Be careful when you buy from BooksOnBoard

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by taustin

All of which assumes that you must contact them by phone. Or, to quote a friend's very wise mother, "Instant gratification isn't quick enough." Is it really that critical that you talk to them right now? You can't wait a few hours for an email response? Really?

AHAHAHAHAHA.

The last time I contacted a company by email (because they didn't have a phone number), they emailed me back an identical copy of what I was responding to, because their company policy was to assume that *I* hadn't read their email. So they responded by not reading MY email.

This was yesterday. EntroPay, in case anyone is wondering.

So, yeah, I do prioritize a 24-hour phone number.

The rest of your response tells me that you thought I was making one argument instead of many. Not all of those points were related to the phone number issue. I was saying there were several reasons to implement the policy being discussed.

Which kind of underscores the fact that sometimes written communication DON'T WORK SO GOOD.

[Shopaholic]

What some of you folks seem to be missing are that just because the funds came out of the buyers PayPal account & bank account does NOT mean the funds arrived in the sellers account. It just does not work that fast. It can take a couple of days to go through, longer if either party is in another country. I wouldn't have disputed the PayPal transaction that quickly either.

As to being stuck in a foreign country with no credit cards - sorry but that's your fault. Yes it's a PITA but when you use your card in a manner & location that is out of the ordinary the credit card company IS going to flag it as suspicious and shut you down for your own protection. Want to prevent that? Call them & let them know you'll be travelling, where you'll be travelling & for how long.

Their security features are there for your protection. I'm sorry your bank never told you that. They should have. It would have saved major headaches & residual anger on your part but it's certainly better than having your identity & life savings stolen.

[JSWolf]

Books On Board
1515 S Capitol of Texas Highway, Suite 221 Austin, TX 78746
(512) 828-6444

I just found that. So if anyone calls, please let us know if the number is correct.

[TechnoCat]

Originally Posted by VicLavigne

Simply that cancelling a transaction by going straight to PayPal to complain (without waiting any decent amount of time) seems premature. BOB is not a fly by night business, they've been around at least a few years and I'd offer a fair amount of trust that they would do the right thing within a reasonable amount of time

They already did the wrong thing. The best they can do now is compensate for having done the wrong thing; they can't actually do the right thing anymore.

And because they did wrong, it should be reported to PayPal. Doesn't preventing someone from repeating a harmful behavior by reporting it verge on being a moral imperative?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by TechnoCat

They already did the wrong thing. The best they can do now is compensate for having done the wrong thing; they can't actually do the right thing anymore.

And because they did wrong, it should be reported to PayPal. Doesn't preventing someone from repeating a harmful behavior by reporting it verge on being a moral imperative?

You did jump the gun by reporting the incident to PayPal. When I reported something to PayPal, they asked if I tried to sort it out with the other party. So you should have given BoB enough time to respond or not respond before going to PayPal.

[TechnoCat]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

You did jump the gun by reporting the incident to PayPal.

Wasn't me in the transaction. Regardless, I disagree with you on this. BoB violated all common credit card (VISA, MC, Amex) terms and, as I mentioned above, the actual law, and therefore should (IMHO) be immediately reported.

If their action was defensible, they have no more to fear in the long run than the OP whose money was, at least temporarily, seized.

[frquixote]

Originally Posted by mikaelalind

Here is the link to Customer Service.

Edit: The link was found at the front page, under the Learn More headline. Yes, it can be a bit more visible. But it is easy to find. *shrugs*

I found that no problem and used it to submit a trouble ticket, but that is all it links to ... their trouble ticket system.

Wasn't able to get my books until last night about 10:00 HST, 24 hours after they received the payment from Paypal.

[frquixote]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Books On Board
1515 S Capitol of Texas Highway, Suite 221 Austin, TX 78746
(512) 828-6444

I just found that. So if anyone calls, please let us know if the number is correct.

It IS the correct number and it connects to an answering machine in their corporate offices. I never got any reply from the phone message I left.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Books On Board
1515 S Capitol of Texas Highway, Suite 221 Austin, TX 78746
(512) 828-6444

I just found that. So if anyone calls, please let us know if the number is correct.

