I'll make this as brief as possible, but let's start from the top. NewEgg represetative on these forums, feel free to chime in with your company's side of the story. I'm anxiously awaiting to hear how your company publicly responds to a situation after previous attempts to resolve it failed.
On 7/27, I make a purchase of a Gift Card at NewEgg, using my
Verified by Visa debit card, in the amount of
$280.00. This was my payment for a trade with OCF member jimmsch for an Intel q6600 processor (trade was conducted through the classifieds in the normal manner). Here's the NewEgg invoice number:
Invoice #: 27452183 - $280.00
Note that NewEgg only accepts Verified by Visa (a Visa-sponsored program) for the gift card purchases. This gift card was sent to jimmsch's e-mail address - the same e-mail address he used to conduct business at NewEgg. On 7/28, after receiving confirmation of the Gift Card, jimmsch ships the q6600.
Days later, the q6600 arrives at my door. Transaction done, positive heat left on both ends. Deal over....
----
... not so fast. On 8/14, jimmsch contacts me with the following PM:
Ok, something is up. A simple call to NewEgg should resolve this, correct? After waiting on hold for some time, I decided to go the chat route. Here is a transcript of the chat log:
Meanwhile, jimmsch is getting changing/conflicting stories from NewEgg about why the GC was cancelled (
after he was allowed to spend $3.00 of it), and why his account was suspended.
Both Jimmsch and I are bounced around the halls of NewEgg customer support until 8/31, when NewEgg CS representative Timon A. Camacho contacts me with the following e-mail:
I contact my bank - Bank of America - at both the national CS number and the local branch. The "Reference ID" provided above means nothing to Bank of America; it's a number issued by NewEgg's CC processing company and has no relevance to BoA.
Furthermore, NewEgg is unable, after several e-mail exhanges, to explain
how or
why the GC was voided, or by whom. They are unable (not unwilling, but unable) to provide insight into the "fraud alert". My credit card is in good standing with NewEgg and other vendors, and jimmsch's NewEgg account was in good standing until this transaction.
After a back and forth with CS Rep Timon, I decide to try a conference call with my bank, but quickly abort the call when I realize my account information, including balance and recent transactions, is read by default when I call the 1-800 number. I call BoA on my own accord, and again verify that NewEgg never initiated a refund. I'm also told by the BoA customer service representative that a three-way call such as this should not be necessary for NewEgg to verify that a refund has been initiated.
In other words, NewEgg isn't believing me when I tell them that I have not seen a refund or the initiation of a refund on my end. NewEgg can, through their CC processor, check this on their end, but for some reason refuse to do so.
Here's Timon's final e-mail to me, followed by my reply. Understand that both jimmsch and myself had been in contact with NewEgg multiple times over the course of the month of August, with no successful resolution or hint of help at resolution from NewEgg.
Timon A. Camacho:
My reply:[/I]
I initiate a chargeback with Bank of America for the $277.00 remaining Gift Card balance that jimmsch was unable to spend. Sure enough, once NewEgg is contacted by Bank of America, I see the $277.00 credited to my checking account (on
9/10).
And now, when I log in to NewEgg, I see this:
My point: it's neither mine nor jimmsch's fault that NewEgg couldn't get their internal communication together enough to give a straight story, let alone resolve the situation in a timely and satisfactory manner. Had I posted a gripe here on OCF, the situation likely would have been handled quicker, but why should I have to do that? I spent a large portion of my disposable income at NewEgg over the past two years, but the simple act of being a paying customer should afford me better service than what I received.
Here's my advice to NewEgg:
- Know when to escalate a situation to a priority CS queue;
- Don't tell customers stories to placate them. Find out what went wrong, and don't keep the customer guessing. Inform the customer every step of the way and always be polite. I was stern yet civil with NewEgg, but didn't receive the same courtesy in my phone calls to them;
- Learn to use your credit card processor's support contacts to resolve situations like this without the involvement of the customer;
- Finally, while I understand the account suspension is the default action after a chargeback, reinstate both mine and jimmsch's accounts. Particularly jimmsch's, since he did nothing wrong. To penalize a paying customer for your own inadequacies is to overestimate your sense of permanence in the retail market.
