Sunday, November 10, 2002

Speaking of sketchy investments..

.. I finally received My So Called Life DVD set on Friday! I paid for this set about 6 months ago from what I worried might be a slightly dubious source. I was fully prepared to not receive the DVD's, but figured it was worth the risk. A few weeks ago a received an email that the DVD's were about to be shipped, followed by this letter:

Dear Patricia,

The purpose of this note is to update customers of the My So-Called Life DVD set. There are numerous customer service problems with my former client, AnotherUniverse.com. Many of you are not yet aware of these issues. This is to ensure you are informed of the situation, and are made aware of the alternatives available to you.


On October 16, 2002 I pulled my company, Dry Grass Partners, out of the MSCL DVD project to protest AU.com's mistreatment of customers and overall project mishandling. My primary concern is that hundreds upon hundreds of customers have been double or triple-billed since July 2002. In the vast majority of cases, AU.com has not yet refunded their customers' money. On October 17, 2002, MSCL.com sent out a newsletter (http://www.mscl.com/mall/dvdbox.phtml?layout=low ) stating, "MSCL.COM does not recommend doing business with AnotherUniverse."

ANOTHER UNIVERSE IS NO LONGER AN EXCLUSIVE RETAILER OF MSCL DVD

AnotherUniverse is no longer the exclusive retailer, and to that end the newsletter had also included a list of other internet retailers (http://www.mscl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=10129#10129 ) selling the DVD Box Set (without bonus disc and lunchbox) for an effective price range of $60-$70. Additionally, many customers are not aware of the fact that AnotherUniverse is not shipping the lunch box or bonus disc along with the DVDs (they are promising to send the extras at a later date). I have long argued that they should mention this on their site, to allow potential new customers to make an informed decision. Alas, their wording has not reflected this change yet.

WHY MY COMPANY PULLED OUT OF THE PROJECT

Finally, many MSCL DVD customers have written to me to ask me why I removed myself from the project, or simply to ask me for help in obtaining a response to their customer service requests to AnotherUniverse.

I withdrew from the project because I cannot work with a company that I do not trust and which, throughout the project, has had a history of mistreating vendors and customers.

I WILL REMAIN INVOLVED TO HELP CUSTOMERS RESOLVE ORDER PROBLEMS

However, although I have withdrawn support for the retailer, I am committed to remaining engaged in this project until all overcharged customers receive a refund. I am obliged to ask you to PLEASE do the following.

IF YOU HAVE SUBMITTED A CUSTOMER SERVICE REQUEST TO ANOTHERUNIVERSE, AND YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FROM THEM, PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR REQUEST TO: http://www.drygrass.com/mscl.

Even if you have previously attempted to submit your request by phone or email, it is EXTREMELY important that you submit your request to http://www.drygrass.com/mscl. Please do so, especially if you requested a double bill correction or an order cancellation. Those submissions are automatically logged, and (unlike an email or phone memo) a customer service representative cannot misplace it.

NOTE: If you previously filled out the customer service form, there is no need to do it again for the same complaint. However, if you have a different complaint to report, please fill out the form again.

My company will continue to pressure Another Universe until all customers receive the necessary credits to their accounts. However, please understand that we are not sending this email on behalf of AnotherUniverse. Only they can take the appropriate actions to correct order problems or process refunds. Additionally, once you have submitted a problem to the http://www.drygrass.com/mscl URL, DryGrass.com will occasionally email surveys to find out if the problems are being addressed and to coordinate efforts to obtain refunds.

Sincerely,
Jason Rosenfeld
Dry Grass Partners, LLC



The letter then goes on to say what the lawyer will do to help those victims of the MSCL scandal. To the best of my knowledge, I got what I paid for, but this letter was a bit disturbing.

Anyway, it's cool to be able to watch the entire season!

UPDATE 11/21 I've encluded the entire text of the letter.

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