It's unlikely child will ever use returned baby carrier
By NANCY PARADIS
Published April 25, 2004
My sister bought me a new Theodore Bean infant carrier on eBay. When I tried to use it, two of the securing clasps broke. I called the company, Motion Imports, which was representing Theodore Bean Adventure Co., but since the carrier was purchased on eBay, I was told by the customer service department to ship the carrier to it; I would have to pay for the repairs. I wrote a check for $15 and shipped the carrier in mid October. It was signed for on Oct. 17, and that is the last I have seen of it.
My voicemails, too numerous to mention, have gone unanswered, as have my e-mails. My sister said that on Jan. 15 she spoke with someone who apologized for everything and said a new carrier would be sent. I still have nothing, nor has my check been cashed or returned. I'm wondering if the company is still in business.
My baby is now 5 months old, and I could have used the carrier a hundred times. Erin D'Acunto
Response: Since we first contacted Motion Imports/Theodore Bean Adventure Co. in Temecula, Calif., in early February, your baby is three months older. When neither Action nor you received a response, we sent the company a certified letter, return receipt requested, on March 24. That letter was returned marked "refused." Like you, we have not been successful in reaching anyone by phone.
Unfortunately, it appears that if you want to be able to carry your baby in a carrier, you're going to have to buy another one. We're sorry we couldn't help.
Buried in confusion
On Oct. 5, 2001, I went to a funeral home to arrange for my wife's burial. Because I was under duress, a representative got me to sign a contract to pay for my funeral. Two years later, I changed my mind and decided I wanted to be cremated. I canceled the contract and asked for a refund of the $3,750 I had paid. The funeral home's answer to me was that I couldn't cancel because it could deliver a casket to my home even though it couldn't perform services for me since I wasn't dead!
The funeral home finally sent me a check for $2,461.80, penalizing me $1,288.20 for canceling my contract. This taught me a lesson to read the fine print and not trust anyone, not even a funeral home. Vernon Herdt
Response: We applaud any lesson that results in future reading of the fine print, although we're sorry this one cost you so much. You did not send us a copy of your pre-need contract, so we cannot comment specifically on it. However, since such contracts are governed by Florida Statute 497, Funeral and Cemetery Services, we may explain what happened.
F.S. 497 has provisions to cancel and receive a refund for the service portion of your contract. This is not the case with the merchandise portion, however, which comprises any personal property such as a casket, urn or anything else that is used for the final disposition of the body. You can be sure that the merchandise portion of your contract would not be a small amount.
You did have 30 days to cancel the contract after first signing it and get a full refund of the money you paid, but you were obviously past that time. The only other time a refund is made for the merchandise portion of the contract is if the seller is unable to fulfill its obligations by delivering the merchandise when requested to do so. In other words, at the time of your death. Since you had clearly not died at the time you canceled the contract, we'll never know whether the funeral home could have fulfilled its obligation with regard to the merchandise portion of the contract.
Order arrives at last
On Jan. 9, I sent ClearPoint International a check for $23.71 for four bras. The check was cashed, but my order did not arrive. I sent the company a copy of the front and back of my canceled check in late February, asking about my order. I have heard nothing, although I still see the ads from ClearPoint in the inserts that come with my Sunday paper. Thank you for any assistance you can give me in getting the bras I ordered. Grace Morris
Response: Barbara Craig, a customer service representative with ClearPoint International in Champlain, N.Y., said your order was originally mailed to you Jan. 29 but returned to the company because the apartment number was incorrect. This was corrected, your order reshipped April 7, and you have let us know that you received it.
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Action solves problems and gets answers for you. If you have a question, or your own attempts to resolve a consumer complaint have failed, write Times Action, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, e-mail action@sptimes.com or call your Action number, 727 893-8171, or, outside of Pinellas, toll-free 1-800-333-7505, ext. 8171, to leave a recorded request.
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