Fictionwise micropay rebates are subject to expiration after 6 months of inaction

mrbanana · 09-27-2010, 04:23 PM

Hi,

I have just been to Fictionwise to buy some books (spent half an hour choosing the books I wanted to buy) and then noticed my $50 micropay rebate balance had vanished. It now reads £0.0

I haven't bought anything from them since their Janet Evanovich promotion, which was just before most of their catalog vanished.

In their terms and conditions it now states the following:

Until June 2010 Fictionwise had a Micropay System that allowed deposits by members and supported micropay rebate promotions on some ebooks. Rebates and deposits for this system have been discontinued due to eBook industry changes and other factors. If you have an existing balance you may still use it until it is exhausted, but no further deposits may be made and there will be no further Micropay Rebates other than Buywise Large Transaction Rebates. Rebates are subject to expiration due to account inactivity.

Any account that becomes inactive for six months will be subject to Rebate expiration. An account is inactive if there are no purchases using either Micropay or Credit transaction for six months. Deposits do not expire but Rebates do.

Has anyone else had this problem or just me?

How long has this zeroing of micropay rebates been in effect?

I must say, I now feel cheated and will never buy anything from Fictionwise or their parent company Barns & Noble ever again.

$50 is a lot of money to lose on a technicality that I have never seen or heard anyone talk about before.

I just thought I'd post this as a warning to others who have, or had, a large micropay balance like me.

Update
I sent a polite, or as polite as I could be under the circumstances, request to Fictionwise to reinstate my micropay balance, and within 5 minutes they replied to my email and agreed to reinstate my balance in full.

So anyone with a balance who hasn't bought anything in a while should find something cheap to buy to keep their micropay balance active. And if your money has vanished, a polite email may get them to change their mind.

Crusader · 09-27-2010, 06:00 PM

I just logged in and also noticed that my Micropay balance has suddenly dropped from $17 to $0. It's funny, since my last purchase was on 12 June 2010. So even if they want to hide behind the 6 month expiration period, it won't hold up since it's only been 3 months since my last purchase.

Looks like they are resorting to something akin to blatant thievery.

DanT · 09-27-2010, 06:15 PM

I just noticed my micropay has been wipe out also. My last purchace was two month old but the last time I earn micropay was indeed 6 month ago. So maybe that where the 6 month come from.

ficbot · 09-27-2010, 07:34 PM

Wow, that's actually illegal where I live

We have gift card protection laws and you are not allowed to do that.

SensualPoet · 09-27-2010, 08:19 PM

I'm not sure that would be illegal in Canada. A gift card is a pre-paid value-for-cash repository; Fictionwise Micropay credits are a discount "frequent flyer" type scheme. A sort of corporate "you snooze, you lose". My air miles expire with inactivity; no real difference.

The bigger story is Fictionwise continues to shut down. All eyes will be on the soap opera at Barnes and Noble AGM tomorrow.

CleverClothe · 09-27-2010, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanT

I just noticed my micropay has been wipe out also. My last purchace was two month old but the last time I earn micropay was indeed 6 month ago. So maybe that where the 6 month come from.

If you bought something 2 months ago you spent all your Micropay.

In June Fictionwise made a change so that any Micropay dollars you had would be automatically applied as a discount to your purchases until you had used up all of your Micropay. They did this because they are retiring the Micropay system.

DanT · 09-27-2010, 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CleverClothe

If you bought something 2 months ago you spent all your Micropay.

In June Fictionwise made a change so that any Micropay dollars you had would be automatically applied as a discount to your purchases until you had used up all of your Micropay. They did this because they are retiring the Micropay system.

Hmm no.

Here my receipt.
You ordered:

4.68 - 1 **** [MultiFormat] ******
4.68 - Total

You paid using: Store Credit

Order ID: ***************

After this transaction, you have $19.91 remaining in your Store Credit account.

That the last thing I bought I still had $19.91 in micropay that vanished. (I remove the title and ID for privacy) Today I have $0 in micropay. I clearly remember that after the transaction I check and had $19.91 in micropay.

clockworkzombie · 09-28-2010, 05:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CleverClothe

If you bought something 2 months ago you spent all your Micropay.