Do they accept collect calls (reverse charge)?

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by taustin

Nothing wrong with that. But what's the big deal with sending their CS people an email and waiting a few hours for a response? I mean, really.

A few hours

My experience with CS calls is that they ask you questions and you answer. That then elicits more questions, followed by more answers, then more questions, etc. I can't imagine being tethered to my computer all day as multiple emails were exchanged. That's insane.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by taustin

Misses a lot of opportunities to deal with reputable companies that offer great produces and good service.

I'm not missing anything. I shop at Amazon, Best Buy, Costco, Fred Meyer, Home Depot, Ikea, Kohl's, Lowe's, Office Depot, RadioShack, REI, Staples, Target, and Walmart. As much as possible, I order online.

[frquixote]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

You did jump the gun by reporting the incident to PayPal. When I reported something to PayPal, they asked if I tried to sort it out with the other party. So you should have given BoB enough time to respond or not respond before going to PayPal.

Sorry, JSWolf, I often find your comments helpful, but you're a bit off the mark this time, in part because you don't have all the facts of the situation and in part because you may not fully understand the PayPal Dispute Resolution System.

First, an editorial on my part: online retailers need to be held to the same standards as B&M retailers. Then the facts: I needed to notify PayPal immediately because BoB had actually RECEIVED the money. My credit card company differentiates between PENDING transactions and COMPLETED transactions and I can view BOTH online. According to the timestamps on the transaction with the credit card company and PayPal, BooksOnBoard received an EFTS payment within fifteen minutes of my submitting the order. At that point, BoB's system should have released the lock on my account (which they shouldn't have done in the first place) and on the transaction (if their concern was transaction fraud).

Editorial: What it boils down to is this: If online retailers choose to protect themselves with automated fraud detection systems, they have an obligation to ALSO implement mechanisms to RELEASE accounts and transactions when the validity of the transaction has been confirmed, either by PayPal or by the credit card company. BoB has implemented protections for THEMSELVES (don't let them kid you that it is for YOUR protection), but have not implemented the necessary complementary protections for the consumer.

Now for some discussion of the PayPal Dispute Resolution System: When a transaction is paid for through PayPal and goes awry, you should IMMEDIATELY open a case with the PayPal Resolution Center. This both documents the problem in the event PayPal has to get involved and alerts the organization within the seller that is responsible for their PayPal account that there is a problem. In this case, it went directly to BoB's Accounting Department (per the automated information I received from PayPal), bypassing the support people who have no authority to effect change. If you are dealing with money issues, you WANT to get to the people who are responsible for the money, not tie up the poor customer support folks who have no authority over money matters.

It is important to understand that PayPal doesn't actually get involved in a case until you ESCALATE the case to a claim (which you normally can't do for seven days unless you call them). If you called and spoke to someone at PayPal, then you were, in effect, escalating the case to a claim, which is why you were asked if you had tried to settle the problem with the seller.

So, a Resolution Center case: 1) documents the problem in case you need to bring in PayPal by escalating the case to a claim; 2) alerts the seller's money people that there is a problem they need to get involved in; and 3) usually results in a more rapid resolution without ever having to involve PayPal.

[Fbone]

I'm glad to hear your issue has been resolved.

[twowheels]

Originally Posted by Shopaholic

As to being stuck in a foreign country with no credit cards - sorry but that's your fault. Yes it's a PITA but when you use your card in a manner & location that is out of the ordinary the credit card company IS going to flag it as suspicious and shut you down for your own protection. Want to prevent that? Call them & let them know you'll be travelling, where you'll be travelling & for how long.

I travel a lot, and have a special card oriented toward international travel (for example, no foreign exchange fees), and always call. Nope, not my fault.

[Mel]

While I never had a payment issue with BOB I do find their customer service unfriendly and hard to deal with. I had special offer books disappear out of my library and the only response is a shrug and "it was a special offer. The publisher pulled it." Due to my shopping style wishlists are a very important feature to me and they constantly erase them. When I complain they give me nonsense about it not being them but the publisher erasing my list. I've stopped doing business with them until they stop trying to use the boogyman "Publisher" as an excuse for all their problems.