My most recent AU dilemm....

[Benebula98]

Hey Guys,
So for the last month I have called or emailed AU once a day letting them know I wanted my order cancelled and money refunded. After preordering in Feb. it was my personal belief that I had waited long enough. My DVDs arrived yesterday and I don't want them. Now what?
*BEN*

[so-called customer]

How did you pay for your set, and do you still have copies of the emails you sent cancelling your order?

Depending on how you paid, I would consider one of two options:
If you paid by credit card, I would request a chargeback, on the grounds that you have made successive attempts to cancel your order. Hopefully your CC company has already had to deal with AU for other customers and will make this fairly painless. Just because AU can't be bothered to reply or supply even nominal amounts of customer service shouldn't make you responsible for not cancelling your order and shipping product after cancellation.

As for what to do with the discs, you have received unsolicited merchandise and are thereby entitled to keep it. Your CC company may suggest returning them, but you aren't legally obligated to, but at this point you may have trouble disputing the charge after having received merchandise.

If you paid by debit card or cheque, you are pretty much stuck, since you won't be getting a refund.

[andrewgd]

A debit card, as long as it has the VISA logo, gives you the same fraud protection as a credit card.

I successfully got a chargeback on my debit card. Lets make sure people know that even though it may be a debit, you still have a very good chance of getting a chargeback if you submit enough paperwork.

[Rickie Love]

Hi Andrew - Actually, I went thru this exact same thing with my bank and VISA. I made that very argument with my bank - that my debit card DOES have the VISA logo on it, so I should be afforded the same fraud protection. No dice. It seems it's up to the individual BANK, in my case Bank of America. VISA even sent them a request on my behalf, but since it's a DEBIT card, they (my bank) have a federal timeline for refunds that they stick to, and I was sol. Hopefully others will be more lucky in that regard. I had to contact AU directly and repeatedly to get my money back. And I STILL don't know why or how it worked, but it did.

[vapspwi]

A debit card, as long as it has the VISA logo, gives you the same fraud protection as a credit card.

I successfully got a chargeback on my debit card. Lets make sure people know that even though it may be a debit, you still have a very good chance of getting a chargeback if you submit enough paperwork.

Read my story (I got an overcharge refunded on my debit card, after more than 120 days had passed) in the sticky thread "Checklist for disputing Credit Card charges." My debit card is a Visa, but I never dealt with Visa, just a supervisor at my bank's debit card center.

JRjr

[elwood]

This is why Clark Howard on his consumer radio show always calls a debit card with a MasterCard or Visa logo a "fake MasterCard" or "fake Visa" card. You simply do not have chargeback rights with a debit card, as you do with a real credit card. You are at the mercy of your bank, and how good they are settling such issues.

I know I have come here, often extolling the virtues of Clark Howard and his radio show and website. I do this cause the man knows his s**t. His website is a good reference tool for all things consumer related.

His thoughts on debit cards follow. The final sentence on companies in financial trouble definitely fits AnotherUniverse.

"There has also been an increase in the use of debit cards - or as Clark calls them fake Visa and Mastercards. Companies are happy to report that in the first half of this year more debit card transactions took place than credit card ones. Clark hates these cards because although they are convenient, if they are stolen the thief finds it just as convenient to instantly and easily raid your checking account. You also have no charge-back rights on purchases. As he feels he is losing the battle to stop people using them he warns that you must never ever use them for products and services you’ll get in the future. If you don’t get the goods the people you bought them from have got your money and little incentive to pay it back, especially if they are in financial trouble."

Clark Howard: Tips on Credit Cards
ClarkHoward.com

[fnordboy]

I wonder if the Visa Check Card (which is basically a Debit Card) has the same rights as a Visa card.

Slightly OT, but what the hell.

[SanDeE*]

My understanding is that as long as a card has a VISA logo on it, then it's a VISA credit card, with the possibility of also being your check card. All I really know is that I used my VISA debit card for the set, and when I was doublecharged I called my dad (works at my bank) and he got both charges back for me. The deal was that my bank gave me my money back, then VISA gave my bank it's money back, and now VISA is out $230 and it's their problem. This was a while ago, though. Back in September.

[elwood]

As far as I have been told, and as I quoted from a very knowledgeable consumer radio person's website above, you have no charge-back rights on purchases with a Visa or MasterCard debit card. THEY ARE NOT CREDIT CARDS. The Visa or MasterCard logo merely affords you the privilige of drawing from your checking account at places that take credit cards but not checks. I am not certain about "Visa Check" cards.

If you wish to get money back when a debit card is used, you are at the mercy of your bank. Some are good or sometimes you know someone at the bank, but they are not required to give you any money back. It is just like a cashed check.