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A Question of Morality

TheOnlyJon

TheOnlyJon

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 25, 2009
677
1
Indianapolis
Here's a summary of the dilemma. The full story is below. I recommend reading it before responding...the summary doesn't say the half of it.

I ordered one pair of $115 speakers, got them, but just got an email telling me that my speakers had just left the warehouse. Different tracking number. More speakers. Same kind.

Full story:

So way back on September 9th, I ordered a set of (somewhat expensive) speakers from (online vendor).

Somewhat superfluous information...might be useful though
When I went to check out, I accidentally put in my shipping address (different from my billing) where the billing address was supposed to go. When I hit submit, I was prompted with a warning saying that the billing address was incorrect and I could not continue with the order until it was fixed. I put in the correct billing and shipping addresses and then hit submit.

Okay, great. Awesome. Just bought some pretty nice speakers! I decided that it would be a good idea to check to make sure that I was charged the correct amount since I did drop about $125 after s&h. I went to check my checking account online and low and behold I had been charged twice; when I hit submit the first time it had charged me.

So naturally I'm freaking out because I was charged $250.00 for a $125.00 purchase. I quickly email (online vendor) and explain what happened and they assure me that my bank will make the correction.

Okay, great. I wait a couple of days and finally the second charge is taken off.
Click to expand...
Meanwhile, I had been talking back and forth with (online vendor) and they informed me that I was lucky because I had gotten the very last ones they had in stock before their next shipment came in. They said they would be shipping it that day and I would get a tracking number in the next day or two. Awesome! I was excited.

A few days pass and still no tracking number. I continue checking the status of my order on the site and it still says pending. I wait a few more days and look again and it says BACKORDERED! UGH! I was so frustrated because they had told me that I had gotten the last one. So I email the vendor asking what the deal was and they say that apparently their warehouse was either short-shipped or they miscounted, so they offered a slight upgrade to some other speakers (only like $10 more) and shipped them that same day and I'd be getting a tracking number later that evening.

Awesome! Okay, so not the ones I wanted, but they're great anyhow. A day passes and still no tracking number so I email them again and ask why my status is still backordered and why I have no tracking number. Three days later I get an email apologizing for the delay saying that they had been busy in design and product spec and hadn't had a chance to respond to customer queries. He said that he had just (right before he sent the email) sent my order through for processing and that I would get a tracking number the same day.

A few days later, the speakers come. Awesome! Woo! I'm excited. But just out of curiosity, I checked my status online just to make sure it said shipped but instead it still says backordered. I assumed that again, the database hadn't been updated, so I didn't worry about it.

Today I get an email saying that my order has been shipped. I hadn't gotten one of these emails the first time around, but I did see a tracking number on the package when I got the speakers and checked it with the tracking number I got today...not the same. Somewhere along the road, I think they must have sent them the FIRST time when they upgraded me and didn't log it and then when I kept bugging them about it, they sent it AGAIN.

The speakers are due to arrive on Thursday. So what do I do? I did everything in my power to make sure that I was getting my order and had no intent of cheating them out of some speakers. Should I just keep them on account of THEIR mistake, or email/call them and let them know of the mishap?
 
Just because it was their mistake doesn't make the speakers any more yours. I'd return 'em.
 
That's what I am probably going to do. I'll wait to see if I do actually receive them but I have been tracking on PackageMapping.com and they are indeed in transit.

I shouldn't have to pay to ship them back to them should I?
 
Not at all, they made a mistake not you, most companies(happened to me with a doubled up $1000 order with NCIX) will give you a customer/client number to give to Purolator/UPS/Fedex or whomever and the payment will be taken care of on delivery or on their corporate account. The companies this happened to me with fill it out as an RMA ticket so all you do is print the sheet they give and schedule a pickup.

Good on you sending them back, when I got my double order(~$1000 worth of merchandise) everyone was telling me to keep it, but I informed them anyway(and was told by a very relieved guy in their shipping department that I may have saved his job).
 
By the time I had finished typing the thread I had pretty much already made up my mind to call and inform them. Notwithstanding, it is still very refreshing to see that those of you that have responded would have done the same. I think it says something about the general character of people on MR.
 
This sort of thing has happened to me before. I notify them of the error and get ready to send the item back (at their expense). If I'm lucky, they'll say "Bah, it's too much work/expense/hassle to get you to send them back, so just keep them." That's happened a few times.
 
