I thought i'd share this safe shopping tip gleaned from my own very recent experience of an online ordering nightmare.
It started just over a month ago now when i bought a replacement motherboard for my games pc (long story)
I wanted a direct replacement for what i had (ASUS Crosshair V - it wasn't the boards fault it died) but since i'd bought the original it had been discontinued. to cut a long story short i found a well known online retailer that had one left with the additional 'Thunderbolt' card, advertised as the full retail box version.
when it arrived it was in a plain brown box and when i opened that i discovered it was missing the rather extensive accessories pack that the retail version had, i just had the board and card - nothing more.
what followed was more than a month of refund hell, i first tried dealing with the store and had no luck. then i took the case to paypal's resolution center and thought i was getting somewhere when they asked me to file a fraud report but that turned into a sudden dead end as well as the only solution they offered was a return for a full refund - not what i wanted.
they then closed the case when i told them i had bought the missing parts and installed the board
now i'm a stubborn git and hate being beaten if there is even the smallest chance i can get some satisfaction so on the suggestion of the Paypal operator i phoned my bank's fraud department thinking 'why not, i already have a crime number.'
it took less than 5 minutes to sort out and was very informative, as I'd linked my Paypal account to my bank all my transactions through them are direct debits.
I had a full refund in my account of the original cost of the item before the call was finished
£253.83 better off and the best part is i get to keep the motherboard I was after
So, if your caught in a similar situation don't give up easy and if you use paypal to buy a lot of things online make sure all of your transactions are taken from your account not your card.
the very helpful operator from my bank informed me that a lot of form filling would be required for a card purchase where as a DD as you can see could be returned to the account in a second.
Hum, £250 - time i ordered a Mug & T-shirt
It started just over a month ago now when i bought a replacement motherboard for my games pc (long story)
I wanted a direct replacement for what i had (ASUS Crosshair V - it wasn't the boards fault it died) but since i'd bought the original it had been discontinued. to cut a long story short i found a well known online retailer that had one left with the additional 'Thunderbolt' card, advertised as the full retail box version.
when it arrived it was in a plain brown box and when i opened that i discovered it was missing the rather extensive accessories pack that the retail version had, i just had the board and card - nothing more.
what followed was more than a month of refund hell, i first tried dealing with the store and had no luck. then i took the case to paypal's resolution center and thought i was getting somewhere when they asked me to file a fraud report but that turned into a sudden dead end as well as the only solution they offered was a return for a full refund - not what i wanted.
they then closed the case when i told them i had bought the missing parts and installed the board
now i'm a stubborn git and hate being beaten if there is even the smallest chance i can get some satisfaction so on the suggestion of the Paypal operator i phoned my bank's fraud department thinking 'why not, i already have a crime number.'
it took less than 5 minutes to sort out and was very informative, as I'd linked my Paypal account to my bank all my transactions through them are direct debits.
I had a full refund in my account of the original cost of the item before the call was finished
£253.83 better off and the best part is i get to keep the motherboard I was after
So, if your caught in a similar situation don't give up easy and if you use paypal to buy a lot of things online make sure all of your transactions are taken from your account not your card.
the very helpful operator from my bank informed me that a lot of form filling would be required for a card purchase where as a DD as you can see could be returned to the account in a second.
Hum, £250 - time i ordered a Mug & T-shirt
