Pre-Order Frustration with Warner Brothers - Page 3

Macfanforever · #31 09-03-2014, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PenguinHead

Thanks for the support. But I don't have much faith. I will try one more time. Otherwise, I hope I can buy the deluxe version from my local record store, but I really want the one with the booklet and extra photos. Maybe I can get it from a second party seller. I buy most of my music from Amazon, and have never had any issues. Warner F*cking Brothers (as I now refer to them) are evil mother*uckers. I will never again ever attempt to buy anything directly from them again. I will go through a third party.

No problem PH .I dont like to see fans get screwed with the BS these companies pull.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PenguinHead

I don't understand this concept of a company being worried if the money isn't there.If your paying it straight from a credit card or debit card, the money is there! If neither source is valid for some reason, the order won't go through! When did this system change? It's just ****ed up.

Yes .What the heck.What are they thinking .Its like taking out a property mortgage or a car loan to buy some music or videos.

So far I haven't heard any news on my order.If it falls through .I will just go to Best Buy or Walmart to purchase the album.I will just loose out on the litho stuff.Walmart wont have the vinyl but they should have her CD there.Most of the small ma pa record shops are gone here because the big box stores killed them off years ago .So that leaves out special ordering albums and other stuff like I used to do years ago.

Maybe they should use something like PayPal and let PayPal or equiv worry about the credit card stuff.

loverly13 · #32 09-06-2014, 01:04 PM

Well, just got an email that they canceled my order for the bundle, and that was with a major credit card with next to nothing on it, so no need to worry about having the money in my bank account. Should I just reorder or should I call/email them?

PenguinHead · #33 09-07-2014, 12:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by loverly13

Well, just got an email that they canceled my order for the bundle, and that was with a major credit card with next to nothing on it, so no need to worry about having the money in my bank account. Should I just reorder or should I call/email them?

Welcome to the cancel club!

I gave up. It was stressful and a waste of time. For years I've purchased lots of music/product on various internet sites using either my debit or credit card. I have never had any issues. Credit cards never require authorization; it's credit damn it! If you have a number to call, please share that with me, because it's conspicuously absent on their site. When I called 411, they could not find a customer service number. I reordered three times. No luck, same result.

Of three emails I wrote to them, only one was answered with the same bull**** and the issue was never solved. How the hell can they conduct business this way? I'm hoping I can purchase the deluxe version at my local record store. But I really want the bundled box with extra photos, as well as the vinyl record. I might have to buy them through another source, but that may mean paying more for them.

Warner Brothers store is a ****ing insulting joke. I pre-authorize that statement and cancel all future involvment with them. Stevie should find another label -- one that will not **** with her people.

Lisa W · #34 09-07-2014, 03:28 AM

I'm sorry to hear about the terrible service you have received from the Warner Bros. store. Based on these comments, I'm wondering what is in store for me. I ordered $105 worth of 24K Gold merchandise (vinyl and deluxe CD/litho bundles) on the first day of pre-orders. I didn't receive a confirmation of this order so had to email their customer service. I received a prompt reply with the confirmation. Thus far I am not yet in the "cancel club" but could be joining you all real soon.

BlueDenimLamp · #35 09-07-2014, 07:41 AM

If you want to order use pay-pal...It will be immediately charged to your account and the funds withdrawn...I have used this method with both the "IYD" DVD bundle and the "24K" bundle with no problems...

NurseDJackson · #36 09-07-2014, 05:37 PM

Longtime lurker here, never posted before but am going to about this issue. I just had my 24K order canceled due to lack of authorization. I bought it a month ago...I wrote them two emails. Afterwards I saw the little disclaimer, "your credit card will be authorized for the full amount once you confirm your order, but it will not be charged until your order ships. Some customers may see two listings on their bank statement, but the first is only an authorization, not a deduction."

This disclaimer does not actually address what they do. I used credit and no reasonable person would think they'd need to treat their credit card as if a bank account. In other words, spend two months calculating whatever amount ON THEIR CREDIT CARD.

I know I will likely have difficulty hearing back from them. What I am proposing is that we start to think about how to handle this issue publically. If I don't get fair responses within a week I am going to post my situation directly on Dave Stewart's and Stevie Nicks' social media pages (after all, this whole package buying is about upping her numbers and they aren't letting us up her numbers!) I would go so far as to call what WB is doing is illegal. I did not consent for the authorization to be repeated for two months. It's definitely fraudulent, as such a method of re-authorizing payments would allow them to tweak their production and output based on these weekly (I think folks have written above that they are weekly) checks. More importantly this practice is not directly addressed by their disclaimer.

