> The honeymoon is over for e-commerce companies. A class action lawsuit
> filed in Washington state yesterday alleges that Toysrus.com spoiled
> Christmasfor an untold number of children by failing to delivergoods in
> time for the holiday.
>
> The suit claims that the e-tail branch of the brick-and-mortar toy
> giant deceptively accepted orders for Christmas presents that it knew it
> could not deliver.
>
> Breach of Contract Claim
>
> Attorney Steve Berman, who is known nationally as an expert in class
> action litigation, is claiming that Toysrus.com breached its contract
> with thousands of customers and used deceptive practices to lure
> shoppers into shopping with Toysrus.com.
>
> The class, if approved, would include all Toysrus.com customers who
> purchased toys on its Web site by December 14, 1999 -- the designated
> cutoff date for guaranteed Christmas delivery -- but did not receive
> their purchases by December 25, 1999.
>
> Did Toys "R" Us Really Spoil Christmas?
>
> Kimberly Alguard of Lynnwood, Washington claims that she ordered
> Christmas gifts for her four year-old son through the Toysrus.com Web
> site by December 7th, and requested a three to six-day delivery. Alguard
> said, however, that she knew there was a problem after she did not
> receive an e-mail confirmation of her order, or the order itself, after
> several days.
>
> "I was told repeatedly by representatives that my order would be
> received by December 22," Alguard said. "But it wasn't until 9:30 p.m.
> on December 22 [that] I found out my order was not going to arrive by
> Christmas."
>
> Scrambling To Find Substitutes
>
> Alguard said she was then forced to spend the next 48 hours scrambling
> to replace the gifts she had ordered for her son's Christmas, hopping
> among Toys "R" Us stores throughout the Puget Sound region.
>
> "This was the first Christmas where my son could really grasp what it's
> all about," she said. "For me, Christmas is about the kids, and it
> wrecked my Christmas that I was out until 1:30 a.m. [on] December 23rd
> just to get some of the gifts Toysrus.com promised would be delivered."
>
> According to the lawsuit, Toysrus.com heavily promoted its Internet
> site during the Christmas shopping season, inviting shoppers to avoid
> the problems of Christmas shopping by using the Toysrus.com site. The
> suit alleges that between November 22, 1999 and December 12, 1999,
> Toysrus.com attracted 1.75 million visitors weekly.
>
> The site guaranteed Christmas delivery by standard shipping for toys
> ordered by December 11, 1999, and premium shipping for toys ordered by
> December 14, 1999.
>
> The suit also alleges that Toysrus.com president John Barbour announced
> that the company would not be able to deliver promised gifts on December
> 22nd, well after the company had already secured customers' holiday
> dollars.
>
> By Chet Dembeck
> E-Commerce Times Columnist
> January 13, 2000