Akademos, Inc.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:My rights have been violated by recording conversation without consent and sharing unauthorized recordings, therefore invading my privacy. I do appreciate the refund but don't appreciate my rights being violated.
This has caused unnecessary duress.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Hello, We've spoken to [redacted] a few times yesterday and explained to her that this ISBN [redacted] is not a physical textbook but rather a [redacted] code/access, the name of the item is [redacted] vol. 2, 2nd edition and is produced by [redacted]....

This item was adopted for her class by her professor and is the item that the professor wants the students to have for his/her class. On our site we use a universal ISBN description system called [redacted] which is what sites like [redacted] and [redacted] also use for the descriptions of their items, this information is given to [redacted] by the publishers and can include information like I've shown below. Both [redacted] and myself have explained to [redacted] that this item is not a physical textbook she paid for the item that she purchased she was not charged more or less this was the exact item she purchased with the exact ISBN for that item. This is what is called a specialty item from [redacted] and is sold most likely only to specific schools as this ISBN is not listed on their main website. We offered [redacted] a $10 gift code as a way of saying thank you for her order and we were sorry that she was upset but she refused to take the offer and there is nothing else we can do for her. She is the one and only student we have dealt with from her school regarding this item and I would assume there are quite a few students in her class. I've contacted [redacted] myself via phone and spoke to a representative there directly and was told what we already knew, this item was never has never and will never be a physical textbook.  We try to do our best to please every customer but unfortunately that doesn't always happen so we offer gift codes in the hopes that students will understand that we can only post what the professor asks us to and that this is the exact item the professor asked us to post for their class. If [redacted] takes issue with this item being posted for class she should really speak directly with her professor so that he/she can possibly explain why it was adopted and not a physical textbook. [redacted]Description

[redacted] + [redacted] 12-month access code ONLY
[redacted] - $10 gift code for student to use at checkout next time she orders her textbooks, code should be put into the Voucher/Coupon box on Step 3 at checkout.Thank you,Erin C[redacted]CS Manager

Hello, Per the publisher's site this a custom textbook which means it was put together from the publisher and the professor so it may not be a complete text and only specific chapters that the professor wanted in the book. The link below looks to be the particular book that you purchased used, this item is a Loose Leaf and possibly brief edition. We can't say for certain if it's missing any pages because we do not work with your school or your professor therefore we have no idea what your professor created with this publisher. As I stated previously you can return this book for a merchandise refund, you are still within 30 days however that is going by rapidly. [redacted]
Thank you,Erin C[redacted]CS Manager[redacted].com

Hello, As we've stated numerous times to this student the APLIA codes are listed as NonReturnable on our site, the publisher supplies the codes for their product and if this publisher did supply incorrect codes the school would have been notified that the students would have been receiving new...

ones. If the professor told the students to purchase new ones from a different vendor before they were even refunded on their existing codes that would be the responsibility of the professor not our site. The school and professor are notified each time there is a problem with an item they adopt for class especially if a publisher makes an error and sends incorrect codes. I've personally emailed with [redacted] at least three times and explained this to her and also that because her professor gave her the informaton to go to a site other than her college bookstore they would have to find a solution to this issue. We issue new codes to all the students who purchased through our site therefore [redacted] received a working code for her purchase.  I"ve attached a screenshot of what the student sees upon checkout on their virtual bookstore site, also again the school is aware of this policy.Thank you,Erin C[redacted]CS Manager

Hello,
 This item was purchased in our Marketplace from a 3rd party seller who listed this book as an International Edition. Please see below. Had [redacted] followed her college bookstore procedures she should have contacted our customer service department for assistance....

