dealsandyou — Damaged product delivered

Address:

Bangalore, Karnataka

I placed an order for Nikon Coolpix S6000 camera online on DealsAndYou on 2nd Aug 2011. Not able to select the color. I asked for the vendor details so that I can directly talk to him. Details were not provided. No information on status of the order (D&U website shows the order status as complete - all it means is they have recieved the full money. Thats all they bothered about) is provided. No shipping details nothing. For initial few emails they had not even provided the customer support phone number also. As per thier website it takes 21 working days to get the delivery of product. Finally I recieved the merchandise on 29th Aug 2011 in the afternoon. Same day I realised that the merchandise was not brand new. The box was not sealed. There were few scratches near the LCD screen. I was not bothered so much about these. But biggest shock was when I noticed the broken frame. The metal frame on the side was broken and there was a deep scratch near the broken frame which would have happened becuase of a fall. I filed a complaint on the same day. I was asked to contact the vendor. Did that. Vendor did not own up any damage and just told me that he had delivered the product in good condition to D&U. After that it has been almost a month. Every time I email, the only reply I get is
" We truly regret the inconvenience caused to you. We would like to inform you that we are still investigating the matter and your query will be resolved as soon as possible. Your understanding in this matter is highly appreciated. " .
No details on what actions they are taking or the status of the complaint or whether it escalated to any higher official in the company. THere is no exclusive number or emailid to address the cusomter's grievances either.
Absolutely disappointing service and big black mark on emerging e-commerce in India.
THe same merchandise was avialbel for just 500 Rs more on competetor's portal. I would anytime prefer that instead of going through all this nonsense.
A big NO to Deals and You. Down down D&U.
-Shreeram