[sdiy] Futurelec - BAD experience.

[Michael Ruberto]

3 weeks ago I placed an order with Futurelec. 1st of all I wasn't sure if 
the order went through because the shopping cart was returning error 
messages. I contacted them and was told the order had been placed properly 
and I would recieve an invoice shortly. The next day I got the invoice in my 
email and checked it against my paper list to find that 9 part numbers were 
missing from the order. I emailed them about this and got no reply. After a 
week I go to their website to check the status of the order and found that 
feature of their site less than useful - it only shows an order had been 
placed. So once again I email them. This time I get a reply saying that one 
of my parts is on back order. That's it, no indication of when I can expect 
the order to ship, no mention of the missing parts. So I email them asking 
when I can expect the order to ship, yet again, no reply. So for the next 2 
weeks I send them several emails asking about the status of the order and 
when I might expect it to ship - no reply.
2 days ago I send an email asking them to cancel the order. I've had enough 
of this shady treatment. Today I get 2 emails from them - the 1st informs me 
that my order will ship in 3 to 5 days, the 2nd says my order has been 
cancelled. Of course the 2nd email doesn't say ANYTHING about crediting me 
back my money. I have just sent them another email asking for a transaction 
number so I can verify payment back to my credit. I'm guessing this message 
won't get a reply.

Funniest thing is that the backordered part has been listed as "in stock" on 
the website this entire 3 weeks.

I think it would be a good idea to stay away from this vendor. I have that 
"I've just been robbed" feeling and my gut instinct is saying I'll never see 
that $118.41 again.
As for their buggy shopping cart... the 1st sign of trouble is when it stops 
accepting new parts. After that it will generate errors when you try to 
change the quantity of an item. When you click the button to submit the 
order it doesn't return a confirmation. I found that very disturbing. This 
whole experience is disturbing. I placed an order with Mouser at about the 
same time. The mouser order arrived at my doorstep 3 days later with no 
damage and complete. From now on I will pay the extra $$$ and order from a 
known reputable vendor. What a waste of time!

M. A. Ruberto