In serious need of help!

[davie_baby]

My sister ordered a PSP from MyDV.co.uk on the 24th of Nov, and it still hasnt arrived. as it had taken so long i decided i would look into it as i have a slightly better internet background than her. So i googled it, and it came up with the dreaded review, saying that it was not a UK site etc. and i then paniced.

Fortunatly i came across this site, but being only 17 my legal knowlege isnt great. so i am finding it hard to decipher what legal action to take. And so i was wondering if you could help. i will give you a quick run down.

- it was ordered on 24/11/05
- my sisters workmate ordered it using her credit card
- The invoice said the price was £169.95 (im not sure if perhaps the woman was overcharged on her credit card yet, but has not said anything to us)
- My sister did not see any signs of it being a con, and so she got in contact with the company to see if their was a problem
- i believe she emailed the company a few times, as well as phoning, however, phoning only put us through to a "full" answering machine
- it is now 18/12/05 and there has been no sign of the PSP and (to the best of my knowledge) no emails back as a result

Im rather worried, and £170 is alot of money that i wudnt like to see my parents loose. So i would really appreciate it if anyone could give me any advice on how to go about getting a refund as all legal stuff tends to confuse me.

Many thanks

David.

[MatrixWatch]

David,

I just informed one of our experienced members on the subject, so some good advice is on the way!

[BobC]

Hi David

For Transactions over £100 the credit card company is equally liable with the trader for non delivery of goods. So have your sisters workmate contact her credit card company immediately. They will mark the transaction as in dispute and send her a claim form.

You will have to wait thirty days, to allow MyDv to either deliver the goods or give you a refund, after which time the credit card company will refund your money and deal with MyDv to get the money back.

[MatrixWatch]

Should they refuse the package if it arrives within that 30-day period?

[Barnaby]

Just to add to Bob C's advice which is correct of course. Don't panic, at the end of the day the money will not be lost. However, you have some other decisions to make.
Firstly, the myDV site was not trading yesterday, probably as a result of the Massachusets District Attorney's action in trying to shut the parent company NEPCO down, so if that succeeds at this point you will presumably never receive the PSP.
Secondly, if you do eventually receive the PSP (which will probably happen if myDV continue trading) you must seriously consider whether you mind a non-UK version with a japanese manual and almost certainly no warranty. I do not know the PSP as a device, but I suggest you consider as much as you can whether there are format issues in terms of the content you want to view/use on it if the PSP you get is USA or Japanese (rather than UK).
Thirdly, there are issues of whether VAT and inport duty have been paid on myDV's offerings - I am not sure from people's postings on this site exactly where we are on that.
Fourthly people have reported items delivered from myDV that are incomplete or even second hand.

For these various reasons I think most others on this site would not disagree that the best course of action is to immediately write to the credit card Disputes department stating the basic simple facts of your case and say that you are seeking a refund (from myDV). Send an email to myDV stating that you want to cancel the order for a full refund. Keep copies of everything, and keep the Credit Card company informed.

If the PSP arrives anyway, you should stick to whatever decision you made beforehand about whether you want a myDV PSP, if you don't want it, send it back by informing myDV and wait for them to arrange collection.

All this will be a hassle, and you will get very annoyed, but don't worry, if you are persistent you will win. Just resign yourself to the fact that the PSP will not be in your hand yet, and focus on resolving this. These are only my suggestions from being involved with this nonsense for 10 weeks now. All very best!!

[MatrixWatch]

If the delivery guy came to my door, I'd refuse the package. It would then be sent back to MyDv.

[Barnaby]

Watchdog made a good point....
When my useless USA version camcorder arrived I was out, and my young daughter took delivery. So I had to wait ages for myDV to arrange collection. When DHL the courier collected it we asked them to sign the fact (which he did, saying he had heard there were problems with myDV), and we took photos of them taking the camera away.
So, tell your household that if the PSP is delivered to the door, they should say the item is in dispute and do not accept it. Try and get some sort of signed proof that the PSP was taken away again, and if like me you are paranoid about these things get photos (which are digitally date stamped!).

My fiasco with myDV was prolonged by the fact my item was delivered (depsite cancellation), and I then had to get it collected.

[Simian9]

Having spoken to my CC company, they made it clear that if I cancel my order before the 30 days delivery deadline, then they are no longer responsible for paying if the item is not delivered (which is shouldn't be, as you've cancelled it!). However, if you have evidence that myDV has accepted the cancellation (ie an email that states the purchase price and date, the amount to be refunded, and the fact that it is a refund) and they don't pay up then the CC company will pick up the bill (as they have defaulted on the refund). Further, if you receive the goods (and because you're out) don't manage to tell DHL to take it away, then you have 7 days to return the goods, but then it's between you and myDV to get the difference...

