I placed an order online for 2 items & used a coupon code. I immediately received a confirmation email that HS had received the order. After 8-9 business days, I went online to check the status. They didn't have my order. I called customer service. After waiting longer than usual, a very curt & unpleasant man [ I will not call him a "customer" representative. ] took the call. He informed me in an abrupt manner that there was no order & gave me a lecture on how they have thousands of orders; and if I wanted my order to be placed, I should always call & place it. HUH??! It's the 21st century. When I told him I also had free shipping because I had submitted a coupon, he said too bad. Instead of ordering both items, I ordered the one specially requested birthday present only available on HS. It's a good thing I originally placed the order several weeks before I needed it since HS's ineptitude put me a week behind schedule. I still can't believe they inconvenienced me, showed extraordinarily poor customer service and would not agree to pay for the shipping on my original order!!! I will be advising my friends to avoid HS [ & its subsidiaries] like the plague!!

I wish to raise the following experience of downright overcharging done in a misleading and (my opinion) dishonest manner.

On 27 Oct 07, I placed an internet order with HAMMACHER SCHLEMMER for an electronic scrabble dictionary priced at $49.65. The website did not quote shipping charges but from previous experience I expected a reasonable charge between $20 and $40 ((maximum). I had no sooner confirmed the order when my credit card account registered a charge of $161.65.

On Monday 29, I contacted the company by e-mail requesting the reason for such an exorbitant charge. I was advised on the next day that $111.70 was for shipping and handling charges. I then attempted to cancel the order but was informed that it had been shipped but that they would try to cancel it. They then advised me to take the following action: quote-refuse delivery on this item or mark return to sender and the package will come back to usa. I then attempted to negotiate a more reasonable shipping charge on the basis that other suppliers usually charge less than $40 and that it seemed senseless to send the item back.

The response to my proposal was as follows: quote -The package has already been returned to us. A refund in the amount of $49.95 was applied to your Visa card. Shipping and handling is nonrefundable and nonnegotiable. Please contact me if you need further assistance. I have now paid them $111.70 and received nothing but delayed responses and aggro!

I strongly warn anyone dealing with this company to be extremely careful as they are not only overcharging but have also adopted a very high handed attitude and are definitely not customer orientated or customer friendly!! In any event, their charges are exorbitant as I have purchased the item new from eBay for a total charge of $72 – LESS THAN HALF THE PRICE CHARGED BY HAMMACHER SCHLEMMER!!

This was a very expensive lesson and I do not believe that such companies should or will continue to exist in the long term. I hope that this serves to expose them.