# I need to vent about my camera return.....



## JustJazzie (Jun 24, 2014)

I am so irritated right now. As you probably know, I returned my d7100 a week or so ago. Since I bought it online, I am dealing with an online returns dept. A condensed version of our correspondence is below:

store: We received your shipment, but due to the memory card being open we will refund you minus $50 for the card
me: will I get the memory card back?
Store: I told you, we did not receive the memory card. If you sent it, where is it?
me: You told me it was open. It was in the camera bag. if its not there, check the assessory box of the camera body. I am positive I sent it back
store: I will forward this email to the returns dept.
Store: Im sorry, we did not receive the camera bag, the memory card, or the filter set and we now have to charge you $105. would you like the filter set and the camera bag shipped back to you?

:banghead: 

Seriously?! SERIOUSLY? You either HAVE it, or you DO NOT have it. Which is it? 

We don't have a camera store in our town (or within 2 hours that I know of), and I try to support online photo stores when I can, but from now on I guess I am going to have to just go with best buy because I can return in the store.

Vent over.


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## DarkShadow (Jun 24, 2014)

Who was the Merchant? May I asks Why you sent it back. I only deal with B&H and ADORAMA or my Local Shop.


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## snerd (Jun 24, 2014)

A nightmare scenario!! Good lord, I have a personal "concierge" at Amazon!! Everything is always taken care of. Sorry for your trouble.


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## JustJazzie (Jun 24, 2014)

DarkShadow said:


> Who was the Merchant? May I asks Why you sent it back?


 Adorama. I sent it back due to spots on the sensor that were Showing up at f5.6 and would no come off with a wet cleaning. (And because I decided I wanted something different)    I fully expected to be charged shipping fees, or a restock fee of some sort, so it's not the money. It's the terrible communication. DH and I packed the box together, checking off each item as it went in. I am 100% sure the memory card is in the shipment, had I known they wouldn't take back an open memory card- I would have just kept it.   I won't even go into the fact that the 100$ of items they are charging me for were automatically added into my cart and considered "free"


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## DarkShadow (Jun 24, 2014)

Wow that don't sound like ADORAMA but sadly even reputable places have there moments. Sorry of your frustrations,hope it all works out.


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## oldhippy (Jun 24, 2014)

HelenOster is a TPF member that works for Adorama ,and has a good reputation of resolving issues.  I suggest you PM. Her.


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## JustJazzie (Jun 24, 2014)

oldhippy said:


> HelenOster is a TPF member that works for Adorama ,and has a good reputation of resolving issues.  I suggest you PM. Her.



Thanks so much for the suggestion. In the grand scheme of things though, I know this Is a very small issue, so I think I am just going to cut my losses. I already emailed them my response, and I would really just like refund ASAP. I fully expected to be charged, again, it's the communication that bothers me, and I don't understand how the card isn't in the shipment.


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## robbins.photo (Jun 24, 2014)

JustJazzie said:


> I am so irritated right now. As you probably know, I returned my d7100 a week or so ago. Since I bought it online, I am dealing with an online returns dept. A condensed version of our correspondence is below:
> 
> store: We received your shipment, but due to the memory card being open we will refund you minus $50 for the card
> me: will I get the memory card back?
> ...



Ok, well send Helen a PM or call them on the phone, I'm sure they will straighten it out.  Sounds like you got a CSR via the email system that is either not all that competent or possibly just having an off day.  Happens.


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## HelenOster (Jun 25, 2014)

JustJazzie said:


> DarkShadow said:
> 
> 
> > Who was the Merchant? May I asks Why you sent it back?
> ...



I was sorry to read that this was your experience; can you please email me: Helen@adorama.com, with your order number - so I can look into it.

thank you


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## The_Traveler (Jun 25, 2014)

The wonderful HelenOster strikes again.


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## astroNikon (Jun 25, 2014)

JustJazzie said:


> Store: Im sorry, _*we did not receive*_ the camera bag, the memory card, or the filter set and we now have to charge you $105. *would you like the filter set and the camera bag shipped back to you*?



Truthfully, that is just plain mind boggling .. :scratch:

I guess the "and" is the qualifier of all 3 as a "package" thus all 3 have to be returned at the same time.


