Unsatisfactory Business Practices on the Internet

[curious]

Does anyone know the best way to handle being ripped off by a company doing business on the internet? Unfortunately, I checked with the BBB AFTER being burned. I know, not too smart. But now I would like to get the word out to as many people as possible not to do business with this site. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance.

[papabear]

I was ripped off by a "gateway" merchant who decided to deduct from my co. checking account at will.
File a complaint in your states attornet general's office, AND in the state the offenders co. is doing business in.
It may take a few months but no company wants the attorney generals office sniffing around.
Good Luck
papaebear

[davidhills]

Whenever possible it is a good idea to pay for goods or services by Credit Card. Then if you are ripped off you can dispute the charge. Generally the processors favor the card holder.

[GusVenditto]

I second that about credit cards. If you have a problem with a company and you can't resolve it, the credit card company will put a hold on the sellers's dollars out of your account. You sometimes need to persist with your credit card company to make sure you get it back (as in hinting you're closing your credit card account). but they are likely to favor you if you are a good cc customer.

As to telling others, find places where people talk about their services. The newsgroup misc.consumers is one place where people report problems -- here's a google link

From that link, try searching for the company -- if they really have screwed a lot of people you will probably find others have complained too. Or maybe you will find that someone else has explained how to get a refund from them.

[dburge]

I had my check card number stolen at a restaurant last august, and used on the internet for lots of purchases. I use Bank of America. I made one call to them, and they immediatly credited my account back with no questions. Sent me a form to fill out. And that was it!

[KevinReichard]

I made one call to them, and they immediatly credited my account back with no questions.

That's because by law they can't charge you for transactions not made by you. The credit-card company does assume all the risk in issuing a credit card.

--Kevin

[austinc]

Posting here to add search engine hits (hopefully), and warn people about one company that is a customer service black hole.

My most recent negative experience was with www.thelairofdarkness.com, from whom I ordered 2 rings.

3.5 weeks ago I emailed them about the status of my order - no reply.
Since then I have emailed them 2x more and left a voicemail on their support line, which doesn't ever seem to be manned by a human as I've tried it 6-8x. No replies or callbacks still.

[dotcom-pro]

Originally posted by austinc
Posting here to add search engine hits (hopefully), and warn people about one company that is a customer service black hole.

My most recent negative experience was with www.thelairofdarkness.com, from whom I ordered 2 rings.

3.5 weeks ago I emailed them about the status of my order - no reply.
Since then I have emailed them 2x more and left a voicemail on their support line, which doesn't ever seem to be manned by a human as I've tried it 6-8x. No replies or callbacks still.

Have you done a whois lookup for their domain name and/or contacted their ISP?