Original article can be found at http://www.idg.se/2.1085/1.120444

2007-09-12 22:51 - PC för Alla:

Now 2CO backs off and refunds Medison's customers

By Pontus Jeppsson |

Now 2CO that handles payments for the fraud accused Medison have had enough. Customers that had their funds withdrawn from their accounts will now get their money back. "Logistical issues" are said to be the reason.

A few days ago "PC for alla" could tell how Lennart Aspenryd, a customer of the scandal company Medison has had funds withdrawn from his account. Now he has, and several other customers, got the money refunded.

It is not Medison themselves that are handling the transactions. Instead they engage the american company 2Checkout, that is a middle man between the customer and Medison. The money will be withdrawn by 2Checkout when Medison states they have started shipping. But 2Checkout does not send any funds to Medison until they have received confirmation that the computers really have been received by customers.

About two weeks ago customers started receiving notifications that their orders had been shipped. Medison had then stated to 2Checkout that they had started to ship the computers.

And only a few days ago apparently 2Checkout were so sure the computers were on their way that they started transferring money from the customers' accounts.

But now 2Checkout has made a u-turn, and are starting to refund the money that were withdrawn. "PC for alla" has confirmed from two different customers that this is the case.

In the mail that has been sent out it says that "due to certain logistical issues your computer can't be delivered right now". Further is says that 2Checkout will refund the entire amount, and that the customer should have the money available within five to seven days. To receive the computer the customer will have to reorder, and 2Checkout will let the customer know when this is possible.

This Tuesday Medison sent out a press release where they assured that all customers will receive their computers. In the press release there no explanation was given why the deliveries have been so delayed, or how the distribution will be handled. The latter has been one of the largest question marks surrounding Medison, since the distributor EMEA Services pulled out of all negotiations with Medison.

It is not at this time possible to order any Medison computers. To place an order one must go through 2Checkout's e-commerce system, and there one at the time of writing only get an error message.

Here is the mail that was sent to customers informing them that their money will be refunded:

Dear 2Checkout customer, I thank you for your patience regarding your Medison Celebrity Laptop. I apologize, but due to certain logistical problems, your laptop will not be able to be delivered at this time. 2Checkout.com has issued you a full refund and you should see this on your statement within 5-7 days. 2Checkout.com will contact you and inform you when you may replace your order for your Medison Celebrity laptop.

A refund can be issued by 2Checkout for various reasons, including:

1 ) Requested by the cardholder.

2 ) Requested by the vendor.

3 ) Failed internal fraud checking.

Your refund should appear on your credit card/bank statement within the next 7-10 days.

Updated: "PC for Alla" has during Thursday tried to contact with both Medison and 2Checkout for comment regarding this, without success.

-Translated 9/13