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| Only thing keeping me going today. God bless the Bahamas. And cruises. |
RESOLUTION:
Well, I didn't see my account was all flush with the money I should have, so I am now currently on the phone with a very nice British lady (sometimes I get an American, sometimes I get a British person when I call the US 866 number) who is "looking into the matter with her manager," who says that they have canceled the authorization for the whole amount. Well, good. ;) I now just have to talk to my bank. Will a lovely British lady or a smooth American gentleman help me with my issues when I call them? Doubtful.
So two thumbs up for Boden. Thank goodness. I didn't want to lose faith in good ole Johnnie!
ORIGINAL POST:
Okay. So tell me. Do any of you ever pre-order using a check card? Well, I do. And I must be downright stupid to do so because it turns out that some companies (cough, cough Boden, I am looking at you) will
Wha-wha-what???
Imagine...
You pre-order $350 worth of items.
Woo-hoo, right?
Nope. Not only do the pre-ordered items come THREE. WEEKS. EARLY., they also will be charged twice. So that $115 dollar dress becomes $230 until Boden decides to officially drop the WHOLE amount charge.
Okay, excuse me while I go weep. And cry. And go to the bank and say OMG...how much am I being charged? You mean I am in NEGATIVE numbers because I was charged twice? And now I OWE YOU...the bank...$72 in overdraft because I was charged TWO TIMES for that pre-order that came early EARLY and every day that a new "shipped parcel" ships and the original WHOLE amount doesn't clear, I will be charged an ADDITIONAL $72?
Excuse me, I am off to go drink a WHOLE LOT OF WINE. I guess I am going to take the bus home from the bank. Good thing that Thai restaurant next door has a great wine list...
So. Unless Boden clears my WHOLE amount charge tonight (which they swear they will do, come on CS Brian, don't let me down), I will be charged ANOTHER $72? Oh, dear me, I need a massage.
Okay.
(The $350 is hypothetical, btw, just letting you have a visual):
$350 original order...
$125 shipped parcel #1...
$75 shipped parcel #2...
$150 shipped parcel #3...
$72 overdraft penalty #1...
$72 overdraft penalty $2...
means that I will be paying (if it doesn't clear and the overdraft fee is still there for two days)...
$844 for a $350 order. I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO glad I went ahead and purchased early, on my check card, because I was trying to be both a coupon user (20% off all preorders) and "fiscally responsible" by not using a credit card. All I wanted was my order to ship properly, ON TIME, and not have any craziness associated with it.
Turns out this probably happens with credit cards, but because credit cards have billing cycles, you wouldn't even notice all this malarky happening because unless you are a big time financially savvy person, you don't watch your credit card balance daily, but I bet, like me, you are WAY on top of your bank account.
In reality, the most this hypothetical order would pay would be $350 plus $72 plus $72 which equals $494. Let's see. $494 minus 20% equals: $395.20. Hey look at that! Because of overdraft penalties...this hypothetical order would BE MORE EXPENSIVE than not pre-ordering at all.
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.
Supposedly, the $72 charge (from today) will be credited. I have sent a copy of my bank account debits, etc., but have I received word that I will get the credit? Nah. Good job, Johnnie B. Let's really REALLY tick off a HUGE Boden fan. (Like, hello???) Okay, update: Just received e-mail where they called me the wrong first name, but at this point, I have bigger fish to fry. She was sympathetic to my issues but said that someone would get back to me by Monday with a conclusion. Meaning nothing is set in stone and I could really be out that $72. I feel sick to my stomach because I want to NOT use credit cards and because of that, I may end up getting hurt with way worse fees than what you would have on a credit card. Le freaking sigh.
And supposedly, they will be taking that original WHOLE order amount off tonight.
IF I WAKE UP TOMORROW AND MY ACCOUNT IS STILL IN NEGATIVE NUMBERS, I MIGHT JUST HAVE TO MAKE AN INTERNATIONAL PHONE CALL. WHICH WILL BE PAID FOR BY BODEN. LOL. Maybe I will call collect.
"USA calling UK, do you accept the charges from an irate Virginian?"
Did I also mention that I forgot to put my car in "park," and my car upon me trying to start it told me I couldn't because the "steering column was locked?" Yes, that reads to me: DUMMY, get your car out of "D" and put it into "P" before starting the car. Stupid German vehicle.
I need wine. Now. ;)
Anyhow, I will hopefully be all back to Boden bliss tomorrow, but for now, hit list time.
If you use a check card for any Boden pre-orders, caveat emptor. CAVEAT EMPTOR.
