Businesses not always to blame

Sometimes a consumer’s oversight contributes to delays and confusion, such as the case of Priscilla Torrence of Bangor, lifted from our files because it is a good example of why you should always pay attention to the basics, especially when dealing with an out-of-state company.

Wisely planning in advance, Priscilla made arrangements to have her son Bill’s college yearbook pictures taken the summer before he completed his senior year at a Massachusetts school. Once the yearbook photo was arranged, the proud mom decided she wanted some extra photos, so she placed an order with Fraternal Composite Inc. of Utica, N.Y., in July.

Priscilla’s order included two 5-by-7-inch and eight wallet-sized photos, and her check for $24.95 appeared in her next bank statement, proving that Fraternal had cashed it.

By Dec. 23, the pictures had not arrived and several attempts to contact Fraternal had gone unanswered. Priscilla contacted COMBAT for help in determining why her proofs weren’t returned and the photos were taking so long. A COMBAT volunteer mediator contacted Fraternal on Jan. 11 with a pleasant letter explaining the situation and asking the company to check its records in hopes of solving the problem.

After 30 days, our first letter to Fraternal was still unanswered. It is our policy to give all companies the benefit of the doubt with the first unanswered letter, so we then wrote to Fraternal nicely again, reminding it of our previous letter and requesting a prompt follow-up to Priscilla’s problem.

To get Fraternal’s attention, we informed it that if we did not receive a response in 14 days, we would contact the New York attorney general, his consumer affairs representative and the postal inspector of Utica (all of whom we knew by name) regarding Fraternal Composite’s lack of response. After 32 years of helping Maine people with their consumer problems, COMBAT is on a first-name basis with many state, federal, and private consumer agency representatives across the United States.

This time, Fraternal’s customer service manager responded to our letter promptly, saying the order was delayed because the company hadn’t been informed there was a problem. Strange, since Priscilla had written them once and spoken with them by phone two times, and COMBAT had written twice. The Fraternal representative went on to explain how they handle thousands of orders per month and had been a member of the Better Business Bureau for more than 30 years. The problem, she continued, was that when Priscilla sent the proofs she forgot to fill out the order blank. This left Fraternal guessing where the pictures should be sent once developed into wallet size and 5-by-7-inch prints. Oops, Priscilla!

The company, therefore, had decided to send the pictures to Bill’s fraternity house asking the college to forward them to a good address. But Fraternal’s letter to the college was sent during the summer recess where it languished until September. The college wrote to Fraternal on Sept 2, notifying it of Bill’s last known home address but saying it had no idea what happened to the pictures.

Fraternal also explained that COMBAT’s first letter might have been lost in one of its six departments. In February, Fraternal asked Priscilla to send a photocopy of her canceled check as proof of payment, apologizing for “this unfortunate matter” and “regrettable inconvenience.”

Forum expected a prompt refund, but not so. In late March, COMBAT sent a reminder letter to Fraternal, repeating previous information, and in April Fraternal responded with a full refund and the return of her proofs. The moral of the story? If you order something and expect delivery, you’d better tell them where you live.

Consumer Forum is a collaboration of the Bangor Daily News and Northeast COMBAT-Maine Center for the Public Interest, Maine’s membership-funded nonprofit consumer organization. Individual membership $25, business rates start at $125 (0-10 employees). For help and information write: Consumer Forum, Bangor Daily News, PO Box 1329, Bangor 04402-1329.