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murg · 10-16-2012, 06:34 PM

Once again, really bad customer service from Kobo!

Kobo has implemented a new feature on their website when purchasing books: Quick Buy.

When purchasing a book (in this case a free book from The Australian newspaper), you press the normal Buy This Book button.

Then you get a new popup, asking if you want to 'Use Quick Buy for all eBook purchases'. This is an already checked checkbox.

NO EXPLANATION! No nothing.

So you click Buy Now. This is the same button you pressed to get to this popup. And how you've always purchased books from Kobo before. And find that you've been charged the FULL PRICE for the book.

WITH NO OPPORTUNITY TO ENTER A COUPON CODE! Which is how the free part of the free book offer is being handled.

AND KOBO HAS STORED YOUR CREDIT CARD FROM A PREVIOUS PURCHASE. You know, the one you had to enter for every purchase.

I never gave Kobo permission to enroll me in Quick Buy. This is like Amazon's One-Click, which Amazon, in the first place is an Opt-In, and in the second place I have turned off.

-----

So, now that I've purchased the book, I'm calling Kobo support to get the book refunded.

First off, the phone lines are so bad that the call centre people can't understand me. I had to spell KOBO! Then it sounds like they are eating lunch. Then they wanted to know what reader I was using. My reader has gotten no where near the book, this is a Kobo website problem.

After about 5 calls, I finally get through on a phone line that the guy can understand me on, explain the situation, he seems unaware that they've implemented something new, asks a superviser, and the refund is REFUSED!

So I asked to talk to a superviser. After a few minutes was told that the superviser was busy. I insisted (sorry, I was pretty pissed off at this point, insisted is probably a misnomer). Eventually I got the supervisor, who had heard of the new feature. She at first tried to not refund, but eventually did refund the book. In 3 to 5 days. The Australian offer is for a day only, and the Kobo website is sure that I've already purchased it, so it won't let me purchase it again.

The superviser explained that Quick Buy was a new feature to address the concerns of their customers who want an easier way of purchasing books.

In other words, this is Kobo's version of a Cart. A single book cart that doesn't let you use discount codes.

-----

Basically, Kobo has completely screwed up the implementation of this new 'feature'. They've:

Implemented a major feature without telling anyone
Opted their customers IN to the new feature without notice
Stored the credit card from their last transaction without informing the customer.
Popped-up a new purchase box, asking to use Quick Buy, without explaining what it is.
Made it very difficult to undo all of this.

10-16-2012, 06:34 PM	#1
murg No Comment Posts: 3,238 Karma: 23878043 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Australia Device: Kobo: Not just an eReader, it's an adventure!	Kobo Screws Up Quick Buy Once again, really bad customer service from Kobo! Kobo has implemented a new feature on their website when purchasing books: Quick Buy. When purchasing a book (in this case a free book from The Australian newspaper), you press the normal Buy This Book button. Then you get a new popup, asking if you want to 'Use Quick Buy for all eBook purchases'. This is an already checked checkbox. NO EXPLANATION! No nothing. So you click Buy Now. This is the same button you pressed to get to this popup. And how you've always purchased books from Kobo before. And find that you've been charged the FULL PRICE for the book. WITH NO OPPORTUNITY TO ENTER A COUPON CODE! Which is how the free part of the free book offer is being handled. AND KOBO HAS STORED YOUR CREDIT CARD FROM A PREVIOUS PURCHASE. You know, the one you had to enter for every purchase. I never gave Kobo permission to enroll me in Quick Buy. This is like Amazon's One-Click, which Amazon, in the first place is an Opt-In, and in the second place I have turned off. ----- So, now that I've purchased the book, I'm calling Kobo support to get the book refunded. First off, the phone lines are so bad that the call centre people can't understand me. I had to spell KOBO! Then it sounds like they are eating lunch. Then they wanted to know what reader I was using. My reader has gotten no where near the book, this is a Kobo website problem. After about 5 calls, I finally get through on a phone line that the guy can understand me on, explain the situation, he seems unaware that they've implemented something new, asks a superviser, and the refund is REFUSED! So I asked to talk to a superviser. After a few minutes was told that the superviser was busy. I insisted (sorry, I was pretty pissed off at this point, insisted is probably a misnomer). Eventually I got the supervisor, who had heard of the new feature. She at first tried to not refund, but eventually did refund the book. In 3 to 5 days. The Australian offer is for a day only, and the Kobo website is sure that I've already purchased it, so it won't let me purchase it again. The superviser explained that Quick Buy was a new feature to address the concerns of their customers who want an easier way of purchasing books. In other words, this is Kobo's version of a Cart. A single book cart that doesn't let you use discount codes. ----- Basically, Kobo has completely screwed up the implementation of this new 'feature'. They've: Implemented a major feature without telling anyone Opted their customers IN to the new feature without notice Stored the credit card from their last transaction without informing the customer. Popped-up a new purchase box, asking to use Quick Buy, without explaining what it is. Made it very difficult to undo all of this.