Consumer complaint received 2020-05-04
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: NC
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement
Sub-issue: Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement

Complaint:
Here is the information that I included in the dispute : The following remarks are in regard to my claim that XXXX XXXX scammed me between XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX. 

I ordered a solid grey muslin backdrop, grey brick backdrop, solid black muslin backdrop, solid white muslin backdrop, white brick backdrop, blue old master backdrop, and XXXX Basics 40 5-in-1 reflector from XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX ( Appendix A, Figure 1 ).  The images of the specific items I ordered can be found in Appendix B. I received email confirmation for my order on XX/XX/XXXX ( XXXX # XXXX ) ( Appendix A, Figure XXXX ). I received an emailed invoice on XX/XX/XXXX. My invoice number was # XXXX ( Appendix E Figure 1 ). The price total was {$140.00}, paid on XX/XX/XXXX. I received a confirmation email that my invoice was paid ( Appendix E Figure 2 ).  When I paid the invoice, I received a notification from my bank that said that there was a transaction from outside of the United States for {$100.00} ( Appendix E Figure 3 ). The country where the transaction occurred was XXXX. XXXX XXXX supposedly was closing their studios in the United States, which is why they were selling their equipment. XXXX XXXX emailed me on XX/XX/XXXX saying that my transaction was taking longer than normal to process, but it was successfully processed on XX/XX/XXXX ( Appendix E Figure 4 ). The email also said they were preparing my order and I would receive a notification when the order shipped ( Appendix E Figure 4 ). I never received a notification that the order shipped. I reached out to them via email on XX/XX/XXXX asking for an update on my order ( Appendix E Figure 4 ). I did not receive a reply. On XX/XX/XXXX, I asked again for an update on my order ( Appendix E Figures 5 and 6 ). Their website said that orders ship out within 14 business days, with the average time being 5 days. I told them that I expected a refund if the items were not shipped by the end of the following week, which would have been XX/XX/XXXX ( Appendix E Figures 5 and 6 ). They never replied to that email, either. I received random packages the end of XXXX and beginning of XXXX, none of which were the items that I ordered. All items came from XXXX, directly or indirectly ( Appendix F all figures ). Several items came from Kentucky me, but there were labels underneath those labels that showed they went from XXXX to Kentucky ( Appendix F Figures 3 and 4 ). If XXXX XXXX was truly closing their North American studios, items should have came from the United States, XXXX, or XXXX, not XXXX. It took looking at the brick plastic materials to determine that these materials were supposed to be the backdrops I had ordered. At that point, I knew I had been scammed. 

The following items were in the packages that I received ( shown in Appendix C ) : White brick plastic material : 24 1/4 W x 16 7/8 L Grey brick plastic material : 24 1/2 W x 16 L Black polypropylene material : 20 W x 63 L White polypropylene material : 39 W x 62 5/8 L Grey polypropylene material : 19 5/8 W x 62 1/2 L Reflector : 23 diameter I  did not receive the blue old master backdrop, or anything resembling it. 

All of the backdrops were supposed to be made of muslin, and they are not. The material is polypropylene ( which is a thermoplastic polymer think of the material a cheap reusable bag is typically made out of ) on the black, white, and grey pieces, and a thin plastic ( such as what you would use as a tablecloth at a childs birthday party ) on the brick pieces. The pieces do not even look like the pictures of what I ordered. I never received a blue backdrop. The reflector was listed as 40 in diameter, but is only 23 in diameter. The reflector is also not the name brand that was advertised. 

The widths and lengths are inconsistent on each piece of fabric. The pieces were cut uneven. The sizes are different from how they were listed on the website at the time of purchase. Unfortunately, XXXX XXXX has since deleted their website and XXXX page, which contained more specific information about the items I ordered. The sizes were listed on their website at the time of purchase. The email provided was the only contact information provided on both the website or XXXX. 

In short, the items received were not the items that I ordered. I can not use any of these backdrops as backdrops for photographing people. None are large enough or made of proper materials. Please see Appendix D for a comparison of the items that I ordered to the products that I received. It is clear that this was a scam. The pictures of the white, grey, and black materials were taken on a door, and their dimensions are listed above. The numbers on the measuring tape may not easily visible in the images in Appendix C. 

One of the packages that the backdrop came in even said that the value in USD for the item was {$0.00}. I paid {$20.00} for each backdrop. This can be seen in Appendix F, Figure 1.

For the aforementioned reasons, supported by the following images, I believe that I have been scammed and request that my money be refunded. 

