- Report: #147984
Complaint Review: Silicon Solar - Bainbridge New York
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Silicon Solar
2917 State HW 7 Bainbridge, 13733 New York, U.S.A.
Phone:
607-563-7865
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Silicon Solar defrauded me of $320.45 by not refunding money on authorized return Ripoff Bainbridge New York
WARNING DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY!!!!
This is a recount of their unfair and illegal business practices in an internet transaction where I purchased a Solar Birdbath and accessories from the Silicon Solar website. This following pretty much sums up my experience with this business that boasts of it's "HISTORY OF TRUSTWORTHY RELATIONSHIPS" on their website. What a Joke!!!
I ordered a solar birdbath statue/fountain (Invoice # xxxxx, Sale # xxxx) from Silicon Solar via the website on June 1, 2005.
The item was received via UPS at 5:10 pm on June 6, 2005. Upon inspection of the package, it was noted that the birdbath was broken. I immediately called Silicon Solar (no answer), sent a fax letting you know the condition of the item upon receipt and emailed customer support to report the damage.
I called you again the next morning (June 7,2005), and, after many tries, I finally reached a "live" person"...I believe her name was Jody. I explained the problem, she apologized and issued me a Return Authorization Number (RMA #xxxxxx). I explained that we were having a party and that we needed the replacement ASAP and she assured me that a replacement would be sent as soon as Silicon Solar received the damaged merchandise back from UPS.
She issued a call tag through UPS so that the package could be returned under the same tracking number. She told me to do nothing to the package other than write the "RMA" number on the outside of the package...UPS would do the rest.
UPS picked up the package on the morning of June 8. The UPS tracking information shows that the package was delivered back to Silicon Solar and signed for by Matt Ferrell on 6/10/05 @ 12:43 PM.I have a copy of the tracking information, as well as a copy of the signature when the package was delivered. Meanwhile, I was waiting on this end for a replacement, as was promised during my phone conversation with Silicon Solar on the morning of June 7,2005.
After not hearing anything and not receiving a replacement, I called Silicon Solar on the morning of Friday, June 17, 2005. "Jody" told me that she needed to call UPS and that she would call me right back. After waiting for two hours for her call back, I again tried to call Silicon Solar. Now, all of the phone calls were being forwarded to a message center "due to high caller volume".
I persisted and, finally, got Jody on the phone. She told me that they would not send out a replacement until they settled their claim with UPS. I stated that this "claim" was between Silicon Solar and UPS and its outcome should have no bearing on me being sent the replacement as previously promised. She reiterated that a replacement would not be sent until their claim was settled.
I decided at this point that I no longer wanted to do business with this company because of their "unfair business practices" and told her to cancel the order and issue me a refund via "Pay Pal", the original method of payment. Before I could finish my sentence, Jody interrupted me and replied, "That's fine... have a nice day" and promptly hung up. I immediately attempted to call her back, and, again... no answer... call forwarded to message center because of "high caller volume".
I persisted in calling, but to no avail. I immediately sent Silicon Solar a "Request for Money" via Pay Pal. I then faxed a letter outlining my position and asked that a refund be sent by the end of the day. That request was ignored.
I repeatedly attempted to call Silicon Solar on Friday and Saturday, but no answer. I resent the fax on Monday, June 20,2005, and again stated that I wanted a refund. I asked that Silicon Solar call me to get this dispute resolved and stated that I was going to turn this matter over to the appropriate authorities if they did not contact me or issue me a refund.
They never called, nor did they respond to my request for a refund. I contacted Pay Pal and they have attempted to intervene to get this dispute resolved. Silicon Solar has chosen to ignore their request as well. On Tuesday evening, June 21,2005 @ 7:35 PM, I received a phone call from "Adam" of Customer Support. After asking a few questions, he told me that a refund via "Pay Pal" would be issued first thing the next morning. Again, I waited the next morning for resolution, but no communication and no refund.
I called Silicon Solar late the next morning and Adam answered the phone. I asked him why I had not received the refund as promised the night before and he said that it would be processed today and that he has just been too busy to do it yet. I then received an email from Adam in reply to my "Request for Money" and it was again stated that my refund was being processed.
I sent a reply email to Adam and voiced my frustration as to "why this refund had not been processed" and that I was losing patience. After more waiting, I called and, again, spoke with Adam. Adam stated that they tried to refund my money via "Pay Pal", but Pay Pal would not let them complete the transaction. I told him that I had been in communication with Pay Pal and that they were waiting for Silicon Solar to respond to the request for refund.
