Beware! Amazon, never cancel an order

john_drake

On 15th January I ordered an item cost £93 from Amazon but then changed my mind a few hours later. Amazon emailed me to tell me my cancellation was successful and I would not be charged. I found however the the £93 had gone from the available balance in my bank account. I waited a few days but the available balance was still down £93, I contacted Amazon and my bank which is Barclays, Amazon gave me a authorisation code which I passed on to my bank so that the £93 will be back available in my account but my bank refused it saying that the £93 missing will not be back in my account and available until the end of the month on the 31st January as they have to hold this money in case Amazon decide to take it, which they won't because I have all the emails regarding the cancellation of the goods and the authorisation code.
BUYERS BEWARE! In the past when I have returned goods to Amazon I have been refunded with a few days so beware of cancelling anything you have previously ordered with Amazon if you want a refund in a respectable period of time. The golden rule here is if you have ordered goods the money will be taken from your bank account immediately so never attempt to cancel your order, wait until the goods arrive then send them back, this way you get your money back within a few days rather than having to wait many weeks.

sarah1972

john_drake wrote: »

On 15th January I ordered an item cost £93 from Amazon but then changed my mind a few hours later. Amazon emailed me to tell me my cancellation was successful and I would not be charged. I found however the the £93 had gone from the available balance in my bank account. I waited a few days but the available balance was still down £93, I contacted Amazon and my bank which is Barclays, Amazon gave me a authorisation code which I passed on to my bank so that the £93 will be back available in my account but my bank refused it saying that the £93 missing will not be back in my account and available until the end of the month on the 31st January as they have to hold this money in case Amazon decide to take it, which they won't because I have all the emails regarding the cancellation of the goods and the authorisation code.
BUYERS BEWARE! In the past when I have returned goods to Amazon I have been refunded with a few days so beware of cancelling anything you have previously ordered with Amazon if you want a refund in a respectable period of time. The golden rule here is if you have ordered goods the money will be taken from your bank account immediately so never attempt to cancel your order, wait until the goods arrive then send them back, this way you get your money back within a few days rather than having to wait many weeks.

I have never had money taken from my bank account from amazon until the items are despatched.

I cancelled an order an hour ago and had my email from amazon, nothing taken out of my bank between available balance and actual balance.

molerat

The only time I have had money held by Amazon was when I added and used a new card, they put an instant hold on £1.

Buying anything on line runs the risk of a hold being put on funds from the second you press the buy button and not getting them back for up to 2 weeks. If you cannot live without the amount that is held then don't buy on line. Nothing Amazon specific here. Lucky you managed to cancel, in my experience Amazon go to uncancelable very quickly.

cajef

From Amazon T & C :-

Cancel Items.

Note:

• If the order is sold by a Marketplace Seller, you'll only have 30 minutes to make any changes.

Which I assume could mean that if the OP ordered an item from a Marketplace Seller and cancelled a few hours later they may have taken the payment?

[Deleted User]

Yes its buying from a marketplace seller that's the problem

cajef

molerat wrote: »

Lucky you managed to cancel, in my experience Amazon go to uncancelable very quickly.

Never had a problem cancelling anything from Amazon themselves as long as the item has not been dispatched.

agrinnall

I only ever use a credit card on Amazon so it's never my money that's taken (or not, as the case may be) anyway.

marlot

deannatrois wrote: »

Yes its buying from a marketplace seller that's the problem

I try never to buy anything of significant cost from amazon marketplace. I'm not convinced the consumer protection is that great if you have a problem - maybe a few months down the line.

LilElvis

agrinnall wrote: »

I only ever use a credit card on Amazon so it's never my money that's taken (or not, as the case may be) anyway.

I go one better. I use my husband's cards

LilElvis

john_drake wrote: »

The golden rule here is if you have ordered goods the money will be taken from your bank account immediately so never attempt to cancel your order, wait until the goods arrive then send them back, this way you get your money back within a few days rather than having to wait many weeks.

That's such a clever idea ........ except that as it is then a change of mind return you will be footing the bill for the return postage.

Zoee

@ DEANNATROIS

Yes its buying from a marketplace seller that's the problem

Perhaps OP needs to edit post to reflect this if is the case or post title is misleading.


@JOHN DRAKE

On 15th January I ordered an item cost £93 from Amazon but then changed my mind a few hours later. Amazon emailed me to tell me my cancellation was successful and I would not be charged. [...]

and it was def an Amazon purchase and not a purchase from a seller using the Amazon website?

Will know which one by looking at your receipt. Does read as a Marketplace seller though and not Amazon directly.

Still not good when looking for a refund and it's not there