the money, or not. And, mind you, this is AFTER I cancel the order. So, I would be out $2K and not have a computer.

I'll never buy from Buy.com again
I wouldn't buy anything from Buy.com again if they were giving away money with the item.

Lenova Speaks English – I Prepare and Eat Lunch On Hold
So I buy direct. I go to Lenova for my Lenova Think Pad, which used to be an IBM Think Pad. I get an English speaking man, who puts me on hold for a total of 40 minutes during the course of my order. I make and eat lunch, I answer and send email, I blog, I send out a newsletter, and still I am on the phone with this man. Now he is "deeply apologetic" that I am on hold, but that, of course, does not negate the fact that I am on hold.

He tells me that a special promotion entitles me to an extra battery. I say, "Cool." He is gone for nearly half an hour when he comes back to say that the battery promotion is over and so I cannot, in fact, have the battery.

No, that free battery is not free. Or available
I place the order, and hang up, not a happy camper. I think the least they should do, after keeping me on hold half the afternoon, making me wait a month for the computer, and telling me they were giving me the battery – is to give me the battery.

The sad truth of this story is that I am spending $2200 on this computer. When one spends $2200, the person who is taking the money should make one feel happy. Not annoyed, or angry, or ripped off, or wanting to blog about how much Buy.com sucks.

Comments

Posted by: SandraR at November 2, 2005 12:08 PM

Posted by: mrf at December 7, 2005 3:21 PM

Posted by: BL Ochman at December 7, 2005 10:01 PM

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