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## HelenOster (Jun 25, 2014)

astroNikon said:


> JustJazzie said:
> 
> 
> > Store: Im sorry, _*we did not receive*_ the camera bag, the memory card, or the filter set and we now have to charge you $105. *would you like the filter set and the camera bag shipped back to you*?
> ...



I'd use other words - like: downright incompetent / in the wrong job....


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## robbins.photo (Jun 25, 2014)

Speak of the Devil, and Helen appears.

Hmm..entirely coincidencental I'm sure.. lol


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## HelenOster (Jun 25, 2014)

robbins.photo said:


> ......
> 
> Hmm..entirely coincidencental I'm sure.. lol



Not really.....I Google searched Adorama vent - and there it was!


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## pjaye (Jun 25, 2014)

Ok, seriously? That is just ridiculous. And I thought Henry's was bad.


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## JustJazzie (Jun 25, 2014)

Thanks for the replies everyone, I went ahead and emailed Helen.



HelenOster said:


> Not really.....I Google searched Adorama vent - and there it was!


  I wasn't even going to bring up a name, but I was asked.


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## robbins.photo (Jun 25, 2014)

HelenOster said:


> robbins.photo said:
> 
> 
> > ......
> ...



Hmm.. which might be a good ad campaign for google really:

"Google.  Helping Satan find you since 2004."

Hmm.. ok well, maybe not.  I guess theres a good reason why I never went into advertising.. lol


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## TCampbell (Jun 25, 2014)

I, for one, would like to thank Adorama for their wonderful non-discrimination employment policy which does not believe in discriminating against people just because they have a dementia spectrum disorder.  The fact that they're willing to hire people who can't remember if they received an item or not is just wonderful for the community of people suffering from this terrible disease.  

(Thank you Helen!  All in fun of course.  I'm hoping you can get this sorted out.)


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## HelenOster (Jun 25, 2014)

symplybarb said:


> Ok, seriously? That is just ridiculous. And I thought Henry's was bad.



The fact that a single call center rep typed something stupid does not mean that there is a problem with the entire staff team at Adorama. If the OP  emails me with her order number, I hope I will be able to resolve this. 


Until then.........


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## JustJazzie (Jun 25, 2014)

HelenOster said:


> The fact that a single call center rep typed something stupid does not mean that there is a problem with the entire staff team at Adorama. If the OP  emails me with her order number, I hope I will be able to resolve this.  Until then.........



Thank you Helen. I have emailed you. It's nice to know that someone there cares enough to even bother googling "Adorama vent"


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## pixmedic (Jul 1, 2014)

Soooooo.....
What happened!
The suspense has been killing me!


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## JustJazzie (Jul 1, 2014)

pixmedic said:


> Soooooo..... What happened! The suspense has been killing me!



We were able to resolve the communication issue, but not the issue itself. Apparently I was "being invited to return" the three items to THEM. She had them do a store inventory to check for them and they were unable to locate the items. So either someone at UPS took them (DH was in a hurry to get to work, and had them seal the box with new bubble packaging) or someone at Adorama misplaced them. It's impossible to tell what happened, but it seems like there is nothing that can be done, so I am out $130. (It was originally supposed to be like $104, but for some reason I was charged $130, perhaps a shipping cost that wasn't mentioned?)


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## pixmedic (Jul 1, 2014)

Sorry to hear about that...
I've only used Adorama a few times.
KeH has been so great to me that I hate giving anyone else my money.

For what it's worth though, those few experiences with Adorama were positive ones. I buy almost everything online. KeH and ebay get a ton of money from me, but i would have absolutely no problem at all completely dropping my use of a company if they stiffed me for $130.
There's other fish in the sea.


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## robbins.photo (Jul 1, 2014)

JustJazzie said:


> pixmedic said:
> 
> 
> > Soooooo..... What happened! The suspense has been killing me!
> ...



Might just be me but it doesn't make a lot of sense for someone at UPS to open the box, take the camera bag and memory card out and leave a very expensive camera behind, then retape the box it and drop it off at Adorama. Seems a lot more likely that someone at Adorama unboxed it and failed to document the items properly (since the bag and card wouldn't not have an obvious serial # on it I doubt they could verify which was which after the fact).  Again, might just be me.


