Amazon 5 x Monthly Payment Option - Full Amount Taken Instead!

saintscouple

MattMattMattUK said:

saintscouple said:

When i saw the £499 as a pending transaction in my bank account, I contacted Amazon to confirm they would be only charging instalments. They confirmed this was the case and that the pending transaction was an authorisation charge to ensure my payment card is still active.

So you have not even been charged, yet you threw your toys out of the pram and expect them to refund you? Had they taken the course of action you wished you would now have a new laptop and have not paid anything, it is a good job that they have proper procedures in place to give them time to verify things before acting.

Yes i have! if you read it all, i contacted them when i saw the charge pending..... they said it is an authorisation charge and wouldn't debit it from my account... yet 2 days later they did! 

[Deleted User]

So have you contacted them again to ask why it was fully charged and changed from pending? 

saintscouple

MarkN88 said:

So have you contacted them again to ask why it was fully charged and changed from pending? 

Yes, they said they are aware and it was due to a technical error and they will email me in due course. 

visidigi

Whilst not ideal. These things happen.

You have the product, and there is a problem out of the norm that Amazon are trying to address, you must surely realise if they have sent the product, have accidentally made a billing process error that to correct such a situation needs a little time. Especially if this is happened to a volume of customers.

Therefore you have two options that I see.

1) send the item back for a full refund (honestly likely to be the quickest and should be at no charge to you if you ask Amazon).
2) wait for amazon to contact you, discuss the details of extra charges incurred after they have decided first resolution step. Don't thrown all the problems at the same time - work through them in sequence. This option is likely to take longer.

You decide what suits you best - in terms of rights - tricky to advise, I would imagine though...the T&C's you agreed to do cover them for this to some extent (as they are one of the best sets of T&C's out there...).

[Deleted User]

saintscouple said:

MarkN88 said:

So have you contacted them again to ask why it was fully charged and changed from pending? 

Yes, they said they are aware and it was due to a technical error and they will email me in due course. 

Therefore unfortunately your going to have to wait, nothing you do is going to hurry them along. 

MattMattMattUK

saintscouple said:

Yes i have!

saintscouple said:
6 January at 7:52PM edited 6 January at 7:54PM

From the first image you posted it showed only authorisation, you subsequently edited your post to add an amended image. 

saintscouple said:

Yes, they said they are aware and it was due to a technical error and they will email me in due course. 

So again, what exactly is your issue? They have admitted their mistake and said that they will rectify it.

saintscouple

MattMattMattUK said:

saintscouple said:

Yes i have!

saintscouple said:
6 January at 7:52PM edited 6 January at 7:54PM

From the first image you posted it showed only authorisation, you subsequently edited your post to add an amended image. 

saintscouple said:

Yes, they said they are aware and it was due to a technical error and they will email me in due course. 

So again, what exactly is your issue? They have admitted their mistake and said that they will rectify it.

I edited the post to add an additional image, no image has been edited. 
The events were as follows - 

1. I notice a pending charge of £499 on my card.
   
2. I contact Amazon who say it's an authorisation charge which will drop off, and when the product is dispatched they will debit the 1st monthly payment of £99.80
3. 2 days later product is charged and the full £499 is debited from my account. 
4. I contact Amazon to ask why this has happened, and why i was misinformed previously.
5. They reply saying there has been a technical error and will email me in due course.

So with no time frame given, and being that Amazon have taken money from my card without my authorisation, I posted here to see if there were any other avenues i could peruse, as i don't know how long it will take for Amazon to get back to me.

The advice so far is - to return the product, or simply wait for Amazon to eventually get back to me. 
I'm somewhat surprised that a retailer can take money from your card without authorisation and I simply have to leave it with them to resolve. 
Surely there is a time limit for them to get back to me, where i can then pursue a different route to get the money back that i didn't authorise them to take, i.e £499 minus the £99.80 first payment that i did authorise? 

MattMattMattUK

saintscouple said:

The advice so far is - to return the product, or simply wait for Amazon to eventually get back to me. 

That is correct, because you have to give them a reasonable amount of time to resolve the matter. 

saintscouple said:

I'm somewhat surprised that a retailer can take money from your card without authorisation and I simply have to leave it with them to resolve. 

There is a slight complication in that you authorised them to charge your card, there was just an issue with the value of the transaction processed. If you had not authorised them to charge your card then the card provider would refund you instantly as it would be fraud, as it is a processing error and you have received goods to the value you have been charged the retailer needs to be given a reasonable amount of time to correct the mistake.

saintscouple said:

Surely there is a time limit for them to get back to me, 

There is, the 14 days which your bank notified you of which you mentioned in your first post.

saintscouple said:
where i can then pursue a different route to get the money back that i didn't authorise them to take,

Your bank, once the 14 day period has expired.

powerful_Rogue

Letter Before Action to Amazon, then start a Small Claims action against them. However likely to take 3 months plus, by that time the matter would have been resolved, and the case would be thrown out as being too premature (and a bit silly as you have other options)

So that's 3 options you've been give now. Personally if money is tight, return the item, get the full refund and then purchase again. That's going to be your quickest option.

born_again

saintscouple said:

The events were as follows - 

1. I notice a pending charge of £499 on my card.
   
2. I contact Amazon who say it's an authorisation charge which will drop off, and when the product is dispatched they will debit the 1st monthly payment of £99.80
3. 2 days later product is charged and the full £499 is debited from my account. 
4. I contact Amazon to ask why this has happened, and why i was misinformed previously.
5. They reply saying there has been a technical error and will email me in due course.

So with no time frame given, and being that Amazon have taken money from my card without my authorisation, I posted here to see if there were any other avenues i could peruse, as i don't know how long it will take for Amazon to get back to me.

The advice so far is - to return the product, or simply wait for Amazon to eventually get back to me. 
I'm somewhat surprised that a retailer can take money from your card without authorisation and I simply have to leave it with them to resolve. 
Surely there is a time limit for them to get back to me, where i can then pursue a different route to get the money back that i didn't authorise them to take, i.e £499 minus the £99.80 first payment that i did authorise? 

You could try explaining the situation to your bank, and see if they would be prepared to temporary refund or £399.20 back to your account while Amazon sort it out at their end. Given, while you did make the purchase, the £499 is a unauthorised amount as it should have been £99.80.
It is certainly something we do and would also ensure that you do not incur any bank charges. 

If the bank are being reluctant to assist. Mention the "Payment Service Directive" and how they are supposed to deal with unauthorised charges.