Pending Authorisations and a multinational online retailer

[Lionelgee]

Hello All,

I recently bought a combined offer of two items - a pneumatic tool and a pack of consumables, via a multinational online retailer that has the first letter of its name matching the first letter of the English alphabet. The transaction had the approximate combined value of $170 Australian. A couple of days later I checked the bank balance linked to the card I made the payment with. I noticed something odd. I found one transaction in the "Pending Authorisations linked to" the card linked to a multinational sales detail number that had a matching value of $170.00 Then I noticed the same Amazon sales detail number with Pending Authorisation of approximately $40.00. Then a bit lower down the list I noticed the same multinational's sales details appearing with another $170.

This led me to have an online chat with multinational retailer. I was given assurances that Pending Authorisations will be checked and only one lot of money will be drawn out of my account. Not to worry. This was at 10:15 am. Tonight at 10:00 pm I checked my account again. Well surprise - surprise not only was the 2 lots of approximately $170 and the $40 still under my Pending Authorisations a new line entry for with the same multinational's transaction worth approximately $140 has been added to the list.

So far I have had approximately $500 Australian Dollars linked as Pending Authorisations to my bank account card. This means close to $500 has been frozen and made inaccessible. Has anyone else experienced such repeated instances of total ineptitude? Did it sort itself out? Yes I did lodge another screenshot of the ever growing series of Pending Authorisations to the one I sent the multinational retailer earlier today. I also sent a note to my bank. Plus I removed all but the bare minimum amount to keep the account open and put it into another account not linked to that card. I also gave the bank notification that I would not appreciate that account going into the red before the bunch of inept sods at the multinational company might try to add more Pending Authorisations to the card.

Lesson learnt. Apparently the first bit of trouble occurred when the combined offer of two items that made up a pack actually involved products from two different suppliers. Well this is the yarn that I was spun this morning. It does not explain the additional $40 plus the latest lot of frozen money worth approximately $140

I later made two totally separate transactions each of only one item with the same company - these definitely were not combined offers. Both transactions sailed through without a hitch.

So everyone the lesson to learn here is to be wary of combined offers from a certain company. Avoid them like the plague.... Jesus wept!

Kind regards
Lionel

[RANDLOVER]

I have had the opposite sort of thing happen I bought an item online, only to have the purchase refunded a few days later as the item is no longer manufactured.

Also watch out for sellers that have unusually long delivery times I ordered an item from a well known online company, which name starts with the next vowel in the alphabet, and the delivery date was two months away, needless to say the item didn't arrive at the end of the allotted two months, so I complained and was lucky to get my money back as the online retailer only has a 30 day money back guarantee!

[Lionelgee]

I have had the opposite sort of thing happen I bought an item online, only to have the purchase refunded a few days later as the item is no longer manufactured.

Also watch out for sellers that have unusually long delivery times I ordered an item from a well known online company, which name starts with the next vowel in the alphabet, and the delivery date was two months away, needless to say the item didn't arrive at the end of the allotted two months, so I complained and was lucky to get my money back as the online retailer only has a 30 day money back guarantee!

Hello Randlover,

Thank you for your reply. You just reminded me of something that happened last Thursday when I went to pay for a new set of tyres. The correct amount came up on the EFTPOS machine. I entered the correct numbers - the machine gave a little whirl then burped. Transaction cancelled. After about a 5 minute pause, the bloke at the store re-entered the same amount . I again slotted my card into the machine - I again entered the correct number - and it went through okay. This of course was after a sufficiently pregnant pause that caused me some amount of trepidation. Later that day I checked my account. The amount of money for the tyres had been withdrawn. It was then deposited back into my account. Then the same amount was withdrawn again.

No, it was not the same card linked to the multination online retailer's continuing balls-up. Interesting times indeed!

Kind regards
Lionel

[101RRS]

I constantly have purchases come up twice as pending on my credit card. As these line entries move from pending to confirmed, only one entry makes it and the second is removed - all done by the bank.

Not had an issue with it but I was concerned when it first happened.

[Lionelgee]

Hello All,

I just did some mathematics. What has happened is that the online retailer has put a Pending Authorisation on the initial transaction as per the full purchase price. Their system has then gone... "hang on there are two suppliers ... okay we better pay the second supplier and put on another Pending Authorisation - for the full purchase price". Some time later their system has gone, "hmmm that is not quite right. The pneumatic tools supplier should be paid just the value of the tool - so we will do a Pending Authorisation on that transaction.... situation fixed". More time passes and their system goes, "Oh but that means that the pneumatic consumable supplier should only be paid the value of what they're supplying ... so we will do a Pending Authorisation on that amount".

Trouble is from my mathematics and probability lessons back in high school there is one more combination that their system could try. Putting a Pending Authorisation of the value of the consumables and paying that to the pneumatic tool supplier. Then subsequently putting a Pending Authorisation to the value of the pneumatic tool to the consumable supplier. I think that is all the combinations boxed in for a result. Just as well it was not three or more combination offer!

Yes - one day it will be sorted out and only transactions to the value of the offered price will be withdrawn from my account. However, until that day comes the combinations have had Pending Authorisations placed on them. This means the money has been quarantined or frozen and is unavailable for me to access. You know the money that is meant to be mine because I worked to earn it. Money that I could use to pay to do something like put a full tank of petrol in my car.

Kind regards
Lionel

[Tins]

Money that I could use to pay to do something like put a full tank of petrol in my car.

Kind regards
Lionel

Strewth! That much?

[Lionelgee]

Strewth! That much?

Hello Tins,

Yes - that little left in reserve funds until pay day so then I can pay THAT much. My car takes Premium 98 octane. It would have been fine except I did not budget in for the multinational retailer arseholes to screw up so much. I just checked the account and the split amount between the two suppliers that combine to make the originally promoted total has been fully processed as two separate payments. However, the two lots of approximately $170 are still in Pending Authorisations .... According to the bank and the scumarse online retailer, "some pending transactions may drop off after a period of time". Until then that amount remains inaccessible. [enter string of rude words here] If the pending authorisations do not clear overnight then it is going to be such a fun weekend!

Lesson learnt - never buy a combination offer from a mob of online retailer arseholes with their inept retail system.

Kind regards
Lionel

[Lionelgee]

Hello All,

An update, all my money is now my own again. No pending authorisations on the card. As with the nature of things - the consumables arrived in the post today. The pneumatic tool is yet to be delivered - it might not have even been dispatched yet. It sure is a gift that keeps on giving.

Kind regards
Lionel

[Lionelgee]

Hello All,

I checked my bank balances again today - as it is pay-day. Surprise -Surprise-surprise I have two lots of approximately $170 back in the Pending Authorisations put back there by the international online retailer ... oh for FS. What a total mob of inept clowns.

Kind regards
Lionel