daemon@rutgers.UUCP (04/06/87)
From: eraps1@NADC
Hi all,
Had a spot of trouble with a mail order company. I am sure other
people have had problems with the same company. If you know of
a reliable mail order firm selling hardware/software for the Amiga,
please let me know. Thought you might be interested in my solution
to mail order companies who aren't reliable. Feel free to reuse it
for action in similar cases.
- Rob Ginn (eraps1@nadc.arpa)
--------------------------- Cut Here -----------------------------
Attorney General
State of California
CA
94301
Dear sir,
I have been defrauded by a company named "Go Amigo" which is based
in your state. "Go Amigo" sells computer hardware and software,
and is located at:
Go Amigo
508 Waverley Street
Palo Alto, CA
94301
Synopsis of events:
I mail ordered (with a check), 4 items (3 pieces of software and
1 book) on Nov 21, 1986. Please see enclosed copy of original
order. I received a package from the company three weeks later.
The package contained 2 correct pieces of software, 1 wrong
piece of software, and 1 wrong book (correct is defined as: I
ordered it). I called the company and was given a Return
Merchandise Authorization (RMA) number and told to ship the 2
incorrect items back (at my expense).
I returned the 2 items and another package arrived 1 week
later. The second package contained 1 correct book; the
remaining software was missing. Also not present was an updated
invoice. I called the company and was told that it would be
shipped right out (I was also treated to a sob story about
"those darn shippers").
Two weeks later, I received the third package. This package
contained 1 incorrect (not ordered) piece of software. I called
the company and was given another RMA number and told to return
the incorrect software (at my expense), I got a repeat of the
"those darn shippers" story.
I shipped back the incorrect software. Two weeks later I
received the fourth package. It contained 1 incorrect piece of
software. I called the company and told them that if they could
not ship me what I ordered that they should give me a refund.
They assured me that they would ship it out the very next day
and that I could take my time returning the incorrect software
(at my expense). Since there was a snowstorm the next week, I
was unable to ship the package immediately. Three days later
the roads were clear but I decided to wait for the next package
before returning the current one (thus saving on the return
postage). After 2 weeks had passed and I had not received a
package from the company, I called to inquire about the the
package. I was told that they had shipped it (they claimed UPS
had lost it). Assuming that they were lying to me, and were
waiting to receive my package before they shipped theirs, I
returned the package (at my expense).
Three weeks later I received the fifth package. It contained 1
incorrect piece of software. I called the company and demanded
a refund. After about 5 minutes of arguing, they agreed to send
me a refund and to have UPS call at my home for the package.
And yes, I got the "those darn shippers" sob story again.
After waiting three weeks for my refund, I called the company.
I was told that the man in charge of sending refunds was out
that week and I would receive the refund sometime next week. I
did not receive my refund. I called the company and talked with
a person named Karen, represented to me as the president of the
company. I was told that the person responsible for the refund
had not sent it and that there was nothing I could do about it
since it was her job to get him to mail it. I was also told
that since it was his job, it wasn't her responsibility. I told
her that I didn't care whose job it was and that I was dealing
with a company, not individuals. I told her that it was the
companys responsibility and that I expected the check by the
following Friday (7 days later) or I would take further action.
She told me that I was the 16th caller demanding a refund that
she had talked to that day.
Seven days have passed and I have not received a refund. It has
been five and a half months since I placed the order and in my
opinion a company that can't get the job done in that time is not
likely to do it in the near future. By the company presidents
own admission, my case is not an isolated one. Many people have
similar difficulties with this company.
I would ask that you take whatever action you deam appropriate.
If you need more information, I am available from 9:00 to 4:30pm
EST at (215) 441-3673. Thank you for any assistance you can
provide.