In June Fictionwise made a change so that any Micropay dollars you had would be automatically applied as a discount to your purchases until you had used up all of your Micropay. They did this because they are retiring the Micropay system.

Sure enough that happened to me, I always considered it a bonus not a right anyway.

pdurrant · 09-28-2010, 07:16 AM

Sounds like Fictionwise really want to get rid of the micropay system, and are resorting to rather underhand methods. I'm glad to hear that they restored your balance when you protested.

And even gladder than I've just spent my last bit of micropay.

My guess is that the Buywise club will be next on the hit list after Micropay has gone. They've already hidden your expiration date (you need to look at the HTML source to find it). My Buywise club expiration date is 3 October 2017 — seven year away.

Perhaps I should ask for a refund on the remaining seven years and see what they say...

AnemicOak · 09-28-2010, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

I'm not sure that would be illegal in Canada. A gift card is a pre-paid value-for-cash repository; Fictionwise Micropay credits are a discount "frequent flyer" type scheme. A sort of corporate "you snooze, you lose". My air miles expire with inactivity; no real difference.

When you get a gift certificate from FW it's added to your account as micropay as well (or was at least), it's not always just from discounts, etc.

Crusader · 09-28-2010, 01:55 PM

Just an update. I emailed them complaining about it and I got my $17 reinstated. Going to use it up ASAP and forget about Fictionwise.

Elfwreck · 09-28-2010, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

My Buywise club expiration date is 3 October 2017 — seven year away.

Perhaps I should ask for a refund on the remaining seven years and see what they say...

They've been refunding Buywise memberships for people who requested them. I think they're hoping to remove them at some point, hand out refunds to anyone who asks and ignore the rest.

What should happen is B&N getting hit with a class-action suit for fraud, rather than individual people taking their few dollars' refund, for promising a long-term commitment and then bailing out on it. (For deleting Micropay, their subscription shenanigans, and the Buywise tweaks.)

pdurrant · 09-28-2010, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

What should happen is B&N getting hit with a class-action suit for fraud, rather than individual people taking their few dollars' refund, for promising a long-term commitment and then bailing out on it. (For deleting Micropay, their subscription shenanigans, and the Buywise tweaks.)

Class acton suits often seem to only reqard the lawyers. I think I'd be happy with a refund of Buywise subscriptions. (Especially as some of them I got on a '100% micropay rebate' offer.)

I'll think it over for a day or two. Has anyone successfully got a refund for Buywise Club membership?

foghat · 09-29-2010, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ficbot

Wow, that's actually illegal where I live

We have gift card protection laws and you are not allowed to do that.

Unless you actually purchased micropay dollars (and if you did, I don't think they are subject to this 6 month thing), not sure you can consider them the same as a gift card.

You/someone actually pays for a gift card - usually dollar for dollar. micropay dollars are essentially a bonus based on % of the price of a purchased ebook.

foghat · 09-29-2010, 09:23 AM

I have about $22 dollars left. Last night after reading this post I figured I'd better try spend them - you think I could find anything I wanted that was available to me (in canada)? Not a chance.

And the most frustrating part is they don't even tell you (that I noticed anyway) the book is not available in your region until you try check out.

