Hope the computers are better than customer services

[dayloon]

Ordered my first ever Mac 2 days ago. Customer services / Ordering system is appauling. 2 phone conversations yesterday......

Me : I ordered a PM yesterday on the phone and was told that my debit card wouldn't be charged until shipping so I didn't transfer any money into my debit account. However, I got an email in the middle of the night saying that you tried to charge my card. Obviously this would have failed. However, I have now transferred the appropriate money. Please could you try to charge it again
Apple : No
Me : Why ?
Apple : Your order is on hold pending payment
Me : I know, thats why im calling - I want to pay !
Apple : You can't
Me : Why not ?
Apple : We will automatically try to charge your card again next Wednesday
Me : But thats another 1 week delay. Please could you charge my card now.
Apple : No, sorry sir. Bye

2 hours later....Apple call me

Apple : Hello, can you please confirm that you ordered a PM yesterday ?
Me : Yes I did but I would like to pay for it please
Apple : Oh yes, I can see that there was a problem with your card. We'll try again next week
Me : I don't want you to try again next week. I want to pay for it now for 2 reasons. 1 - To prevent a delay and 2 - I don't want over £2000 sitting in my account doing nothing
Apple : Sorry, I can't help you there. We will charge you again automatically.
Me : When ?
Apple : Either next Tuesday/Wednesday or maybe Tursday.

Sorry but how rubbish is that !! Why don't they want my money ?

Im seriously not impressed.

[0s and 1s]

Not sure if this is a BTO, but if not, just cancel it and order again. Either way, you should ask to speak to a manager and complain about their behavior. Perhaps he can override this week delay in charging you for the PM. Good luck.

[dayloon]

I just cancelled the order and am going to reorder so that I get charged today

[nagromme]

Happily, yes, the computers ARE better than that hassle :)

Do report it, high enough up to reach ears that have some say in these things. Sounds very aggravating :mad:

The good news is, Apple customer service is usually much better than that. In fact, it's consistently rated the best in the whole industry, according to large-scale surveys done by Consumer Reports:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=1261805

[rdowns]

You ordered a computer and had no funds available in the account you provided. Apple tried to charge you in anticipation of shipping and it failed. Whose fault is that? Like having $2000 sitting in an account for a few days would have cost you anything more than 32 cents interest. Geesh.

[dayloon]

You ordered a computer and had no funds available in the account you provided. Apple tried to charge you in anticipation of shipping and it failed. Whose fault is that? Like having $2000 sitting in an account for a few days would have cost you anything more than 32 cents interest. Geesh.

Err, did you read the original message ? On the phone when I ordered the machine, I asked him when I would be billed. His reply was "Once the machine is about to ship, we will invoice you for payment - don't worry about it yet". So I kept the cash in savings until I received the invoice. But that didn't happen, instead they sent me an email at 1am the next day (NOT just prior to shipping as you assumed but before the order had even gone anywhere) which said "We're going to charge your card now....". I transferred the cash and called CS to charge it again. And they wouldn't.

The point is that ANY other company you call would have retried your card then and there to save on the delay. They would not have said "Sorry, I can't take your payment until next week". I should not have to cancel the order and reorder should I.

[iact101]

I agree dayloon, there customer service should be alot better then that. However I am jaded as if you see my post I have had alot of problems with Apples products and customer service.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=122994

Its a shame really as the OS is great but watch out for the service. Least here in the land of OZ (Australia)

[Sutekidane]

From a lot of these posts I have a feeling that Apple's customer service outside the US isn't very good.

[840quadra]

Ordered my first ever Mac 2 days ago. Customer services / Ordering system is appauling. 2 phone conversations yesterday......

Me : I ordered a PM yesterday on the phone and was told that my debit card wouldn't be charged until shipping so I didn't transfer any money into my debit account. However, I got an email in the middle of the night saying that you tried to charge my card. Obviously this would have failed. However, I have now transferred the appropriate money. Please could you try to charge it again
Apple : No
Me : Why ?
Apple : Your order is on hold pending payment
Me : I know, thats why im calling - I want to pay !
Apple : You can't
Me : Why not ?
Apple : We will automatically try to charge your card again next Wednesday
Me : But thats another 1 week delay. Please could you charge my card now.
Apple : No, sorry sir. Bye

2 hours later....Apple call me

Apple : Hello, can you please confirm that you ordered a PM yesterday ?
Me : Yes I did but I would like to pay for it please
Apple : Oh yes, I can see that there was a problem with your card. We'll try again next week
Me : I don't want you to try again next week. I want to pay for it now for 2 reasons. 1 - To prevent a delay and 2 - I don't want over £2000 sitting in my account doing nothing
Apple : Sorry, I can't help you there. We will charge you again automatically.
Me : When ?
Apple : Either next Tuesday/Wednesday or maybe Tursday.