Thank You,
Robert Ginn
cc: Go Amigo,
The Better Business Bureau,
encl (1)sdl@linus.UUCP (04/07/87)
> I have been defrauded by a company named "Go Amigo" which is based > in your state. "Go Amigo" sells computer hardware and software, > and is located at: > > Go Amigo > 508 Waverley Street > Palo Alto, CA > 94301 > Before everyone gets scared to death about ordering anything from Go Amigo, I would like to say that I, for one, have been tremendously satisfied with ordering stuff from Go Amigo. I have ordered stuff from Go Amigo for a year now. In that time, all but one item I ordered arrived reasonably promptly (i.e. within 3 days of order). Go Amigo did get one item wrong. I ordered a replacement print head for my Okimate 20 printer, but received a print head for another kind of printer. Karen (the lady you dealt with) gave me a Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) number. I returned the item, and was soon shipped the right print head for the Okimate 20. Rob, I sympathize with your plight. I've had similar problems with department stores, publishers, etc. But I have been satisfied with Go Amigo; I will continue to deal with them in the future; and I would recommend them to anyone looking for discount prices on Amiga stuff. Steven Litvintchouk MITRE Corporation Burlington Road Bedford, MA 01730 Fone: (617)271-7753 ARPA: sdl@mitre-bedford UUCP: ...{cbosgd,decvax,genrad,ll-xn,philabs,security,utzoo}!linus!sdl
nevets@ihlpm.UUCP (04/07/87)
In article <1387@rutgers.RUTGERS.EDU>, eraps1@nadc writes: > From: eraps1@NADC > > > Hi all, > Had a spot of trouble with a mail order company. ... > > - Rob Ginn (eraps1@nadc.arpa) > > ** followed by letter to Attorney General State of California ** > > It turns out I had the same problem with Go Amiga. I ordered a piece of hardware and one piece of software. The order came, hardware correct, software wrong package. After many months of tring to get the correct software I told them to forget it. Since I had used a credit card to place the order, I was able to avoid having to go through Go Amiga to collect a refund. I simple told the credit card company to cancel the bill, which they did very quickly. Then I had Go Amiga bill me again for just the hardware. Money wise I came out OK, but I was so dissatisfied with Go Amiga I will not do business with them again. Steve Ringwood
sean@ukma.UUCP (04/07/87)
I have said this before: Avoid StarFlite Telemarketing. They hassled me on a bulk floppy disk order. After I quoted postal law to them, the disks that *they* weren't going to get for a week arrived at my house in three days. I have had at least one good experience with FutureSoft. Their prices are great (even greater for clubs). They ship 2nd day UPS blue label for free on orders over $100. They have a huge selection. The people there are knowlegeable about what's in stock, etc. They even let me back order Jet :-). My first order was sent by mail on Monday morning from Lexington KY. to Carmel California. It arrived the next Thursday. Not bad. I have a second order pending, I'll let you know what comes of it. BTW - Anyone ever order anything from Inmac, the computer supplies company. They're so fast it's scary. I ordered some cable by phone at 3:30pm and it arrived the next day. I have had problems with a few copy-protected programs: Activision Two on Two Basketball: Get this -- the disk is copy protected AND it must be write enabled to run. Stupidity runs rampant in the world. I sent a letter with the bad disk that explains my view on copy protection. BTW - I copied the dead disk with Marauder II, and the copy WORKS. Electronic Arts Deluxe Music Construction Set: Disk died. I sent for an unprotected backup. Cancelled check made it back to me before the disk did. 5 weeks after ordering I finally talked to someone that knows what is going on. They were waiting for a newer version that had less bugs before they started shipping. Well, they could have TOLD me. Anyway, I'm supposed to call them in two weeks to check up on things. Meanwhile, this pile of sheet music on my desk and my synth get moldy. Marauder II: The program isn't copy protected, but it makes you type in something from the manual when it starts up. That's OK, except you don't NEED the manual to use the program, I can never FIND my manual, AND I'M DAMN SICK AND TIRED OF LOOKING UP A STUPID WORD!!! Perhaps QuickNibbleVN.N will remove this annoying behavior :-). It's my policy now to never run from an original copy of anything. I strongly endorse pirating of all copy-protected software. Perhaps when they realize that copy protection doesn't stop it, they will change their asinine ways. People need to be able to make backups. Especially on an Amiga. Sean -- =========================================================================== Sean Casey UUCP: cbosgd!ukma!sean CSNET: sean@ms.uky.csnet ARPA: ukma!sean@anl-mcs.arpa BITNET: sean@UKMA.BITNET
