ASDA - Overcharging on online accounts. Be Aware

oldladyjo

OAP in the extremely vulnerable group so have managed to get a recurring delivery with ASDA.  My first delivery came last night and all was fine. My question my original order came to £52.41 I made a few amendments to the order a few days later and the final bill was £45.54.  I have been into my bank account and find they have taken the £52.41 which is an overpayment of £6.87.   I rang customer services finally after 45 mins got through to be told Asda’s system is set to take the first order amount and because my order was for less an automatic refund would be generated within 5 working days. 

Question 
If my original order was less than my amended order would they take the lesser amount or the higher amount 
Reply

we would take the higher amount
So there system works one way only in their favour.
I appreciate interest rates are really bad but how many thousands of pounds are in their bank account getting interest because of these overpayment.  

Is this legal to knowingly overcharge customers

Steve_L

From what has happened with my first online shopping order, they take the original higher amount and there should be a credit for the difference in the pipeline.

It's probably your bank's pipeline. They have a reputation for taking their time to get your money back to you. The payment system may have been modernised, but I suspect that the refund system, once you look behind the computerised facade, would still be familiar to someone in a 17th century coffee shop.

The fact that they're earning interest on all the numerous large & small refunds whilst they're on their books has nothing to do with this, of course.

Bacman

They don't actually charge your account until the day of the delivery. If you have amended (and checked out of course to complete and update it) the amount of that amended order is what you will be charged on the day.

I noticed on my credit card the original amount charged and started to fume as they only delivered about 90% of the items, however then I looked in the other column on the online credit card I used and it showed a plus which when the two were put together was exactly the amount it should have been (the price on the amended order) so no issue, I had not been overcharged.

So yes, they will charge your amended order amount and then credit you back the difference. They have to, otherwise it would be theft.

Problem is if they say they are delivering an item however it isn't there, you have no way to prove it. These days you can't return items to the driver for a credit, if things are wrong on your order or not there you have to grit your teeth and accept it. Only happened once recently so it is what it is.

Supermarkets who give good service to customers and do well by them will get great rewards when things go back to normal. Those that don't bend over backwards for your business now will not get it in the future when we can vote with our feet.

So far from what i've experienced and heard about, Asda, Sainsburys and Tesco are doing well; Iceland better than expected for a small chain; Morrisons and Ocado could do better, much better, and should do. IMO.

Steve_L

PS. My original order, the credit for the unavaliable items and even the refund for an unsuitable substitition were all dated on the same day as the delivery. Maybe the facts that it was on my credit card and that this is an ASDA Cashback card might have helped.

I've yet to have to add any items and the amended order be for more than the original one. What difference would it make how they account for this, as long as they do?

Steve_L

PPS. And everyones' servers are probably running a bit warmer than normal these strange days. 

Bacman

My card isn't an Asda one so it doesn't seem to matter; I also got charged and credited on the same day.

Charleo

I get charged and credited on the same day.

Chrysalis

you will very likely get a refund.
I think they used to take payment on the day of the delivery, and then if the payment bounced they would ring you to have a chance of getting the payment processed, but I expect due to the demand and their struggles to scale up with it, they may have decided to take payment on the day the order was made instead so they have no need to ring customers for bounced payments.
Card refunds sadly are not as quick as card payments, they will take days to show up.

Steve_L

This time, my pending transaction is for the usual 1p, not the full amount. Odd.

Steve_L

My transactions seem to be a bit slower than last week. At the time of writing, only the original order has just gone from pending to "active"(?) and the adjustment and refund have yet to appear. Also, the ASDA credit card website just goes to a blank white page after you log in. Is it creaking under the strain? If so, then plug in the backup Sinclair ZX81, guys.

Bacman

Last order I didn't get a refund issued for the amount of my order vs what they confirmed they would deliver, that was a week ago. The previous time (a fortnight before) I got the refund the same day.

I presume if I don't get joy with Asda the best thing is to speak to my credit card company as the amount of the order was over £100 and they are jointly liable, yes? I have evidence of the original order confirmation they issued, the amount they confirmed would be delivered and that cost, easy for my bank to know the refund wasn't issued - correct?