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Q: Internet consumer rights - Bootleg DVDs / 30 Day Money Back Guarantee ( No Answer,   0 Comments )
Question  
Subject: Internet consumer rights - Bootleg DVDs / 30 Day Money Back Guarantee
Category: Computers > Internet
Asked by: stephenvakil-ga
List Price: $10.00
Posted: 24 Sep 2004 08:49 PDT
Expires: 27 Sep 2004 07:23 PDT
Question ID: 405778
About a week ago, I was referred by a friend to a site that sells
Anime on DVD.  I guess I must have been giddy due to the prices,
because I ordered 3 dvd sets from them.  After ordering and being
charged, I began to think about the DVDs.  They were unusually
inexpensive.  I began to suspect that they were not legal.

After doing research, I found that I was probably right.  The site is
listed in google groups and google as selling bootleg dvds.  The
website that I purchased the DVDs from advertises a "30 day money back
guarantee".  I did not look into the details until I found out that
they were probably bootlegs.  It seems that the guarantee amounts to
allowing people to return the dvds but pay a 20% restocking fee, and
no shipping charges are refunded.  Furthermore, the refund is offered
as in-store credit.
 
I became a bit dismayed, and decided that it wouldn't be worth the
trouble to return them and attempt to get a full refund even if they
were bootlegs.

Once they arrived, I noted that they absolutely were bootlegs. 
However, as mentioned before I was very anxious about the thought of
having to go through the process of getting my money back.  Instead I
opened one of them and watched it to see if it was usable. 
Unfortunately the english subtitles were absolutely horrendous.

I am now determined to get my money back in full.  I have sent an
email to the site, with no reply so far, asking about their return
policy in this case.  I have also emailed the publisher of the DVDs in
order to both make them aware of this company and ask whether the
distributor and I myself have violated the law.

Sorry for the lengthy introduction, but here are my questions.  They
all involve consumer rights.

1 - Am I entitled to a full refund merely on account of the items
being illegal bootlegs?

2 - Is it legal to advertise a 30 day money back guarantee prominently
on the site but not offer a full refund?  I have read some caselaw
where gateway 2000 was fined for not providing a refund of the
shipping costs, but it seemed to be worded in a way that indicated as
long as they publish this information somewhere on the site, it may
not be in violation.  The company appears to be based in California,
if that matters.

3 - Has the distributor committed a crime?  I do not know whether they
actually imported the items or are merely a reseller.

4 - If all else fails, would a credit card company be likely to
dispute this on my behalf and give me a refund?
Answer  
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