eric@hippo.UUCP (04/07/87)
In article <1387@rutgers.RUTGERS.EDU>, eraps1@nadc writes: > I have been defrauded by a company named "Go Amigo" which is based > in your state. "Go Amigo" sells computer hardware and software, In their defense, I ordered a number of software titles, and a couple of pieces of hardware from Go Amigo, and received them about a week later (seemed like an eternity, but it was only a week, and at the time I lived on the East Coast). The order was filled correctly, no substitutions or back orders. When I called in the order, I did make sure that everything I was ordering was in stock - something I do no matter what I am mail ordering, or from whom. Have there been other cases of disgruntled Go Amigo customers? Before hearing this, I would have re-used them without a second thought. -- eric ...!ptsfa!hippo!eric
bret@hi.UUCP (04/08/87)
In article <2263@linus.UUCP> sdl@linus.UUCP (Steven D. Litvintchouk) writes: > >> I have been defrauded by a company named "Go Amigo" which is based >> in your state. "Go Amigo" sells computer hardware and software, >> and is located at: >> >Go Amigo did get one item wrong. I ordered a replacement print head Ha look. If this company is sooo messed up that they get every two or three orders wrong I sure don't want to do business with them. And if half of what was said about this company is correct they don't seem to mind lying to the customers. -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bret K. Thaeler ARPA: thaeler@hc.dspo.gov | /// Amiga College of Enginering, UNM UUCP: hc!thaeler | /// user Professional Student | \\\ /// (505) 277-4497 | \\\/// And dam I instinctively used the Vulcan death grip. | \/// proud of it
hsgj@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu (Dan Green) (04/08/87)
In article <112@hippo.UUCP> eric@hippo.UUCP (Eric Bergan) writes: >In article <1387@rutgers.RUTGERS.EDU>, eraps1@nadc writes: >> I have been defrauded by a company named "Go Amigo" which is based >> in your state. "Go Amigo" sells computer hardware and software, > > In their defense, I ordered a number of software titles, and > [...] When I called in the order, I did >make sure that everything I was ordering was in stock - something I >do no matter what I am mail ordering, or from whom. > > Have there been other cases of disgruntled Go Amigo customers? >Before hearing this, I would have re-used them without a second thought. > eric > ...!ptsfa!hippo!eric Sometime around January I called Go Amiga, because I wanted to order a "Mouse Clock" (I forget the real name, its by Byte by Byte) and a plain old Modem <-> Amiga serial port cable. Both of these were clearly advertised in the ads (and still are). Well, when I called the woman who answered the phone told me that weren't in stock, and that they had never been in stock. So obviously I didn't order. I was angry that they had advertised falsely, but pleased that at least they were honest to me. But not having a stupid modem cable in stock?? As it turned out, I found a cable elsewhere at a dealer for $12 (Go Amiga wanted $25). I never bought the mouse clock. Remember that this occurred way back around Jan 1, so it may or may not be applicable today. Like Eric above said, whenever you mailorder, demand to know whether its in stock. -- Dan Green -- ARPA: hsgj%vax2.ccs.cornell.edu@cu-arpa.cs.cornell.edu UUCP: ihnp4!cornell!batcomputer!hsgj BITNET: hsgj@cornella
dpz@paul.UUCP (04/08/87)
> From: eraps1@nadc > Had a spot of trouble with a mail order company. I am sure other > people have had problems with the same company. If you know of > a reliable mail order firm selling hardware/software for the Amiga, > please let me know. Thought you might be interested in my solution > to mail order companies who aren't reliable. Feel free to reuse it > for action in similar cases. Add a qualified vote for Go Amigo, since in the past I have ordered expansion RAM and disks from them with great response. I got a turnaround from the time I sent the check to the time I received the stuff of exactly a week and a day, which I was very impressed about. It is possible that in this case (and the other negative followups) either they have just had a bad day (week? month?), but my order was placed a few months ago, so they may have gone downhill since then. I guess "buyer beware" is a good attitude to take now. dpz -- David P. Zimmerman rutgers!dpz dpz@rutgers.edu
papa@bacall.UUCP (04/08/87)
