SECOND & THIRD UPDATE BELOW TOO:
OK so my last post about blog giveaways being a bust sometimes got a lot of response and I am glad to announce that most of the time, people really do get their prizes. There are the odd times they don’t but I guess like anything in this world you win some, you lose some…literally in this case.
Here is what ignited my last post.
I won a giveaway back in February and I did not use the coupon code until months later, August to be exact. I was worried it might have expired but it hadn’t as I was able to shop and use the code and it gave me the 100% discount. I did get charged for shipping which I thought was ridiculous for a blog giveaway as that is usually not the etiquette but seeing that the business cards were a great savings and we started a new business so I thought I would pay the $33 shipping on a lot of business cards. I checked out and approved a $33 payment for shipping and was excited to finally get my business cards. But…
I did not see the forthecoming and if I had any idea it was going to become a big mess I would have never used the code in the first place, nor entered the darn giveaway. I got a call the next morning from the company and got asked about the coupon code I used. I told the representative that I had won a blog giveaway back in Feb. She said she was wondering because she had never heard of the code. I told her it was probably because it had taken me months to use it. I then copied the e-mail I got when I won and she replied “Thanks Tawna!”. She also said they would honor the code, they just wanted to verify where it cam from. No big deal…right…WRONG!
Well the next day I see a charge for $121 and some change in my account from them…seriously. I e-mailed the same lady back and she said “it was a mistake and we will refund you.” I said good because I have a phone bill I am paying on the 10th, it’s auto pay, I will go negative if it’s not put back.”
Well…today is the 10th and no refund showing. It usually takes 2-3 days according to my bank so in reality if the woman really submitted the refund when she said, I should have it. I called the bank and they said they can’t see the refund request til it goes through but I can file a dispute. So I just got off the phone from filing a dispute charge. Now if the refund did not get submitted through then it takes 7-10 days for my bank to go through the process and receive my money. Isn’t this wonderful???? I win a blog giveaway, happy to use it, and it has been the biggest pain in the butt ever. First I had to pay shipping, and second, I get crap about the code, and third they charge an unauthorized charge…really?
So now I hope this will not set a precedence for the future…next time I go to Walmart, Kmart, the grocery, or any store and I buy something on sale…will they be able to charge my card again when I leave because they marked it by accident or have decided they don’t agree with the price? Even though my receipt says XXX amount of dollars, is it OK for a company to turn around and change the charge on something just because they want to? Sounds illegal to me.
I am not posting this today as I am giving the company one more day so I can update below…did I ever get my money? Even if they refund me or the bank’s process goes through, it is utterly ridiculous the hoops I have had to jump through to get my giveaway winnings. Don’t sponsor something you don’t want to giveaway.
FIRST UPDATE: It is now the 13th and no refund. I have had to stop payment my phone bill as that is less then the overdraft fee would have been. Now I may have a late fee on top of that. I am glad I did not wait until today to dispute the charge, I really had a gut feeling I shouldn’t wait. I am pretty sure I am getting the run around and that the company is waiting for me to forget about it. I also e-mailed the lady again and asked her to check into the status. I have not told her I have disputed it yet, but she will find out soon enough.
I am truly bummed about this situation because really I would have bought from this company again in the future as designing business cards is not that easy and after the freebies, why not give them my paid business again. Now, I am not ever using them again and will go back to vista print or another card service I have used in the past. Oh and you want to know who the company is? 1800postcards
Ya not going to give that company any credit in the future. If they ever refund my money and make things right then I will come back and update this post, but if not, it stays as-is. I am ticked! They pretty much stole my money. If I took a card and charged what I wanted I would go to jail…go figure!
UPDATE AGAIN:
Today’s post on 8-14-12
I will update in the actual post too but wanted to share that I did finally get a refund this morning from 1800postcards AND they refunded the shipping too. Yay! I will have to say that I did not get any answers to my e-mails yesterday but I am pretty sure after I told them, via e-mail, that I would have late fees and stop payment fees they decided to refund the shipping. So it was a pain in the butt but I have now finally received my prize and free shipping!
The squeaky wheel does get the oil…right? NOOOOOOOOOO
UPDATE AGAIN: It is now 8-19-12 It was my bank that gave me a temporary refund…not 1800postacards, I just found out yesterday. I had to go into the bank and fill out paperwork etc. I had to dispute it, it has been about 9 days and they still have NOT refunded me…what are they thinking? So I take back anything positive I have said about this situation, I am still in dispute…are you kidding me?!!!!!!!! I have e-mailed the company again, and it was not the nicest e-mail I will admit, I am so mad. I even asked for my shipping costs refunded this time as the bank screwed up and gave me that $33 too so I told the bank that was shipping and the only charge that was legit, so they will take that back probably sooner then later. But I believe that with all the effort I have put into getting this refund that now they should, at the least, refund my shipping on top of the $121.50 charge…don’t you think? Really, I should get more but will be happy with my stinking money!