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## JustJazzie (Jul 1, 2014)

robbins.photo said:


> Might just be me but it doesn't make a lot of sense for someone at UPS to open the box, take the camera bag and memory card out and leave a very expensive camera behind, then retape the box it and drop it off at Adorama. Seems a lot more likely that someone at Adorama unboxed it and failed to document the items properly (since the bag and card wouldn't not have an obvious serial # on it I doubt they could verify which was which after the fact).  Again, might just be me.



It's all very strange. I tent to lean towards your way of thinking. However, had UPS unpacked the box to add bubble wrap, it's possible they may have just "forgot" to put everything back. Though if it was left on the counter you would think I would have gotten a phone call from ups saying they messed up. It's a small town, there was one older lady working that night. DH sounded pretty sure it wasn't a ups issue, but obviously there is no way to prove that.


I just emailed and asked if they would apply my loss to a new camera so it's a "win win" for everyone. If not, I guess I'll have to pick a new store.


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## robbins.photo (Jul 1, 2014)

JustJazzie said:


> I just emailed and asked if they would apply my loss to a new camera so it's a "win win" for everyone. If not, I guess I'll have to pick a new store.



Well I am fully prepared to break into a synergy dance at a moments notice, so just keep us posted.. lol


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## JustJazzie (Jul 1, 2014)

I'm done talking publicly about the details. However, I will say that the issue will apparently be left unresolved. If anyone is actually interested in the details they are welcome to PM me.


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## gsgary (Jul 1, 2014)

I can't wait for the next vent when you get your next camera


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## vintagesnaps (Jul 1, 2014)

Who's DH, dear hubby?? this seems to be rather confusing but I think maybe I just came into it late. Hindsight being 20-20 I suppose it might have been better to just keep a media card once the package was opened and the card was used. Why was UPS repacking it? although I ship UPS using preprinted labels since I set up an account, but I used to go to a store near where I worked and never had a problem with them packing and shipping an item. I buy from Adorama all the time too and have a regular sales rep handle my purchases, never had a problem. 

This seems like you couldn't win for losing all around, I'm sorry you're going thru all this. Hope at least you get a refund for most of the cost so you aren't out all the money.


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## robbins.photo (Jul 1, 2014)

JustJazzie said:


> I'm done talking publicly about the details. However, I will say that the issue will apparently be left unresolved. If anyone is actually interested in the details they are welcome to PM me.



That is really a shame JJ, I'm terribly sorry to hear it.  I guess I'll need to re-evaluate a few of my future planned purchases as well as possible future recommendations on where to buy to the new folks.  Don't get me wrong, so far I've never had any problems with Adorama myself but then again I've never been in a situation where I've had to return anything either.


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## gsgary (Jul 1, 2014)

robbins.photo said:


> JustJazzie said:
> 
> 
> > I'm done talking publicly about the details. However, I will say that the issue will apparently be left unresolved. If anyone is actually interested in the details they are welcome to PM me.
> ...



I don't think the Vendor is to blame


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## DiskoJoe (Jul 1, 2014)

JustJazzie said:


> I am so irritated right now. As you probably know, I returned my d7100 a week or so ago. Since I bought it online, I am dealing with an online returns dept. A condensed version of our correspondence is below:
> 
> store: We received your shipment, but due to the memory card being open we will refund you minus $50 for the card
> me: will I get the memory card back?
> ...



Never buy a package deal.


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## robbins.photo (Jul 1, 2014)

gsgary said:


> robbins.photo said:
> 
> 
> > JustJazzie said:
> ...



Whereas I don't think it's about blame, I think it's about providing quality customer service.  If I can't be sure an outfit will do that, well then I tend to shy away from buying from them and recommending that other people buy from them.  It's pretty easy to provide great customer service when everything goes as planned - what really seperates the companies out there in my mind is how they handle things when things go awry. But hey, feel free to spend your money anywhere you want.  I'm just saying I tend not to spend mine with companies that want to step over a dollar to pickup a nickel.  Just doesn't make good financial sense to me.