So considering all this, I've let my CC know that there is a potential issue (and they've marked the transaction as dodgy). If by any chance that they do deliver before the 30 days are up, then I'll return the goods, and then have to try and get myDV to pay up. They seem to have been having a lot of issues with Sony PSPs, so it may well be that they won't deliver.

There are pros and cons to each approach (cancelling now or waiting) and each person will have to decide which approach they want to take. However, whatever you decide, do tell your CC company now that there's an issue.

On another note, thanks to all people who have contributed to this forum as it's been very helpful to me in deciding what I should (or not) do.

[churchward]

Yep good advice above. Don't panic matey you can get the money back. The best way will be from the Credit Card Company. They will then deal with myDV. It will take a while up to 45 days but in the present circumstances it is the best way to get the money with minimum fuss for you and the familly.

I have PM'd you with a few thoughts if you want to get in touch and discuss further PM me back. I hope I can help.

[MatrixWatch]

That is good advice. Plus, from what I know, you actually get the money credited back to you while the CC goes through the process. I'm no prophet, but I suspect that the CC companies will have the same hassle in getting answers from MyDv as the customers have.

Should people also notify their CC company about the recent action by the Mass. AG?

Also, in light of several recent posts on this subject, I've decided to write a quick snippet about the power of the chargeback (http://www.matrixwatch.org/forums/showthread.php?p=31253#post31253)

[concerned]

I'm no prophet, but I suspect that the CC companies will have the same hassle in getting answers from MyDv as the customers have.


I would bet on that also, but the credit card companies have a luxury everyone else doesn't have. If they are not given the information in a timely manor, they will just side with the complaintant, and end the investigation as a no response. I believe they would just say something like, "if we don't hear from you in 48 hours, we will assume it is true".

It results in a victory for the victims.

[MatrixWatch]

True, and I predict that this might just be the case with the massive amount of chargeback complaints that MyDv is likely receiving right now (and will continue to receive).

[Simian9]

Should people also notify their CC company about the recent action by the Mass. AG?

I mentioned this to my CC Company yesterday (VISA) when I called to update them. They seemed surprised. I mentioned that there was a press release available. They certainly have been doing their homework because when I first called (on Friday last week), they didn't know about myDV. However, they did yesterday mentioning that 'many people are in the same situation as you - most people have complained about non-delivery, a few about incorrect items being delivered'. I was talking to the dispute team at my bank, who must have checked in with Visa central when I complained first...

[MatrixWatch]

You will probably get your chargeback processed then. Once the VISA or MASTERCARD teams know about a particular "shady" business, they tend to not have much sympathy for them.

Its just ridiculous that MyDv chose this road for itself. Under the weight of all these chargebacks, they will likely go under. For that reason, it might be advantageous to file chargebacks ASAP if you haven't done so already.

[Webwatch]

Due to the bad reputation of MYDV the Credit Card companies will want to process Chargebacks as quick as possible as they may have to foot the bill if MYDV declare themselves insolvent.

A bit of a grey area is that the credit card companies do not have to refund for purchases outside the UK although hopefully they will be unlikely to use this as it would bring them nothing but bad press.

I can see a new court case arising soon where a ruling is needed to protect the consumer if they bought goods from what they thought was a UK company but in fact was based in the US.

But this is for another time.

[MatrixWatch]

What about customers of global CC companies/banks? Wouldn't they have global protection in many respects?

[Webwatch]

Hi WD,
The ruling I was refering to can be found here:
http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/index/pressoffice/press_index/press-041211.htm

As this refers to a customer having to be physically outside the UK when making their purchase hopefully it shouldn't apply to a customer being Virtually outside the UK.

[Simian9]

I got a message from my CC today reminding me that I have to wait 30 days before filing a chargeback due to non-receipt of goods. This is all the more weirder given that they told me this yesterday when I spoke with them in person, and confirmed in the message that they had already told me ! :confused:

Any views ?

[Webwatch]

To be honest I think this is the credit card company trying it on a bit- just inform them that you have tried every avenue of contact with MYDV to resolve the issue but to no avail.
Also remind them that the distance selling regulations refer to the contract of sale being between the credit card company and MYDV and you no longer wish to receive the product and are cancelling the order as per your statutory rights.

Also as more funds have been taken from your account than authorised this will also form part of the breach of contract.
Your credit card company should then refund your account (once the necessary forms have been signed).

Your credit card company will then inform MYDV to refund the amount as soon as possible or they will incur a charge back fee (although they usually dont they just issue a chargeback fee anyway).

Unless MYDV have there bank account frozen this is a win win for the credit card company.

[angela fletcher]

If you go to mydv-ripoff.co.uk you will find all the help you need good luck i know its very frustrating i too ordered a psp on 21 november i've had to go and buy another at asda and hope my credit card will refund me