Again, if I charge someone else’s card without permission I would GO TO JAIL!!! What the heck are they thinking! What kind of customer services is this????
i posted on the other post about getting or not getting stuff. (remember the out of date wonka). wanted to let u know one of the others i didn’t get from may was business cards. someone is supposedly working on it so i don’t want to say who but seems to be a trend
btw. i have a pre-paid amex i use exclusively for on-line purchases. i only put enough on the card to cover what i intend to purchase. if anybody tries an additional charge, it won’t go through.
That is a great idea…I may try that prepaid card option too. Fact is, shipoping should be free for giveaways in my opinion.
if you have to pay anything other than income tax to get a prize, it’s a discount not a win
Oh no….I hope it’s not the same copmany as mine!
wasn’t the same company. problem i think was blogger was removed from giveaway/support group about the time i won. ps u know right now if u order pre-paid amex and put 200$ on it before the end of the month they give u a 25$ amex gift card. is how i chose amex instead od mc or visa. it does work got my gift. got mine in may
I have a really good client who is a lawyer, and one piece of advice he gave me is to NEVER use a debit card for ANYTHING. There are laws in place that protect consumers if this was done with a credit card, and there are very few laws if any that protect consumers who use debit cards. You actually have to sue them in small claims court if you want your money back, as the bank will probably be of little help. I lost $300 this way to Direct TV after they jerked us around promising programming they did not deliver and then charged us a cancellation fee because we wouldn’t upgrade to a more expensive package. I’m really sorry this happened to you. I hope you can get your money back.
Wow! I was crying in my beer about the three or four giveaways I entered an won and never received anything, just promises from the hostess of the giveaways. Live an learn–but nothing as aweful as this. I am stopping my boobing now. I couldn’t afford a win such as yours,my husband would be so ticked off I would never hear the end of it. I am truely sorry you went through this.
This is totally UNACCEPTABLE. That is not how a business should run. I wil definitely not do business with them in he future. I just shared it on FB and twitter. Keep us updated please.
I just shared it through FB and twitter. This is NOT acceptable. Thank you for sharing, I will definitely not do business with them. Keep us updated.
Wow, that’s horrible! They should be charged with fraud!
That is such a shame. Thanks for the update. I tweeted, g+ and fb’d it!
Isn’t it illegal for them to add more charges to your account without your authorization? I understand how you feel, in May I purchased an iPad from a company and it was stated it was used and was the highest grade available. When I recieved it it was chipped on the side, I thought nothing of it thinking it had nothing to really do with anything…wrong! It wouldn’t charge or even pick up on my computer I used 2 different ones AND I have other Apple products and they all go off without a product. I did however pay for a warranty so I sent it out…well a week later AFTER I paid to ship it them they said they it wasn’t covered because it was “physical” damage and that I should contact the company. I tried to explain to them that it was like that when I bought it and didn’t think that really have anything to do with it. So, I called the company and complained I talked to one of their “computers” I mean “live” person and demanded my money be returned and asked for their 1-800 # I called them and asked for a supervisor about 15 minutes later he called and said he’d refund my money thankfully but I had to get it back from the insurance company. It took me about 2 weeks to get it back to me and I still had to send it to the company. The insurance shipped it out to their repair place then they had to ship it to the insurance all before they shipped it to me! How stupid is that!? I did have to beg for my refund and it wasn’t fair because they basically lied about the condition and I will have to say I will NOT buy from them ever again. I paid over $300 with insurance for the item and the insurance wanted to charge me over $200 to repair it. I said screw you (mind my language) I can go to the store AND buy a NEW one for that price. Even the lady on the phone agreed. I though I could trust this company since they associate themselves with a major retailer boy was I wrong. Good luck I hope you receive you refund too. I am still waiting on mine too they should have gotten it back today so I guess I’ll have a wait and see.
Hi twana,
I agree with you, what they did was not legal and I hope that you are able to get your money back. I will share this post!!!
report them to the better business bureau for one. see what state they are from and report it to that states BBB. it may not get your money back quicker but it will be a negative report on them.also I think you can also take it up with your state attorney general and report them as well for fraudulent activity. there are other places you can report it but cant think of those sites at the moment.
I have been waiting for a gift card from one site(reward port) I cashed out for in november. still havent received it. after they stop responding to emails and so forth I reported it. still havent received anything.I also won a contest from a blogger several months ago and the blogger still has not sent me my prize. so dont feel bad. while I wasnt charged money its still the principle of things.hope you get your money back
That totally SUCKS Tawna!! Did you send this post to them. I am going to tweet it and google plus it…. Hope everyone else does the same.
Sending today!