Thought this might be of interest to those of you who might have had a poor experience with a vendor.

Thank you for your recent letter concerning your complaint.

The Federal Trade Commission's Mail or Telephone Order Rule covers goods you order by mail, telephone, computer, and fax machine. By law, a company should ship your order within the time stated in its ads. If no time is promised, the company should ship your order within 30 days after receiving it. If the company is unable to ship on time, the company must give you the choice of agreeing to the delay or canceling your order and receiving a prompt refund.

Information from your letter has been added to our computerized reporting systems, which is used by the staff to determine actions that will benefit all consumers. As a federal regulatory agency, our role is to identify those companies that consistently violate consumers' rights and then correct those violations through appropriate law enforcement action. Meanwhile, the Attorney General's office in the state where the company is located may be able to assist you.

We appreciate your interest in writing to us.