09-27-2010, 04:23 PM	#1
mrbanana Enthusiast Posts: 28 Karma: 250536 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: sony 505	Fictionwise micropay rebates are subject to expiration after 6 months of inaction Hi, I have just been to Fictionwise to buy some books (spent half an hour choosing the books I wanted to buy) and then noticed my $50 micropay rebate balance had vanished. It now reads £0.0 I haven't bought anything from them since their Janet Evanovich promotion, which was just before most of their catalog vanished. In their terms and conditions it now states the following: Until June 2010 Fictionwise had a Micropay System that allowed deposits by members and supported micropay rebate promotions on some ebooks. Rebates and deposits for this system have been discontinued due to eBook industry changes and other factors. If you have an existing balance you may still use it until it is exhausted, but no further deposits may be made and there will be no further Micropay Rebates other than Buywise Large Transaction Rebates. Rebates are subject to expiration due to account inactivity. Any account that becomes inactive for six months will be subject to Rebate expiration. An account is inactive if there are no purchases using either Micropay or Credit transaction for six months. Deposits do not expire but Rebates do. Has anyone else had this problem or just me? How long has this zeroing of micropay rebates been in effect? I must say, I now feel cheated and will never buy anything from Fictionwise or their parent company Barns & Noble ever again. $50 is a lot of money to lose on a technicality that I have never seen or heard anyone talk about before. I just thought I'd post this as a warning to others who have, or had, a large micropay balance like me. Update I sent a polite, or as polite as I could be under the circumstances, request to Fictionwise to reinstate my micropay balance, and within 5 minutes they replied to my email and agreed to reinstate my balance in full. So anyone with a balance who hasn't bought anything in a while should find something cheap to buy to keep their micropay balance active. And if your money has vanished, a polite email may get them to change their mind. Last edited by mrbanana; 09-27-2010 at 05:05 PM. Reason: Update

09-27-2010, 06:15 PM	#3
DanT Connoisseur Posts: 56 Karma: 719 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Kobo Glo	I just noticed my micropay has been wipe out also. My last purchace was two month old but the last time I earn micropay was indeed 6 month ago. So maybe that where the 6 month come from. Last edited by DanT; 09-27-2010 at 06:29 PM.

09-27-2010, 07:34 PM	#4
ficbot Wizard Posts: 2,409 Karma: 4132096 Join Date: Sep 2008 Device: Kindle Paperwhite/iOS Kindle App	Wow, that's actually illegal where I live We have gift card protection laws and you are not allowed to do that. Last edited by ficbot; 09-27-2010 at 08:20 PM.

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09-27-2010, 06:00 PM	#2
Crusader Space Cadet Posts: 1,180 Karma: 4030536 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: South Africa Device: Sony PRS-T1, Cybook Opus, Kobo Glo	I just logged in and also noticed that my Micropay balance has suddenly dropped from $17 to $0. It's funny, since my last purchase was on 12 June 2010. So even if they want to hide behind the 6 month expiration period, it won't hold up since it's only been 3 months since my last purchase. Looks like they are resorting to something akin to blatant thievery.

09-27-2010, 08:19 PM	#5
SensualPoet Wizard Posts: 2,302 Karma: 2607151 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Paperwhite, Asus ZenPad 3, Kobo Glo	I'm not sure that would be illegal in Canada. A gift card is a pre-paid value-for-cash repository; Fictionwise Micropay credits are a discount "frequent flyer" type scheme. A sort of corporate "you snooze, you lose". My air miles expire with inactivity; no real difference. The bigger story is Fictionwise continues to shut down. All eyes will be on the soap opera at Barnes and Noble AGM tomorrow.

09-28-2010, 07:16 AM	#9
pdurrant The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠 Posts: 71,504 Karma: 306214458 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Norfolk, England Device: Kindle Voyage	Sounds like Fictionwise really want to get rid of the micropay system, and are resorting to rather underhand methods. I'm glad to hear that they restored your balance when you protested. And even gladder than I've just spent my last bit of micropay. My guess is that the Buywise club will be next on the hit list after Micropay has gone. They've already hidden your expiration date (you need to look at the HTML source to find it). My Buywise club expiration date is 3 October 2017 — seven year away. Perhaps I should ask for a refund on the remaining seven years and see what they say...

09-28-2010, 01:55 PM	#11
Crusader Space Cadet Posts: 1,180 Karma: 4030536 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: South Africa Device: Sony PRS-T1, Cybook Opus, Kobo Glo	Just an update. I emailed them complaining about it and I got my $17 reinstated. Going to use it up ASAP and forget about Fictionwise.

09-29-2010, 09:23 AM	#15
foghat Evangelist Posts: 464 Karma: 1006520 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Alberta, Canada Device: Kindle PW3	I have about $22 dollars left. Last night after reading this post I figured I'd better try spend them - you think I could find anything I wanted that was available to me (in canada)? Not a chance. And the most frustrating part is they don't even tell you (that I noticed anyway) the book is not available in your region until you try check out.