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## JustJazzie (Jul 1, 2014)

gsgary said:


> I can't wait for the next vent when you get your next camera





gsgary said:


> I don't think the Vendor is to blame


  I hope this is more humor that I just don't get. I shipped everything back as required, so I'm not sure how the blame lies on me.



robbins.photo said:


> That is really a shame JJ, I'm terribly sorry to hear it.  I guess I'll need to re-evaluate a few of my future planned purchases as well as possible future recommendations on where to buy to the new folks.  Don't get me wrong, so far I've never had any problems with Adorama myself but then again I've never been in a situation where I've had to return anything either.


  thanks robins. It's obviously impossible to tell where the fault lies, but I know with 1,000% certainty, the items were in the box that I shipped. It's really a shame that they would loose a customer over "free" items.


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## Digibill (Jul 1, 2014)

This whole story makes me rethink my plans to ever order anything from adorama


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## Tee (Jul 1, 2014)

The thing with Adorama is most people have a great buying experience.  Those that don't tend to receive lousy customer care until they take it to an online forum that's being scoured by Helen and other service reps.  Only then will you have your concerns addressed and it sounds like in this instance, the customer service is lacking.


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## HelenOster (Jul 1, 2014)

robbins.photo said:


> JustJazzie said:
> 
> 
> > .......Seems a lot more likely that someone at Adorama unboxed it and failed to document the items properly (since the bag and card wouldn't not have an obvious serial # on it I doubt they could verify which was which after the fact).  Again, might just be me.
> ...


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## HelenOster (Jul 1, 2014)

JustJazzie said:


> ......I shipped everything back as required, so I'm not sure how the blame lies on me.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



They may be 'free' to the customer, but they come at a cost to us. 

You said yourself that you double-checked your house - presumably because you weren't sure if you'd left them out? You also said that your husband dropped the box at UPS on his way to work, where it was re-packed - and he was in a hurry. You said you don't know if he watched the box being sealed.

Our stock tallies.

It isn't my job to apportion blame, but to get to the bottom of a problem - and as far as I'm aware we are still in communication about this. So I find it surprising, and not a little disheartening, that as far as this thread goes, Adorama is already dead and buried in the water.


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## robbins.photo (Jul 1, 2014)

JustJazzie said:


> gsgary said:
> 
> 
> > I can't wait for the next vent when you get your next camera
> ...


Well to be fair you should give them a chance to consider that information and respond, as will I.  But if they won't resolve it for whatever reason, well it will wind up costing them more than just one customer.

When I do upgrade my 5200s to 7100s I can't see much sense in spending a couple of grand with a company if I think that it's possible I might run into problems if for whatever reason I have to do a return.

So far for me at least I've never had to return anything I've purchased, but for me that's a lot of money to spend and I can't do that with a company if I can't have confidence in their customer service.

But like I said, best to wait and see if this can be resolved before jumping to any final conclusions.


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## HelenOster (Jul 1, 2014)

Tee said:


> The thing with Adorama is most people have a great buying experience.  Those that don't tend to receive lousy customer care until they take it to an online forum that's being scoured by Helen and other service reps.  Only then will you have your concerns addressed and it sounds like in this instance, the customer service is lacking.



Not at all. And I'm at a loss to understand how you have reached that conclusion. According to my in box, 64 emails have been exchanged between me, the Distribution Center, the OP, my Manager, the receiving manager, the stock-checker and another member of the CS team.


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## JustJazzie (Jul 1, 2014)

And yet I sent them, you are are charging me $138 when you originally said $102. $138 for FREE items. The cost of the camera with and without the items on your website is the same. I was originally told an item was opened. Then three items were missing. Yes, the items were OPENED, but they WERE in the box. I have done nothing but try to come to an agreeable middle ground, and you have met me nowhere. 

It seems to me, that you are accusing me of keeping these items. I have no use for filters that don't fit a camera I own. I have no use for a camera bag too small to fit my camera, and if I had kept them, WHY would I have asked for the memory card back when I was originally told I would be charged for it being OPENED?

This is an absolute unfortunate situation on both sides. No one knows what happened, and neither of us can prove what happened. Yet it is I, the customer being charged an absolutely ridiculous price for "free" items.