If any of the lawyers I know were into this kind of law I'd float a class-action lawsuit idea. Sure, many of us haven't lost anything, but this practice should not be allowed. AT ALL. At the very least I think everyone to whom this happened, especially those using a credit card (because the disclaimer would indicate debit card users would need to calculate like a check's pending) should publically air the issue on the appropriate people's social media. Hashtag Liz Rosenberg if you have to...

Many of us have given THOUSANDS of dollars to this corporation over the years and this is not acceptable. I don't want to give them my money now and I am annoyed at Stevie Nicks the product/corporation. So this is just bad PR.

Jondalar · #37 09-07-2014, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lisa W

I'm sorry to hear about the terrible service you have received from the Warner Bros. store. Based on these comments, I'm wondering what is in store for me. I ordered $105 worth of 24K Gold merchandise (vinyl and deluxe CD/litho bundles) on the first day of pre-orders. I didn't receive a confirmation of this order so had to email their customer service. I received a prompt reply with the confirmation. Thus far I am not yet in the "cancel club" but could be joining you all real soon.

Exactly the same here.

MikeInNV · #38 09-07-2014, 05:45 PM

Does this have more to do with individual banks and credit card companies than it does with Warner Brothers? I pre-ordered on day one, and it has been listed as a pending charge ever since. I'm sorry to hear about people's frustrations, but I wonder why none of these issues have happened to me.

NurseDJackson · #39 09-07-2014, 05:56 PM

I've wondered that, too. Someone above says otherwise but it is a good point to consider. My confirmation lasted a month until I guess I didn't have enough on my credit card to cover it during this pass at authorization. Ultimately WB is responsible for making that clear. The one sentence disclaimer AFTER one believes they've made a purchase does not cut it.

That's what I think the actual problem is, not whether we as consumers are doing our part by doing math weekly in anticipation of a convoluted corporate practice. I respectfully submit that we do not accept a policy that is not explained properly in advance and appears to violate privacy.

I also know this is "boxing at god"/"tilting at windmills" because I can remember reading about problems with WB and their merchandise all the way back over a decade ago when that one woman had a demos site and appeared to go bonkers at one point and disappear. I remember at the end she was ranting constantly about some horrible thing WB did with a Fleetwood Mac package...and I've seen it on this site over the 5 or so years of lurking.

Regardless, I know some of you have spent a lot of time and money over the years supporting FM and Nicks, more than I have, and it is plain unacceptable.

loverly13 · #40 09-07-2014, 07:38 PM

Well, I got mine sorted out. I had placed an order for vinyl on my debit card, which I've been carefully keeping track of the funds. It hasn't been close to any cause for concern, but I totally understand that that's not the case for everyone. That purchase has remained authorized so far.

I bought the cd combo using my mom's major credit card (it's a Christmas gift and she said it was easier if I just did the legwork myself haha). That one was canceled the other day, and I was totally perplexed as to how. Turns out the company sent my mom a new card with a new expiration date and verification number, which explains why the order canceled - that card was no longer valid. I just replaced the order using the new information, so hopefully all is well.

But, I agree. This seems unethical and ridiculous, and it's a shame that this is happening to so many people.

PenguinHead · #41 09-07-2014, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NurseDJackson

Longtime lurker here, never posted before but am going to about this issue. I just had my 24K order canceled due to lack of authorization. I bought it a month ago...I wrote them two emails. Afterwards I saw the little disclaimer, "your credit card will be authorized for the full amount once you confirm your order, but it will not be charged until your order ships. Some customers may see two listings on their bank statement, but the first is only an authorization, not a deduction."

This disclaimer does not actually address what they do. I used credit and no reasonable person would think they'd need to treat their credit card as if a bank account. In other words, spend two months calculating whatever amount ON THEIR CREDIT CARD.

I know I will likely have difficulty hearing back from them. What I am proposing is that we start to think about how to handle this issue publically. If I don't get fair responses within a week I am going to post my situation directly on Dave Stewart's and Stevie Nicks' social media pages (after all, this whole package buying is about upping her numbers and they aren't letting us up her numbers!) I would go so far as to call what WB is doing is illegal. I did not consent for the authorization to be repeated for two months. It's definitely fraudulent, as such a method of re-authorizing payments would allow them to tweak their production and output based on these weekly (I think folks have written above that they are weekly) checks. More importantly this practice is not directly addressed by their disclaimer.