> > Before everyone gets scared to death about ordering anything from Go > Amigo, I would like to say that I, for one, have been tremendously > satisfied with ordering stuff from Go Amigo. > > I have ordered stuff from Go Amigo for a year now. In that time, all > but one item I ordered arrived reasonably promptly (i.e. within 3 days > of order). I also have used Go Amigo for a while now and had no problem. They discount both software and hardware, and that's enough for me. As the guy said, if you order by credit card you can never lose. If they don't deliver, just cancel your bill with MasterCard or Visa and let them deal with them. Just don't use a check. Use this practice will ALL mail order companies and you will avoid all the problems. -- Marco Papa -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Marco Papa 3175 S. Hoover St., Ste. 275 (213)747-8498 Los Angeles, CA 90007 USC: (213)743-3752 F E L S I N A Now working for ::::::: BIX: papa But in no way :: :: Officially representing ::::::: ...!usc-oberon!bacall!papa S O F T W A R E papa@usc-cse.usc.edu -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
geoffk@belfry.UUCP (04/08/87)
Just an observation. It seems the two people that have complained about Go Amiga's service seem to be located in California where Go Amiga is based, whereas the two people who have had satisfactory service both ordered out-of-state. Maybe they figure Californians are much more laid back and won't figure out that they got the wrong stuff! I think the solution would be to speak with a southern drawl the next time a dissatisfied customer talks with Karen and to mention that they are just visiting; could result in faster service. -- = Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely my own and do not = = reflect the views of NCR Corp. = = Geoffrey Kim ..!ncr-sd!belfry!geoffk = ==========================================================================
kim@amdahl.UUCP (04/08/87)
In article <355@paul.RUTGERS.EDU>, dpz@paul.RUTGERS.EDU (David P. Zimmerman) writes: > > Add a qualified vote for Go Amigo, since in the past I have ordered > expansion RAM and disks from them with great response. >... > It is possible that in this case (and the other negative followups) > either they have just had a bad day (week? month?), but my order was > placed a few months ago, so they may have gone downhill since then. Very possible. The walkin, retail version of Go Amiga no longer has Fish Disks available (too much bother/competition ?). The store also carries Mac's and some PClones. They did drop the ST a while back, however. The technical competence of their staff seems to have declined since they moved into larger quarters, and consolidated their Mac-Only store with the location that sold the Amiga, PClones, and (then) ST's. Oh well ... /kim -- UUCP: kim@amdahl.amdahl.com or: {sun,decwrl,hplabs,pyramid,ihnp4,seismo,oliveb,cbosgd}!amdahl!kim DDD: 408-746-8462 USPS: Amdahl Corp. M/S 249, 1250 E. Arques Av, Sunnyvale, CA 94086 CIS: 76535,25 [ Any thoughts or opinions which may or may not have been expressed ] [ herein are my own. They are not necessarily those of my employer. ]
mwm@eris.UUCP (04/10/87)
In article <124@belfry.sandiego.NCR.COM> geoffk@belfry.UUCP (Geoffrey Kim) writes: >Just an observation. It seems the two people that have complained >about Go Amiga's service seem to be located in California where I've had good luck with them the few times I've dealt with them. Feed them a credit card number, and what I order arrives in the next day or so. And I'm in Fornicalia (or at least it sounds like that :-)... <mike -- Here's a song about absolutely nothing. Mike Meyer It's not about me, not about anyone else, ucbvax!mwm Not about love, not about being young. mwm@berkeley.edu Not about anything else, either. mwm@ucbjade.BITNET
sdl@linus.UUCP (04/12/87)
> I've had very good luck with Go Amig[o-a], in the last I've placed > three or four orders for software, and documentation, and have always > received precisely what I ordered within two or three days (usually > shipped 2nd day UPS). The last order I placed was around Christmas, > so like someone else said "maybe things have changed". My experiences with Go Amigo of late have remained satisfactory. I ordered ProWrite from Go Amigo on Monday, March 30. It arrived Thursday, April 2. No problems. Steven Litvintchouk MITRE Corporation Burlington Road Bedford, MA 01730 Fone: (617)271-7753 ARPA: sdl@mitre-bedford UUCP: ...{cbosgd,decvax,genrad,ll-xn,philabs,security,utzoo}!linus!sdl
blgardne@esunix.UUCP (04/12/87)
For the record, I've ordered twice from Go Amiga (now Go Amigo, pressure
from C-A for the name change maybe?). Both times I ordered over a hundred
bucks worth of stuff, and it arrived here (Utah) 3-4 days after my phone
call.
I was pretty amazed at their speed, most of the mail-order outfits
consider 7-10 days "quick". It has been several months since my last
order though, I suppose it's possible that some problems have shown up
lately.
--
Blaine Gardner @ Evans & Sutherland
UUCP Address: {ihnp4,decvax}!decwrl!esunix!blgardne
Alternate: {ihnp4,seismo}!utah-cs!utah-gr!uplherc!esunix!blgardne