the NEW AU petition for proofreading

[zero]

Bored of me yet? Here it is - the reworked petition.

1) Hosting issues being hopefully resolved even as I type;
2) If you are interested and have the patience please proof read and suggest amendments and changes that could be made.
3) Any other links that could be added?
4) I'm suggesting a name/email/city field submission form (with email addys withheld from public view for obvious reasons) and a comments section. Any other ideas.
5) Discuss.

Open letter petition regarding Another Universe dot com

In early February of 2002 the online company Another Universe ("AU"), aka TheComicStore.com, aka CMI Holdings Inc. announced that they were releasing the entire season of My So Called Life on DVD.

This project had become financially viable after more than 4,000 fans expressed interest in this product by signing an online petition at MSCL.com. After receiving an email announcement about the upcoming release of a special DVD collection with bonuses, most of the petition signers gladly agreed to pay a $20 deposit to reserve their copy. The remainder of the cost (to a pre-order total of approx. $100) was to be paid later once the disks had been manufactured and the collection was ready to ship.

In mid March some customers noticed that, without authorisation, the remainder of the balance had been removed from their bank accounts. Requests to AU for an explanation of this were not answered but on March 26th AU announced in a general mail-out that due to the nature of their Credit Card billing system, the entire cost of the set would have to be paid in advance. The anticipated shipping date of the completed set was to be during the month of June. many of the customers who had placed a $20 deposit (and had not already been billed the full amount without being asked) agreed to these terms because they were told by AU that the DVD set would not be available at other retailers. In addition, AU implied that additional DVD sets might not be manufactured in the future.

Based on estimates available at MSCL.COM that about 4,000 customers pre-ordered at a minimum price of $100, it can be concluded that AU received more than $400,000. This money was paid by customers who trusted AU's emailed and publicly posted promises about a product that did not yet exist. For example, it was stated on the forum at MSCL.com on February 9th, 2002 that this DVD set was "exclusive" to Another Universe.

The customers enthusiasm for the project was weakened after many people began reporting that they had been billed twice. Customers began referring to unauthorised charges to their debit or credits cards as "double charges" or "tripple charges", depending on how many times AU recharged their accounts. The first known double charge was reported June 5th, 2002 and some customers are still waiting for overcharge refunds. Despite repeated communication with the customer service staff and also the CEO of AU, Ross Rojek, many people did not receive refunds for their unauthorised overcharges despite having paid two or three times over for a product they had not yet received. At the time of writing this letter, many customers have not had a satisfactory resolution to their requests for information regarding overcharge or cancellation refunds.

The first widely advertised release date was June 18th, 2002. However, AU missed this release date and customers were asking for more concrete information. On June 11th, AU suggested a release date of "July sometime" on the MSCL forum. On June 15th and 16th, approximately 35 fans phoned the owner of the MSCL distribution rights (BMG Special Products) directly and were told that the DVDs should be shipping to Another Universe in late August. No further information was released until September 6th, when AU finally sent a mass email advertising a concrete release date of September 17th. As with the June deadline, September 17th came and went with no news of the product shipping.

On October 4th a forum member pointed out that Amazon.com appeared to be selling the MSCL DVD box set. Another member confirmed that AU had licensed the distribution of the product to other vendors and that AU was now no longer the sole agent for the DVD set. AU modified their advertising by stating they were the sole distributor of the "special" set, which included a certificate of authenticity, lunchbox packaging and a bonus DVD. The DVDs, initially advertised as "exclusive", were now going to be available at a vastly reduced sum (approximately $60 US, albeit without the bonus material and lunchbox packaging). Many of us had paid for this set (in advance) thinking this was to be our only chance and believing it to be exclusive to AU as advertised.

On 10th October it became apparent that the company who had been asked to make the special edition packaging had not been paid and were refusing to complete the order, despite the fact that AU had received funds for the project in advance directly from their customers. Then we were informed that the bonus DVD and lunchbox would not be ready to ship with the DVD set. The two items that were now being used by AU as the justification for describing themselves as the Exclusive distributors were now not going to be shipped with the DVDs. At the time of writing, the status of these bonus materials remains unclear, as does the date when customers can expect to receive them. In addition, in early November AU sent a mass email out to potential customers (those that signed up for the general AU mailing list) advertising the MSCL collection as a perfect holiday or Christmas gift. The advertisement failed to inform potential customers that the bonus materials might not be available before the end of the year and upcoming holiday season.

