[Plumadona]

Being a stubborn sort, I've continued to resubmit the ticket regarding this problem of having a valid credit card denied. After two separate e-mails that went unanswered, I went back to live chat. As usual, the poor soul who answered tried to be polite and helpful, but was totally clueless.

I again stressed that my credit card company had no problem with me; the problem was that Kobo rejected a perfectly valid card. I also mentioned that I was far from being the only customer with this problem. Again, I got the lame, "try again" routine, and again told them too many of their rejections trigger an investigation into possible fraud, freezing my card. After waiting for the chat to resume, I was told that an entity called Worldpay was holding up the works, and that I should call my bank (credit card) to check the address, giving me a ridiculously long number to pass on. Ha!

At this point, thoroughly disgusted, I told the chat person that as Kobo and / or their rep were the cause of the problem, they should solve it, especially since this is far from an isolated incident. Of course, I got yet another email later saying to try again, which, of course, failed.

Okay, I could go through Paypal as some folks here have suggested, but why should the consumer be responsible for the vendor's incompetence? I don't knock those who use Paypal to take advantage of discounts, but for myself, why encourage this type of foolishness? What is most galling is the fact that they screw up, then try to make it sound as if you're at fault (update your operating system, try another browser, check your credit card, call your bank, etc.)

I feel for all the folks here trying to buy ereaders, get them delivered, get them replaced, etc. Maybe I'm just old and cranky, but I think we all deserve far better treatment for our hard eaned money. If I have time tomorrow, I intend to send email to the top execs at Kobo (they're listed on the Kobo website). I doubt it will help, but it couldn't hurt.

One thing's for sure, no matter what happens, I sure as heck won't buy a Kobo ereader. I didn't think anyone could make B & N look good, but these guys are sure doing a good job right now. Anyway, sorry for the rant, and all my sympathy to the other folks all over dealing with this stuff.

Plumadona