I don't usually spend a lot of
money on a single book. However, I have been searching for the Gréau
catalog of
Greek coins for 15 years and I finally found one on 16th April on the website of a
shop in
Paris. When I wrote to the owner, she told me the book was
still available and she would allow me a 25% discount, which was very kind of her. The total
price including postage
still came to nearly 200 Fr.
So I made the payment by bank transfer on the 16th and she wrote back "
The book will be sent on Monday because of Easter, but send me your address so that can be done". I sent her my address and on 19th April my bank system informed me that my payment
had gone through.
By the end of April the book wasn't here, so on 4th May I wrote and asked whether it was already on its way.
She replied "
I am on holiday but I will write to the storage depot because your package went out a long time ago".
On 6th May I was told that "
the storage depot has lost your address, could you send it to me again?", so I sent it again.
On 14th May I wrote again, "
Could you please ask the depot when the book was sent, and the registered post number?"
Reply: "
I will ask them on Monday, but don't worry, the packet is registered. I will write again soon"
After a week of silence, I wrote again on the 20th May, "
It's good that the packet is registered, but where is it? And what is the registered post number ? It's been more than a month since my order and my payment and the delivery time is not normal for a packet from France. In the same time I have received a packet from the USA which was sent by surface! I don't like to keep asking, but it's very worrying to pay such a sum (it was a lot of money for me) for a book which doesn't arrive."
No reply since then.
I wonder whether I have been ripped off and need to contact a lawyer in
Paris or at least to ask her for my
money back. However, the book is no longer on her website, so it might just be inefficiency. If
Paris weren't so far I would go past and demand they give me the book in my
hands..