So I placed an order for an EK water cooling kit on the 4th of June - payment via credit card.
Received a confirmation email of the same.
Then on the 8th of June I sent an email asking for a status update - the website said that it would be delivered in three working days or something to that effect. In fact I even paid extra for fast courier shipping, since I wanted to build my system during the weekend, but they didn't send a tracking number or anything.
Got a reply back on the 10th - 2 days later - saying that they have to order the item as it's a "special" order, and the ETA was 15th. This was NOT indicated on the website. I mean if I knew that it wasn't in stock and that I had to wait two weeks, I would have rather placed the order directly from EK instead of going thru a middle-man and wasting money.
After speaking to a rep the next day, he said the stock status was indeed on the website - and lo and behold, when I went to check the site, there it was. So it looks like they added the info *after* I placed the order. Unfortunately I didn't take a screenshot or anything before placing the order, so I don't have any proof that the status was added after the order. Still, the original order confirmation email I received from them never mentioned anything about the status of the stock. The email says "Once an order is ready to be dispatched most items take an average of 1-2 working days in North Island."
The rep I spoke to said that I should have received an email with an ETA / stock confirmation, but I never did.
Anyways, I decided to wait till the 15th now that my weekend plans were ruined and all.
I then sent an email on the 18th asking for an update, and have never received a response *till date*. I could have phoned them in between, but work has been really hectic so I didn't really have any free time to follow it up during working hours.
Anyways, I finally managed to get some time off today, so I called them. The rep said they apparently sent an email on the 15th (lies) and that it indicated the product would be in stock in a week. Even if that was the case and they did have the product in stock last week, why the heck didn't they ship it out already? The rep I was speaking to in the morning said that they will ship the product today and send me all the necessary emails, but its noon now and I'm still yet to see any email from him - and I even asked him to forward me the old emails that he allegedly sent.
I don't mind waiting - I'm usually a very patient guy. Heck I had to wait for many months for my Raspberry Pi to arrive.
But this was a $500 order, there were no ETAs, lack of communication, and all this while my money was just sitting in their bank and earning them free interest.
I'm really, really angry at their service, and I don't know what to do - is there a consumer forum or something I can complain to? Or any online sites I can leave a poor rating on? I mean, heck I've had a hundred times better service when buying from eBay or Trade Me - the fear of getting negative feedback often keeps sellers on their toes, and on top of it you have eBay/Trade Me's buyer protection options.
Would appreciate your opinions on how I can seek compensation or take action against Computer Lounge.