Apple billing rage.

[brentsg]

Okay well I called Apple again... They gave me free expedited shipping and a $70 credit to cover the two $35 wire transfers.

Meh, not exactly what I'd call a "happy ending" but I'll take what I can get. All will be forgiven once my Macbook finally shows up

Good grief, how is that not a happy ending? You have to pay tax, that's life. Personally I think it would have been sufficient if they simply credited you to cover the second wire transfer. I mean that's all that you were "out" of the mixup. You should be thrilled that they did it one better.

Someone made a simple mistake. Are you prepared to go through work-life without ever making one?

 

[Awjvail]

Pretty generous of them considering you were trying to avoid paying tax on an item you knew you should have been paying it on.

It's not "pretty generous" of them at all.. it's the least they could do.

I'm appreciative that they've righted the situation but I wouldn't call it generous. They reimbursed me for the wire transfer that I shouldn't have had to do, and upgraded my shipping so that I wouldn't have to wait a million years to get my shipment because of a problem that was their fault.

The extra $35 for the original wire transfer was a nice touch though

If they wanted to be generous, they'd say "Oh crap. We screwed up and now we're going to have to pay the sales tax out of pocket because we didn't charge them in the first place."

 

[Awjvail]

Good grief, how is that not a happy ending? You have to pay tax, that's life. Personally I think it would have been sufficient if they simply credited you to cover the second wire transfer. I mean that's all that you were "out" of the mixup. You should be thrilled that they did it one better.

Someone made a simple mistake. Are you prepared to go through work-life without ever making one?

It's the principle of the thing... look at it this way:

At the grocery store, you're getting your stuff rung through. The clerk tells you the total.

You pay the total, and begin to get your things together. Then, the clerk says "I forgot to charge you the sales tax. We're going to withhold your paid items until you pay the difference".

Would you be okay with that?

 

[sydenham]

It's not "pretty generous" of them at all.. it's the least they could do.

I'm appreciative that they've righted the situation but I wouldn't call it generous. They reimbursed me for the wire transfer that I shouldn't have had to do, and upgraded my shipping so that I wouldn't have to wait a million years to get my shipment because of a problem that was their fault.

The extra $35 for the original wire transfer was a nice touch though

If they wanted to be generous, they'd say "Oh crap. We screwed up and now we're going to have to pay the sales tax out of pocket because we didn't charge them in the first place."

Again it sounds like you thought you were going to scam them out of the tax. You have caused them lots of grief, time and money by sending a wire transfer. Perhaps you should have just went down to the Apple store and paid cash. Why should they pay your tax because you don't have enough money on your credit card to purchase the item. You were content to screw them out of the tax and now your annoyed because they didn't wear the hat...

 

[Awjvail]

Again it sounds like you thought you were going to scam them out of the tax. You have caused them lots of grief, time and money by sending a wire transfer. Perhaps you should have just went down to the Apple store and paid cash. Why should they pay your tax because you don't have enough money on your credit card to purchase the item.

If Apple thinks wire transfers are too much grief then they shouldn't offer them as a valid form of payment.

I used a wire transfer to purchase online because a) My credit sucks because I'm younger so my Credit Card company won't GIVE me a $2000 credit limit and b) I get a discount through my work, and since we don't have an Apple Store here, the only option is to purchase online to get that discount.

 

[sydenham]

If Apple thinks wire transfers are too much grief then they shouldn't offer them as a valid form of payment.

I used a wire transfer to purchase online because a) My credit sucks because I'm younger so my Credit Card company won't GIVE me a $2000 credit limit and b) I get a discount through my work, and since we don't have an Apple Store here, the only option is to purchase online to get that discount.

Ok but the point is you knew you were suppose to pay tax. And now your angry because you have to pay tax. They waived the transfer fee, which was more then generous. You were content to rip them off because they made a mistake, which is pretty low. They have lost $70 on the laptop and your still ungrateful. If I was at a grocery store, and I didn't pay tax I would expect them to withhold the goods.

