I think I've been Stung.

Groupcaptainbonzo · Apr 14, 2010

Hi everyone, Not my favorite post so far, but here goes.

just over a month ago I was looking for 2 new lenses. I started on Amazon 'cause they are very good, and looked through my options. What I had NOT noticed is that in my surfing I had come off the Amazon site.

I ended up ordering from a firm called "Crazy Cameras" ...
Yes T H E M ! ! !.

Well, most of you will have guessed the rest, I have been sending e-mails back and forth asking when I am likely to get my lenses. And am fobbed off with the usual stock silly replies blaming everything from computers to suppliers etc etc etc,

My last email from them asked if I wanted to cancel the orders, So I thought that by now I was in danger of loosing my money if I didn't act soon, so I e-mailed back to say that I thought cancelling was a good idea.
My e-mail was returned as undelivered, as was the rest that I sent after it. The B*******S are shutting me out !.

In spite of all the window dressing to say thay are a British Company , I now know that they are in North America. And that they are WORLD Famous for exactly this sort of thing.

Can any one suggest my next step?

Can I get an e-mail or some other sort of contact to them to cancell my order?

Has anyone else been in this position and got their Goods / Money back?

I have to say that I am worried, This is the first time that I have been caught like this , as I am very careful as a rule. But this one slipped through and is for a large amount of money.

But if there is a lesson from this it is to be VERY careful all the time, and also NEVER deal with CRAZY CAMERAS ... Ever.

jsull86 · Apr 15, 2010

Sorry to hear about your trouble! It isn't surprising that with more and more people using the internet to do their shopping that sites like this become more prevalent.

I am emailed them just because... well I hate dishonest people. I shared a few choice words in my email. But you should know that I haven't received a "message not received" email. So maybe try again.

Good luck and I hope you get your money back.

P.S. I also did a little searching and from what I found out about the website, the owner is based in Phoenix. :thumbdown:

benhasajeep · Apr 15, 2010

Did you pay with a credit card? Hopefully you did. Go straight away to your bank and let them know what is going on. Including the order date and that you have your email conversations. And their refusal to further contact you. Also reference this companies history of doing this exact thing to others.

Josh220 · Apr 15, 2010

Send them one last e-mail stating your plan of action; that you will be contacting your bank as well as their local PD. Chances are you will see some cooperation. If they still ignore you, then just go through with said plans.

I would get a refund even if they suddenly have them in stock. Who knows what kinda BS you will have to deal with in the event you need to return anything.

Get your money back and purchase from Amazon, B&H, etc.

Overread · Apr 15, 2010

Did you order through the amazon website - ie a marketplace dealer advertising through amazon or did you leave their site entirly and deal through the crazy camera website (possibly following an advert on amazon itself?).

If you dealt through amazons marketplace zone do contact them as well with regard to the problem.
Also even if you didn't use a credit card do contact your bank, you might be able to get something back through a debit card if you are lucky (I belive there are now some protections offered but I am not sure of the conditions)

Groupcaptainbonzo · Apr 15, 2010

Thanks for the advice and the sympathy folks. ... Needed both frankley. I'll keep you all informed.

BUT DON'T TRUST CRAZY CAMERAS....

ghache · Apr 15, 2010

this is why a try to buy my expensives toys localy

i dont feel safe buying expensive stuff over the net.
i never had problem buying anything off ebay so far (knock on wood)

Groupcaptainbonzo · Apr 15, 2010

I always buy from e Bay, or if poss, from Amazon. On this occaision I fell for the "chase the price tag surfing gremlin" and found myself on CC. USUALLY I am very careful. But even I get caught .

Just to put this in perspective... The lenses were

EF 300 f4 is umc
and EF 70 - 200 IS umc

(Nearly £2,500.00 worth so you can understand the pig sick very nervous disposition that I am in at the moment).

stevemunoz · Apr 15, 2010

Ouch. Sorry to hear that this happened. I hope you get your money back, and that they get shut down for doing what they do. Keep us updated, as I want to know whether the credit card canceling will work to stop what they do.

Steve M.

den9 · Apr 15, 2010

checked out their website to see who they were. one google search and the 2nd results is a website for complaining, and other websites with 2 star ratings. their actualy website is down right now.

no offense but did you even look up seller ratings? good luck getting your money back, looks like theirs a line ahead of you. steeping learning curve.

http://www.complaintsboard.com/bycompany/crazy-cameras-a178285.html

Garbz · Apr 17, 2010

Did you pay with your credit card?

Always ALWAYS pay online with a credit card. Their fraud protection services should cover you.

maman · Apr 25, 2010

that sucks.

Is there a listing anywhere for a phone number for them...? First thing I do when email isn't an option is go back to the old style of communication and get someone on the end of the line.

Good luck. Hope you get some resolution.

Groupcaptainbonzo · May 6, 2010

Well, after a W H O L E L O T of e-mails, I finally gave them a date by which to repay my money. That date has been and gone with no repayment recieved. So I am calling my bank in to see what they can achieve. Together with my lawyer there should be SOME kind of result.
Stage 2 will be to report them to the police Internet fraud dept, who have a very good success rate. Especially considering the amount of evidence that there is (Along with HEAPS of e-mail copies). And then the T.V. Consumer programms. We'll see what happens.

NateS · May 6, 2010

Groupcaptainbonzo said:
Well, after a W H O L E L O T of e-mails, I finally gave them a date by which to repay my money. That date has been and gone with no repayment recieved. So I am calling my bank in to see what they can achieve. Together with my lawyer there should be SOME kind of result.
Stage 2 will be to report them to the police Internet fraud dept, who have a very good success rate. Especially considering the amount of evidence that there is (Along with HEAPS of e-mail copies). And then the T.V. Consumer programms. We'll see what happens.

Good luck. I'd say your police INternet fraud dept will have little power when it comes to dealing with someone from another country...they will most likely have no jurisdiction in the different country. Same goes for your lawyer...and it sounds like they've dissapeared so you might even be hardpressed to find somebody to sue/go after.

I do wish you luck, but it seems as if things are significantly harder when both parties are not in the same country.

eriqalan · May 6, 2010

I am seeing the same address in Portland - it is a mail box rentla place, not a real address

have you reported it to Oregon Department of Justice at www.doj.state.or.us
or file a complaint here
Oregon Department of Justice - How to File a Consumer Complaint

Being as this is international you might also use Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) | Home (includes the FBI

econsumer econsumer.gov - Member Countries - Your site for cross-border complaints. links to UK and US agencies

this page also gives you directions on where to complain How to Report a Scam