[redacted]help and should be checking her [redacted] email address for emails from the seller and from our cs dept. 
 We also see that the seller has stated to the customer that she can return this item back for a refund however she must return the book back to the seller to receive a refund on her item. We will continue to keep this sale on hold until the item is returned to the seller once that occurs we will issue a full refund to the customer. In the future the customer should read through the comments on the books they are buying thoroughly before making the purchase. 
We have replied to customer mails saying that he can return the book back
to us for refund. Can you please pass this information again to the buyer.
On Sat, Feb 6, 2016 at 12:08 AM, [redacted]
[email protected]> wrote:
Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN Examination
Seller Condition: New/Like New
Seller Comments: Brand New International edition, We Ship to PO BOX Address also.
Thank you,
[redacted] Team

Hello,
  We have no emails from [redacted] in our system and I show no notes on his order that he attempted to call in to our call center. All digital codes are non returnable as we state on our site, they cannot be resold therefore we do not accept them back for return or...

refund. [redacted]'s school is aware of this policy.
Thank you,
TextbookX Team

Customer chose our FREE Economy shipping method for her order which is 3-10 business days for delivery, she placed her order on 8/13 and it was shipped out on 8/13 [redacted] the customer called in on 8/21 to complain that she had not received her package yet. We...

attempted to explain to her that the item is going [redacted] and can take 3-10 business days therefore the 21st was the 6th business day and she was still within the allotted time frame. Customer was demanding we send out the item again going [redacted] which is unacceptable as our company did not make any errors, the customer chose the cheapest and slowest shipping and decided to buy their books last minute, our company is not responsible for that. Once a package leaves our warehouse it is the student's responsibility to track it's progress and if they see any issues they should contact [redacted] with their tracking number so that they can intercept it or pick it up at the post office if possible. When she called in again on the 29th [redacted] spoke with her and initiated a replacement order for her since it was well past the due date of arrival, if we see that a package has not arrived on time we initiate a replacement immediately. The book is on order however it is now on backorder with the publisher and is awaiting arrival to our warehouse, we no longer had stock on the item therefore could not send it out immediately. Unfortunately these things do happen, [redacted] does lose packages and we can only do so much to rectify the situation. I have gone ahead and cancelled the replacement order and issued a full credit on the original order it should go back onto her financial aid in 2-5 days. Had the student contacted us back we would have done the refund over the phone for her rather than contacting the Revdex.com.
We had to inform the Account Manager for her school of her belligerent attitude and use of foul language when she called into our customer service department and they needed to contact the school regarding her behavior. My email to her was in response to the representatives complaints and the recorded call that we had of her talking to our representatives unfortunately those are the emails I dislike sending the most. My staff handled themselves very well considering how they were treated and now that this student has been refunded the issue should be over. We are new to working with her school and some students have not gotten the hang of online shopping for textbooks we understand the frustration but we do not condone the behavior that was displayed by this young lady. Thank you.
August 21st
Hello,
 Thank you for contacting [redacted] customer service. It has come to my attention that you called into our
customer service line upset that your book has not arrived yet.
 Upon investigation of your order I show that you placed your order
on 8/13 at 2:48pm EST and it was confirmed 8/13 at 3:03pm EST. The
shipping method you chose on this order was Economy [redacted] which has an
estimated ship time of 3-10 business days via [redacted]. At checkout you are
given an estimated date range of when the item may arrive, we specially
say the ship time is estimated because we cannot guarantee a specific
date as we are not the ones delivering the product, [redacted] is. Please see
attached screenshots of the checkout page where our estimated ship times
are listed.
 If your order has not arrived by at least the 10th day
we would suggest calling us because there may be a problem with the
shipment.
[redacted] as of now however your shipment is on track with no known issues. You can continue to track this via [redacted].com.
 In the future when calling into our customer service department we
expect a specific type of decorum that does not involve cursing or
yelling at our representatives, we'd hope that you would treat our
employees how you would treat a professor at your college. If this does
happen again we will be forced to inform your school of the
indiscretion. Please keep in mind we record all calls.
 
 
T[redacted].
 
