More problems with Light Impressions

[lilmsmaggie]

FYI - This is supposedly the parent company for Light Impressions:

Dead Link Removed

You may want to give them a wide birth and steer clear.

 

[Fragomeni]

Light Impressions just sent me this email...

Order Date: 02/22/2011

Dear Valued Customer,

Thank you for your order. The merchandise you requested is currently on
backorder, however we expect to ship your product to you within the next
4 to 6 weeks. We appreciate your patience in this matter.
As a thank you for being a loyal customer, please accept this
opportunity to save 15% on your next order by using source code NCD16.

Sincerely,
The NCD fulfillment team

This is an auto-reply email, do not respond to this email. To contact us please call 800-828-6216

I really hope the California Attorney General takes them down.

 

[lilmsmaggie]

Light Impressions just sent me this email...




I really hope the California Attorney General takes them down.

I received the exact same email yesterday.

Anyone interested in contacting the California Attorney General's Public Inquiry Unit, here's the info:

For questions regarding the Department of Justice contact
Public Inquiry Unit
Voice: (916) 322-3360 or
(Toll-free in California)
(800) 952-5225
Fax: (916) 323-5341

 

[anamerican]

California AG info

Thanks for posting the contact information for the California Attorney General. Light Impressions or Century Direct or whoever they actually are now has ~$195 of mine. After waiting well over a year for back ordered archival storage materials to arrive I finally and belatedly gave up. On March 8 of this year I spoke to someone named Nancy, who assured me that this amount would be reimbursed to my credit card. Of course, almost two months later, that hasn't happened. Calls to their "customer service" number now are summarily dropped.

I'm going to contact the A.G. this morning about this matter and I strongly encourage everyone else here who has been ripped off by these charlatans to do the same thing. The squeaking wheel gets the grease.

Think: prison time.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

They just shipped one portion of my backorder with them and it arrived yesterday. After having been placed in what, April?May? of last year.

 

[Fragomeni]

I contacted the AG as well. I received a letter of response about a week ago saying that a record of my complaint is on file for future reference if action is ever taken against the company. The letter said that the AG will first attempt to contact the company and act as a mediator in hopes of resolving such issues before taking any further action against a company operating in its jurisdiction. In all likelihood they will contact Light Impressions and get no response just as the BBB did. If you've been burned by this company it's important to file a complaint with the California AG so that it is on file with the others being made. At this point it seems to be the only way to stop the fraudulent actions of Light Impressions or whatever they call themselves now.

 

[Mike Pettingell]

Light Impressions Problems

I placed my order for archival boxes with LI on Feb 10, 2011 and was told my order would arrive in 6-8 weeks. On March 4th, they charged my credit card. When the order didn't arrive in a couple of months, I called and they said they had a new manufacturer and I should receive my order in another 6-8 weeks. I talked to them today (May 16 - 3 months later) and was told that they are waiting to finalize a legal agreement with the manufacturer of the boxes and they could not say when the order would be complete and shipped. They refused to reverse my card charge but offered to mail me a check. I refused the check on the grounds that I would probably have to wait "months" for that to arrive too. I have now disputed the charge with my credit card company & will place an order with someone else! I will NOT do business with LI again after 20 years of doing business with them.

 

[Fragomeni]

Mike, welcome to the forum. Looks like this was your first post, sorry it had to be about such a sore topic. Thanks for posting your experience. At this point is important that you report the situation to the California AG. Posting it here does absolutely nothing but add another story to an already full book and if people don't start reporting this to the appropriate office then these stories will continue. All you have to do is practically copy and paste what you wrote into a form on the California AG's website. All of the information and links you need are in the posts above. Light Impressions needs to be out of business and held legally accountable for their illegitimate actions.

 

[Bob Curtis]

What about the FTC

The Federal Trade Commission has a rule for businesses that sell by mail, phone or the internet. Light Impressions seems to be out of rule in offering for sale merchandise it does not reasonably think it can deliver in 30 days. The FTC rule also states that if the transaction is made by credit card the refund must be made by credit card.

Here is the rule

http://business.ftc.gov/documents/bus02-business-guide-mail-and-telephone-order-merchandise-rule

 

[mgb74]

...They refused to reverse my card charge but offered to mail me a check. I refused the check on the grounds that I would probably have to wait "months" for that to arrive too. ...

Odd, since that essentially means that they pay the CC commission on your payment but supposedly refund the full amount. The only 2 logical explanations that I can think of is that either they're playing a float came (so your check will be a long time coming) or that there won't be sufficient funds to cover.