 

[Miss Terri]

I can see where the OP is coming from.

If I made an order for a product over the phone and was going to pay by wire (which, by the way, is perfectly acceptable as long as the company advertises it as one of the ways they choose to do business), and I was given a total of $2148, I would then double check: "Okay, I'm going to be sending $2148, right? That's the grand total?" Then I would do my part by getting the wire arranged and sending the total.

If, the next day, the store called me back and said "Oh, sorry, we were wrong, your total is actually $2548, we made a mistake," yeah, I would be annoyed. Whether it was tax, or they priced the product wrong, or they forgot to add the shipping..... doesn't matter. I was given a total, paid it, and now they are asking me for more money. That's annoying. Even more so when I have to make special arrangements again.

It's not like the OP was specifically trying to get out of paying sales tax.

So yes, Apple made a mistake. It was an annoying one and I would have been cheesed off too. I probably also would have asked them to honor their price (they would still have paid any sales tax due but obviously would have had to take it out of the total funds they had already received from me, as that total was supposed to have included the sales tax - since it was the "grand" total).

What they did was more than they had to, as they could have told the OP to go jump, and either pay it all or forget buying an Apple computer. Of course it was less than saying "Okay, our mistake, we'll eat the extra $."

It's nice they didn't go the total "jerk" route, and I think what they did was decent. I always appreciate it when a company apologizes and at least tries. But I can also see why the OP was a bit miffed, and I don't see where the OP was trying to cheat anyone.

MT

 

[Awjvail]

I can see where the OP is coming from.

If I made an order for a product over the phone and was going to pay by wire (which, by the way, is perfectly acceptable as long as the company advertises it as one of the ways they choose to do business), and I was given a total of $2148, I would then double check: "Okay, I'm going to be sending $2148, right? That's the grand total?" Then I would do my part by getting the wire arranged and sending the total.

If, the next day, the store called me back and said "Oh, sorry, we were wrong, your total is actually $2548, we made a mistake," yeah, I would be annoyed. Whether it was tax, or they priced the product wrong, or they forgot to add the shipping..... doesn't matter. I was given a total, paid it, and now they are asking me for more money. That's annoying. Even more so when I have to make special arrangements again.

It's not like the OP was specifically trying to get out of paying sales tax.

So yes, Apple made a mistake. It was an annoying one and I would have been cheesed off too. I probably also would have asked them to honor their price (they would still have paid the sales tax but obviously would have had to take it out of the total they had already given me, as that was supposed to have included the sales tax).

What they did was more than they had to, as they could have told the OP to go jump, and either pay it all or forget buying an Apple computer. Of course it was less than saying "Okay, our mistake, we'll eat the extra $."

It's nice they didn't go the total "jerk" route, and I think what they did was decent. I always appreciate it when a company apologizes and at least tries. But I can also see why the OP was a bit miffed, and I don't see where the OP was trying to cheat anyone.

MT

Thank you. That is exactly what I'm trying to get across. I was told one total, paid it, and then "Oh, sorry, we forgot to add in $X".

Like I said, I'm appreciative that they've righted the matter. I'm not out anything anymore, which is good enough at this point.

 

[sydenham]

Here is a quote from our distressed OP

"I doubt that. We still have to pay HST and all that crap so the government gets their money anyway.

I live an hour from the border with Maine... but I don't have a passport, so that is an additional $100 cost to get one so that I can get across the border."

So perhaps you can tell us the rest of the story. Did you think if you ordered a computer from the US, and had it shipped to Canada you would avoid tax?
Please enlighten us where you ordered from and wanted it shipped to. My guess is you ordered it from the US and they saw the shipping address as Canada so indeed there would have been no tax on the order. Please do tell the rest.

 

[Awjvail]

Here is a quote from our distressed OP

"I doubt that. We still have to pay HST and all that crap so the government gets their money anyway.