Something like this happened to me once. I waited until the second order arrived just to be sure that they had indeed sent the same item again. I then contacted them, explaining the situation. They were grateful I did since I had somehow also alerted them of a bigger issue they were having with order processing and let me keep the second item (which I promptly sold on ebay :D)
 
Be careful about returning the second one as well; just make sure that they understand it is a return to them of a screwup they made. I had one company insist on charging me a restocking fee when they did this to me. So I kept the second item because they could not understand that they sent me a second one free.
 
You guys are all way better people than I am :p

This hasn't happened to me, but if it did, I have no doubt in my mind that I would keep the second item too. Not only that, but I would feel incredibly good about it.

I'm surprised that I'm the only one so far that said this!

Edit: had some time to think, and...yup, I would still do it.
 
I would have waited until the actual item (the second mistake shipment) arrived at my door first before contacting them rather than trusting the shipping status, and I would have monitored the account which you made the initial purchase for double charges because they do have your credit information in hand and could possibly charge you based a technical glitch if something such as the second shipment does not actually exist. A tracking number may be generated on a parcel that is non existent when being shipped from a wholesaler who may have accidentally entered the data wrong and deals in mass amounts of deliveries to and from the warehouse on a daily basis. Sometimes a shipping clerk may sign off on 100 packages delivered or shipped out on the same truck en mass and miscounting 99 or 101 packages as the 100 they thought there was. and sometimes this error gets all the way to the point where the parcel or parcels are received. The higher the volume the more likely error occurs sadly even with the tech to lessen it.

I wouldn't tell you that it is right or wrong to keep it though.
 
notjustjay said:
This sort of thing has happened to me before. I notify them of the error and get ready to send the item back (at their expense). If I'm lucky, they'll say "Bah, it's too much work/expense/hassle to get you to send them back, so just keep them." That's happened a few times.
Click to expand...

Good for you! I once ordered a hard drive enclosure off of newegg, I bought the wrong size, and they told me to keep it, even though it was completely my mistake. Naturally, I built my next computer using them...
 
thejadedmonkey said:
Good for you! I once ordered a hard drive enclosure off of newegg, I bought the wrong size, and they told me to keep it, even though it was completely my mistake. Naturally, I built my next computer using them...
Click to expand...

So far NewEgg has screwed my orders twice (I order most things through them). But it is odd, what happens is I place the order and it gets declined for some typo. So I fix the mistake and replace the order and end up with two of everything. They are great and apologize but they did it twice! Yes, they billed me twice as well; but it was obviously a mistake. I spoke to the rep there and he said it is a known glitch in their system.

BTW, NewEgg rocks! I'm buying a piece of that IPO -- should be a month or two away.
 
Just received the speakers today...same ones. Still no response to the email I sent the vendor and I haven't been able to reach them via telephone either. :confused:
 
TheOnlyJon said:
Just received the speakers today...same ones. Still no response to the email I sent the vendor and I haven't been able to reach them via telephone either. :confused:
Click to expand...

Well at least now you have the proof....is there a second charge showing on your bank/credit card statement? Just be careful that they don't try to issue a restocking fee and make you pay for return shipping for their error.
 
No second charge, although I did just notice that I wasn't charged for a purchase I just made online Monday night from Old Navy...strange because I could have sworn I saw the charge yesterday. No pending charge or anything... :confused:
 
I'd think that it's their mistake and their fault for sending them to you twice and keep them.. But since they were expensive, maybe give them a call and see what they say. Just tell them to pay for the postage and you send them back.
 
Still waiting to hear back from the guy. I've talked to him before...he's a certified distributor because it's one of those high-end audio companies that doesn't actually sell their own product...he's a nice guy so I'll just have to wait for his response.

If I do end up keeping him per his granting, I can't decide if I want to sell them, give them to a friend, give them to my brother...I just don't know :rolleyes:
 
Haha, as true as that may be, I still couldn't bring myself to just not say anything.

Side note: AWESOME website. I really should compile all my graphics/programming work into something like that...
 
I don't give lessons in morality, we all take chances I'd have been a millionaire if it weren't for an exploding dye pack--HAHA! yah right I'm not that immoral.
 
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