Company can ship tapes to Canada

By NANCY PARADIS

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 10, 2000

We spend five months in Florida but are now back in Canada. Fortunately, I hastily tore out Action's address just before leaving. On Jan. 13, I ordered Instrumental Legends tapes I saw advertised on TV but I cannot remember which channel. I initially sent a money order for $19.95. After receiving a card notifying me that I had neglected to pay the shipping cost, I sent off a money order for $5.50. It was sent to a different address. Maybe that's where the problem lies. I have written but have had no reply. If you are able to help me I would prefer the return of my money. If the tapes are sent to Canada, I will have to pick them up myself and pay duty on them. Ruth Armstrong

Response: Patrick Scott, operations fulfillment manager for Cornerstone Productions in Vernon Hills, Ill., said it is a pity you did not call the company's customer service number, (800) 331-8507. One phone call could have solved this problem, he said. The tapes were mailed but returned to the company by the U.S. Postal Service on March 2. He said he does not know why, since your address was correct and you got the notice that you owed the shipping charge. A refund check was sent on March 10. If it has not yet been received and cashed by you, a stop payment will be issued and another one sent to your Canadian address.

Scott said that if you choose to reorder Instrumental Tapes, one of Cornerstone Productions' many music compilations advertised on TV, you will receive it from the company's Canadian fulfillment house. It will be delivered directly to you and you will not have to pay duty. The company pays the duty to the Canadian government upfront, he said, although to recoup a part of the high cost, it does add a few dollars to the cost of items shipped to Canadian addresses. You can order through the company's Web site, http://www.tvmusic4u.com, or by calling (800) 440-2600.

Delayed order

I ordered a pink marbleized heart rosary on Feb. 8 from the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville, Ill. My $16 check was cashed on Feb. 24. I feel I have waited long enough for this item. I have not received an answer to my two letters requesting that my order be honored. Mrs. Gus Falk

Response: Father Louis Studer, director of missionary association for Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, national Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville, Ill., said you should have received a letter explaining that the delay was due to the rosary being temporarily out of stock. In the meantime, it has been shipped and he said his secretary had verified that you received it. He apologized for the delay.

Refund, please

On Nov. 16, I sent a check for $23.85 to Communications Publishing for Book of Secrets. I got the book in late December and looked through it for two weeks. It was nothing but names, addresses and phone numbers. This book was meant for younger people. The only thing for older people was government giveaways, and I already had this information in another book. I sent Book of Secrets back with a note asking for a return of my money. The offer had said I could use the book for one year.

So far I have written five times and no one has answered my letters. I am 84 and live on Social Security, so I can't afford to throw my money away. The company has its book and my money. It seems Communications Publishing needs someone else to shake it up, like you. Thank you in advance for whatever you can do. Joseph Murphy

Response: Stephen Young, manager of Communications Publishing in New York, N.Y., said your refund check was sent to you on April 7, a week before you contacted Action. Let us know if you did not receive it and we'll contact the company again on your behalf.

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, or call your Action number, (727) 893-8171, or, outside of Pinellas, (800) 333-7505, ext. 8171, to leave a recorded request.

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