just got this crap


Thank you for writing back to us at Amazon.com.

I have reviewed your account and can see that this experience has
been far less than positive. We strive for convenience and
efficiency at Amazon.com, but in this instance we have fallen short
of our goal.

I'm truly sorry that your impression of doing business with
Amazon.com has been so negative.

As a representative of Amazon.com, I want to assure you that we
value our customers' trust above all else--it's the foundation on
which our company was built. Please know that we'll continue
working hard to ensure that you receive accurate service, and to
minimize the chances of anything like this occurring again.

I sympathize with your frustration. However, please understand that
the information provided in our last message correctly represents
our policy at this time.

As my colleague previously mentioned, that we did not charge you the
correct amount for the items you purchased due to an error.

Please note, We will charge your credit card for any items from this
order that have not been processed by our returns center by February
2, 2007.

To review the costs for this order, please visit Your
Account by clicking the link at the top right of our web site.

Please be assured that the amount being charged to your account for
each item is the same price that was listed on the product detail
page on our web site at the time you placed your order.

In addition to a wide selection of items, one of our aims at
Amazon.com is to provide a convenient and efficient service; in this
case, we have not met that standard.

Once again, I am truly sorry that we were not able to fulfill your
expectations for this level of service. I hope that you will give us
another opportunity to prove the quality of our service to you.

Thank you for your understanding. We hope to see you again at
Amazon.com.


Please let us know if this e-mail resolved your question:


Please note: this e-mail was sent from an address that cannot accept
incoming e-mail.

To contact us about an unrelated issue, please visit the Help
section of our web site.


Best regards,

Rathna K .
Amazon.com Customer Service
http://www.amazon.com

just got this:

Greetings from Amazon.com.

We are writing to remind you that we will be processing the charge for
your above-referenced order.

As we stated in our previous e-mail message, we discovered that we did
not charge you the correct amount for the items you purchased due to
an error. We will charge your credit card for any items from this
order that have not been processed by our returns center by February
2, 2007. To review the costs for this order, please visit Your
Account by clicking the link at the top right of our web site.

Please be assured that the amount being charged to your account for
each item is the same price that was listed on the product detail page
on our web site at the time you placed your order.

We appreciate your understanding in this matter. Thanks for shopping
at Amazon.com.


Sincerely,

Customer Service Department
Amazon.com
www.amazon.com

I wrote them again, showing the email I received saying I would not be charged again. They sent me the original form email again, twice, even with the original Jan 28th deadline.

What does it mean that they will charge the amount listed on the product detail page? Doesn't the detail page only list the individual price of the DVD? If so, then they aren't even going to honor the buy 1 get 1 free promotion.

Based on the email I received from them, it sounds like this is what they are planning to do. The CSR who responded to one of my emails listed the order totals for all of the orders with the 'correct' price. The total included the full price for both sets minus whatever I paid on the original order. There was no mention of the promotion. Of course, I could have just gotten a clueless CSR.

I finally sent an email to customer service last night, after receiving the new threat letter-- and I got the "the email was a technical error on our part and you won't be charged" response.

I imagine that even if amazon pursues arbitration (as mentioned in their terms of service) or something of that matter, the fact that I got this email AFTER both of their emails saying I would be charged tips things in my favor.

Just recieved this, Amazon has been cordial with me, but there may be more of these threat responses on the way:

Absolutely not. Amazon doesn't have your social security number.

i got this today:

This is *such* bulls**t!! There is NO consistent policy on this screwup.

Anyone else notice where it says to check "your account" to see what you should be charged? Just looked at the invoices for my two orders that went through and lo and behold they are exactly the same as they originally were. Amazon doesnt seem to know what the hell they are doing.

God Damn Amazon.

I fired off an email saying that I get different information from them everytime, and I do not tust them anymore.

Got this email, and the link they provide doesn't even work. Be sure to check out the bold part, for those who were told they wouldnt be charged:


Thank you for writing to us at Amazon.com

I have read all your previous communications with us and I am sorry
for any frustration you have experienced.

I would like to apologize for the misinformation you received a few emails ago that stated we would not be charging you for these orders. We will be charging the credit card used to make these purchases if the items are not returned to us.

To view the terms and conditions of the promotion you can use
the link below.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...=ASBWFYDM3SJCA

If you decide to keep the items or we have not received the items you
wish to return, we will charge your credit card for any unreturned
items in a manner consistent with the terms of the promotion.

