not so, you can take out a Betreibung on them, iirc this costs about 30chf and is added to what they owe you

Oh and people, please read what I write before you go off on one! I am not defending anyone, box shifters where the bane of our life when we had our company, and we didn't treat our customers like this.

If you slag off a company on a forum they are a member of, then you really expect them to bend over backwards to help you?

As a rule I don't deal with any online company that doesn't take credit cards, its the only protection you have (and even then its pretty limited)

BB2 wrote:

"For a few francs token you where prepared to waste an hour of your life? what does that say about you??"

and later

"If you slag off a company on a forum they are a member of, then you really expect them to bend over backwards to help you?"

Whoever your first crack was aimed at, since I've spent at least three hours of my life now dealing with a matter of a few francs, I think I'm qualified to respond. Is that all you think we're talking about here - a few francs? If that's your attitude, then please enlighten us on how much you're making by discouraging others from sharing their views. Do you get an hourly rate, or are you on salary? You've responded a number of times on this/JonP's thread, commenting on your extensive experience in retail, and how the people who complain the loudest tend to be the ones with the least to complain about. If you're not getting paid for your time, each of those responses has wasted a little more of your precious life. For what? What does that say about you?

The reason I talked to powerCH for so long was that I wanted to give them every opportunity to understand my position and to make some attempt to correct the situation. By the time I posted, I had given up on any offer from them.

If anyone "bent over backwards," it was me. Obviously an hour of my time is worth more than whatever they would have offered, so it may seem strange to you that I would give them that before "slagging" them. If we turn the situation around, though, it looks much stranger: here is a company whose operators will spend an hour arguing on the phone with a first-time customer rather than offer him a 20-franc discount that would actually be contingent on another - presumably profitable - sale. Will good-faith negotiation act as an invitation to every whiner in the country to exploit their generosity? Customer service is an investment, not a simple cost. Handled well, it will more than pay for itself; handled poorly, it's radioactive.

I'm sick of the attitude that if a company makes misleading claims to make a sale, it's ok as long as they deliver eventually, or if their AGB has a clause that excuses them. And as for your implication that internet purchasers are too lazy or cheap to buy from a real shop, I made every effort to find the item I wanted locally. In fact, as I later learned, it was out of stock throughout Switzerland and back-ordered at the factory. By implying a reasonably short delivery time on their Toppreise.ch listing, powerCH gained an unfair advantage over their more honest competitors. In the past, consumers may have had no choice but to accept that kind of crap, but now we have internet forums where we can be heard. (That is, as long as we're not intimidated by self-professed experts who evidently despise both sides of these disputes.) As JonP put it, faced with pressure from the market, places like powerCH will either change their practices or go bankrupt.

Finally, knowing that the CEO of powerCH belongs to this forum, should I treat his firm more delicately than you treat your fellow posters? I'd like to know your thoughts on this. But only, of course, if responding is a profitable use of your time.

i have to say, i wish i had read these posts before ordering with PowerCH.

i ordered something from them 2 weeks ago on the expectation that it would take a week, give or take a day or two, for the order to be fulfilled.

a week ago, i rang them having stumbled across this thread, and was told that the item would be posted in the next couple of days. still nothing now, so i rang them again, almost accepting that what i was about to hear wasn't going to be good news, and discovered that they still didn't have the item in stock; that they are relying on a supplier to send it to them.

being the mildy curious person i am, i questioned whether they had any idea when this would be, and was told that it was likely to be at the end of the month, or possibly mid-february. in fact, when i cut to the chase, they said they really had no idea.

not bad going for an item that was allegedly IN STOCK at the time of ordering.

small profit margins or not, it's a business. very much a customer-orientated business. there are plenty of them about, all working in similar conditions. from my experience, none have had to incorporate these tactics to keep themselves afloat.

it could all be fine and dandy, and the item arrives at the end of the week. after all, it's been only 2 weeks. and i do like a good surprise. however, given the clear uncertainty, i won't be holding my breath.



....and i don't want to even think about the refunding process....if it comes to that.