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Sistemi di Luce

Sistemi di Luce review: Fraud 46

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1:45 pm EDT
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The website for Sistemi di Luce lighting systems is very professional and slick looking. I didn't hesitate to order my new Flos lighting through their online site on 1st June, 2010. Unfortunately, I never have received any lights. I kept emailing and calling them, but they consisstently said that there was a problem with their "supplier." By mid July I was getting frustrated so I called their "supplier" Flos, also in Italy. flos informed me that no order had been received by them from Sistemi di Luce for my lights nor was Sistemi di Luce nor the owner, Sandra Maffezzoni an authorized dealer of their lights. They further informed me that as a result of so many other customer calls regarding missing deliveries that they were involved in a lawsuit against Sistemi di Luce and Sandra Maffezzoni to have her cease and desist from using their trademark, Flos name on her website and claim to sell and distribute their product.
I then contacted Sistemi di Luce to discuss the situation and they next reassured me that there was a misunderstanding and that half of my order was already in the warehouse and that they were merely waiting on the other half before shipping. I explained to them that it was urgent that they ship the half of the order that they have and simply refund the rest. I have not received any lights, any refund nor any further communication from them. I intend to pursue them to try and obtain a refund or at least have their website shut down until they are ready to deliver the lighting that they claim to sell.
In searching on the internet in English and Italian, I've discovered other victims of the "sell and not deliver" scam mastered by Sistemi di Luce. One created a blog and pursued other avenues to attack Ms. Maffezzoni and did finally receive his lights, but was also threatened by her lawyer with a defamation lawsuit for simply telling the world about his negative experience in doing business with Sistemi Di Luce.

46 comments
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WhatGoesArnd
FR
Aug 25, 2010 3:42 pm EDT

I am another victim of sistemidiluce- lampade de Design also Sistemi di Luce Magazine all owned by Sandra Maffezzoni.
Unfortunately, after they've lied and delayed you further investigatin why your lighting has not been delivered, it is too late to claim FRAUD through your VISA card...but we are trying.

I don't know what she has no conscience, but she does not. She steals, lies and profits from this. The Italian government and police do not seem to care. There are multiple lawsuits against her yet they don't seem to get published. Too many other FRAUDSTERS in Italy and around, I guess. It's not news.

All of the so-called VISA SECURE stamps and such at the bottom of her website..THEY ARE FAKES! When they are real, you can click on them and be connected to the correct web site of visa etc. She is a scam artist, liar, fraudster...the worst. SHE IS ###.

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Roderick Peresso
MT
Sep 17, 2010 3:41 pm EDT
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ordered a flos lamp on 10 August but didn't arrive. Emailed them and told me that they are still waiting from supplier. Today decided to do some research and found your comments. It night time here, so tomorrow 1st thing will call the bank maybe i'm still in time to get reimbursement from VISA. Meanwhile i'm emailing all details to an Italian TV show called Le Iene which deals on similar issues. If we unite they will give our request more importance. Contact this TV show on www.iene.mediaset.it/form/1/dillo-alle-iene.shtml You can contact me on roderick.peresso@gmail.com

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Ghost2277
Oct 09, 2010 12:10 pm EDT

I'm also a victim of this scam site, have filed a dispute with my credit card company. This site (sistemidiluce.com, sistemidiluce.net) should be shut down!

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Еkatеrina
RU
Oct 14, 2010 2:14 am EDT
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I madе my ordеr in April 11. Th samе story with suppliеr, thеn no lеttеr. Aftеr it a askd my banсk to hеlp, but it was too latе.
Now I havе а vеry uslеss convrsation with thеm:

Dear Customer,
the procedure is as following:
when You saw that the order was not shipped after long time, You have asked to have Your money back on You credit card VISA. We have received the notification from the bank that there was a request of the charge back and that we had to prove that we had sent You the products ordered. As we didn’t have any proof about the shipment, we could not send anything to the bank. In such case, the money that You requested to Your credit card has to be refunded. The exact dates we don’t know. It depends on Your bank who is proceeding with the charge back. Usually it takes some time. You should stay in touch with Your bank to find out the date when You could have back the money to Your credit card.
We are sorry, but we cannot help in any other way. We cannot send You the lamp as we have had the notification that You have asked for a charge back.
Best regards,
Sistemi di Luce

I'm:
Once again, I contacted the bank.
They did not make a request, the money not been returned.
I ask you to send me an official confirmation that the money was returned.
I sent you a list of transactions that were made with my card.
This is the official document from the bank.
Best regards,
Ekaterina Dudkina

Dear Customer,
we don’t have the official information about Your money, as we didn’t return anything. We receive the notification from the bank that YOU asked Your bank to return the money to Your credit card, because there was no shipment of the ordered lamp.
To solve the problem You could ask again to Your bank to return the money to Your credit card. I really don’t know any another solution in this case.
We hope the situation gets clearer soon.

WHAT SHOULD I DO NOW?

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Iwasfooled_2010
FI
Oct 19, 2010 6:04 am EDT

Beware of this company! They take your money and never ship anything. Sandra Maffezzoni should be put behind bars.

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Goran_434
FI
Oct 19, 2010 6:22 am EDT

I am another victim of Sandra Maffezzoni.

She took my money, didnt ship anything and refuses to cancel order or return money.

In all my years of internet shopping and hundreds of purchasing transactions, this is the first time somebody frauded me. I should have guessed that it was done by an Italian..

Sorry,

John

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Runeb
NO
Oct 28, 2010 2:56 pm EDT
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argh!

One Sucker born every minute, and now I´m one of them :-(

I ordered a couple of Artemide lamps from Sistemi de luce, and got burned... The money was deducted two days ago, so I´m still hoping there´s time to get the money back, but i fear that it´s already to late.

Got to hand it to them though, the site is very professionally made.

This reminds me of the type of internet scams that Tony Soprano did in the series.

Mafia business.

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jw12
Fetcham, GB
Nov 05, 2010 2:03 pm EDT

I ordered a Flos light (€900 debited from card 2 months back) and found the same outcome as the other posts. That is - no delivery, no one answering calls, an email stating goods 'on order', several months go by, clearly this is NOT a reputable seller. Today I found the google information about the fraud being perpetrated and am calling my credit card company now to take steps. In all my internet shopping history I have never experienced this - I think the Italian authorities have to act, but dont hold out much hope of that.

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jw12
Fetcham, GB
Nov 05, 2010 2:40 pm EDT

May I suggest that you escalate the issue to Flos via their web site:
http://www.flos.com/Int-en-Contact
Maybe they can help shut this supplier down.
J

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jw12
Fetcham, GB
Nov 05, 2010 3:17 pm EDT

Final comment - if you're payment was made via IWSMILE and IW BANK I suggest that you call them to report the problem:

Call the Freefone number to immediately speak with the IWBank Customer Care operators.

Service operational from:
Monday to Friday from 9.20 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.
From 17:30 to 20:00 just for operative assistance (order verifications) calling: 0039/[protected]

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IRose
SE
Nov 17, 2010 11:21 am EST

Dear all,
I got ### scared when I found all your comments. I ordered three Lamps for 1.200 Euro on the 17th of October. Today exactly one month later everything arrived here in Sweden. All packs are original Floss packagings.
I don´t know what is going on, but I always reached the hotline and got a tracking number for the delivery.
To me this was a normal online order, but maybe I have just been very very lucky.
Ingo Rose

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Runeb
NO
Nov 17, 2010 11:19 pm EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

That´s interesting, Ingo . Would you care to share a photo of this miracle? preferably with some very swedish nature or architecture? You´ve just had the total opposite of everyone else´s experience.

Perhaps Sistemi Di Luce is a lottery, and you are the winner :-) ?

Maybe I am paranoid, but I wouldn´t be shocked if Sistemi Di Luce also have people roaming around in forums, giving positive feedback.

Or maybe I will suddenly get my lamps.

If I do, i will surely post about it at this page. Stay tuned, but don´t hold your breath...

Rr

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IRose
SE
Nov 19, 2010 1:36 pm EST

Dear Runeb,

see this is the same for me. After I found this blog I was trying to cancel my order, I was speaking already with the Creditcard company, but than I got a tracking number (on the hotline) which really showed my delivery address and my name.
I am not promoting the shop, I am just sharing my experience - and this I know that you guys think I am paid for it I put my full name. It is a true story.
I will put that photos I have, but I will not cary the lamp next to an elk.
Ingo

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IRose
SE
Nov 19, 2010 1:40 pm EST

I did not get the photos attached - will try again.

View 0 more photos
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Runeb
NO
Nov 19, 2010 8:32 pm EST
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Now thats an idea: Flo lamps portraited in company with an elk!

Well, if i get my lamps. Ill photograph them together wilth an elk.

stay tuned!

Im sorry. but the resolution is so miniscule that it doesn´t really tell me anything, Ingo

men kanskje du kan sende de til meg på mail i bedre opploesning?

cheers!

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Runeb
NO
Nov 23, 2010 11:01 am EST
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No Need to go looking for Elks in the Norwegian woods yet!

I wrote Artemide about Sistemi Di Luce and here´s the reply they gave me. Ingo Rose must be one lucky swede, as also Flo and other manufaturers have similar disputes with Sistemi Di Maffia.

Dear Mr. XXXX (my real name),

we inform you that SISTEMI DI LUCE is not an Artemide Official Dealer.

Actually Artemide has in progress a legal dispute toward the Company you indicated us and a press release about the matter is on-line on our web site www.artemide.com – direct link: http://www.artemide.com/?page=Press:ComunicatiStampa.

Artemide is not responsible for items they sell on-line and is not able to grant the originality, terms and delivery condition and the quality of the products.

Best regards.

ARTEMIDE ITALIA Srl

To illustrate my point, enjoy this picture:

View 0 more photos
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Runeb
NO
Nov 23, 2010 11:02 am EST
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Direct link to the press release from Artemide about Sistemi Di Luce

http://www.artemide.com/?page=Press:ComunicatiStampa

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MSK73
CH
Nov 29, 2010 3:09 pm EST
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Hi from Switzerland,
I have place an order with Sistemi di luce in august 2010 but still haven't receive anything; in the last message received from them (2 months ago) they promised a delivery within the 2 first weeks of November, but still nothing. Then I got very worried and found through Google this website and all your comments.
So I immediately contacted my credit card company and filled a complain, it may not be too late as I had few email communications with Sistemi di Luce since August, so we'll see.
Meanwhile I have contacted Catellani & Smith and they replied that they don't supply Sistemi di Luce directly and therefore don't have any order from them and that they cannot guarantee the authenticity or the correct operating condition of the products sold by Sistemi di Luce. They will also carefully take into consideration my worries about Sistemi di Luce as they are using their company name (and many others) in order to fraud people.
Oh! and I also wrote an email to Sistemi di Luce copying Catellani & Smith:
"I am very sad to read so many bad comments about your company...:
Sistemi di Luce — Fraud
I suppose you never ordered my lamps and never contacted the factory and I will probably never receive any lamp, so I will have to check with my credit card company what are my options if you do not want to refund me now!
This is very sad and being half Italian myself a real shame, really...
I am now in contact with Catellani & Smith to find out more."
The problem now is, should I buy these lamps somewhere else or should I wait and see? Let's believe in Xmas...
Keep you posted.
Cheers...
MSK

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Runeb
NO
Nov 30, 2010 7:09 am EST
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Hello MSK!

Sad to hear that you also have been scammed!
You wont get any lamps from this company, I´m afraid. None of us will.
If you decide to look elswhere, I suggest that you do the Google-test in advance of ordering. I found several others running the same type of operation.
I have become very reluctant in ordering from online operators.
Sistemi Di Luce and similar organised criminals are hurting e-commerce and need to be put behind bars!

R.

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dapochol
ES
Dec 02, 2010 5:06 pm EST

Hi

I have the same problem, lamp bought the 8th of august and recived nothing, many mails with light or stupid excuses...
So, what can we do to close that web? that cheaters have also a twitter account!
It´s a shame!

can anyone helps or know how to?

Jorge

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MSK73
CH
Dec 03, 2010 5:30 pm EST
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Hi,
I was about to search for my lamps else wehere, when I received an email from them stating that my lamps are ready for dispatch. Now I have received an email with a tracking number, will I really receive my lamps?
I'll keep you posted on the result...(I may have to believe in xmas again...)
MSK

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Jane*
FI
Dec 09, 2010 3:37 pm EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I got a notification on Dec 2nd that my lamp is ready for dispatch and it arrived today, contrary to all my expectations. Still, although the end result is ok, I have to say that this is probably the worst case of customer service I've come across and I've been shopping online for years.

BTW, never received a tracking number, though..

Even though it all turned out ok, I'm quite sure I'll do my lighting shopping elsewhere from now on.

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Runeb
NO
Dec 09, 2010 7:13 pm EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Well. No News from Sistemi Di Luce for me. I will strongly advice that no-one even considers a deal with these people. Artemide and Flo have taken legal action agains Sistemi Di Luce. They do NOT stock these brands. They are FAKE!

