Original Old Town Ramona Antique Fair

Review: On 7/5/13 my mom and I went antiquing in Ramona. I couldn't see the ticket when the ink bottle was in the case. I asked the clerk how much the bottle was, she told me $19.00 - I decided to buy it. Upon returning home, my mother, when checking receipt to purchases, noticed a charge for $99.00. On 7/9/13 I called the store to inform them that we had been overcharged and had asked for an $80.00 refund. $99.99 instead $19.00. The clerk said the tag read $99.00. I told her I would never have paid that price and would like to return the item. She told me she would have the owner return my call. I never heard back so I called again on 8/14/13. I spoke to [redacted] (owner). She said she remembered being informed of the situation and the ticket did in fact say $99.00. Also stated that signs are posted all over the store and on the receipt that all sales are final. There was nothing she could do to help me. I told her I believed there was a mix-up somewhere and that I would like to see a copy of the original ticket. I'd since looked up the item up on ebay - found male/female pairs selling at $25. I purchased only the male for $19 so I thought. There was no place that showed these ink bottles for anywhere near $99.00. I told [redacted] that if the bottle had been worth $99, I would just let the matter go, but it was not, and I believe that led further credence to the fact that there was a mix up. I asked [redacted] to contact the seller for clarification, she said she wouldn't since the seller is undergoing chemo. I understand as I have also recently gone through chemo, in fact this shopping day was my first day out since my chemo. I know all sales are final. This is not a matter of changing my mind, I do still want the item but never would have paid $99. I've asked for clarification on price from the seller, was told no. I asked for a copy of the original ticket, was told they probably don't have it anymore. An 80.00 overcharge is a lot to just forget. The store has not been helpful in resolving this matter.Desired Settlement: I would like to return the item for a full refund or keep the item and receive an 80.00 refund.I would like to see the original ticket although I have no idea if the ticket I'll be shown is the original or a new one rewritten with the 99.00 price. Would like clarification from the seller on the price she intended to sell the bottle for.

Business

Response:

Sometimes individuals are so determined to make their case legitimate they begin to alter the truth to fit their needs.On July 5, 2013 Ms. [redacted] along with relatives visited our Antique Fair. She asked to look in several cases in the individually rented spaces. I remember Ms. [redacted] distinctly because of the exact item she claims was misrepresented to her.As I removed it from the case I remember clearly having looked at the price thinking this must be a very special ink bottle. NEVER was the price discussed at that moment or any other time in the store on that date. She held the item in her hand, simply and in a very matter of fact way stated “I’ll take it”.You can see by the scanned invoice and representing description and price stickers (attached) she purchased another item from the same dealer both are clearly written. I do remember at the end of the transaction that another woman paid the entire transaction with a credit card. The women later told me that Ms. [redacted] was her daughter and that she and a second daughter were shopping that day but never objected to questioned any prices.As you can see by the invoice and dealer ticket there is no evidence that the ink well was priced at anything other than 99.00. I doubt a 19.00 ink bottle would have been locked behind glass doors.As far as Ms. [redacted]’s unhappiness, we have had a conversation with regard to a remedy. Our return or refund policy is clearly posted in the store behind the register in plain sight and repeated again at the bottom of the invoice the ALL SALES ARE FINAL.I’ll take this one step further. I could have enlightened Ms. [redacted] that she was not charged for a frog salt and pepper set during that same transaction. Since she was unhappy with the realization that she had misread the item price I simply paid the dealer that had been shorted on her inventory sales out of my pocket. Funny how she didn’t catch that and offer to pay for the item she received for free.There will be no refund or return on Ms. [redacted]’s ink bottle. She and I have had this conversation via telephone prior to her contacting you with her complaint. I reiterated to Ms. [redacted] what our return policy is and explained that I could not arbitrarily change the price set on any item owned by one of my dealers to suit what she decided she wanted to pay.I am sorry Ms. [redacted] is unhappy with her purchase however the Original Old Town Ramona Antique Fair did nothing to pressure her, mislead her or insist that she purchase the ink bottle at the price that is clearly marked.We have been in business nearly 18 years and never had a complaint such as this. I thank you for the opportunity to respond to Ms. [redacted]’s complaint.Regards[redacted] Owner

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

I have to say that I am not surprised by this businesses response. It's interesting how they have done exactly what they have accused me of doing- exaggerating details, etc. My saying "I will take it" was in direct response to being told the price of $19.00. After looking at the copy of the ticket provided, part of the first 9 is is lighter than the rest of the writing. I could see how it might be misread as 19.00 instead of 99.00. As far as frog salt and pepper shakers and not being charged for them... We did not receive anything that we were not charged for and we do not have any frog salt and pepper shakers. We go antiquing several times a month at several different locations. Many of these stores also have no return policies. There are those rare occasions where an a discrepancy or some sort of issue arises. I have never encountered any business so unwilling to even discuss the problem or make any attempt to resolve the issue to the customers satisfaction. I completely understand "Buyer Beware" and "Speak with your Wallet" and I know one thing - It cost me about 80.00 dollars to learn that I will never shop at this store again. And I will tell everyone else I know - Not to shop at this store. Customer service is invaluable and the customer service here lacks in many ways. It's about an hours drive from my house to Ramona and we thought it would be fun to make a day trip out of the Ramona antique stores. Our shopping trip to Ramona totaled almost $1000.00 that day. Considering this situation - I doubt very strongly that we will go out of our way to do this again. It's unfortunate that other stores will lose us as customers as well, because of the lies, lack of consideration and poor customer service of "The Original Old Town Ramona Antique Fair". It's apparent that this issue will remain unresloved so I'll consider this issue closed as a lesson learned.

Regards,