-- -- I have spoken with Bank of America customer service representatives 4 times regarding this issue. A few days ago, I received a letter saying that they can not review the dispute further due to them not receiving documentation stating what I was supposed to receive and how it was different from what I received and proof that the merchandise was returned. They said that the charge of {$100.00} would be put back on my account. I called them to ask why they felt like they didn't have sufficient evidence, because I provided them with over 20 pages of documentation showing that I got scammed. They said that they can not use pictures to handle disputes, and the pictures and screenshots I have CLEARLY show that I got scammed. They are some of the most definitive pieces of evidence I have. The Bank of America customer service representative said that they could potentially work with sizes of the materials I received compared to what I ordered, but the invoice did not show the size of what I ordered. Since the company shut down their website ( conveniently timed ), I could not get that information from their website after I ordered. The PICTURES show the size differences. I measured the products that I received, but I did not have the original size information because it was not included in the invoice. I needed for the pictures to be used as evidence, because the size differences are clear there. What I received doesn't even remotely resemble what I ordered. The material of the products I received was not what was advertised either. The product description on the invoice said muslin backdrops, and what I received was made out of plastic ( not muslin ). I'm not sure how that is not sufficient evidence, either. In addition, Bank of America said that because the items were not returned, they could not help me. I would LOVE to return these items, but the merchant never replied to emails and shut down their website. There was no return information provided in the packaging. There were no policies saying that this was a final sale on the website at the time that I ordered. I did not even receive one of the items I ordered. When talking to the Bank of America representative, I asked if I could at the minimum be refunded for the product I did not receive and the product whose size was different from what was listed on the invoice ( the reflector ). They are looking into that part of the issue now, and I am awaiting a response sometime within the next couple of months. However, I feel like I should be refunded for all items, because what I ordered was NOT even remotely what I received. If I could return everything, I would in a heartbeat. I can not use the items I received for anything, especially photography. They are useless. 

I feel like if this were a legal matter, I provided sufficient evidence that would have held up in court. However, this is not the case. Now, I feel like I got scammed by this company and by my bank. I've been a loyal customer for years and have always paid my bills on time, so I'm very disappointed in this treatment. In essence, this is a well-thought-out scam on the part of the merchant ( years in the making - posts from their XXXX page dated back to at least XXXX ), and they are going to get by with it. I am sure that I am not the only person that this is happening to. I am out of a significant amount of money because this company scammed me and Bank of America refuses to do anything about it. I do not understand how pictures can not be considered when resolving a dispute. Even if the pictures can not be considered, like I said, the materials of what I received was not what I ordered. I do not understand how this much evidence is not incriminating. 

The merchant clearly knows what they are doing and are getting by with it. They will likely continue to do this to more innocent consumers. From my experience with this issue, I can tell the following : - The merchant started a XXXX page for their photography business, even showing examples of their work. The page had thousands of likes and posts dated back to XXXX. They said they had several studios across North America, but are closing their North American studios, which is why  they were selling some of their photography equipment. 
- The post was advertised in a local XXXX page by a profile that said they lived in a nearby city ( making the merchant appear legitimate ). 
- The website was thorough and well-laid out. 
- The initial ( seemingly automated ) emails received seemed legitimate. 
Here is where the issues start occurring. 
- The merchant does not reply to any emails I sent. The email I contacted was the only contact information provided on the order confirmation email they sent me, their website, and their XXXX page. 
At this point, I received items that did not match the description of what I ordered. 
- The merchant shuts down their website and XXXX page, so that none of the details about the products I ordered were available once I received the incorrect products. 
- The merchant did not provide any return information in the confirmation email, the packaging the items came in, their website, or their XXXX page. Therefore, there was not an option for returning the items. They did not respond to my request for a refund/return via email. 
- Because they sent me something ( even though not the correct products ), it shows that they provided me with SOMETHING in exchange for my money. 
- Now, because the merchant provided me with something in exchange for my money and the items are unable to be returned, the credit card company can not help me and refuses to refund the money. The merchant likely knew this, and therefore knew that they could get by with their scam and they would receive money for their fraudulent products. 

Sadly, Bank of America let this happen because they would not consider all of the evidence I provided. What is the point of a bank if they do not look out for their customers and permit fraudulent activity to occur? Now, there is a merchant out there who knows what they are doing and will likely continue to scam more people. This HAS to be stopped. There has to be something that the bank can do to protect consumers ( like me ) from merchants like this. 

I would like a full refund or to return the products that I received, but I would also like for pictures to be considered as evidence. I believe it is clear that they would only benefit me, the consumer, in situations like this. The pictures are incriminating and clear evidence of the scam. Pictures can be used as evidence in court, so why can't they be used as evidence here? Is Bank of America scamming their customers as well? Because pictures can not be considered, the bank is protecting the merchant and themselves, not the consumer. This is wrong.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation