HOW TO FIGHT GAINSAVER BACK! An experiance and some answers.
Hi Guys,
Yes, I realize that I am a newbie, and will probably never use this forum again, but you folks have compiled one of the most expansive uncensored- forums for a very real issue called Gainsaver and I want to add to it.
I actually found you guys by googling Gainsaver sucks and have an experience of my own to share. I am posting it because I have fought back through municipal, state and federal departments and the Better Business Bureau and I got my money back.
The only reason I knew how to do all of this is through working and writing for a local newspaper and talking to many of those who know the workings of the insane system. I want everyone who has ever been or will ever be swindled by the likes of Steve Harper to use this post as a cautionary tale with some information on how to get what is yours and how to get back at them. Just know this
they take advantage of people that dont fight back
and that is how they get their money.
Did you know that they dont keep inventory and that the dont update it? Anytime you hit something that says in-stock it isnt. The only way to know if they have something in stock is by checking the on-sale or price-drop areas?
First may I add that I would like top burn this business to the ground and I am no way a member of its disgustingly sneaky team. I also know that you guys cherish this forum and are in no way trying to disrespecting you by being here. I just know how many people read this thread and am trying to do my part for the greater good. I thank you for the chance to speak.
I finally got my job writing for a newspaper and found myself being the only one attending town meetings with no form of computer sidekick. We writing the news get paid almost next to nothing so I had to beg my grandmother for the money for my new Apple.
I googled discount laptops and our little friends Gainsaver popped up. Elated that I could get a memory boost, airport card and all my other fun goodies for this machine, I bought one. It was a iBook Notebook 12.1" 500MHz G3 - Apple Computer M7698LL/A
Yes, it was a hunk of crap, even for Gainsaver standards, but it was my first laptop and I was friggan stoked.
It got delivered on a Tuesday and I woke up at 7 a.m. to a phone call from my nana telling me it was in and I rushed over. I opened it up and looked like a frat boy did keg stands and lines on it. Honestly? The warning alarm hadnt gone off yet. It looked like crap but it worked and I got it. That was until the computer screen started blipping, keys started popping off and the mouse was sticking. I paid $727.51.
I had to send it back and pay the shipping.
I was credited back $618 because the warranty I bought was going to be transferred to my new computer. I ordered a PowerBook Notebook 12.1" 1.5GHz G4 - Apple Computer M9690LL/A and was told almost two weeks later, after receiving an e-mail it was to be shipped, that the entire lot of them was defective. Julie from customer service put in an order for another one and this time it was iBook Notebook 14.1" 1.33GHz G4 - Apple Computer M9628LL/A only for a ton more money. I told her I would wait for the Powerbook to come in
and it never did. I didnt find that out until almost a month down the road. They sent out the other computer and when I rushed over to get it, I had this gut feeling that something was going to be wrong. Boy, was I right.
I opened up the box it was wrapped in and put it on my lap. The first thing I saw was my invoice with the pretty little QC-PASSED sticker. I opened it and noticed that all of the keys were faded so that you couldnt read them. I turned it on and was greeted by a smiling little Mac and then it flashed and there was a file folder with a question mark on it. The motherboard was fried. I started to cry. I was furious.
I called Steve Harper up and demanded a call tag be issued for this thing and it would be a cold day if he thought I was going to pay shipping. He issued the call tag and told me it would be second day air. It shipped ground. He blatantly lied to me. I told him I wanted a new computer shipped out immediately and he told me he would have one prepared for when the broken one came in. He lied to me again. When the package was delivered he told me it would take 10-11 business days to process.
But I got him. It was shipped directly to his office. The one mistake they made was when they issue you the invoice they left the actual address of the location on the box. I called FedEx and had them investigate the package and when the man delivering it began questioning the company about the package it magically appeared in the office.
I called Steve the next afternoon and informed him that it was there and that I wanted my new computer shipped the same day. I told him he promised to ship my new computer overnight at their expense. He said I dont know, I have to see what is in stock.
