Question on Increased Shipping Costs from Online Retailer

[captouch]

Simple question:

I ordered a record from an online site. They said it would be $7.49 in shipping when I placed the order, and they pre-authorized the charge for the order on my CC.

When they shipped, I saw another charge on my CC for $7 more than my original order. They increased the shipping cost upon shipment to $14.49.

Is this legal and within their right to do?

 

[Chip Chester]

When you contact them, ask if they would rather adjust it themselves or have you ask the CC card co. to do it instead.
Assuming you have an image of the original order showing the price, of course...

Chip

 

[captouch]

When you contact them, ask if they would rather adjust it themselves or have you ask the CC card co. to do it instead.
Assuming you have an image of the original order showing the price, of course...

Chip

Thanks Chip. So your understanding is that they shouldn't be allowed to do that? I just didn't know what was allowed or not.

I do have an image of the original amount showing the $7.49 shipping charge from my order confirmation email.

 

[4-2-7]

I do have an image of the original amount showing the $7.49 shipping charge from my order confirmation email.

Sounds like a mistake in the businesses computer, like you got charged twice to ship one order.

 

[captouch]

Sounds like a mistake in the businesses computer, like you got charged twice to ship one order.

They charge a fixed price, then a variable adder based on weight. So my bet is they claim the item was heavier than they originally thought. I just don't know if that's within their right to do, or whether they're obligated to stick to their originally quoted shipping cost.

 

[4-2-7]

They charge a fixed price, then a variable adder based on weight. So my bet is they claim the item was heavier than they originally thought.

Well a record shipped in a mailer would cost about that much. However shipping media mail it would only cost around $3.50

 

[rajoo]

Thanks Chip. So your understanding is that they shouldn't be allowed to do that? I just didn't know what was allowed or not.

I do have an image of the original amount showing the $7.49 shipping charge from my order confirmation email.

If you have an image of the order upon placement, they will have to refund you the additional shipping cost.
I would call them instead of resorting to the emails, which online retailers make it very difficult to do.

 

[petehall347]

i am thinking that amounts to theft . unless of course it states they can do this in the terms and conditions ..very naughty either way .

 

[whoaru99]

They charge a fixed price, then a variable adder based on weight. So my bet is they claim the item was heavier than they originally thought. I just don't know if that's within their right to do, or whether they're obligated to stick to their originally quoted shipping cost.

So the price you saw was estimate, and they say actual will be based on weight/could be higher. And it was.

 

[Northwinds]

$14.49 to ship a record within the US? Not even sure Priority Mail is that high

Or is this coming from the UK or Japan?

 

[petehall347]

they should inform you with an invoice before taking funds from your card . well thats how it seems to work here .
sort of amounts to sending a blank cheque otherwise .

 

[whoaru99]

they should inform you with an invoice before taking funds from your card . well thats how it seems to work here .

Or, you shouldn't press the "OK" button (or whatever) without knowing the bottom line.

 

[captouch]

If you have an image of the order upon placement, they will have to refund you the additional shipping cost.
I would call them instead of resorting to the emails, which online retailers make it very difficult to do.

Thanks. I'll give it a try (contacting them), but if they make it too difficult or are non-responsive, I may just take it up with my CC company and let them work through it.

This company actually is supposed to have terrible customer service and only have a 1/10 rating on resellerratings.com. I only looked this up after I placed my order.

 

[captouch]

i am thinking that amounts to theft . unless of course it states they can do this in the terms and conditions ..very naughty either way .

I've tried to look at all their fine print, etc, and I don't see any disclaimer saying they reserve the right to modify shipping costs based on incorrect estimates, etc. I'll keep looking, but if it's there, it's certainly not obvious.

 

[captouch]

So the price you saw was estimate, and they say actual will be based on weight/could be higher. And it was.

Well, they never stated it was an estimate. I've seen some cases where they clearly state it is an estimate. Or in some cases, they actually don't tell you the shipping cost at all and say they'll reflect shipping in their final invoice after the item ships.

If they did state it was an estimate, I wouldn't question it. I suppose if I see the postage paid was actually $14.xx, I may let it go, but it irks me that they almost doubled shipping after the fact.

 

[whoaru99]

Well, they never stated it was an estimate. I've seen some cases where they clearly state it is an estimate. Or in some cases, they actually don't tell you the shipping cost at all and say they'll reflect shipping in their final invoice after the item ships.

If they did state it was an estimate, I wouldn't question it. I suppose if I see the postage paid was actually $14.xx, I may let it go, but it irks me that they almost doubled shipping after the fact.

If you feel shafted you should pursue it. But, post 5 seems to acknowledge you were aware there could be additional shipping added.

 

[captouch]

$14.49 to ship a record within the US? Not even sure Priority Mail is that high

Or is this coming from the UK or Japan?

No, it's coming from the U.S.

But it does surprise me how expensive shipping is when not shipped media mail though. In many cases, there's barely a difference between standard post and priority mail.

As an example, if you take a record mailer sized box (13" x 13" x 0.5"), weight of 2.1 lbs, and ship it across country, it costs $17.15 shipped priority mail, $16.06 shipped parcel post, and $3.61 shipped media mail.

I mean that's not a very large package or very heavy, but the shipping costs are very expensive (to me) and there's a huge diff between media mail and any other USPS shipping method.

 

[captouch]

If you feel shafted you should pursue it. But, post 5 seems to acknowledge you were aware there could be additional shipping added.

No, I didn't know their shipping cost calculations when I placed the order. I just saw $7.49 shipping cost, which seemed fair enough, and I placed my order. It was only after I saw they increased the shipping cost by another $7.xx that I investigated what their methodology was for calculating shipping.

 

[whoaru99]

Maybe you should consider using a virtual credit card arrangement in the future.

When I order online I use a virtual credit card number and set it for either the exact amount or maybe rounded to the next whole dollar just in case there is some some small discrepancy.

They charge against the virtual number but can't get any more than what I authorized, nor can they charge against that number again because it's one and done.