Well, I got to work today, and naturally, there was NO fax from the LDS waiting for me.
No proof, no verification to show that they made any additional credits to my credit card account beyond the one I can see from May 25th.
As you might imagine I wasn't too happy about this...but hey, fax machines can be temperamental, cleaning crews can mistakenly dispose of the wrong papers, SO, I called the shop and left a polite message asking them if they could refax the information.
Naturally I didn't hear from them.
Sometime around noon I decided I'd give them a call. The employee answered, said that they hadn't faxed anything because the owner was writing a letter to me that he wanted to include....I said OK, but I'm only going to be at work for about another hour and a half (I live in CA, but work NY hours), and that I'd need to recieve the paperwork by then in order to be sure that they had indeed credited me the proper amounts.
Naturally, this simple statement made him irate, and he barked at me that I'd have to talk to the owner about that......ok I said, can you please give me a number where I can reach him....and he gave me the owner's cell phone number....guess he didn't lose his phone after all....
SO, I called the owner, reiterated all of this, and asked him if he'd be able to fax the information over within an hour and a half. He barked NO (which at least implied to me that he COULD fax the info., but not until later...)
He got all cranky, said he'd credited me twice (again implying that it was somehow my fault that they'd credited more than they intended to), said he'd credited me the additional $20 that I demanded, and said I got my $300 and that I should stop asking him for proof.
First of all, I've only demanded he credited $280, but it didn't seem like a good time to discuss technicalities.
Second of all, I let him know that I needed something more tangible, like a copy of the credit receipt. I asked him when he COULD fax the info. over, and it was only then that he told me that he couldn't and wouldn't. He said that the LDS's fax machine is broken, and that he didn't have the info. with him, so he couldn't fax it from another place. His employee is the only one who works at the shop, and apparently he can't close the shop long enough to take the paperwork to a Kinko's and pay the three bucks it'd cost to fax it all to me.
Well, I told the owner that his word wasn't good enough for me and that I'd need proof since my credit card company was telling me that no recent credits had been made.
When I said that he got really angry and hung up on me.
So now here I am incensed that they told me yesterday - sure, no problem, we'll fax you what you need, and today I find out that they NEVER intended to fax anything. :upset: I'm further incensed by the fact that the WHOLE reason I'm going to such lengths to work this out without getting the credit card people involved is because I'm trying to make it as painless for him as possible (i.e. cost him the least amount of money and time).
You know, it would've been a whole lot easier and cheaper if a month ago I'd just called the credit card company and disputed the charges, but I didn't. I've done my absolute best to try to work with him, but...well, you guys can see how it's turned out.
So now I'm not sure what to do. Wait a few more days and see if the credits appear, or just go ahead and begin the process of disputing the charges. I'm going to let the dispute department of my credit card company make the call...figure they should know best.
Oh, before the LDS owner hung up, he did inform me that he intends to take 'action' for the way I've bullied, extorted and cheated him. I can't wait to read the letter - maybe I'll scan it and post it for you guys to see.
Oh, and I guess now I know for sure why the other guy in my class called me so angrily - I can imagine how he felt being told by the LDS employee that I refused to pick my equipment up, made all sorts of scheduling demands, and absolutely refused to go diving on the original day I was scheduled.
All of which is about 98% untrue....you know, it's killing me - I really think they didn't intend to run the class with only two students...I'd love to know what would've happened if I'd been able to get to the shop in time to pick my equipment up.
Oh well, live and learn?
Yeah, the last part is speculation, and I can't prove anything, but well...if you were in my shoes, I bet you'd be wondering too.
EDIT: The BBB shows no complaints for the LDS, but yes, I do know that they're a toothless, powerless organization. I think I'll file a complaint, but I've always heard that it's a futile effort as they don't show up anyway.