I'm not entirely sure but I believe, in case of bankruptcy, you're better off with a credit card charge than a check that bounces.

 

[lilmsmaggie]

The Federal Trade Commission has a rule for businesses that sell by mail, phone or the internet. Light Impressions seems to be out of rule in offering for sale merchandise it does not reasonably think it can deliver in 30 days. The FTC rule also states that if the transaction is made by credit card the refund must be made by credit card.

Here is the rule

http://business.ftc.gov/documents/bus02-business-guide-mail-and-telephone-order-merchandise-rule

Thanks for the link. I just filed a complaint with the FTC. I suggest others do the same.

 

[desamo]

I'm another person who joined to post in this thread. I think I may have fallen prey to the lure of their mat board.

Question: does anyone know a west-coast mail order place that offers Alpharag or equivalent? The local store wants $32 a sheet and I can't afford the quick-ship fees from across the country at this point (cheaper to buy it locally). Ideally, a place in the San Francisco-San Jose area would be ideal as then I could pick it up.

 

[bwrules]

After finding out that their prices are quite above the competitors, I started buying fold-flap polyester negative sleeves from PrintFile and archival negative boxes from Hollinger. I don't notice any difference in the products' function at all. Hollinger's prices probably increased recently though.

 

[fdi]

I'm another person who joined to post in this thread. I think I may have fallen prey to the lure of their mat board.

Question: does anyone know a west-coast mail order place that offers Alpharag or equivalent? The local store wants $32 a sheet and I can't afford the quick-ship fees from across the country at this point (cheaper to buy it locally). Ideally, a place in the San Francisco-San Jose area would be ideal as then I could pick it up.

Is that price ($32) for 8-ply Alpharag or 4-ply?

 

[desamo]

4-ply, believe it or not. Actually, I'd looked at your site, but wasn't sure how to specify quicker shipping to figure out the total cost.

 

[fdi]

The least expensive way to buy the mat is to select the size "32x40 Raw Sheet" under our uncut mats. We have qty discounts at 5, 25 and 100. Once you add it to the cart you can get ground shipping by entering your zip code. Ground for 5 sheets to San Fransisco is $28.88 or a total of $18.76 per sheet with shipping. If you order 25 you pay less per sheet and less per sheet for shipping. 2nd-day air will cost $151 (for 5 sheets) which is higher than you can get it locally. If you do 25 sheets your total cost per sheet would be $26.94. Overnight will be a lot more so you will be better of getting it local in that case.

The problem with full sheets is our shipping cost is very high since it based more on the size of the box than the weight since the shipping companies go by dim weight past a certain size. The closer the size of the box is to the size of a person, the closer the shipping cost is to plane ticket since that is essentially what you are buying for the package when it is shipped by air.

If you get sheets cut down to a smaller size the shipping costs go down but cost per sheet goes up.

Wish I had a better answer but shipping cost is the biggest struggle for a company like mine. We lose a lot of money on shipping.

4-ply, believe it or not. Actually, I'd looked at your site, but wasn't sure how to specify quicker shipping to figure out the total cost.

 

[desamo]

Oh, I completely understand. I've only rarely shipped large items, but it's always prohibitive. I think I'll buy the batch I need for weekend after this and lay in a supply after that.

 

[BigJim]

problems since nov 2010

I placed an order back on Oct 12, 2010. Only half of my order ever arrived in Nov.2010. I called and promises were made to fix the backordered products. Then on Dec 15, 2010 I called to cancel the remaining items. A mr Taylor keeps giving me the run around. First it was the accounting dept was being moved to Florida, the next month it was Colorado and the following month it was moving back to Ca. Every two weeks, I have been promised a refund check would come the following week. Since they lost my card information they counldn't post my money back into my account. Just excuses after excuses after excuses. This little game has been going on for seven months now. Earlier this month Mr. Taylor stated a refund wouldn't be coming until July, but the items were is stock now and he could ship them out. A litle more sheep dip from him after I explained I need to recoup my losses and I no longer wanted the items. I had to find another source to finish my job on time. I know, I will be calling again in July about a refund that still failed to arrived. My best advise is not to make a single purchase from the company and report the problem to your bank card company, before the time limit for reporting the issue has gone by. Something, I discovered too late. There is no 100% customer satifaction or customer service at Light Impressons or it's parent company of century plastic. I say, stay away from these thieves, who take your money not deliver products or refunds. I may never, see my money if Mr. Taylor has his way. This company is nothing short of a con game. Set up to part you of your money and make themselves rich! Seven months and counting no refund and no products! One big waste of time and money. I will never order anything from a company so crooked and filled with thieves!