Kind Regards,
 
[redacted]
CS Manager
textbookX Team
 
August 26th From StudentWho are you? Why are you contacting me? I was not given the right to
speak with someone else. Please under no circumstance do you think
"threating" me will be tolerated. In addition, this is not a good way to
contact me. Therefore don't ever reach out to
me on this email. You guys have my telephone number. First of all what
kind of customer service is this, with the rate you guys are going you
will be out of business and I will be putting this tacky email on Revdex.com to
show how unprofessional you guys are. It
explains why I never gotten an apology you haven't even spoken with me
but you felt the need to send me an email. Who is your boss or are you
going to be reluctant like the previous two people I spoke with who
refused to give me "management". This is the worst
customer service I have ever experienced. You really need to get some
additional training because you guys suck and I did share my experience
with the appropriate parties. Maybe I should start a [redacted] page to
not solicit your business, matter of fact I
see me doing a [redacted] review. This is horrible.
 
Also, in the event if you are wondering where you guys went wrong, no
one ever apologized even it was my fault or not, and no on ever offered
appropriate solutions. The young lady advised that I purchase another
book  ($265.00), that would upset any normal
person, and as you are doing you guys are continuing to blame without
acknowledging that it could be confusing or trying to accommodate or
reason with the customer. Therefore this is poor service, I am so glad
that I had this experience because I will never
spend another dime here and will be speaking with the Board of
Directors, because they need to end their contract with you guys. It
terrible and you are so uneducated you thought it would be "wise" to
confirm how unprofessional you guys are by sending this
email from "management".
 
You send me a random email and don't even take the time to disclose
who you are, who trained you guys? What kind of management is this? Then
you take the time to threatened me, so is that your way of saying
don't  report us, because I am and matter of fact
I had forgotten about it, this email is a reminder of how important
this topic is and needs to be escalated.
 
Thanks for the lack of "customer service", never ever again...horrible  service.
 
P.S. If you continue to work with the public, sharpen your skills as the customer service for this company is dull and dry.
 
Lack of Customer Service will take you out of business, I have shared
with 30 people yesterday and provided other companies they should
utilize. I could actually forward you an email from [redacted] on how
professional they are, I ordered books from them and
they messed my order up twice, they offered reasonable solutions and I
spent more money, but due to great customer service skills, I felt like
they were worth it. They followed up and even when the gentlemen
couldn't help me and gotten someone else, not management
but another co-worker. How about that my book is still coming late and I
spent more money but because of the customer service I referred them. I
understand business but right now I feel like I'm being robbed, you
guys don't deserve my $265.00 that's what I'm
trying to get you guys to understand. Quite ironically this happened
the same day I contacted you guys, maybe you should figure out what they
are doing that you are not. One things for certain they are making
money and you guys will be going out of business
if the customer service doesn't take a radical transformation.
 
Sincerely,
 
I require great customer service!
 
[redacted]
 
August 27th
Hello,
 Thank you for contacting [redacted] customer service. [redacted] I am the Customer Service Manager and was
informed by my customer service representatives of the incident
involving your call. After listening to the recorded messages we felt it
was necessary to email you regarding what had happened, we've also
forwarded on the recorded call and this email to the Account Manager for
your college so that they can take the appropriate steps in notifying
whatever party necessary. Both representatives gave you the information
that you asked for and a Manager contacted you with the information you
asked for, the email that we are provided is the one that is on your
order which is the [redacted] email address, that is the one we will always
contact you on.
 We are very happy to be working with your school and to have saved
students $300,000 already in one month however we cannot do it alone, it
takes a very large team and teamwork between us, the school and the
students to accomplish this. We look forward to a very long partnership
and one that will save you as well as your classmates significant
amounts of money, after all that is what we are here for. If you need
anything further please do not hesitate to ask, but as I said in the
future please be aware of how you treat the customer service
representatives who are trying to assist you we will not tolerate
yelling, cursing or otherwise belligerent behavior.
 
 
[redacted] is your one-stop-shop for New, Used, eBook, and Rentals.
 
