Amazon UK new pre-order pre-payment policy

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by imarcq, May 19, 2019.

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  1. MarioHead

    MarioHead Forum Resident

    Location:
    Manila
    So they just "earmark" the funds and do the actual debit once the item has shipped? Maybe it's their way to make up for pre-orders which didn't push through because the buyer who pre-ordered had insufficient funds at the time the order was about to be dispatched?

    FWIW, I ordered the new Doves reissues from uDiscovermusic and got charged a couple of days after. The albums are supposed to be released by the end of the month yet. It's ok with me as long as I'm guaranteed to get those limited edition reissues. If they can't deliver the items (since they're supposed to be limited) then that's where the problem comes in. As stated in the Doves thread, I had a bad experience pre-ordering a limited release LP from Amazon only to be notified that they can't deliver the item. My card wasn't debited however so I didn't need to file for a refund. This was about a month ago though, before this new policy was introduced.
     
    Last edited: May 21, 2019
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  2. imarcq

    imarcq Men are from Mars, I'm from Bromley... Thread Starter

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    No, they actually TAKE the money after 5 days of receiving your pre-order. So the money visibly leaves your bank or card account possibly months before it ships!
     
    Last edited: May 21, 2019
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  3. MarioHead

    MarioHead Forum Resident

    Location:
    Manila
    Oh I see...i hope they could put a guarantee to those pre-orders then. It would suck to have your money taken only to be notified later that they couldn't deliver the said item.
     
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  4. imarcq

    imarcq Men are from Mars, I'm from Bromley... Thread Starter

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    According to their email you still receive a refund of the difference if price falls, or if you cancel they refund the money. They did that to me after I complained of being charged 2 months in advance for a July pre-order.
     
  5. imarcq

    imarcq Men are from Mars, I'm from Bromley... Thread Starter

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    "Whenever you pre-order a book, CD, video, DVD, video game or software item from Amazon, the price you pay will be the lowest price offered by Amazon.co.ukbetween the time you place your order up to and including the end of the day of the release date. If your order qualifies for the Pre-Order Price Guarantee, you'll be refunded the price difference once your order dispatches.

    Immediately after you place an order, we now request your bank to authorise the full order amount. At this stage you’re not being charged yet – your bank is reserving the funds until the transaction processes.

    We only charge the full order amount when all the items included in your order have been shipped. Should an item require more than 5 days for dispatching, your payment method is charged on the fifth day since your order was placed."
     
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  6. MarioHead

    MarioHead Forum Resident

    Location:
    Manila
    This should discourage flippers too I guess?
     
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  7. richierichie

    richierichie My glass is always full.

    Thanks for this thread @imarcq, I discovered this underhand move by Amazon at the weekend. Since then I have spoken to many Amazon reps. None of them was able to explain why I had been charged upfront on pre-orders.

    On May 11th I got charged on over 12 pre-orders, a total of over £500! Luckily for me whenever I place a pre-order I place the money to one side.

    Only by seeing your thread have I been able to get a proper explanation.

    Forgot to say Amazon Germany also did this for my pre-order of the 'Rock 'n' Roll Cicus' S.E.

    @aperfecttool, I don't think it matters if you have a Prime account or not. I have a Prime account and as you can see I was charged upfront.
     
    Last edited: May 21, 2019
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  8. imarcq

    imarcq Men are from Mars, I'm from Bromley... Thread Starter

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    Sorry you got hit that bad! I had to ask to speak to senior management before it was probably explained, and sent in writing. I still don't think they say anything different, other than pay on release day on the website yet which can't be legal. At least we know!
     
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  9. richierichie

    richierichie My glass is always full.

    I spoke to senior members of staff. The first told me downright lies, the next told me the payments were pending even though I informed them that my bank had told me the payments had been debited. The other senior members of staff didn't know what they were talking about, although the last when when I told her I had been on the phone 5 times for a total of over 7 hours gave me £25 credit on my account. I also requested a call back from senior Customer Service staff in the U.K. That was before I read your explanation @imarcq. In a way I felt sorry for the staff I spoke to, except the one who lied. Amazon have introduced this new scheme without informing staff properly.
     
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  10. garrincha

    garrincha Forum Resident

    Location:
    Plymouth, UK
    I've got a few bits and bobs on pre-order and I'm not seeing these as either pending or debited payments from my account. maybe there was a cut off, as I've had a few kicking about for a while. I've pre-ordered a couple over the last few days, so I'll keep an eye out.

    if they have changed their policy and haven't let customers know, then that's absolutely disgusting. I've slowed down my Amazon purchases over the last few months anyway - as the way they treat their staff is disgraceful - and let's face it - they're just too powerful - but the no quibbles returns policy on vinyl is pretty difficult to let go of. hmmmm
     
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  11. imarcq

    imarcq Men are from Mars, I'm from Bromley... Thread Starter

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    Older preorders seem to be ok. I think stuff that was listed for preorders or already ordered before an unknown (but rumoured to be 11 April) cut off date. So if you haven't been charged yet and orders are more than 5 days old you probably won't be. But keep an eye on the new ones!
     