Many people were reluctant to cancel their order with AU, knowing that receiving a refund would be a long and traumatic procedure. These customers were well aware that many people that had been overcharged have not yet received a refund. Others chose to cancel and buy the box set DVDs from another vendor at the greatly reduced rate, but without a guarantee they would receive a refund in accordance with their cancellation request.

The release date was pushed back one more time, but the DVDs were finally ready for distribution in November, 2002. The 4,000+ people who had shown so much faith in this product that they paid $100 (or in many cases up to $300 in overcharges) several months in advance were at last to be rewarded.

By November 15th, only half the people who ordered the DVD had received them; the rest were to be (in AU's terms) part of the second wave. As time passed, there was no indication of the second wave having shipped out to customers. The other retailers besides AU (e.g. Amazon) now have stock of the DVDs and have begun shipping them. Beginning November 19th, 2002, customers in the USA have also been able to purchase the DVDs from brick-and-mortar retailers such as Best Buy.

Therefore, at least half the people who ordered from AU, paid more than the agreed amount and in advance, made this entire project possible and hoped to get an "exclusive" item will now receive it much later than people who can purchase the set store-bought or order from other retailers who offer better shipping delivery dates.

We the undersigned would like to bring this to the attention of anyone considering using AU for any online transaction. Many of the MSCL customers feel so strongly that AU has not been forthright about why this project has gone so terribly wrong that they have reported AU to the Internet Fraud Complaint centre run by the FBI.

We the undersigned feel that AU is at best untrustworthy, unprofessional and incompetent.

Bear in mind that they have so far:


Frequently double and triple charged Credit Card accounts and refused to offer refunds in a timely manner;

Failed to meet each and every one of their projected release dates;

Failed to pay vendors for goods resulting in more delays;

Failed to answer most email requests for order or refund status despite a promise of 7 to 10 days for customer information requests by email or fax.

Failed to refund the vast majority of the double and triple charges they made - leaving many customers a reported $100-$400 out of pocket;

Failed to refund outstanding money from many cancelled orders

Left many people - who were instrumental in seeing this DVD made without copies while other vendors have shipped and delivered.

Failed to communicate directly with customers.


We would encourage you to learn from our misfortune and please check the links provided for more information on this issue before trusting your business and credit card details to this company.

http://www.moviepoopshoot.com/news/oct02/162.html

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/ ... rview.html

http://www.mscl.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=10

http://www.mscl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1387

[zero]

A new link to add courtesy of mr davis.

http://www.thecomplaintstation.com/cgi- ... s.cgi?1850

[starbug]

Looks fabulous

Just one teensy eensy nit-picky thing that was probably in the original anyway but I'm slightly more awake today...

'The customers enthusiasm' should be 'The customers' enthusiasm'.

Sorry for being such a pendant.

Now, show me where to sign....

[kq2076]

Sounds excellent. Might want to watch out for doubling the p in triple, but otherwise top-notch

[Jason R]

I probably wouldn't use "triple charge delight," but rather "triple charges." Will pay to keep sarcasm off the petition. Take it from someone already accused of axe-grinding.

[zero]

have just moved house - so expect more petition madness over the next few days.

1) jason - I agree with your edit.
2) will change spelling/grammar errors.
3) hosting issues - update later!

nice to be back.

[Jason R]

please pm me. have a potential host for you.

[Jim]

By November 15th, only half the people who ordered the DVD had received them; the rest were to be (in AU's terms) part of the second wave. As time passed, there was no indication of the second wave having shipped out to customers. The other retailers besides AU (e.g. Amazon) now have stock of the DVDs and have begun shipping them. Beginning November 19th, 2002, customers in the USA have also been able to purchase the DVDs from brick-and-mortar retailers such as Best Buy.

You might want to re-work this paragraph a bit, since it appears that most (but apparently not all) of the so-called second wave sets have now been shipped. I got mine - in Canada - before the end of November.

Jim

[Howard]

Zero -

Might I suggest using http://www.anotheruniversesucks.org as a possible home for your work?