Open letter of complaint about AU - please read/sign.

[zero]

Long suffering MSCL DVD forum members, a long but hopefully worthwhile post.

Below is a copy of the open letter some of us are putting together to encapsulates the AU/DVD saga in clear concise terms. Nothing too inflammatory - just the provable facts. I would ask that anyone who has a spare few moments read it.

Anyone who cares to do so to can sign it - with your name and/or valid email addy - and then (assuming enough people do so to make it look like it carries some weight) We will send it to every single comic magazine, especially targeting those that carry AU advertising, every consumer rights group I can find online and off, each of the CC fraud institutions that have been listed here, every comics and DVD based forum, noticeboard and newsgroup that might be interested.

This might make us all feel a little better, and perhaps more importantly bring just how AU have behaved recently to the attention of a wider audience.

Read on, and please consider "signing at petition online"

http://www.petitiononline.com/MSCLDVD/petition.html

In early March of 2002 the 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 (approx. $100) was to be paid when the collection shipped.

On March 26th, 2002, AU announced 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. Those customers who placed a $20 deposit 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 "treble 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 (correct amount), $200 (double charge special), even $300 (treble charge delight) 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: customers have had to log in to a public internet forum on a different website to glean information.

We would encourage you to learn from our misfortune and please check the links below 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.mscl.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=10


SIGN HERE: http://www.petitiononline.com/MSCLDVD/petition.html

[starbug]

You know I'll sign...

[zero]

You know I'll sign...

Lets hope you are not the only one!

[Hardware]

I'm happy to sign, but would rather not post my e-mail address on the open forum for every spam sifter to process

[zero]

I'm happy to sign, but would rather not post my e-mail address on the open forum for every spam sifter to process

Good point. I will make sure any email addys are attached with a blah @ blah.com space to stop sifting!

Or you can email me at zero @ less-than-zero.co.uk and i'll add you that way.

[Jason R]

i recommend using the site petitionsonline.com

the site is free and they do not display email addresses (although they can collect them).

note: i have no connection with petitionsonline.com

jason

[pgh kenny]

i'll sign, of course... the petitionsonline.com idea is a good one

[zero]

edited the first post to include a link to PT online - thanks Jason, as always good sound clear advice - you should do something like that for a living !

[vapspwi]

Question about the dates in the letter. I ordered my DVDs from AU in February (around the 11th, I have records somewhere that I can check). That leads me to believe that the set was announced somewhere prior to the March date given in the first paragraph.

JRjr

[starbug]

Could you please check that and post here?

Much appreciated. Thanks.

[zero]

I ordered my DVDs from AU in February - That leads me to believe that the set was announced somewhere prior to the March date given in the first paragraph.

JRjr

Please check - we did as much homework as we could but I'd like to make sure the facts are right.

[zero]

Could you please check that and post here?

Bug - you are just too damn quick! (But I will still get my set before you.)

[cool rider]

This is just a minor suggestion and it could just be me, but when you say that "many have not been refunded" (I am actually paraphrasing because the letter says the same comment a couple different ways) it seems to me that the word 'many' is too vague. The word ‘many’ could mean as few as 10-20, when in actuality hundreds have not been refunded. Im sorry if this sounds nit-picky but being one of the not refunded I am more sensitive to that issue!

[zero]

when you say that "many have not been refunded" ... it seems to me that the word 'many' is too vague.

Not picky at all it's a good point. We would have loved to have been more brutal and said 100s and 100s - but felt it best too keep it general - as we can't prove how many people have been shafted - er - i mean are still waiting for refunds.

The proof will be in how many sigs the Pt gets, I hope that the "100's" will be evident from that.

[Natasha (candygirl)]

I can confirm that AU definitely announced the set prior to March - my order confirmation email was sent to me on February 20. I don't remember what date I actually ordered, but I did not receive any confirmation from them so I emailed them to make sure my order was processed - I did give them at least a week before I got antsy though so I would guesstimate that I ordered mid-February, around Valentine's day. Unfortunately I deleted all those mass emails so I don't have an exact date on the official announcement. Sorry!

On March 26th, 2002, AU announced 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. Those customers who placed a $20 deposit 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.

Another detail you might be interested in - AU charged my credit card for the balance of the order on March 15, which is obviously BEFORE they sent out that email asking for authorization. I don't know how many other people this happened to, but as AU has shown it usually isn't an isolated incident when they take people's money.