Adam continued by telling me that I didn't "understand" because "you are not in business" how difficult it is to get things accomplished via Pay Pal. I explained that I, too, am a business owner and have had first hand experience with working with Pay Pal and that it was not difficult.
It was obvious during this conversation that Silicon Solar had no intention of refunding my money. I told Adam that I was taking this situation to the various Consumer Complaint Agencies and Adam responded by making threats that he would see to it that my business would be receiving some "negative" feedback. His last comments to me were, "I will not discuss this with you anymore" and "We'll see who has been in business the longest" (a comment that still confuses me as to it's relevance to the problem at hand). I then received a Cancellation of my Pay Pal "Money Request" from Silicon Solar.
I have filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau, The Attorney General of NY (Internet Fraud Division), The Federal Trade Commission, The National Fraud Complaint Center, The Internet Fraud Complaint Center, Net Check, and will continue to file complaints in an attempt to make sure that this company is brought to justice! I encourage others who have been "ripped off" by this company to do the same. Perhaps a "class action" suit is on order!
Carole
Windham, New Hampshire
U.S.A.
This is a recount of their unfair and illegal business practices in an internet transaction where I purchased a Solar Birdbath and accessories from the Silicon Solar website. This following pretty much sums up my experience with this business that boasts of it's "HISTORY OF TRUSTWORTHY RELATIONSHIPS" on their website. What a Joke!!!
I ordered a solar birdbath statue/fountain (Invoice # xxxxx, Sale # xxxx) from Silicon Solar via the website on June 1, 2005.
The item was received via UPS at 5:10 pm on June 6, 2005. Upon inspection of the package, it was noted that the birdbath was broken. I immediately called Silicon Solar (no answer), sent a fax letting you know the condition of the item upon receipt and emailed customer support to report the damage.
I called you again the next morning (June 7,2005), and, after many tries, I finally reached a "live" person"...I believe her name was Jody. I explained the problem, she apologized and issued me a Return Authorization Number (RMA #xxxxxx). I explained that we were having a party and that we needed the replacement ASAP and she assured me that a replacement would be sent as soon as Silicon Solar received the damaged merchandise back from UPS.
She issued a call tag through UPS so that the package could be returned under the same tracking number. She told me to do nothing to the package other than write the "RMA" number on the outside of the package...UPS would do the rest.
UPS picked up the package on the morning of June 8. The UPS tracking information shows that the package was delivered back to Silicon Solar and signed for by Matt Ferrell on 6/10/05 @ 12:43 PM.I have a copy of the tracking information, as well as a copy of the signature when the package was delivered. Meanwhile, I was waiting on this end for a replacement, as was promised during my phone conversation with Silicon Solar on the morning of June 7,2005.
After not hearing anything and not receiving a replacement, I called Silicon Solar on the morning of Friday, June 17, 2005. "Jody" told me that she needed to call UPS and that she would call me right back. After waiting for two hours for her call back, I again tried to call Silicon Solar. Now, all of the phone calls were being forwarded to a message center "due to high caller volume".
I persisted and, finally, got Jody on the phone. She told me that they would not send out a replacement until they settled their claim with UPS. I stated that this "claim" was between Silicon Solar and UPS and its outcome should have no bearing on me being sent the replacement as previously promised. She reiterated that a replacement would not be sent until their claim was settled.
I decided at this point that I no longer wanted to do business with this company because of their "unfair business practices" and told her to cancel the order and issue me a refund via "Pay Pal", the original method of payment. Before I could finish my sentence, Jody interrupted me and replied, "That's fine... have a nice day" and promptly hung up. I immediately attempted to call her back, and, again... no answer... call forwarded to message center because of "high caller volume".
I persisted in calling, but to no avail. I immediately sent Silicon Solar a "Request for Money" via Pay Pal. I then faxed a letter outlining my position and asked that a refund be sent by the end of the day. That request was ignored.
I repeatedly attempted to call Silicon Solar on Friday and Saturday, but no answer. I resent the fax on Monday, June 20,2005, and again stated that I wanted a refund. I asked that Silicon Solar call me to get this dispute resolved and stated that I was going to turn this matter over to the appropriate authorities if they did not contact me or issue me a refund.