I live an hour from the border with Maine... but I don't have a passport, so that is an additional $100 cost to get one so that I can get across the border."

So perhaps you can tell us the rest of the story. Did you think if you ordered a computer from the US, and had it shipped to Canada you would avoid tax?

Lol no.

P.S. - I didn't order the computer from the US. I legitimately ordered the computer from Apple Canada, shipping to Canada.

Billing and shipping address are a Canadian address.

I wasn't trying to avoid paying the sales tax. The whole fact that I was mis-charged for the sales tax is irrelevant.

Let's say that Apple didn't charge me for the shipping and then expected me to pay for that after the money has already changed hands. Or they charged me for a cheaper model and wanted the dough for it after I paid. I'd have the same problem with that as I would this.

 

[brentsg]

It's the principle of the thing... look at it this way:

At the grocery store, you're getting your stuff rung through. The clerk tells you the total.

You pay the total, and begin to get your things together. Then, the clerk says "I forgot to charge you the sales tax. We're going to withhold your paid items until you pay the difference".

Would you be okay with that?

You were gunning to avoid paying the taxes and it didn't work out. You're disappointed.

They did more than I expected them to and you're still not happy. At this point it's just absurd.

 

[sydenham]

Lol no.

P.S. - I didn't order the computer from the US. I legitimately ordered the computer from Apple Canada, shipping to Canada.

Billing and shipping address are a Canadian address.

I wasn't trying to avoid paying the sales tax. The whole fact that I was mis-charged for the sales tax is irrelevant.

Let's say that Apple didn't charge me for the shipping and then expected me to pay for that after the money has already changed hands. Or they charged me for a cheaper model and wanted the dough for it after I paid. I'd have the same problem with that as I would this.

So basically your saying if someone makes a mistake, they have to pay you. Your still not telling the full story I have a feeling. I am pretty sure the tax would have shown up on their order, as it must do with millions of other orders in Canada. What was their reason for saying you weren't being charged tax? What did your confirmation email say??

 

[AppleScruff1]

Okay well I called Apple again... They gave me free expedited shipping and a $70 credit to cover the two $35 wire transfers.

Meh, not exactly what I'd call a "happy ending" but I'll take what I can get. All will be forgiven once my Macbook finally shows up

I think that was a reasonable solution for all parties involved.

 

[Awjvail]

So basically your saying if someone makes a mistake, they have to pay you.

No - they don't have to pay me. They've got to live with their mistake and move on.

Your still not telling the full story I have a feeling.

I don't know why you would have any reason to doubt what I've said.

I am pretty sure the tax would have shown up on their order, as it must do with millions of other orders in Canada. What was their reason for saying you weren't being charged tax? What did your confirmation email say??

They gave me a couple of reasons at different points:
"There was a glitch in our system"
"The iPad 2 launch is slowing things down" - Unlikely. iPad 2 doesn't launch until the 25th.
"The Sales rep was wrong" - obviously.
"You're not supposed to send the wire transfer right away" - yeah okay.

They never really gave a concrete reason why it didn't show up on my order until after the fact.

Anyways, the issue is resolved.

 

[sydenham]

No - they don't have to pay me. They've got to live with their mistake and move on.


I don't know why you would have any reason to doubt what I've said.



They gave me a couple of reasons at different points:
"There was a glitch in our system"
"The iPad 2 launch is slowing things down" - Unlikely. iPad 2 doesn't launch until the 25th.
"The Sales rep was wrong" - obviously.
"You're not supposed to send the wire transfer right away" - yeah okay.

They never really gave a concrete reason why it didn't show up on my order until after the fact.

Anyways, the issue is resolved.

And what did your confirmation email say? Someone that spends an hour and a half on the phone with Apple to get a USB cable replaced definitely raises some eyebrows.

 

[Awjvail]

" Subtotal $1738.00
G.S.T./H.S.T. $0.00
P.S.T./Q.S.T. $0.00

Total Price CAD

$1738.00"