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## Digibill (Jul 1, 2014)

Not at all. And I'm at a loss to understand how you have reached that conclusion. According to my in box, 64 emails have been exchanged between me, the Distribution Center, the OP, my Manager, the receiving manager, the stock-checker and another member of the CS team.[/QUOTE]So there is no possibility your people who recieved the items made a mistake?LoL


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## HelenOster (Jul 1, 2014)

JustJazzie said:


> And yet I sent them, you are are charging me $138 when you originally said $102. $138 for FREE items. The cost of the camera with and without the items on your website is the same. I was originally told an item was opened. Then three items were missing. Yes, the items were OPENED, but they WERE in the box. I have done nothing but try to come to an agreeable middle ground, and you have met me nowhere.
> 
> It seems to me, that you are accusing me of keeping these items. I have no use for filters that don't fit a camera I own. I have no use for a camera bag too small to fit my camera, and if I had kept them, WHY would I have asked for the memory card back when I was originally told I would be charged for it being OPENED?
> 
> This is an absolute unfortunate situation on both sides. No one knows what happened, and neither of us can prove what happened. Yet it is I, the customer being charged an absolutely ridiculous price for "free" items.



'I' am not charging you anything - any issue of charges is completely separate from trying to establish exactly what happened to the missing items. And once again, 'free' items are not 'free'. 

I asked you to check with the UPS office, but have not received any feedback from you regarding that.

I advised you that we would carry out a stock-check - as you are well aware from my email to you earlier, we JUST completed this. In situations like this there are clear procedures to follow.
IF a claim is to be submitted to UPS we have to show that those procedures were followed to the letter..


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## HelenOster (Jul 1, 2014)

Digibill said:


> So there is no possibility your people who recieved the items made a mistake?LoL



We did NOT receive the items


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## JustJazzie (Jul 1, 2014)

HelenOster said:


> They may be 'free' to the customer, but they come at a cost to us.  You said yourself that you double-checked your house - presumably because you weren't sure if you'd left them out? You also said that your husband dropped the box at UPS on his way to work, where it was re-packed - and he was in a hurry. You said you don't know if he watched the box being sealed.  Our stock tallies.  It isn't my job to apportion blame, but to get to the bottom of a problem - and as far as I'm aware we are still in communication about this. So I find it surprising, and not a little disheartening, that as far as this thread goes, Adorama is already dead and buried in the water.



I doubled checked my home because you asked me to, and I was trying to comply with your process, not because I doubted it was in the box. 

In our last communication, you asked me questions that you should already know the answer to. Did I insure it? It was Adorama's prepaid label. So you tell me, was it insured?  Any insurance claim would need to come from Adorama, since they paid for the shipping. You also completely ignored my request about information concerning the extra $30 charge. You completely ignored my request to have it credited towards a new camera. Yes, these small "free" things cost your company money, but Obviously not full retail price. Yes, I am frustrated that it's been weeks, and I seem to have gotten nowhere, and yes I have much better things to do with my time than debate this topic in a public forum. I look forward to seeing a response from you in my inbox, and I look forward to updating this thread with a happy ending.


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## robbins.photo (Jul 1, 2014)

HelenOster said:


> robbins.photo said:
> 
> 
> > JustJazzie said:
> ...


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## gsgary (Jul 2, 2014)

JustJazzie said:


> I doubled checked my home because you asked me to, and I was trying to comply with your process, not because I doubted it was in the box.
> 
> In our last communication, you asked me questions that you should already know the answer to. Did I insure it? It was Adorama's prepaid label. So you tell me, was it insured?  Any insurance claim would need to come from Adorama, since they paid for the shipping. You also completely ignored my request about information concerning the extra $30 charge. You completely ignored my request to have it credited towards a new camera. Yes, these small "free" things cost your company money, but Obviously not full retail price. Yes, I am frustrated that it's been weeks, and I seem to have gotten nowhere, and yes I have much better things to do with my time than debate this topic in a public forum. I look this is why it pays to buy local  forward to seeing a response from you in my inbox, and I look forward to updating this thread with a happy ending.



