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September 29, 2007
Not only exorbitant shipping fees, they also charge MORE than they disclose!
PosterPass.com... What can I say??? Let me begin by saying, this is going to be a long complaint. I have included two or three I have compiled from another site that I was posting on, to make a complete posting, and I am adding some more to make a total story here.
Now, let me start by saying, I recently got my first credit card. This was the first thing I ever bought on it. I thought it was a great deal. And I needed something nice to decorate our apartment, because the walls are bare, so I ordered the sunset, moom, lightning, and northern lights posters... I actually read all the terms and everything, but I didn't click on "HELP" because I didn't think I needed any (which is why it says help, and not FAQ, which is what I WAS looking for.) Now, I may have been taken in so easily because I was a little manic, and credit card in hand, I was eager to spend some money. But I was trying to be careful, I was trying to read everything, I just couldn't find the info I wanted, and I was sure that when they said a small shipping and handling fee, they meant a SMALL SHIPPING AND HANDLING FEE. How on Earth is 19.05 a SMALL shipping and handling fee? And that is just what they disclose as the shipping and handling, for the introductory offer, they never, ANYWHERE, on the entire site, say how much shipping is for any follow up orders. Now, it seems that not only did I get charged more than I should have (and it could not have been tax, since I do not live in IL, I live in WA), $34 rather than $27.05 ( I was expecting absolutely no more than $18.00, thinking that nothing over $10 could ever be considered small, especially for something that will weigh less than the box), but from what I have been reading, the charges are not consistant. They are not charging everyone the same amount. The website states a flat rate for shipping, so they can't be charging different amount for that reason, so why isn't everyone being charged $34.00 like I was? Some people are being charged $39.00 for the introductory offer, some $39 and some change, always a different amount of change. Anyway back to my story. It took over two weeks for me to get my posters.I already knew I was going to send them back, as I had canceled and informed them that they would be getting them back as soon as the exorbitant charge showed up on my credit card e-statement. Now, here's the thing... It took over two weeks for me to get them, but they were shipped 3 day priority mail. So what really happened is they charged me, I canceled the account and the order, and then they shipped it anyway. And then when I finally got it, the box AND the posters were all opened already, and one was damaged, not that it matters since they were going back anyway... Well, the only reason it would matter is that it is strictly against their return policy. However I called and told them that I didn't get them for two weeks, and whe I did the box AND the posters were all opened, and that I still wanted to return them and that the post office now says that I cannot send them back "return to sender" like I was told I could do (bet you didn't think to ask about that, did you? they won't say unless you ask, but you are not required to pay return shipping as long as you ship it in the original packaging) and he told me that all I have to do is make sure it is clearly marked all over the box and drop it in the bin, and the post off will be obligated to return it to the sender and they will pay the shipping when they get it and refund my money. I will be taking it to the post office today, and I will see how quickly I get my money back, I'm not sure, based on what I have read, but I hope I get it back in a timely manner.
Here is my post from the other site I was posting on:
I also was taken in by this "great deal". There is one place on the website, if you can find it, under "help" that discloses the amount that they charge for shipping for the introductory order. "Shipping and handling for your introductory offer is $19.05." It does not, however, add up to the amount that they charge your credit card. I was charged $34.00 for my 4 posters, which I am returning, but have not been able to yet, as the post office refuses to take it without me paying for shipping (because they shipped it using DHL), though I have been assured by posterpass.com that they should take it "return to sender" and that they will pay the return shipping upon receipt. I figure that they charged me an extra $6.95, which is completely fraudulent. They can, however, charge you tax if you live in the state that the company ships from, IL, I believe. I could get no explanation of the extra $6.95 that they charged me when I talked to them on the phone, in fact, they acted like I never asked anything about any extra amount at all. I will say, however, that everyone I have talked to at the company has been very courteous and other than ignoring my question about the extra amount charged and the astronomical amount for shipping and handling (it also took over two weeks for me to get something that was shipped priority mail), they have answered all of my questions and been very helpful, I was even told that I could return the posters even though they are opened, even though that is strictly against their return policy. (Should they decide after receiving them that they will not refund my money, I will simply dispute the charge with the credit card company since they have the merchandise and get the money back that way.) I would be interested in joining a suit to at least get them shut down. If I get my money back after they get the posters back, I doubt I could participate on any other level, but I think they should not be allowed to be in business. The posters did not even look as good as they did on my computer. "Museum quality prints"? HA! Yeah right. And my blonde hair is made of spun gold just because that's what color it is. I guess I can start selling strands of my hair online for quick cash and get away with it too, huh? When I saw the amount that they were charging me on my online statement (well, the "pre-statement" I guess you could call it) I nearly had a heart attack. I was expecting like $6, no more than $10 for shipping and handling, and I thought if it was $10 that would be on the higher end and just because it was 4 posters at once. But come on... Do you realize, if they were charging you guys $44, at 9.95 per poster for the auto-shipments they were charging you $12.05 PER POSTER to ship a POSTER in a box that weighs MORE THAN THE POSTER. That is MORE for shipping than it was for each poster, and don't forget, they shouldn't be charging you separate shipping for something being shipped in the same box anyway. So really, how much should it cost to ship that box? I'm not sure if I am remembering correctly, but I think that is illegal. I don't remember where I read that, I think in one of my mom's text books (she's a paralegal). Bottom line is, this company needs to be shut down, and they need to be sent to prison, not just shut down and fined so they can open another company to do it again. I bet that they are RAKING in the dough. A tip though, regardless of their return policy, even if you opened the posters, and THEN found the charge on you credit card statement (because in all likelihood, you got the posters, opened them, possibly even hung them up, and then got your statement even weeks later, which they know is likely to happen and they capitalize upon it), roll them up, put them back in the plastic (if you still have it), put them back in the box, write return to sender ALL OVER it, drop it in the post office bin (otherwise they will not ship it without you putting postage on it unless it was shipped via the USPS), wait a day or so, and then call and tell them you found out how much they charged you, and that you dropped the posters back into the mail. If they say anything about "We can't refund your money if the posters are opened" whatever, AS LONG AS YOU USED A CREDIT CARD. This may not work with a bank card. I pretty sure Visa's policy says that the dispute policy only applies like this for actual credit cards. If they refuse the refund, dispute the charge, you have already tried to dispute it through the vendor, and returned the product, and the credit card company should refund the charge with no problem. ESPECIALLY if this company happens to be on their blacklist. You must dispute the charge within 60 (or is it 90?) days of it first appearing on your statement. Even if it is too late, report the company to the credit card company and tell them not to accept any more charges from posterpass.com, and ask them if they can add the company to their blacklist, that way they will be on the alert for other consumers, the more people complain, the easier it will be to get these guys shut down. IT IS POSSIBLE TO GET THE CREDIT CARD COMPANY TO STOP APPROVING CHARGES FROM A COMPANY BASED ON THE NUMBER ON COMPLAINTS RECEIVED BY CONSUMERS. Most people don't know that. if there have been a sufficient number of complaints, the only way to have a charge go through is for the credit card company to call and pre-approve the amount BEFORE the charge goes through. Wouldn't that be nice for companies like this? Where there are undisclosed, hidden fees? If you had been called before hand, you never would have approved it, right? So the more of us that calls the credit card companies to complain, the closer we get to saving other innocent people from this kind of fraud. Keep us posted on any lawsuit details! One more thing, from now on, before you buy ANYTHING online or from an infomercial, type "name of product" reviews into your search engine.... If it sounds too good to be true, it almost always is.... And hopefully you aren't going to be among the first to be taken in. Good luck in the future. One more thing... I think that the lawsuit, should there be one, should not be against posterpass.com, but against peel.com, take a look at their website... click on commerce, and look at the sites that they run where they are selling identical products for different prices. I haven't looked at all the sites yet, but I know that at least at the coffee one, they have the same shipping policies that they have with the poster site. Scary stuff, these guys need to go down, and they need to go down NOW.
Also a note for those that ordered with a bank card:
Don't forget that they are liable for the overdraft fees as well as the money for the charges they drafted. Ask the bank about this if you want, the company will tell you that they are not, but the bank will tell you the truth, if a fraudulent charge causes an overdraft, the bank is NOT responsible for giving back the overdraft fee, though most will give you back a few of them. The company that causes the overdraft because of fraudulent charges (even if it is fraudulent only in the amount or DATE of the charge) IS responsible in refunding you the overdraft fees associated with the drafts, even if they overdraft were not directly associated with the draft from said company but from a draft directly after it (posterpass drafted your account for $44 twice and then you got $20 dollars in gas and that overdrafted because you didn't know that the posterpass drafts were there because they were unauthorized. Get it?) I hope this helps. I have had some trouble with things like this in the past, and this is I went in to talk one on one, face to face with them to get my account straightened out when I had a credit reporting website charging my bank account three different charges every month for an account that had been canceled for months.... That was a disaster.... If this has happened to you, I suggest that for now, you open a second account and change everything over, and keep the original one open until you get the refunds, and then close it. That is the best way to stay safe. The bank should allow you to do that free of charge (if there are fees associated with opening new accounts at your bank) because it is related to a fraud case. Make sure you research ever purchase you make online or over the phone from now on, I know I am going to, I have a very limited income, and I cannot afford to have things like this happen anymore.
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