Surplus and Adventure Problems:Lessons for Online Buyers and Sellers

This blog is a draft for an article I am writing on lessons for online buyers and sellers. The lessons are illustrated with a real-life case study.

On 26 November 2009, I ordered a lantern from Surplus and Adventure who have an army surplus store in Flyford Flavell, Worcestershire. My credit card was charged £26.90 on 30 November even though – it transpires – they did not have the item in stock.

After seven weeks of chasing the order by email – I never succeeded in contacting them by phone – I asked them to cancel the order and to refund my credit card. I received a reply on 20 January saying they had ‘cancelled my order as requested’.

My latest Visa card statement did not show a refund so I sent them one last email and wrote letters to the shop’s manager and the company’s Managing Director (different address) saying that if my money was not refunded by 9.00am 17 February I would be contacting my credit card company and requesting a chargeback.

9 February - Received an email from Surplus and Adventure saying that they had 'emailed' the refund request to accounts and that they were sorry for any delay.

17 February - the day of the deadline. I checked my credit card balance and - sigh of relief - my money had been refunded.


Lessons for Buyers

• If you don't know and trust an online supplier try Googling them including the word 'problems' or 'complaints' before you buy.
• Pay for online purchases with a credit card or PayPal - rather than a debit card.
• Be suspicious if a seller charges your credit card before they have an item in stock.
• Be suspicious if you are unable to contact them by phone.
• Do not make accusations, judgements or threats - just keep to the facts.
• Given the supplier the opportunity to correct the problem.
• Clearly communicate what needs to be done, when it needs to be done by and the steps you will take if the deadline is not met.
• Write to the company to reinforce any deadline you may have communicated by phone or email.
• Once you have set a deadline and conditions, do not deviate from them - even if you receive what seems a plausible and reassuring response from the seller.
• Keep a copy of all your communications with a supplier.
• Understand how credit card chargebacks work.

Lessons for Sellers

• If you do not have an item in stock, make sure that you have made this clear on your website.
• Don't charge a customer's credit card until you are ready to despatch an item. You can always authorise a payment - to ensure that the customer is able to pay - and capture the payment later.
• Keep the customer informed at all times - especially if there is a problem. Don't wait for them to contact you.
• Give an estimated despatch date when you confirm the order.
• Email the customer when the order has been despatched.
• Don't make a promise just to keep the customer quiet.
• Always do what you said you would do.

Also see:
Chargeback on Credit and Visa Debit-Cards
xomreviews
Ripoff Report

MWLS is not responsible for the content of external sites

Find the nearest Trading Standards Office

Enter postcode:

Your Own Learning Page

If you have taken out a Gold Membership you can take advantage of our Learning Page feature. With this feature you get, subject to availability and suitability, a personalised Learning Page URL (e.g. www.LearningPages.org/Anecdotes). You can link this page to another URL or, for members who don't already have a webpage and don't want a webpage designed for them, I will can provide a standard template comprising three pages:

Page 1 - Home Page
Page 2 - Additional Information
Page 3 - Contact Page

Members who opt for this feature will be able to change colors, titles, headlines and text to match their current needs.

Nochex Problem

When I first started an online shop, I accepted both Nochex and PayPal on my website. I used Nochex as my main payment service provider because customers didn't have to join Nochex to make a payment and Nochex also accepted debit cards. When PayPal introduced these features and when eBay bought PayPal, I decided to make PayPal my main provider. I still accepted Nochex for those people who preferred Nochex, but very few payments were made with Nochex.

Recently, I tried to log into my Nochex account only to find that my account had been suspended due to inactivity. As it is Nochex's (security) policy not to send notification, I have no idea of how long the account had been suspended and how many customers I have lost.

You can't re-activate the account online — you have to download and print a two-page form, answer security questions, provide two original (?) proofs of identity (they don't return these so they recommend you send photocopies!) and a cancelled cheque or paying-in slip - and then post it to them. It took two weeks and two emails after they received this documentation to get my account reactivated. Nochex do not have a customer service number.

When I finally gained access to my account, I discovered that Nochex had charged me a £20 dormant account fee - again without any warning or notification. I have now closed my account and will no longer be accepting Nochex on my website.