If you prefer to return the items, I will be more than happy to help
you arrange a UPS pickup to make this process more convenient. You
may either visit our self-service returns center to print a return
mailing label and request a pickup, or reply to this e-mail and we
will make the request for you.

We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding
in this matter. Thanks for shopping at Amazon.com.

Been doing the go-rounds after getting their "you will be charged" e-mail last night. This morning's response was basically "I don't care what someone else told you, you're being charged." My basic response was that while I sympathize with them in that this must have cost their company a lot of money, I would fight these charges simply because I feel it's a dangerous precedent to set when you allow a company to complete a transaction with you and then say "ooops, we meant to charge you more than what we did." I pointed out that not only was that type of action very questionable legally, but that I also had an e-mail from one of their other CSR's stating that I would not be charged. I got a response from yet another person this morning apologizing and stating that I wouldn't be charged. Guess I'll be watching my credit card activity this week.

How hard is it to get all the CSRs up to speed on this issue in one month?

I wrote amazon after the latest "we will charge your credit card" email and said I would dispute any charge above the grand total of the invoice, and got this response:

It just keeps getting better ... I had one of those orders that "disappeared" (canceled by Amazon), yet still got yesterday's threat letter saying I would be charged. I sent them a short e-mail saying that the order was canceled and never shipped, and got back this response claiming yesterday's e-mail was not from Amazon!

Thank you for writing to us.

The e-mail you received was not from Amazon.com. We are
investigating the situation, and we appreciate you letting us know
that you received this.

We value our customers' trust above all else--it is the foundation
upon which Amazon.com was built. Please know that this situation was
the result of technical error, and that in no way did we intend for
this to happen.

I have made a note on your account that you are not to be charged
for the replacement item sent in Order #xxx-xxxxxxx-xxxxxxx.

Although I have corrected the problem, it is possible that you could
receive another e-mail message about the return. If you do, please
rest assured that you will not be charged and disregard it.

As a representative of Amazon.com, I want to assure you that we
value our customers' trust above all else--it's the foundation on
which our company was built. Please know that we'll continue
working hard to ensure that you receive accurate service, and to
minimize the chances of anything like this occurring again.

For your protection, we suggest that you never respond to requests
for personal information that may be contained in suspicious e-mail.
It is best to assume any e-mail that asks for personal financial
information (or web site linked to from such an e-mail) is not
authentic.

If you did not click on the link in the fraudulent e-mail, your
account at Amazon.com is fine--there's nothing more you need to do.
If you did click the link, but didn't enter any personal information
(such as your login or password), the phishers will not have your
Amazon.com account information.

However, please know that if you ever respond to a phishing e-mail
and do enter your Amazon.com login and password (or any other
personal information) on the forged web site, the phishers will have
collected that information and you should take appropriate action.
We recommend that you update your Amazon.com password immediately,
and, if you entered financial information, you may want to contact
your bank or credit card provider.

If you encounter any other uses of the Amazon.com name that you
think may be fraudulent, please do not hesitate to contact us again.

Please know that you are a valued customer of Amazon.com, and I am
very sorry if our previous message caused you any offense.

We appreciate your business and hope that we will see you again soon
at Amazon.com.

(The e-mail continued with more detailed info about phishing.)

What are the terms and conditions of the promotion? I noticed the link says document not found. I have a suspicion if Amazon charges anything it will probably be the price of both items without the promotion applied since they are being vague in their reponses.

Hehe who would send us fake emails? Disgruntled DVD talkers from the ethics debate? Oh Amazon...

Jeez, the wide variety of the CSR responses -- everything from "ignore the misinformation in our previous email" to "that email wasn't from us"" -- and the general ineptitude in this matter more than a month later are making me think a shopping cart glitch is the least of amazon's problems...

To receive the Bonus with Purchase discount:

1. Add all products described in the promotional offer message to your Shopping Cart one of two ways:
a. Via the Add both to Cart button in the promotion description, OR
b. Via the Add to Shopping Cart button on each respective product information page.
2. The value of the Bonus item will be reflected on the final order checkout page and will be allocated proportionally to all participating promotion items in the Shopping Cart, including the Bonus item itself. For example, if the promotion offers one Bonus item worth $10 for free when you purchase 2 items worth $20 each, the value of the $10 item will be divided proportionately between the three items, so that the Bonus item will appear with a $2 discount, and each of the two other items will appear with a $4 discount.
3. If you remove any of the participating promotion items from your Shopping Cart or violate any of the terms and conditions listed below, the promotion will be invalid, and the discount will be removed from the order.