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Jane*
FI
Dec 12, 2010 2:59 pm EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

^Fake as in the products are fake or fake meaning the company is fake and cannot be trusted?

Now that I received my lamp, I also received another email from Sistemi di Luce, asking for feedback. :D Too bad the link doesn't work.. (How unfortunate!)

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MSK73
CH
Dec 15, 2010 12:38 pm EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Hi again,
Received my lamps today! And they works perfectly well. They also look genuine. Also received the feedback link and I could leave them my impressions...and you probably all guess what they are...
All this is a good lesson for my future internet purchases, believe me!
I whish you all good luck with your missing lamps and don't loose faith!
As I said earlier, I'm now believing in xmas again ;-)

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suzy.k.n
SE
Dec 16, 2010 7:32 pm EST

Hello!

I ordered my lamps from Sistemi di luce 4 months ago and still nothing, I have been emailing them and it just makes me angry with a passion when it seems that everyone gets the same treatment and story. I have given them a week to ship out my goods, however, since read this here and also plenty other comments on twitter, I have contacted the swedish authorities that is putting me in contact with Interpol, since this in the end is high level fraud and needs to be investigated. I also contacted my bank and talked to IW bank, that will get back to me tomorrow. In sweden, where i come from we also have something called, prob not greatly translated, Swedish chamber of international trade, that from what i gather can put pressure on the Italian authorities to shut her down. I suggest more of you if you have the energy do the same thing.

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Jane*
FI
Dec 17, 2010 9:38 am EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

In addition to national authorities, the European Consumer Centre might be worth contacting too. They have dedicated sites for probably most Eu(ropean) countries. For example, in Swedish at http://www.konsumenteuropa.se/

I've thought about contacting the ECC, but now that I have the stuff I ordered, I'm not really sure what to complain about.. Sure, they're unreliable and the quality of customer service is just awful..

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Sistemidiluce
US
Jan 08, 2011 12:53 am EST

http://www.facebook.com/sistemidibuio

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TrillyGelly
Bless, GB
Jan 26, 2011 6:44 pm EST
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Oh my god, I want to buy a Mes meri Halo, I wrote 'artemide lamps' on google and one of the sponsored links was: shesellshine. Intrigued by the word 'she' I wrote 'shesellshine' on google and here's what I found on the top of the search results: twitter.com/Sistemidiluce1 ! Sandra Maffezzoni! Another scam, another fraud! It's another 'sistemidiluce fraud' like website, the owner is the same

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mariahakansson
SE
Feb 19, 2011 9:42 am EST

I put an order on two Flos-lamps i november, and got them in two packages this and last week!

But I was really worried, e-mailed them every day, and posted a message on facebook to Sandra, the owner! And I contacted Flos, and Google-adds-service and the Swedish chamber of international trade above! And then I´ve got a trackingnumber! So hang in there everybody, it can work! But I don´t know if the lamps are authentic Flos, but they sure look alike!

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Paul Champagne
BE
Feb 21, 2011 1:58 pm EST

Paul Champagne - 21-02-11
I was scared to death when I read all your complaints. I too, ordered and paid a Foscarini floorlamp in september 2010. After a lot of e-mails to and fro since, I found this week, much to my surprise, the amount on my account. So there is hope.
pc

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Noster
SE
Mar 09, 2011 8:55 am EST

Oh man! I was afraid this was the case. I wish I had found this website earlier! Ordered 2 Flos 31st of Dec, still haven't recieved them. I have tried to annul the purchase and get my money returned but they just don't answer to that at all. My stories exactly like yours. They kept saying that the suppliers are late with their delivery and that they would keep me posted. After 3 months I suddenly get a letter to my home from a shipments company called Agility saying that they have goods for me from Italy and that I have to call them to set a date of delivery. So I do, but they never show up. I contact them and it turns out the goods are missing and they don't know if the goods have been delivered to Sweden at all. So I once again e-mail Sistemidiluce and demand my money back as I don't think I will ever receive any goods. Their reply just says that the goods were sent off 14 th of Feb and will be "delivered in several days". They don't respond or even comment on my request for having my money returned. So I have been in touch with ECC and that's where I stand now.

How did it go for you guys? Have any of you got your goods or had your money refunded?

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Runeb
NO
Mar 09, 2011 9:27 am EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Phuh. I got a message from my bank that they succesfully have retrieved the money i transferred to Sistemi. What a thriller it has been. I contacted my bank the minute i suspected that Sistemi was a unreliable company. To everyone not getting what you have ordered; don´t give up.

