I went on a family vacation to Italy. We went to Murano and I purchased a chandelier from one of the glass stores on the island. We got a note from the company about the time the chandelier was to have arrived, saying the Master had been sick all the month of December, would we mind waiting a little longer. In my reply, I told him I had been waiting 20 years, what's another month. That was January and it's now April. I have heard nothing further. I am concerned that the chandelier may not arrive. My credit card company says they have trouble disputing any charge after 2 months. But I really just want my chandelier.

I am going to the EU in June and could go to Murano. Is it possible for me to use the Italian court system with the limited time I have in Italy? Or is there some other recourse? The company is Vetreria al Faro. Rossi Silvano was the gentleman in the store with whom I made the arrangements. I enjoyed talking with him and am hoping that he's just late, but would like to know my options in case there's a problem. I'm also Italian and I know the schedules tend to slip.

i would get vonage or another cheap long distance service and hammer them about it or they may think you've left the planet in their way of thinking.

I am going to the EU in June and could go to Murano. Is it possible for me to use the Italian court system with the limited time I have in Italy? Or is there some other recourse?

On the limited facts as you present them it certainly seems like you could have recourse to the Italian legal system, but it is a cumbersome procedure and will involve you in some expense for the legal fees which you are not guaranteed to recover in full. The company may not be fuflilling its orders because it is in financial difficulties and you may find yourself with a court judgment against a company unable to meet its liabilties. For that reason legal action should be viewed as a last resort and only after consulting an Italian attorney.

Have you paid the full amount or just a deposit. My advice is never to pay upfront except for as small a deposit a possible, and pay the balance ideally after delivery when one is fully satisified with the goods. I appreciate this is not always possible.

In the meantime apart from following the good advice to keep pestering by phone I would write a polite letter stating that the delivery is overdue and requesting immediate fulfilment of the order or full refund. The letter I would send with recorded delivery - if you do come to court later then you need to have written evidence that you have done everything to settle the matter amicably. To establish your claim you should retain copies of all correspondence since the outcome of any future court hearing will depend on your being able to provide evidence that there was an agreement to sell, with a fixed delivery date and that agreement has not been respected. If there is no evidence of an agreed delivery date, the shop is technically not in breach of contract. However it looks like with the exchange of correpondence they have already admitted that they are overdue and this plays very much in your favor - if they were real cowboys they would not have responded to you. In the letter you can also mention that it is your intention to visit their shop in June - sometimes the threat of a "brutta figura (http://www.initaly.com/travel/life/figura.htm)" is a bigger incentive than legal action.

If the letter elicits no response then send a second one, but this time with a deadline for delivery/refund and a threat of legal action if that deadline is not respected. However if you make a threat of legal action then you must be ready to follow up. You should have already identified an Italian attorney specialising in small consumer claims (the Amercian Chamber of Commerce in Italy should be able to help here) and had him or her review the correspondence in advance.

You don't need to be in Italy to use the court system as you can give authority to an attorney here - indeed the legal proceedings are likely to require a year or so before they are concluded - although at the outset there will be an attempt at reconciliation which may prove successful in short order.

Keep it polite but firm, and above all resist the temptation to take your baseball bat round to the shop (although I am not sure I could). I wish you all the very best.