Terms and Conditions:

* Promotional offer valid for a limited time only. Items placed in Shopping Cart overnight may not be eligible for promotion at time of checkout.
* Promotional offer applies only to qualifying items displaying the offer message on their product information pages. Items that do not display the offer message do not qualify, regardless of the nature of the item.
* Applies only to products sold by the merchant indicated in the promotional offer message. Does not apply to items sold by other merchants on the Amazon.com Web site. For example, where the promotional offer applies to items offered by Amazon.com, items offered by other merchants on the Amazon.com Web site (e.g. Land's End, Target, etc.) do not qualify. Does not apply to any products purchased in Amazon.com's other sites, including Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, or Amazon.co.jp, or in Marketplace, zShops, or Auctions.
* Unless the offer message indicates otherwise, the promotional offer applies to the lowest priced qualifying item(s)
* Applies only when all qualifying and benefit products in the promotion are purchased in one order.
* Applies only to complete orders shipping to a single address that meet all other promotional requirements.
* Offer good while supplies last.
* No substitutions or rain checks.
* Offer must be redeemed through the Shopping Cart. Does not apply to orders placed with 1-Click.
* Shipping and handling charges apply to all products, including bonus items.
* Offer may not be combined with other offers, including promotional certificates.
* Void where prohibited.








The last team leader I spoke with tried to twist the bolded part into meaning I was only allowed to place one order using the promotion, not that I had to have both items in one order instead of sepereate ones.

I just got an even better e-mail: Amazon is asking my PERMISSION to charge the full amount, which they say they will do anyway:

Thank you for writing back to us at Amazon.com.

I've reviewed our previous correspondence and your orders.

I sympathize with your frustration. However, please understand that
the information provided in our last message is correct.

Please note that, we didn't charge you for these orders at the time
of shipment due to technical error and all the amount has been
applied to the promotions by mistake. You have been charged only
for the shipping cost.

For example I inculded the cost details of your orders:
-----------
Order number : xxxxxxxxx
Cost details :
Subtotal: $89.98
Shipping: $3.97
Promos: ($89.98)

Total: $3.97
-----------

Order number : xxxxxxxx
Cost details :
Subtotal: $42.98
Shipping: $3.97
Promos: ($41.98)

Total: $4.97
-----------

Rest assured you'll be charged for only one DVD in your orders as
promised earlier.

Please use the link at the bottom of this message to send us a reply
with your permission to charge your credit card $65.98 for the
items. Of course, your credit card will not be charged for the
shipping costs associated with the items.

Thank you for your cooperation, and thanks again for shopping at
Amazon.com.


Please visit the following link to provide the information we
requested:

[link removed; standard "More Information" feedback page.]


So now they are asking permission to charge my card? And if it's not given??????

Chalk me up as another one who received the threat of charge e-mail. Funny thing is that both of my orders were canceled and never shipped. I can't even find the orders online in my account. I think I'll just wait it out and monitor my credit card rather than waste my time getting the canned response from customer service.

I have decided that since I used a debit card, I will be going to the bank on monday and am going to report my card as stolen, so that shouldn't be a problem with this Amazon thing. However, I *think* they might have my actual bank account information as well, so I might have to close my whole account and open a new one with all new information.

Still, I'd be really surprised if you actually thought that $0 + shipping was an accurate final amount.

If the glitch had overcharged, would you be fighting this hard to stop them if they tried to credit you the overcharged amount?

I for one always check my final charges before I submit any order. If their website messed up and charged me more than they should have an I agreed to it, I WOULD contact them and see if I could get my money back. But I would also understand that if I agreed to a higher price by placing my order after I already knew it was higher, and couldn't get it back, then I'd leave it alone. I own up to my mistakes. Sad Amazon can't.

How come the fact that you used a debit card matters? I've seen several people mention they were doing what you are or returning orders because they had used a debit card. I used one too and as far as I can tell from my bank's website and what I was told by their customer service I can dispute the charges with no problem. Are people just worried about their bank account balance being messed up temporarily and risking bounced checks or am I completely missing something?