Kind Regards,
 
[redacted]
CS Manager
textbookX Team

Hello,  We've spoken with [redacted] a few times and have asked her each time to provide the correct banking information so that we can send a direct deposit (ACH) to her account which she chose as her form of payment. We attempted to pay her on 1/22/2016 and was notified by her bank on 1/28...

that the payment was rejected. [redacted] was sent an email alerting her to this and that she needed to check and update her info, she informed us on 2/12/2016 that she had done this we then again attempted to pay her and received yet another rejection by her bank on 2/19/2016. Sellers only have two choices for payment which they agree to upon becoming a seller they can either receive a direct deposit or store credit we do not issue paper checks to sellers or customers. [redacted] must contact her bank, [redacted] and actually speak to a Manager and go over the routing and account number she provided to ensure it is correct and find out why the bank is rejecting our payments. She can switch the payment to store credit and we can pay her immediately but we will not issue paper checks. All of this information can be found at the link below, this is also what [redacted] read before she agreed to our terms. [redacted]SELLER PAYMENT OPTIONSAs a Seller, you have two options to choose from to determine how you are paid for your marketplace sales. You may change your preferred method at any time in Your Account screen, and any pending payments will be adjusted to reflect your new choice. Although the final pay-out dates vary according to the method you choose, all payment methods are initiated on the same schedule, as laid out in the next section.Store Credit.The fastest and most valuable method for Sellers is the store credit option. Choose this method and you'll receive your total account balance plus 5%, issued in the form of a store credit code for use on any future purchase or purchases on TextbookX.com. This gift certificate will continue to increase and decrease in value as you make additional sales and purchases.Direct Deposit.You may also choose to have your payment directly deposited into a valid checking or savings account. If you choose this option, you must enter a valid routing and account number, which can both be found on any personal check or deposit ticket, in Your Account screen, after logging in.Thank you,ErinCS Manager

[redacted] rushed the return process and failed to follow instruction on how our rentals are to be returned. We have a specific label that aids in the return processing. We were unable to understand why the post office was not accepting a prepaid [redacted] label.  After all of this the...

customer was able to get the book back to our return facility in [redacted].  I called to follow up and customer was nice and pleasant. Seemed like she was worried about a buy out charge and looming 12/31 deadline and rushed the entire process. This has all be sorted out and both parties were happy with results. Tell us why here...

Hello,  Typically when fraud occurs on a person's credit card they should contact their credit card company or if it's a debit card they should contact their bank that the card is drawn from, we can look up the customer's name and if an order shows up with that person's info we can process a...

refund to the card.  In this case we do not show an order for this person in our system which may mean that their card number has been stolen and used improperly if that is the case the customer should contact their issuing bank to start the fraud claim process. We are a textbook company operating since 1999 and we would not purposely process a fraudulent order, the customer is responsible for actions on their card not our company. Since we are unable to locate an order we cannot assist the customer only their credit card company could assist them. Thank you,[redacted]Customer Service Manager

Hello,Seller will be paid for shipping the book initially, however the book was returned to the seller which makes the sale null and void. Thank you,Erin C[redacted]CS Manager

The recording never played and I have called numerous times where the suggested recording never played and I even called back after I filed the complaint and it doesn't have the suggested recording. I noticed this on several calls. What is written is not true at all. 
Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Hello,
As we've stated repeatedly, we cannot cancel the order because it has already been confirmed so once the order is delivered it can be returned for a refund so while we cannot immediately solve the issue we have to wait for the publisher to ship the item in order for the customer to return it and then we can refund the customer. If they do not need the book any longer we offer a return policy [redacted] clearly listed on our site that states we will accept back the items for a refund. We are not holding their money and we have no plans to hold their money, the student should issue a complaint with their school if they are unhappy with the books that were chosen for class not the bookstore that sells them.
Thank you,
[redacted]
CS Manager

