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PSA: If you preordered the XOOM from Staples, they Charged your card twice!!

lava9611

Newbie
Sep 4, 2010
27
2
I preordered the XOOM from Staples on Wednesday (3/23). Despite the message on the preorder page which said they would not charge my card until it shipped, I noticed the charge on my bank card right away. As it was just a couple of days before it was to ship, I didn't think much of it.

However, when I was checking out the status of my order on Staples website this afternoon (3/25). I noticed that two orders now appeared. Clicking on the first order revealed that it had been cancelled, and that the second order (a "By Phone" order) was now pending.

A quick look at my bank account shows that BOTH CHARGES are pending on my bank account. :eek: Thank goodness I had enough money in my account to cover both charges. (This is not normally the case as this account is my 'toy' account that only has money in it when I am planning or purchasing a new toy.)

A quick call to Staples customer service confirmed that this the way that they are doing preorders. The representative I talked to said that this is the first time she can remember them doing preorders on their website. When I reminded her that her company was only authorized to charge my card once, she verbally shrugged her shoulders and said "I just found out about it today myself". :mad:

I will not be ordering from their website again if I can I help it. Thought everyone might like to know.
 
I always use credit card for this kind of purchase. Say like american express will eat any restocking fee or the entire returnwithin 3 months. Also if you drop or break it by accident or even stolen within the first 3 months, they will reimburse the entire cost too. Then they offer one year extended warrany automatically. Other credit cards also offer simular protection too.
 
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its not a "charge" its a pre authorization. it would fall of your account after a few days and only 1 actual charge would be applied to the account.


You sound like the lady that I talked to at Staples. That is all well and good that it is not a "real" charge and that one will fall off. But until it does my bank account is almost 700 lighter. And again, what if I didn't have the extra 700 in there to begin with?!? Overdraft charge, that's what. I have preorder stuff before where my account was preauthorized for $1, but never for the full amount of the purchase.
It is very evident to me that Staples was not sufficiently prepared for website preorders.
 
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no you would not get an overdraft...its an AUTHORIZATION. its not a charge. no money has changed hands at all. you would only get an overdraft if you actually were charged and that money was actually removed from your account.


This is true, but it's entirely possible for any further charges to be denied until it clears, and that can be a huge problem. It can lead to late charges and being unable to buy necessities until it clears out as well. Most of the time that happens quickly, but I've occasionally had pending charges hang around for a week or two, and that's a long time to have my money held up because they put two holds on my account.
 
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This is true, but it's entirely possible for any further charges to be denied until it clears, and that can be a huge problem. It can lead to late charges and being unable to buy necessities until it clears out as well. Most of the time that happens quickly, but I've occasionally had pending charges hang around for a week or two, and that's a long time to have my money held up because they put two holds on my account.

I've had a pending charge on my credit card since 2/19 for an item that hasn't shipped yet. That's why you use a credit card and not a debit card for these types of purchases. I use a credit card for everything - you have more fraud protection on a credit card and your bank account isn't affected.
 
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I've had a pending charge on my credit card since 2/19 for an item that hasn't shipped yet. That's why you use a credit card and not a debit card for these types of purchases. I use a credit card for everything - you have more fraud protection on a credit card and your bank account isn't affected.


Because everyone has a credit card, right?

Besides, it's not a problem if they only put one authorization on the card, as if I'm making the purchase with my debit card I have the money to make the purchase once. I shouldn't have to guarantee 2-3 times the purchase price in case the store screws up with the authorizations.

And my debit card has the exact same fraud protections as a VISA card, because it's a VISA check card.

(Full disclosure, this is a purely theoretical debate for me, as I bought the 3G Xoom a month ago. I did use my debit card though, and Best Buy had no problem only charging my card once, at time of purchase.)
 
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This is true, but it's entirely possible for any further charges to be denied until it clears, and that can be a huge problem. It can lead to late charges and being unable to buy necessities until it clears out as well. Most of the time that happens quickly, but I've occasionally had pending charges hang around for a week or two, and that's a long time to have my money held up because they put two holds on my account.


Exactly!! I have a pending charge on my account since 5/23 and I don't know when it is going to reverse. In the meantime, the available balance on my bank account is 700 less. Don't believe me? I could show you right now. Thank goodness I didn't need thatt money to make a mortgage payment or something else critical. (And I don't do credit cards btw.)

Lessoned learned for me, I just won't be ordering anything off Staple website from now on.
 
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