Next time go to the shop and handle the camera if you don't like it don't buy it, if there is a problem with the camera take it back in person, before I bought the Sony A7 I was in the shop about 5 times trying it out before I  bought it this is the main reason I buy local even if it costs more but it turned out local for the A7 was £40 cheaper so it was win win


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## HelenOster (Jul 2, 2014)

robbins.photo said:


> ......your cs reps started by saying that she'd be charged for the open memory card and when she asked for it to be shipped back that's when it was stated that it and the bag we're not recieved.
> 
> So I think it would be fair to say at least that there are some internal communications issues that unfortunately made the situation worse.
> 
> Under the circumstances charging wholesale plus perhaps a small fee for incidental expenses would seem reasonable, at least to me.



The rep made a mistake. She confused 2 different issues that she was working on at the same time.

As I already stated, there are procedures to follow, the first was for me to establish beyond all doubt that the missing items were not in our inventory. The next is to get a written statement from the UPS representative who re-packed the goods, that they do not have them. The third is to have UPS investigate as a prelude to an insurance claim.

Whether or not there are outstanding funds to be paid depends upon the outcome of the above, and the $$$ figures will come from the purchasing department, not from me.


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## robbins.photo (Jul 2, 2014)

HelenOster said:


> robbins.photo said:
> 
> 
> > ......your cs reps started by saying that she'd be charged for the open memory card and when she asked for it to be shipped back that's when it was stated that it and the bag we're not recieved.
> ...


Well it is unfortunate that the rep made such an error, and I do understand that there are procedures to be followed but I guess my thought process would be is the rather low dollar amount you'll recoup on a couple of loss leader items really worth the bad PR.

In the end of course that's a decision each company has to make for itself.  

As it is I have to admit that despite having done business with you folks myself in the past that this has raised a lot of doubt in my mind about what might happen if I ever did have to return a purchase.


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## terri (Jul 2, 2014)

I think JJ and Helen should be allowed to discuss this privately via PM here or regular email outside the forum.


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## TCampbell (Jul 2, 2014)

Which memory card brand & model is this that's $50???

Memory cards are cheap... really cheap.   They're typically less than $1 per GB of capacity.  A high-end 32GB card (even at Adorama since I'm checking their store as I write this) is typically less than $30 for the best of cards.  Usually the cards included for free aren't the top cards.  I'm looking at Adorama's packaged cameras (where they throw in some extras) and if they include a card, it's only described as being a 32GB Class-10 SD card (no brand or model is mentioned) and a 32GB class 10 card retails for about $15-17.

I've had cameras come with things such as "free" bags.... they're $10 bags.  That leaves the question of the "filter set" value... but I've a sneaking suspicion you didn't include B+W brand filters or Hoya Pro1 filters.


Let's just assume the worst.  Let's suppose JustJazzie is bad person and is trying to scam Adorama out of the accessories.  I'm guessing the retail cost of the card is $15, the value of the bag is $10, and I can't imagine the filters are valuable either (they never are).  It seems like the charge Adorama wants is being exploited as a huge profit-making opportunity.

Let me state this in different terms.  While JustJazzie "might" be scamming here... it seems like for Adorama's part... it seems a lot more likely that Adorama is scamming here.  I'll be pretty shocked if they can name the brands and models of all those products they included as free bonus items and the total comes anywhere even remotely close to what they are trying to charge for them.


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## gsgary (Jul 2, 2014)

I love justjazzie threads there is alway drama


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## IzzieK (Jul 2, 2014)

I have only done business with Adorama once since last year as I always find what I want with B&H at a better price. I'd stick with B&H from now on...they are good and friendly people too.

Terri...please do not close this topic here yet. I'd be eager to know the result of JJ's complaint against this company.


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## DandL (Jul 6, 2014)

IzzieK said:


> I have only done business with Adorama once since last year as I always find what I want with B&H at a better price. I'd stick with B&H from now on...they are good and friendly people too.
> 
> Terri...please do not close this topic here yet. I'd be eager to know the result of JJ's complaint against this company.



I'm eager to know the results too.


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## HelenOster (Jul 7, 2014)

DandL said:


> IzzieK said:
> 
> 
> > I have only done business with Adorama once since last year as I always find what I want with B&H at a better price. I'd stick with B&H from now on...they are good and friendly people too.
> ...



After carrying out a thorough inventory check, triple-checking all returns documentation plus an exhaustive search of our Distribution Center, we can state with 100% accuracy that the missing items were not at any time received back from the OP. We have therefore opened a claim with UPS.


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