If any of the lawyers I know were into this kind of law I'd float a class-action lawsuit idea. Sure, many of us haven't lost anything, but this practice should not be allowed. AT ALL. At the very least I think everyone to whom this happened, especially those using a credit card (because the disclaimer would indicate debit card users would need to calculate like a check's pending) should publically air the issue on the appropriate people's social media. Hashtag Liz Rosenberg if you have to...

Many of us have given THOUSANDS of dollars to this corporation over the years and this is not acceptable. I don't want to give them my money now and I am annoyed at Stevie Nicks the product/corporation. So this is just bad PR.

Thank you for your post. My debit card, connected to my bank account, has plenty of money in it. I use it all the time to buy music on Amazon and other sites. In an unlikely event that the account became insolvent, my bank would cancel the transaction. Even when I used a credit card, which lends me the money to make a purchase (I'm responsible to pay them, not the seller) the order was still canceled! I don't understand this mentality of "be sure you have the money in the bank." That isn't the issue!!

Macfanforever · #42 09-07-2014, 09:24 PM

I was thinking the other day that Stevie and FM breakup the long lifetime relationship with WB and go to a indy label .A indy label would love to have them as a client .

They probably wont get the big coverage and distribution like they get from a big conglomerate like WB.

So far I have not get any news on my order.

With the BS .How they will sell any on their website.

I think they should get out of doing the pre order routine.

loverly13 · #43 09-13-2014, 02:12 PM

Well, after straightening out last week's panic, they've now cancelled my other order under my info. This is absolute bullsh*t. I have more than enough money in my bank account, even after going in and seeing THREE pending charges for ONE album. I emailed them because I'm a little hesitant to order again after seeing this on my card. So ridiculous. I cannot wait for this to finally be released so this mess can be over.

NurseDJackson · #44 09-15-2014, 04:33 AM

This practice of Warner's is not ethical. I fought with them over email for a week and got responses every time because I threatened to take my concerns to social media and because I used specific terminology--consent, reasonable, unethical, etc.

They seem to think what they are doing is okay. The language in their FAQ does not address the problem at hand nor does the disclaimer that appears after you "pre-order"...and to read what they are doing to some of you makes me even angrier. I spoke to Chase, with whom I have my credit card, and they confirmed that they do not have regulations about the practice of multiple authorizations that WB claims they have (I was told that it was "banks" and then told it was "part of the visa/mastercard agreement"...I called them on lying to me and they send me a statement from the FAQ about this pre-authorization). The man at Chase customer service seemed confused that WB could or would do anything more than what he said clubs and gas stations do--pre-authorize. The weekly authorizations were shocking to him.

I never once had a charge, even an authorization, appear on my credit card. For those of you with multiple appearances and cancellations, accuse them of stealing your money, tell them you did not consent to multiple authorizations, demand they stop this practice. If they cannot find a way to charge people/hold money until shipment then they need to stop doing pre-orders months in advance. Like others on this thread I have enough money on my credit card. Perhaps the day ("the 8th day" they claim, once the standard one-week for authorizations ends) they ran my card last week, payment was in transit, but I had and do now have money on my credit card. The rep at WB told me that they attempt to authorize multiple times before canceling an order. WHY IS WARNER BROS UP IN MY CREDIT CARD SO MANY TIMES?

I am continuing my fight with Warner Bros. this week. If enough people (and I told them that fans were discussing this on message boards and that we feel as though we can't even help Nicks with her first week charting) complain to them perhaps they will come up with a suitable method for collecting money with these expensive pre-order arrangements.

Warner Bros. engages in this practice because it is beneficial in some way to them. They would not be doing it if it didn't save them money or boost their bottom line. It's by no means about following some law about charging only when order ships. And there is NO EXCUSE for going into ANYONE'S credit card weekly (for up to two months) to guarantee payment.

Some of you have spent way too much money to have hundreds of dollars being ****ed with on your credit cards! I hate these people. Stevie Nicks really should get a clue about what this company she hoofs it so hard for is really doing with all our money.

KarmaContestant · #45 09-15-2014, 10:30 AM

I've been following this saga for several weeks both here and on Facebook, and I have to say I really don't understand what is going on.

I pre-ordered same as everyone else, use my checking account debit card to place the order. The pending charge has sat on my account every single day since I pre-ordered (I check my accounts online almost obsessively because all of my bills are paid via online banking AND because I keep expecting my order to be cancelled). My account balance has never dipped below the amount required for the order. My order has not been cancelled, and there have not been multiple authorizations.

Because I and many others have not had any problems with the pre-order being cancelled, or multiple authorizations, I can't help but wonder if your banks are playing a role in this that they are not being forthright or honest about?