Pirate DVDs

[DVRman]

I have posted on another thread re this issue but would like further advice if anyone can help please, as the details have changed somewhat.

I bought a DVD Box set of the Avengers from a company on the web called TVDVDLifestyle in the U.S.

They seemed completely legitimate to me as they advertised payment through VISA and Mastercard.

The purchase price was $99.95 and with shipping the set cost a total of $124 which converted to £84 ish.

When the set arrived it was obviously a pirated set, taken from U.S released copyrighted sets and several homemade copies. Several discs were blank and one was damaged.

Apart from all this the set did not contain all the episodes as promised on the sales blurb.

The shipping address was from China.

These are obviously pirated.

I contacted the company and eventually got a reply, after several e-mails in between, saying they would refund the purchase price, not the shipping cost as well, if I returned the DVDs to the Chinese address.

Up to now I have gone along with the agent as I want to get as much information as possible re the transaction.

But I am loath to actually send these DVDs off and trust that they will credit my card with the purchase price.

Should I go to VISA and complain that they have mis sold me the set, through their advertisement and are peddling poor quality pirated material and try and get my money back through VISA chargeback, or go along with the company at face value and try and at least get my purchase cost back?

Would VISA even entertain such a request?

This must be some sort of [problem] and the site must be a front for this Chinese operation. But what are my options?

Any advice most welcome.

[chontour]

i know if its over 100pounds u will be able to get a refund from CC company but im not too sure how it works with anythin under that.. hopefully someone here will have some usefull info and i hope u get a result!

[andydd]

HHHmm.. A quick look at the site rings some alarm bells.

 

The 'DVD Cover' pictures are unclear and blurry, not looking like official covers.

 

There is no contact address, in fact what led you to believe it was US based ?

 

The T & C's state "It is understood by the customer that some of the DVDs sold by TV DVD Lifestyle have been individually compiled from original film stock and public domain wholesaler sources. These sources have an inconsistent level of preservation associated with them. In accordance the playback experienced may vary from movie to movie on any DVD collection purchased. Every effort has been given to maintain true DVD quality, but the customer understands and accepts that some level of imperfection is present in each film and that level of imperfection can vary significantly between films. This means the customer accepts that their may be "pauses" or "skips" present in the playback of any given film. We have made every effort to keep errors to a minimum, but they may still exist. The customer accepts this as part of their set, and as part of owning films directly converted from original film stock." So it sounds like nothing they sell is an official DVD, just stuff recorded off TV.

 

The FAQ's also contain "Some of these DVD's haven't even been released yet. How is it possible that you sell them?

 

There is a section of the American copyright law known as "The Berne Act" that Clearly states: films unreleased in the United States, including original versions of films altered and/or edited for release in the United States, are NOT protected by American copyright; thus, they are considered public domain. The entire purpose of our website is to provide otherwise unavailable films or television shows to the serious collector."

 

 

All in all a very odd site, I'd be worried about giving them all my card details !, case of buyer beware perhaps ?

 

 

Andy

[dx100uk]

if its within 120 days do a chargeback.

 

simples.

 

dx

[Conniff]

It's the bank that issued the card who deal with it and not Visa. If you contacted Visa they would just refer you to your bank.

[buzby]

There's no real change to your original thread. There is no s75 protection. Neither will DSR apply (due to the company being 'foreign' in the non-EU sense).

 

I do think you are the architect of your own misfortune here - the website clearly indicates the product will not be legitimate in all cases, as you do run the risk of 'mis-buying' and to which the card company can avoid sharing any responsibility for your mistake.

 

If you manage to get a refund - great. But this is not assured.

[DVRman]

Hi Buzby and all.

 

The only change to the thread is that when I posted I had not had any contact back from the company.

 

Yeah simple answer is in hindsight I have been the architect of my own misfortune.

 

I didn't research, ask the right questions and check the detail.

 

And in hindsight I have been stupid to purchase through this site.

 

So I'll just put it down to experience and write the money off as there doesn't seem any way to get the money back, as I'm very sceptical of their promise of a refund.

 

Thanks for the advice and comments peeps.

[buzby]

Don't give up immediately - stranger things have been known to happen. Especially if someone sympathetic at the bank realises you've bought and paid for pirated DVDs and dislike the idea as much as you do... ask. If they refuse, you've lost nothing, but learned a lesson!

[DVRman]

O.K buzby will give it a try.

 

Thanks

[andydd]

A "whois" shows the site to be registered in the US so I assume there must be some authority to shut it (or the company) down as despite their T & C's I doubt they are operating within US Law.

 

Andy

[DVRman]

Hi andydd

 

I assumed they were a U.S company purely from the site and wording.

 

but as you pointed out further inspection with a more critical eye than mine would have raised doubts, the same as I had only in hindsight.

 

I collect box sets of old T.V series, especially the old ITC series from the sixties, and the Avengers is a bit on a Holy Grail, as contract wranglings have prevented their official release in the U.K. on DVD, though they have been available on official copyright in the U.S for some years.

 

I didn't think to consider whether these would be pirate discs as I was keen to get the set and the site didn't make me think [problem] on first sight. If I had wanted pirated copies I could have got hold of them a lot easier and cheaper than this. Unfortunately I bought on impulse on first visit.

 

But I would not be surprised if many other Avenger series fans have been caught by this [problem] and would like to see them stopped.

 

I would also like VISA to withdraw their credit facility from them as many, like me, will think that if you are paying through VISA it adds safety and lends the site legitimacy, I dare say someone will explain that is not the case but unfortunately some of us are just gullible enough to fall for it and I suspect the site pitches its layout and promises to catch such gullibles as I.