They never called, nor did they respond to my request for a refund. I contacted Pay Pal and they have attempted to intervene to get this dispute resolved. Silicon Solar has chosen to ignore their request as well. On Tuesday evening, June 21,2005 @ 7:35 PM, I received a phone call from "Adam" of Customer Support. After asking a few questions, he told me that a refund via "Pay Pal" would be issued first thing the next morning. Again, I waited the next morning for resolution, but no communication and no refund.
I called Silicon Solar late the next morning and Adam answered the phone. I asked him why I had not received the refund as promised the night before and he said that it would be processed today and that he has just been too busy to do it yet. I then received an email from Adam in reply to my "Request for Money" and it was again stated that my refund was being processed.
I sent a reply email to Adam and voiced my frustration as to "why this refund had not been processed" and that I was losing patience. After more waiting, I called and, again, spoke with Adam. Adam stated that they tried to refund my money via "Pay Pal", but Pay Pal would not let them complete the transaction. I told him that I had been in communication with Pay Pal and that they were waiting for Silicon Solar to respond to the request for refund.
Adam continued by telling me that I didn't "understand" because "you are not in business" how difficult it is to get things accomplished via Pay Pal. I explained that I, too, am a business owner and have had first hand experience with working with Pay Pal and that it was not difficult.
It was obvious during this conversation that Silicon Solar had no intention of refunding my money. I told Adam that I was taking this situation to the various Consumer Complaint Agencies and Adam responded by making threats that he would see to it that my business would be receiving some "negative" feedback. His last comments to me were, "I will not discuss this with you anymore" and "We'll see who has been in business the longest" (a comment that still confuses me as to it's relevance to the problem at hand). I then received a Cancellation of my Pay Pal "Money Request" from Silicon Solar.
I have filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau, The Attorney General of NY (Internet Fraud Division), The Federal Trade Commission, The National Fraud Complaint Center, The Internet Fraud Complaint Center, Net Check, and will continue to file complaints in an attempt to make sure that this company is brought to justice! I encourage others who have been "ripped off" by this company to do the same. Perhaps a "class action" suit is on order!
Carole
Windham, New Hampshire
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Carole
Windham,New Hampshire,
U.S.A.
Silicon Solar finally refunds money!
#2Author of original report
Sat, July 02, 2005
I am happy to report that I received my refund last night from Silicon Solar! I must say that I am estatic about getting my money back, but still fell very victimized by this company. The time and effort that I had to devote to this dispute was unbelievable...many faxes, letters, commplaints issued,phone calls, research, etc....time that would have been much better spent on my own business needs. Would I ever do business with this company again? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!! Would I recommend others to purchase items from Silicon Solar? UNEQUIVICALLY NO!!!! In my opinion, their business practices are extremely suspect and warrent legal investigation!!
Paul
Anaheim,California,
U.S.A.
Ordering off the internet is simply more problem than it's worth. Who needs trouble like this to save $20?
#3Consumer Suggestion
Thu, June 30, 2005
I went to their site. Very nice looking. Here are some excerpts. A History of Trustworthy Relationships Silicon Solar has been serving the solar market for more than seven years. Through all of these years, our goal has been to deserve the trust of our customers. To do this, we knew we must offer competitive pricing, but we also knew low prices alone could not make our business superior. We were determined to combine honest and helpful customer relationships with the best service before, during and after the sale. We understood that long-term customer satisfaction depended on our ability to maintain a knowledgeable and courteous customer service staff, assisted by the best support systems Here's some froogle results: Froogle Results 1 - 100 of about 60 confirmed / 1,190 total results for Solar birdbath Carole, I think the problem with the internet is two-fold. First, there's so much competition. No matter what you're looking for, from a*s cream to zebra stripes, there's thousands, if not millions of sellers. Then, froogle comes in and stacks all those sellers in ascending order, according to price. Result: nobody's making much money. Lot's of sales. No profit. Add to this the fact that the internet is simply too large to police effectively. Crooks know nothing will happen. I wish I could say that you have an excellent chance of getting you money back. However, the truth is probably more like your complaint is simply one of hundreds, if not thousands that the agencies received that day. The internet is like roulette. On black, you lose. On red you win. Place your bets. But, don't gamble with anything you can't afford to lose. In a day or so, the search engines will index your complaint here. Others will see it when they search for silicon ripoff. You know what's worst of all? I went to google and searched for birdbaths in the local search feature, using the city you gave. It showed many stores within 20 to 30 miles of you. Solar? Who knows? But, at least there, you would have a real birdbath, unbroken, in your front yard now. Can you say the same with the internet? Clearly not.