 

[Mahler_one]

JIm: Thanks...a very unfortunate situation that is all too common with Light Impressions. With several other options available, including ordering from companies that support APUG, it would appear the Light Impressions has turned off the lights.

 

[Fragomeni]

I placed an order back on Oct 12, 2010. Only half of my order ever arrived in Nov.2010. I called and promises were made to fix the backordered products. Then on Dec 15, 2010 I called to cancel the remaining items. A mr Taylor keeps giving me the run around. First it was the accounting dept was being moved to Florida, the next month it was Colorado and the following month it was moving back to Ca. Every two weeks, I have been promised a refund check would come the following week. Since they lost my card information they counldn't post my money back into my account. Just excuses after excuses after excuses. This little game has been going on for seven months now. Earlier this month Mr. Taylor stated a refund wouldn't be coming until July, but the items were is stock now and he could ship them out. A litle more sheep dip from him after I explained I need to recoup my losses and I no longer wanted the items. I had to find another source to finish my job on time. I know, I will be calling again in July about a refund that still failed to arrived. My best advise is not to make a single purchase from the company and report the problem to your bank card company, before the time limit for reporting the issue has gone by. Something, I discovered too late. There is no 100% customer satifaction or customer service at Light Impressons or it's parent company of century plastic. I say, stay away from these thieves, who take your money not deliver products or refunds. I may never, see my money if Mr. Taylor has his way. This company is nothing short of a con game. Set up to part you of your money and make themselves rich! Seven months and counting no refund and no products! One big waste of time and money. I will never order anything from a company so crooked and filled with thieves!

BigJim, sorry to hear about your probelms with Light Impressions although I'm not surprised at all. The bottom line at this point is that if you do not take the time (only 5 minutes) to send your report to the appropriate places but instead only report it hear then what happened to you becomes nothing but another number and you will not be helping to prevent this from happening to someone else. I strongly urge you to look through the above posts and make a quick report (you can simply copy and paste your post) to the California Attorney General's Office and the LA BBB. I believe there may be one other place worth sending a report which is mentioned in a post above. I really hope you take the time to do this because at this point the things happening to people posting accounts here on APUG seem to be falling on deaf hears. The only way to be heard and to stop the criminals at Light Impressions is to speak up to the right authorities. Take care.

 

[lxdude]

I strongly urge you to look through the above posts and make a quick report (you can simply copy and paste your post) to the California Attorney General's Office and the LA BBB. I believe there may be one other place worth sending a report which is mentioned in a post above.

The FTC. See post #114.

 

[Mahler_one]

Believe it or not, a very well done new catalog just arrived from the very same Light Impressions. The owner apologized for past problems with their delivery and supply chain which resulted in the delay of orders ( what a massive understatement! ).

Despite the new catalog and the apologies, the number of problems reported by our colleagues on this thread indicate deep seated problems that are simply too numerous to ignore. One might be excused for saying that the catalog probably represents too little- much, much too late.

 

[Mahler_one]

For informational purposes, I just called the Light Impressions number, and asked to speak with the CEO-a Mr. Gabriel Bristol. The polite and friendly person in customer service told me that there is no way to reach him except by sending him a letter. She implied that email contact was impossible, and that the staff only reaches him by letter as well. Interestingly, I am not sure if any of the people who answer the Light Impressions phone lines have ever seen, or spoken with, Mr. Bristol. She noted that the company has been shipping many orders, and those items in stock have been shipped quickly. I didn't have the heart to ask her about items not in stock. After all, why blame the problems of the company on the person who simply answers the phones?

I believe a very emphastic Caveat Emptor should now be noted.

 

[Renato Tonelli]

A couple of days ago I received a call from Light Impressions letting me know that they were shipping my backorder. I had to ask what those items were as I had forgotten (ordered June 2009).

Recently I also received their catalog in the mail for the first time in a couple of years. The President of the company has a brief message in the inside cover stating some of the difficulties the company is going through. Perhaps they are trying to turn things around. It will take a lot of effort to regain many of their customers.

 

[Leigh B]

The owner apologized for past problems with their delivery and supply chain which resulted in the delay of orders ( what a massive understatement! ).

Did he apologize for placing charges against the customers' credit cards before the orders shipped, sometimes by many months?

- Leigh