Registered: Sep 1999
Location: LA, Boston, MO. its different every 6 months
Posts: 56

as i am sure many of you also experienced, i was shipped a visor after i cancelled my order one week earlier. this caused my debit card to be overdrawn, but i guess in some way that that was my fault in actually thinking handspring would really cancel the order. silly me.

so before i received the product, i saw the charge on my debit card. i called handspring, and asked them what to do. they said, "oh, just refuse shipment, and itll get sent back to us, then we'll credit your account." silly me. i thought they were serious. those funny CSR's always know how to make me laugh.

its been 4 weeks since i refused shipment. ive not seen a single credit to my debit card since then. so ive called three times in the past week to try to get my debit card credited. each time, "really? 3 weeks? what was your name? oh yes, ill send an email to the billing department right away!"

and nothing. ive been given all kinds of guarantees that something will happen, and it never has. my question to you all, is this: is there anything else i can or should do? ive already disputed the charge with my credit card company, and that is still pending. the CSR's apparently actually have no power. who is next? ive emailed donna before, and never heard back. its like handspring is this big cash black hole.

another handspring to english dictionary definition:
customer care - we really care about taking the customer's money!

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: NY, NY, USA
Posts: 155

Dr. G:

I'm sorry to hear you're still having problems. I remember your post as being the first to actually refuse a Visor shipment based on the ridiculous wait, and I thought that was great.

Since you're using a debit card, explain to your bank (the provider of the card) that you haven't received any merchandise and the date of the refusal of merchandise. Ask them what constitutes fraud and/or intentional delay of credit in connection with this particular situation. Given another week, I'll be looking into this myself.

Assuming you've done that, it shouldn't take more than sixty days :-( to get the whole thing resolved. I'm about a month behind you, as I returned a dead unit ten days ago. But I called Handspring and spoke to a supervisor who told me she would definitely get some solution to my problem (ie no credit) and she would call me and let me know when she did.

I told her if I didn't have a credit within four weeks of their receipt of the product, I'd assemble all the paperwork and file a report with the FTC. She seemed genuinely interested in helping, as do most of the people I've spoken to there, but the problem is their infrastructure is so poorly organized. IOW, it does take time. My suggestion is for you to speak with a supervisor and get his/her name and put on pressure until you get the required result.

It's unfortunate to have to do business this way, but this is perhaps the only way to deal with this situation. I've never encountered such a poorly-organized company. Moreover, if I had known Handspring was among them, I would have upgraded to a Vx months ago. Oh well. Live and learn.

One final suggestion (and I hope it doesn't come across as patronizing): any time you deal with a company you've never heard of, use an actual credit card so you don't get shafted. Obviously, this info is too little, too late, but this situation is a perfect example of the pros and cons of debit vs. credit cards.

Good luck either way...

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Frisco,TX,USA
Posts: 9

I filed a dispute with my credit card company today over my Handspring bill. When I cancelled on November 9, I was told that my card would be credited in a week. It did not happen.

In general, you might look at Chapter 41 of the Consumer Protection Act. Subchapter VI deals with Electronic Fund Transfers. Section 1693f deals with error resolution.

A good link is http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/15/1693f.html

I am not a lawyer but if I had a debit card charged, I would explain what happened in a certified, return receipt letter to Donna D.
I would also demand a credit plus interest in 10 days.

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Dallas, TX, USA
Posts: 70

Not to mention overdraft/bounced check fees.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Frisco,TX,USA
Posts: 9

As of today, my credit card has now been credited for my cancelled order. I am suprised since I never once contacted Dubinsky, Torres or York. I cancelled using the 888 number and customer care form. In this instance, the system seems to have worked - eventually.

I view this as a significant achievement based on Handsprings rocky start. I look forward to purchasing a visor in a retail store.

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 20

Hi. I can't explain how fed up I am with these mind games HS is playing with us. There is no excuse for their failure. "Didn't expect this type of response" Yeah right. Show us your marketing plans. "Didn't plan the Visor to be a Christmas item" You know, that would be a novel idea. "We're working to improve" Oh yeah, well, "SHOW ME THE VISOR!" I think flaming HS on the web is only a way for us to vent our frustrations. We need to take action. We need to make them pay for this mistake. Here is the information you need to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. Will this get you your Visor faster? Probably not, but if enough of us complain, HS will take our business more seriously. I just hope enough of us are willing to follow through with the BBB. Good luck! http://www.bbb.org/complaints/consumerform.html

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Minneapolis, MN, USA
Posts: 4

Handspring is run by a total bunch of complete dunderheads!

I had placed an order for a Visor Deluxe (Ice) back in mid-October. After reading about the shipping troubles on VisorCentral, I canceled the next week.

Imagine my surprise when I came home yesterday to find a Visor Deluxe on the kitchen table with the rest of the mail! Not to mention a $255 charge on a credit card I had just worked so hard to pay off!

I wanted to rectify this, so I called Handspring this morning, only to be put on hold and hung up on twice (at 10 cents a minute)! After that, I called the toll-free pre-order line, where once again, I was on hold so long that the line was dropped.

Needless to say, I'm mad as hell at Handspring.

When I got to work, I tried calling again, holding for 25 minutes (thank god for speakerphones). I hung up after checking eBay and looking at the selling prices of Visors there.

The company is so inept that people are paying a premium to get Visors through third parties. I'm selling mine there and hope to get more than what I paid for it. At least I'll get some compensation for the crap I've had to deal with.

Oh, and I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.

Handspring sucks.