From: heller@heller.b11.ingr.com (Anne A. Heller)
Subject: Problems making a purchase from a small business - request advice
Keywords: restocking fee, threats, credit bureau
Organization: Intergraph Corporation
Date: Fri, 7 Aug 1992 20:33:49 GMT


I am facing a potential dispute with a local business which sells small
computer systems.  I am appealing to anyone who has had a similar experience
for advice.  I'll try to keep the description as brief as possible,
but <warning> I'm upset and tend to rattle on in such circumstances :-(.

My husband, Jeff, needs a 486-based PC.  He wanted to purchase it from a local 
business in hopes of getting good support quickly and easily in case of
hardware problems, upgrades, etc.  He spoke with the owner of a local 
business which sells and services PCs.  He got what he felt was a reasonable
quote for the system configuration he needs (part of which was a 1 Meg SVGA 
video card).  Jeff and the business owner verbally agreed on the system
configuration, price, and date the system would be ready.  The owner then 
wrote a spec sheet for the system.  (Nothing was signed, no deposit given.)
Our original plan was to finance the computer with a loan from our credit 
union (the business owner knew this).  Now, the "misunderstandings".  

As I was looking over the spec sheet Jeff brought home, I noticed that a 
512K video card was indicated (as opposed to the 1 Meg that had been agreed 
upon).  Jeff spoke with the shop owner the next day who assured him 
that it would be a 1 Meg card.  This made us feel a little uncomfortable,
but we thought we could check the part before accepting the system.  We 
received pre-approval for a loan for the computer, but then found that the 
current interest rate on our MasterCard was less than the fixed rate for a loan 
would be (go figure :-).  The business displayed VISA/MC signs, so we decided 
to opt for this form of financing.  My husband stopped in the shop the day 
before the computer was to be ready to check on the status.  The owner said 
that everything but the uninterruptable power supply (UPS, external to the 
system) had arrived, and burn-in was being performed.  My husband mentioned 
that we were going to use our MasterCard to pay for the system, the owner 
said that would be fine.  The next day, my husband called to ask if the system 
was ready.  The owner told him that the system was ready, but the UPS was 
delayed and would not arrive until the following day.  Jeff told him that he 
would wait to pick everything up the next day.  Later in the day, Jeff decided
he would like to pick up the computer after all.  He called the shop and spoke
with the owner's son.  The son told him that his system was not ready.  Jeff 
explained that he spoke with the owner earlier who said that his system was 
ready.  The son said his father is wrong, must have mistaken another system 
for Jeff's, it was not ready.  This made Jeff feel uncomfortable about the
business once again.  Finally, the following day Jeff went by the shop to
pick up the system.  The system was loaded in our truck before Jeff, while
preparing to pay, looked over the invoice, and saw an additional $50.00 charge
with no explanation.  The owner is not present and his son cannot explain the 
charge.  The son took a guess that it might be an additional charge for the 
1 Meg video card (which would be a ludicrous amount).  Jeff, having had enough
of their nonsense, unloaded the system and told the son he was no longer 
interested in purchasing a computer from them.

The following day, the owner of the shop called me at work to ask what the
problem was.  I told him that we felt uncomfortable about the way they do
business and the unexplained $50.00 charge was the final straw.  The owner
explained that the charge was for using MasterCard to pay for the system.
I told him that an additional charge for using a credit card had never been
mentioned and was not acceptable to us.  He said he would delete that 
charge.  I told him I would pass that information along to Jeff, who would
get back with him.  Jeff was pretty unhappy with the shop by now, and felt
that the original reason for buying from a local merchant (good service) was
now moot.  He called the owner back to explain the reasons for his 
dissatisfaction and let him know we would not be purchasing the computer from
him.  The owner told Jeff that if we did not purchase the computer, he would 
bill us for a 15% restocking fee (a "restocking fee" had never been mentioned
or indicated in any way until this point!) and would turn the bill over to a 
collection agency if unpaid which would eventually report us to a credit bureau.

I imagine the restocking fee/threat to report us to a credit bureau was meant 
to intimidate us into buying the computer.  Although his threat upsets me, we 
are in no way going to be intimidated in such a manner.  I wouldn't dream of
entering a business transaction with his shop at this point!  My question is,
is it legal for him to do this, considering no previous indication of a
"restocking fee" had been given?  What would be our recourse?  I have read the 
FAQ and know that we could dispute such information in our credit report, but 
it still makes me angry that this guy could potentially cause problems for us.

-Anne
heller@heller.b11.ingr.com  -or-  ..!uunet!ingr!b11!heller!heller