SimplyScuba - Bad Experience

[Chocscoffer]

Had a bad experience, now I'm over it. Post deleted.　

 

[ScubaSteve]

All I can say is that you make some seriously huge accusations in your post there buddy.......I mean:

Humpty-Dumpty was pushed!

Seriously though, I would be annoyed only because I was disappointed. I think you will find that with many companies (not specific only to Scuba) will treat a deal differently when they have agreed to finance the sale for 12 months with no interest to be charged. AND, I personally think from a business standpoint, I would do the same. Having said that, I think it only fair that their conditions be made clear and easily found.

 

[Chocscoffer]

LOL

I think if it had been made clear that the 'Price Match' didn't apply to finance customers I would be less annoyed but I have scoured the T&C's and it doesn't state that. They didn't even use the finance agreement as as a reason, it was more their 'system restrictions'. I'd rather they be honest.


I guess I need to get over it but I can't help feeling miffed!

 

[ScubaSteve]

......it was more their 'system restrictions'.

I do not know, but I can definitely see where this could be nothing more than an employee that knows no better and simply repeats the words in a manual rather than understanding why something occurs. Have you tried talking to anybody other than "Bob" from some India call center? I am sure they do not subcontract their call center but it may be possible to either get flexibility or a better explanation from someone other than the first person to answer the phone. It may not change things but it may make you feel better to either get a proper explanation or at least say your piece.

 

[Chocscoffer]

It was all done via email because I was at work. The lady I corresponded with was very polite and did apologise for my inconvenience but couldn't help. I was willing to let the price matching issue go and begged them to let me have my regs delivered next day, offering to pay the extra costs on my card immediately - but they refused. I really don't understand this part because it shouldn't affect the finance agreement at all. But like you say, maybe there are other factors that haven't been explained to me properly. I might call them tomorrow on my dinner break and ask to speak to a manager.

 

[ScubaSteve]

It was all done via email because I was at work. The lady I corresponded with was very polite and did apologise for my inconvenience but couldn't help. I was willing to let the price matching issue go and begged them to let me have my regs delivered next day, offering to pay the extra costs on my card immediately - but they refused. I really don't understand this part because it shouldn't affect the finance agreement at all. But like you say, maybe there are other factors that haven't been explained to me properly. I might call them tomorrow on my dinner break and ask to speak to a manager.

One thing to consider (and I am not making excuses or agreeing with or disagreeing with their policies) is that every part of the transaction costs the company money. It costs more to create 2 different shipments than it does 1 even if you are paying for the shipping. Like I said earlier, this could just be the company's way of saying "I will do nothing extra because I am agreeing to carry this cost for 12 months for no extra money". Just a possibility.

Like I said though, I too would be upset (disappointed) because with SCUBA stuff.......I want it now. Not tomorrow or even yesterday....I want it now. It does sound like you are taking it well and are accepting that they may have a valid reason but wish they had made this information available earlier.

 

[scubamarketing]

Sure it's okay to be annoyed, but personally I like to run it up the ladder at a company before I take my issue public. I ordered some LED keychain lights for camping and when I saw how unreasonably (to me) long it was going to take to get them, I wanted to complain online since it's so easy. Instead, I contacted people at the company until I had a reasonable explanation.

I personally think of complaining in terms of visiting a restaurant: if I go in and get bad service through my first course, I don't go out on the street and yell "This place is terrible!" before I get my second course. Someone may spit in my food. Instead, I talk to the server first, then a manager, then an owner (if it gets that far). Only then, if I don't feel my issue has been addressed do I write my Yelp review. But I know not everyone operates that way

 

[cbm32]

I can not begin to tell you how many times I have been told something is not policy or can not be done or the computer will not allow us to do that, only to have it done once I worked my way up the food chain.

The first contact person is usually one that knows very little and has no authority to do anything outside of a certain little box. They are very very often not motivated to help you resolve a problem and many times are not comfortable going to a supervisor and asking for direction or exceptions.

I politely (well mostly politely depending on the attitude of the person I am dealing with) ask to speak to a supervisor if I am not satisfied with their answer and or/they can not direct me to written policy that prevents them doing what I want done. Same goes for the supervisor. Make me believe your decision was correct or at least show me where it is in writing, or let me talk to YOUR supervisor. At times I have ended up speaking to or emailing Vice Presidents, Presidents, CEO's...you name it I have working my way up to them.

I would say that a solid 90% of the time or more, if I have thought it through with good solid logic and researched the written policy, I end up finding someone that not only has the authority to do what I want done but sees the logic and/or sees that it is the right thing to do or that keeping a customer happy is worth making the exception.

You just cant take no for an answer from the first person you talk to. I am careful to be very sure that I am totally convinced that I am correct and not being unreasonable (at least in my mind) before I take these steps.

 

[flots am]

I’ve been saving hard so when I saw that SimplyScuba were doing 12 months interest free credit, I thought great! I can use the money I’ve saved to buy a dry suit and get the rest of my kit from them and spread the cost.

Never, ever, ever use "xx months interest free". The plan is designed to screw you in as many ways as possible.

Some possibilities are:

1. SS charges you more for the items then uses part of this money to pay the finance charges
2. The finance company charges you interest for all 12 months, then whacks you with all of it at the end. This is generally what happens with "12 months, no interest payments" There are no payments for 12 months, but that 13th month is a killer, since they also charge you interest on the interest you didn't pay.
3. The finance company doesn't charge you any interest if you pay if off in 12 * (however many days is in one of their "months"), however if you go one second over that, they'll nail you for 12 months of interest at whatever the legal maximum is, plus "penalties"
4. More stuff I don't remember at the moment.

Because they wouldn't negotiate on price, I'm guessing they're using #1.

The reason they won't split up the order is because they need a definite date where they can prove you received everything in the finance contract. If you pick it up in bits and pieces, there's room to question when the "12 months" started.

In any case, I'd find a new dive shop, and if it's been less than your state's "cooling off" period, I'd cancel the order because they have absolutely no respect for you and see you only as a profit center.

There's no excuse for pushing these contracts on a customer. They're amazingly risky for the buyer.

You can all your Attorney General's office to inquire, if you can't Google it.

flots

PS. I forgot to add this stuff:

If you buy with a credit card and the item is defective or was misrepresented, you can protest the charges and have the credit card company refund your money. AFAIK, with a retail finance contract, you would need to sue the the dealer and possibly the lender to get a refund, if they didn't feel like letting you out of it. It turns into a lot of finger pointing, since the lender doesn't care if the dealer gave you a box of rocks. They sent the dealer money and you signed a contract that says you'll pay them back. They have nothing to do with the actual product you received.

The dealer on the other hand, has already been paid and doesn't care if you stop paying or complain, since they already got the money. They have no incentive to give it back.

Always use a credit card so you have a multi-billion dollar credit card company with access to the dealer's money behind you.

 

[Chocscoffer]

Hi Scubamarketing,

I did ask for my request to be escalated to management but was told that the information I was given was being instructed from management via the customer services supervisor. I guess in hindsight I should have spoken to someone over the phone rather than email but I did try to argue all points and felt there was nowhere else to go at the end of it. Though I do understand what you are trying to say about making it public, I am still able to edit my first post, am I able to delete it???