Hello,
  As we stated previously we can search emails for customer emails in our system and found no communication from [redacted] regarding this or any other order. When digital codes are adopted by the school or the professor the school is made aware that these items are non returnable, digital codes are for one time use only and cannot be resold or returned to the publisher therefore we do not recoup money on these items. We tell the schools that it is at their own risk if they want to adopt these items because students cannot return them and [redacted] is aware of this policy. I've also spoken with the Operations Manager who purchases these codes and he has confirmed that these items are indeed not returnable or refundable. 
 When you put these items into your cart before you check out it states Non-Returnable within the description of the item, please see attached screenshot. As much as we'd love to be able to bend the rules for one that would mean bending for all others and a policy would not be a policy in that case. Putting aside the fact that this order is from 12/31 and well past the 30 day return period we would not be able to accept it back because of the status of this particular item.  If you look at the attached screenshot you will see under the Title information where it says, Additional: Non-Returnable
[redacted]
Non-Returnable
Thank you,
Erin
CS Manager

Hello,
 If the seller did not receive a reply they should contact Customer Service via the email form on the Help! tab on the main webpage, we have no prior emails from them regarding this issue. We can easily update the information with the new tracking number once we are given it to show that the item was indeed delivered and payment can be made manually but we must show the updated tracking before that can happen.
Thank you,
[redacted]
CS Manager

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: Below I have an email from the purchaser of the book stating that he did in fact order the right book, however the professor assigned some pages that were not in the text. For this reason the purchaser believed that he initially had the wrong book.  The Text book was in fact the right book.  I have a copy of the syllabus (sent to me from the purchaser) for the class of the book with MATCHING IDENTICAL ISBN Numbers. There is no question that it was the right book sent and I have all the proof necessary to establish this. In addition to this, the book was returned 3 months after it had been delivered to the purchasers house, already having been used for his course. I incurred charges shipping the book from [redacted] to [redacted], and these are the only charges I am requesting reimbursement for. I completed all agreements as per [redacted] policy, the purchaser failed to complete his and financial burden is on me as a result.  Also in addition to this there were tones used on both ends of the transaction where both parties felt threatened and the email below portrays this.  I believe however that neither side intentionally meant to insult the other.  Amends were made and once again proof is available upon request.  [redacted] cost me unnecessary funds and have failed to work with me to any degree with regards to these lost funds. As per their consumer reviews online, this is a common practice and once again evidence can be given upon request. Email Below:
2014-07-30 21:50:02 Hi [redacted], I didn=92t mean to threaten you = or be rude in any way or even imply that you were trying to be = fraudulent or cheat me in any way. So I do apologize if you think I was = trying to otherwise. I had a chance to speak with the prof. and she=92s = assigning readings from pages that aren=92t in this [redacted] and = apparently a few people who have purchased used have contacted her about = that. I am sorry for your trouble, I will ship the book back to you. I = spoke with [redacted]X and they gave me this address to ship it back to,
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Hello,As we stated previously these codes were issued by the publisher and adopted by the professor, we alerted the student that they would receive a new code and the student was also aware these codes were non returnable. The student chose to shop for a new one elsewhere before even knowing if she could return this one, that is not our error. We've already emailed this student with a gift code but we will not be accepting this code back. Her school is aware of this. Thank you,Erin C[redacted]CS Manager

They are sending the money back the money. Only issue I have is if the guy said the book was received because I don't have the book to send back because it was never came to my house....


Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: I once again went to help tab and contacted customer service just like the response said on that day, and now on Saturday still no response. 
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
If this is an on going issue and they knew that my bank rejected payment on Feb, 19th, 2016 why wasn't I notified of this rejection from them then? Instead they only stated through an e-mail on Feb, 12, 2016 that payment was initiated. They simply have been brushing off the issue and have made no attempts to try and work with me or even provide good customer service. They have given me two options and state thats all they can do. I do not want store credit with anyone that can't even provide good customer service to their customers. They had no problems taking money out of my account for the books I bought through them but it's an issue to pay me for the books that I have sold through them. The lack of customer service and lack of communication from this business is why I am rejecting this response. I have even made an attempt to ask what bank information they had on file, so that I can confirm if that was correct or not to see why it was being rejected. They told me they do not have access to that for secruity reasons, which is understandable and that is why I asked for a paper check. I feel as if they lack good customer service and aren't even making an attempt to fix this issue. 
Sincerely,
[redacted]