On Sept. 14, 2009 I placed a free online ad for our travel trailer on www.buysell.com and to push the sale I chose the "spotlight promotion" for $ 4.99 for 4 weeks. I got an invoice and a confirmation and ready to print flyers and was delighted!

The next morning I had an email in my inbox which informed me that my ad was denied by a BuySell.com moderator:

DEAR SELLER:
WE ARE COMMITTED TO PROVIDING A QUALITY EXPERIENCE FOR BOTH BUYERS AND SELLERS BY ENSURING THAT ALL ADS ARE IN-LINE WITH OUR EDITORIAL POLICIES. AFTER REVIEWING YOUR AD, WE HAVE FOUND THAT IT DOES NOT MEET THESE REQUIREMENTS. THUS, YOUR AD HAS BEEN DENIED AND HAS BEEN SUSPENDED BASED ON THE EDITOR'S COMMENTS BELOW. SHOULD YOU WISH TO DISCUSS HOW TO RESOLVE THIS MATTER, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CALL US DURING OFFICE HOURS AT 1-877-819-2776 OR E-MAIL US AT [email protected].

COMMENTS FROM EDITOR: D

I replied immediately that the editors comment was missing and asked to send the email again. NO ANSWER!

The next day my credit card was charged with $ 4.99 for the "spotlight promotion!" I wrote again:

SEPT. 16, 2009

I DIDN'T GET THE EMAIL WITH THE EDITOR'S COMMENT! SO WE HAVE NO IDEA WHY THE AD WAS DENIED. BUT YOU CHARGED OUR CREDIT CARD WITH $ 4.99 FOR "SPOTLIGHT PROMOTION" TODAY. THAT IS NOT FUNNY. PLEASE REFUND IMMEDIATELY.

NO ANSWER!!

And I wrote again:

SEPT. 18, 2009

I CAN NOT BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE NOT ABLE (OR WILLING) TO ANSWER MY EMAIL AND I CAN NOT BELIEVE THAT YOU RUN A BUSINESS THAT WAY...SUCCESSFUL. BUT MAYBE IT IS YOUR WAY!

NO ANSWER!!

On Sept. 21 I got 3 "not read" messages and that my email were deleted without being read.

Now I went to the website and send a letter through the "feedback button" - (I got a "Thank you, your feedback had been sent" message):

I PLACED A PRIVATE AD ON 14/09/09. ON 15/09/09 I GOT AN EMAIL THAT THE AD HAS BEEN DENIED. THERE WAS NO EDITOR'S COMMENT IN THIS EMAIL. SO I WROTE TO [email protected] AND ASKED FOR THE COMMENT. I DIDN'T GET AN ANSWER. ON 16/09/09 MY VISA CARD WAS CHARGED WITH $ 4.99 FOR "SPOTLIGHT PROMOTION" FOR MY DENIED AD. SO I WROTE AGAIN TO THE EMAIL ADDRESS AND ASKED FOR CLARIFICATION OR REFUND. NO ANSWER. ON 18/09/09 I WROTE AGAIN, QUITE FRUSTRATED. NO ANSWER!!!
TODAY I GOT 3 "NOT READ" MESSAGES AND THAT MY EMAIL WERE DELETED WITHOUT BEING READ.
SO NOW I'M REALLY UPSET. I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE AD BUT I WANT MY MONEY BACK!

Of course - NO ANSWER!!

This is my last email I wrote to this "company":

SEPT. 24, 2009
IT SEEMS TO BE YOUR POLICY NOT TO ANSWER EMAILS!! I WROTE TO "[email protected]" ABOUT MY DENIED AD AND THE CHARGE OF $ 4.99 FOR SPOTLIGHT PROMOTION FOR EXACT THIS DENIED AD 4 TIMES. I NEVER GOT AN ANSWER. THIS MAY BE YOUR WAY TO RUN A BUSINESS, BUT IT IS NOT A FAIR AND GOOD WAY!

Do I have to mention that I got NO ANSWER?

In the meantime I'm not even frustrated any more, I'm angry! What amount of arrogance is necessary to treat paying customers with such a disrespect? How can it be that people can get away with this kind of behaviour? How can they run a successful business and be allowed to brag about "being the leading online classified ad website for Canada?"
I know it is not a lot of money and I don't care about the 5 bucks but I will not accept that some people can shamelessly do whatever they want without any principles or risk of getting caught. And they offer "more services" over their website for a lot more money, so be careful.

Thanks for listening ;-)