That is when I told Steve I had been reading up on the company and that he made me nervous. He asked me why. I told him that he had been lying to me all along and promised to have my computer for me and that the BBB, eBay and a *wink* few forums were blasting him for robbing them.
Then something happened that helped enormous amounts
Steve got mad
and Paula got her tape recorder.
Steve told me that he was canceling my order because he didnt want to do business with me anymore. I told him that was great but now he just voided any chance of having that 20% restocking fee placed and that the warranty was now voided by his company and must be returned to me immediately. He said that he understood and was going to credit the full amount I ended up spending. $1127.51.
The plot thickens.
Steve started playing games with me. He said he thought he was going to have accounting credit me the full amount and wasnt sure about anything anymore.
That is when I informed him that I had recorded him stating his promise to me. He said he was going to call accounting and would call me back.
Steve never called back.
I then began making phone calls from Boston to Long Beach.
I called City Counsil, City Clerk and finally landed at the Business Licensing Board.
A nice woman on the phone informed me that the business I was inquiring about was called Visionaire and was a company dealing with software programming. They had nine employees and were owned by two siblings named Veviak and Sukant Jain. The company does not have business licensing for selling used computers.
The actual number to the establishment is (562) 216-7160 and I managed to locate their accounting department. I spoke with a woman named Christina answered and informed me that she was in the process of crediting back my account in the sum of $922.00 but that was only after she was told of Steve canceling my transaction for me. That and I played her the MP3 from my recorder. I got that refund. But I am still owed 202.51 for my warranty and assorted packaging issues. Christina told me that due to it being a warranty that I have to submit the request for the remainder in writing and after that she would be crediting my account.
It is just a formality and we have to receive it in the form of a certified letter and then we can legally credit your account, she said.
So I began typing and sent my letter off. But just to make sure that my entire sum of money gets credited I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. I spoke with Thermon, a fine man, who told me that Gainsaver actually resolves all of the HUNDREDS of complaints that come into the Bureau. Currently they have a C rating, but it would be an F if they didnt satisfy the consumers (giving back their money) according to Thermon.
►So call the Better Business Bureau for Long Beach if you would like some information on Gainsaver:
3363 Linden Avenue, Suite A
Long Beach, CA 90807-4579
(562) 216-9242
Gainsaver ID# 100035353
►Or if you have heard enough and just want to file a complaint:
http://www.labbb.org/BBBWeb/Forms/utils/ComplaintDetail.aspx?CompanyID=100035353
►I also called my State Attorney General Martha Coakley (ma) (617) 727-2200
►I called the California Attorney General Edmund Brown via a Business Complaint Form located here:
http://ag.ca.gov/contact/complaint_form.php?cmplt=CL
►I also filed a complaint against them with the Federal Trade Commission. They also have an online complaint form located here: https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01
►I placed a complaint in at the Business Licensure Board. I mailed out that copy today.
Here is the contact information:
333 W Ocean Blvd
Long Beach, CA 90802
(562) 570-6211
Look guys, the last resort I have is to contact local news stations, radio and media. I have sent out a mass media alert to those on the list. I suggest you do the same. I am also contacting many of the buyer beware programs in the Boston and LA area.
I am also in the process of registering
www.gainsaversucks.com and any tech help would be appreciated. Oh, and a Google Group too.
We dont have to take this crap anymore from these con-artists and I am so furious with the idea of people busting their butts all the time only to have this guy just take their money. Did you know that they stole money from an under funded school in LA and when the woman buying the computer said that she was going to call the BBB she was told by Steve that if she did HE WOULD REFUSE HER REFUND?
Enough is enough. Take the time to fight back! Please dont think I am so bored housewife with nothing better to do. I work 80 hours a week and I am going to bring these guys down.
Customer Service rocks). Also dont cave when the e-communists are trying to give you the fist...[/FONT]
