Olympus Stylus Digital Camera

Please post this complaint against MyDigitialPalace.com.

Today's date is January 5, 2006

On January 29, 2004, I called to purchase an Olympus Stylus 400 digital camera from MyDigitalPalace.com. I only wanted the camera and a 5 year extended warranty. (I always purchase an extended warranty.) Their rep “Mitchell” did a hard sell on me to buy another lithium rechargeable battery for $50(which was NOT a real Olympus battery and has NEVER held a charge and is worthless), and a another memory card($100). I told him I’d think about it and would call him back, if he’d give me his number. Then he put me on hold, and put his buddy BRIAN on the phone with me to ‘close the sale’. He told me that I’d have to buy the both the camera and warranty along with the the battery and memory card RIGHT NOW…..or I would not get the camera for the price he offered it ($309) when I called back. I felt terribly pressured and caved in to his ‘threats’ at a cost of $250 additional dollars.

I did manage to get 2 phone numbers from him so I could contact them if I wanted to change the order, which I posted in my notes: 1-866-859-6763 (which today is MCI conferencing services); and 1-800-249-7868 (which is a ‘talk line” to meet “exciting people nationwide”). Please call them for yourself if you don’t believe me. Incredible!

Well, here’s the kicker for me!! I did receive ALL the equipment that was ordered, but today, Jan 2006, 2 years later, I have a broken camera and guess what? Their web site has been taken down, the phone numbers are bogus, and the 5-year camera warranty that I purchased for $80 is defunct and non-existant!!!! Imagine that!

When I received the INVOICE with my camera, for a total of $558.98, There was a note regarding the warranty “GLUED” to the front of the invoice. The Note reads: “AN EXTENDED WARRANTY HAS BEEN REGISTERED FOR YOUR ORDER. A warranty registration card will be mailed to you within 4-6 weeks.” (I personally thought that was way too long at the time – why not send it with the invoice and camera, right???). The note continues….”If you do not receive the card, please contact the dealer where you purchased the camera. (????what???) Proof of purchase will be required for service. Your warranty # is SJS44AH268.” What a joke that was. I should have known as soon as I saw a Note GLUED to the invoice that something was wrong!!

Needless to say the warranty card never arrived. I tried contacting them several times about it right after the camera arrived in early 2004, and never received a response….or the warranty card. Now I am stuck with a broken camera and an invalid warranty, a bogus shop selling electronic merchandise that has taken down its website, and there is no way to contact them to find out even WHERE this warranty may have been registered. It is definitely NOT a MACK Camera warranty (which is the industry standard for camera repairs, in my opinion), …I checked. Oh, and when my credit card statement came in, the charge was not in the name of mydigitialpalace.com, but was in the name of CLARKET.INC.

Its a shame we get ripped off by crooks like this. This taught me to go to a reputable online company, instead of the cheapest one I could find on a shopping comparison site.

I'll be contacting my credit card company to file a dispute for this bogus shop and non-existant service.

Thanks for posting this for other consumer to be aware!

L.McCarthy

Ft. Walton Beach, FL