  12. imarcq

    imarcq Men are from Mars, I'm from Bromley... Thread Starter

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    They really do need to tell first contact call centre staff AND change the terms and conditions on their website. Seems that they have deliberately not done this to keep the orders flowing. Quite deceitful. Glad you got some compensation. It's excruciating waiting on their phonelines trying to explain a simple concept.
     
  13. garrincha

    garrincha Forum Resident

    Location:
    Plymouth, UK
    borderline illegal, too, I reckon. I've poured over their pre-order policy this morning to see if there have been any amendments and it appears to be the same as before. ie - customer will only be charged once the item is being prepared for despatch. no mention of this 5 day nonsense you've highlighted

    the fact that they could be a) sitting on your money for an indeterminate amount of time (sometimes orders, especially records - can be pushed back) - earning a nice bit of interest in the mean time for Mr Bezos and b) they appear to be just doing this off the cuff - is frankly appalling.

    I'm not on any form of social media - but hopefully someone here can start bombarding their facebook/twitter/whatever demanding some answers. a few chaps getting pissed on a relatively niche website ain't gonna cut it! the people need answers!
     
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  14. imarcq

    imarcq Men are from Mars, I'm from Bromley... Thread Starter

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    Yes I've not seen any changes to the terms and conditions, and like you I had a good search on the site and with Google too. But enough people have been charged now, as evidenced in earlier posts, to confirm it's not just a mistake.

    I'm pretty sure that under UK Sale of Goods Act they need to specify the terms of trade. You should know upfront when payment for goods is going to be taken. Even worse is saying one thing and doing another, unless you phone them and ask! I'm sure someone like Martin Lewis would know the exact legal requirement. Maybe I'll drop him an email via his website.
     
    Last edited: May 22, 2019
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  15. imarcq

    imarcq Men are from Mars, I'm from Bromley... Thread Starter

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    I've done a trial order to see when I get charged. I reordered the same item I originally cancelled, but I used the goodwill discount of £5 to bring down the cost to £15.33. I still got free shipping as original cost is £20.33.

    It's a pre-order not due to ship until 22 July. I submitted my order on Sunday 19th May. So according to their new 5 day policy I should be seeing a hit to my bank account by the weekend. Let's see what happens and when.

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: May 22, 2019
  16. Black Elk

    Black Elk Music Lover

    Location:
    Bay Area, U.S.A.
    That order will arrive 4 days before it was shipped! Maybe that's the reason for the new payment policy, time-traveling technology is expensive!! :D
     
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  17. imarcq

    imarcq Men are from Mars, I'm from Bromley... Thread Starter

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    I pre-ordered it on May 19 and it's supposed to ship on July 22. I'll be charged around 24th May or at the weekend. I wish it did ship 5 days before I ordered! I like freebies!
     
  18. Black Elk

    Black Elk Music Lover

    Location:
    Bay Area, U.S.A.
    The image shows arriving 18 July, which is hard to do if it ships on 22 July!
     
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  19. imarcq

    imarcq Men are from Mars, I'm from Bromley... Thread Starter

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    Oh yeah. My bad. Dunno where I got 22 July from. I Shud've gone to Specsavers! ;)
     
  20. imarcq

    imarcq Men are from Mars, I'm from Bromley... Thread Starter

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    So I wonder how this new system works out for items "temporarily out of stock"?
    It says you won't be charged....but will you?

    [​IMG]
     
  21. aoxomoxoa

    aoxomoxoa I'm an ear sitting in the sky

    Location:
    USA
    Well since you like to experiment why don't you find out? :p
     
  22. imarcq

    imarcq Men are from Mars, I'm from Bromley... Thread Starter

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    I already ordered it :) not charged yet, so it seems only pre-orders effected. I do have the other pre-order (re-order) experiment from last Sunday May 19 still uncharged for, which they had previously charged before until I cancelled. They haven't been so quick this time.... however it's a long weekend bank holiday so my bank might not update until tomorrow.
     
  23. dastinger

    dastinger Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portugal
    I have had this happen to me on Amazon.fr. I agree that doing this under the rug is probably illegal. They lost all my pre-orders.
     
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  24. garrincha

    garrincha Forum Resident

    Location:
    Plymouth, UK
    so, I made a few pre-orders since this topic has come up - and the 5 day window has long passed - and I haven't been charged for any of these pre-orders

    hmm. I'm struggling to see how they're differentiating on this. how are the people who have been charged actually making these payments - credit card, perhaps?
     
  25. imarcq

    imarcq Men are from Mars, I'm from Bromley... Thread Starter

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    What's weird is that the pre-order item I originally ordered, got charged for, cancelled and then reordered on 19th May still hasn't been charged again well after 5 days. So I agree it's an enigma!

    I pay with Visa debit from my bank account normally. So it's not by credit card. Maybe there is a rule which they haven't shared. Too many past cancellations maybe? Beta testing?

    The fact that it's happened to a number of people now confirms it's happening. Maybe because I complained they didn't do it twice?

    I'll update should my test re-order be pre-charged again.
     
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