Sorry but how rubbish is that !! Why don't they want my money ?

Im seriously not impressed.

That is a joke!

i ordered my PM G5 with my debit card (I refuse to get a Credit card). I forgot to call my bank before hand to up my limit to a level that would cover the Powermac. 2 hours later I called back, and they charged my card, and started processing shipping.

Were the clerks you dealt with Lazy, or on some kind of power trip?

That sucks!, I hope things go better.

[dayloon]

From a lot of these posts I have a feeling that Apple's customer service outside the US isn't very good.

From what i've seen so far, you would be absolutely right to think that. I've had to cancel my order and start all over again. It's really not very impressive.

[skubish]

You ordered a computer and had no funds available in the account you provided. Apple tried to charge you in anticipation of shipping and it failed. Whose fault is that? Like having $2000 sitting in an account for a few days would have cost you anything more than 32 cents interest. Geesh.

I agree with rdowns. It is fraudulent to charge items to a debit card that you know doesn't have the funds to cover it. Just like writing a check before you have money in the account because you know it will take a few days to cash. Do people do this all the time? Yes. Does it make it right? No. Apple was probably just checking the card was good before building the machine.

Not being able to accept payment for another week is stupid on Apple's part though.

[OnceUGoMac]

I agree with rdowns. It is fraudulent to charge items to a debit card that you know doesn't have the funds to cover it. Just like writing a check before you have money in the account because you know it will take a few days to cash. Do people do this all the time? Yes. Does it make it right? No. Apple was probably just checking the card was good before building the machine.

Not being able to accept payment for another week is stupid on Apple's part though.

I have to agree. Sorry, Dayloon. I know that you are frustrated, but skubish is correct. It is illegal to charge items to an account without proper funds. Feel blessed that the only negative experience you've had is not getting your way (which isn't that serious). It's better than going to jail. Take care and good luck.

[arribadia]

It is fraudulent to charge items to a debit card that you know doesn't have the funds to cover it.

Says who?

If a merchants ships an item out without getting clearance for the payment first, it can only be attributed by their own negligance.

Besides, please note that it is a debit card, not a credit card. Who knows if one of Apple's employees might be a card thief.. and yes, once the money has been stolen from your savings/debit account, it is GONE.

The situation is completely different as compared to a credit account, where you can refuse to pay the disputed charges!

[rdowns]

Says who?

If a merchants ships an item out without getting clearance for the payment first, it can only be attributed by their own negligance.

Besides, please note that it is a debit card, not a credit card. Who knows if one of Apple's employees might be a card thief.. and yes, once the money has been stolen from your savings/debit account, it is GONE.

The situation is completely different as compared to a credit account, where you can refuse to pay the disputed charges!

That's not correct, at least for my bank, Chase. I am not responsible for fraudulent charges. If your bank is different, shop for another bank.

[OnceUGoMac]

Says who?

If a merchants ships an item out without getting clearance for the payment first, it can only be attributed by their own negligance.

Besides, please note that it is a debit card, not a credit card. Who knows if one of Apple's employees might be a card thief.. and yes, once the money has been stolen from your savings/debit account, it is GONE.

The situation is completely different as compared to a credit account, where you can refuse to pay the disputed charges!

Says who? Well in the U.S., so says the federal, State, Local Governments, and the bank itself.

[dayloon]

Im not in the US and it's not fraud. If you use your debit card (i think some of your are getting confused between this and a credit card) without funds in your account, it gets rejected. The end.

OnceUGoMac - Go to jail for my debit card being rejected ? Are you on crack ? Dont be stupid

And for the 3rd time - the point I was making is not based around my initial card transaction (I know i made a mistake and shouldn't have listened to the guy on the phone - I should have transferred the cash straight away). What I am annoyed about is the fact that apple would not take my card for another week and were about as unhelpful as you can get. Sorry but that is just pure crap. If this way ANY other store, i would not have had to cancel my order and reorder it !

[Demon Hunter]

That really is unfortunate but it sounds like you ordered your PM and everything is fine. You'll love it I'm sure. :)

Customer service with Apple has always been a mixed bag with me. And I think that goes for just about any company.