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elisabeth BRU
BE
Apr 12, 2011 9:42 am EDT
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They have the WORST customer service dept ever. They don't give a damn! They dipatched my order on Feb 22 (Italy-Belgium) and they did not give me the tracking number from the start. Had this been done, all would have been fine. The delivery company in Belgium did not find me (address/name was correct though company name was missing) the package was sent back to Italy. It was re-sent to Belgium and since the agent in Italy did not issue a new tracking number, it went straight back to Italy. Finally, the package was sent back wth a new tracking number and I was able to track the shipment at the depot and give new instructions (same as before). It took 7.5 weeks to get here for a package thats hould have taken less than a week. The lamp was in excellent condition but the worst is customer service at all transport (DPD, Bartolini) and Lightsen (sistemi di luce aka "see, sell, shine") . Apalling. If you ever order from them, make sure you request a tracking number at time of order. (post factum of course because if you read this, you're already having a problem!)
Their customer service SUCKS. No other way to put it.
elisabeth from Brussels.

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Noster
SE
Apr 17, 2011 9:25 pm EDT

This is a ### company, they're fraud! 4, 5 months later I still haven't received my lamps nor had my money returned. And they stopped answering my e-mails. I don't understand how they can get away with this, but then what can one expect out of a ### country ruled by Berlusconi.

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daninor
NO
Apr 20, 2011 12:37 pm EDT
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I ordered my lamps at the end of Dec 2010. All items in the order had specified delivery time at 1-3 days. After a week I started receiving emails telling me they didn't have the items in stock and the delivery from supplier was delayed. By the first week of March 2011 I told them I wanted to cancel the order and get the money back, which they claimed was not an option. After that, I reported the case to Visa and some six weeks later the money was back on my account.

Interesting thing: the day after I got my money back I received an email from the shop/scam saying the shipment was on its way. However, no shipping number was provided even though I answered asking for it. Needless to say, no package ever arrived. A week later a feedback form dropped in my inbox asking about my shopping experience. I'll leave it up to you to guess what sort of feedback I left...

Don't bother ordering anything. You might as well invest your money in retrieving a fortune off some deceased Nigerian millionaire instead. No wait, don't do that either.

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Gillesf
FR
Jun 10, 2011 1:29 pm EDT

Hello all, I had the same fraud issue with Sistemi di Luce but I have good news, they just reimbursed me but it took 1.5 years. I filled a formal complaint for small claims and sent it to the local jurisdiction. The form can be found here:
http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/judicialatlascivil/html/sc_form1_it.jsp?txtPageBack=sc_filling_de_fr.htm&countrySession=1&

and sent to:
Giudice di Pace di ROVATO
Via Castello, 33; 25038 ROVATO
Tel.: [protected] Fax: [protected]

then, I got an email from info@lightsten.com asking for my Iban and apologizing for the delay (yes, after 1.5 years they still had the nerve to claim they had forgotten about me).

Hope it can help.

Gilles

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demagny79
BE
Aug 26, 2011 1:34 pm EDT

I PAID 2 MONTHS AGO FOR A 2 LAMPS AND I have not received it :(((((
I HAVE INFORMATION FROM 14.08.2011 :

Dear Customer,

We are writing to inform you this morning in the confirmed our suppliers will soon receive the missing items. We Apologise in kept you waiting so long. Should you have any question or doubt further and, in will be glad to assist you.

We will come back to you as soon as the order is completed and items are dispatched to you.

Best regards,
-------

now, they dont have website !
I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO :(
ANY HELP?

THX!
IZA

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TsunKhunMun
CZ
Sep 12, 2011 12:09 pm EDT

Hi, we also have trouble with SdL - they promised delivery, but actually never did anything to ship the lamps. Now they even do not reply to emails. Does anyone know - can we report it to Italian police in any way?
Pavel

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Toeffel
DK
Sep 12, 2011 9:56 pm EDT

Do youself a favour and take all the Sistemi di Luce complaints seriously. Do not order from this company. I ordered some Flos lamps from them, but became suspicious about their business and have to date tried to cancel my order 5 times. Sistemi di Luce sends me mails explaining that the products are delayed and at the same time ignores my emails requesting the cancellation of my order (emails I send to the same adresses they email me from). This has been going on for several months. Do not order from this company.

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