Amazon 1-click purchase - a surprise snag

roundthebend

Just ordered 2 things separately on Amazon, using the 1-click option. I guess by its very nature that you have to order separately using that mechanism because the order is placed on 1 click.

So, got my first delivery and noticed they'd charged me £3.99 for delivery, despite the item saying "and delivered FREE with Super Saver delivery". There was no mention of shipping charges on the item's page.

So, I've placed another order in the meantime, and I've just checked and that has also been charged £3.99 for delivery.

It's a bit underhand, so I've contacted Amazon to let them know I'm not happy.

randomhandclaps

Two things really get on my nerves with Amazon and 'Free Delivery'. -

First is that it says an item is eligible for free delivery but fails to highlight that there is a £10 minimal spend.  It's fair enough if that is their policy but it should be as clearly marked as the free delivery part.

Second and worst of all is that to get free shipping you have to physically downgrade the shipping method.  It does not default to free delivery, you have to select it.  If you are rushing through or not familiar with it (my wife falls for this each time) you place your purchase assuming delivery is free (ala Play etc) and in fact unless you changed the postage method you are charged at least £3.99.

Recently my wife ordered two books to be delivered to Ireland and the total was £18 with free delivery.  It was only when I was looking through it that evening I noticed she had paid £18 and been charged £34.99 postage on top.  It swiftly got cancelled.

JAYJO

As im a tight arse i tend to read then read again before i push the button. Measure twice cut once. 

EricTheWeary

The 1 click also defaults to your home adress. As most of my amazon purchases are birthday presents for far flung relatives it isn't much use ( you can't edit a 1 click purchase). Given that using the basket is only a couple more clicks and gives you a chance to edit or review your order before placing it I wouldn't bother with 1 click.
I would say I wouldn't bother with the money grabbing bastards at amazon at all but I can rarely beat them on price and they have been really helpful on service issues when needed.

digitalscream

An opposite trick - if you buy an MP3 album with 1-click and your payment is refused (or your card's expired), you have a window of about 5 minutes to download the tracks anyway before their payment system figures out that it's an invalid transaction...

dafuzz

I have that Amazon Prime thing which is superb and I use Amazon for just about everything, but even I don't trust 1-Click.

octatonic

dafuzz said:

I have that Amazon Prime thing which is superb and I use Amazon for just about everything, but even I don't trust 1-Click.

Ditto.

roundthebend

JAYJO said:

As im a tight arse i tend to read then read again before i push the button. Measure twice cut once. 

That's the point. I read it several times and it makes no mention of delivery charges, other than to say "this item delivered FREE with Super Saver delivery" so with no further information I could only come to the conclusion that it would be free delivery.

It's that kind of thing that will put me off buying from them in future, despite being a big fan of their service and prices.

JAYJO

roundthebend said:

JAYJO said:

As im a tight arse i tend to read then read again before i push the button. Measure twice cut once. 

That's the point. I read it several times and it makes no mention of delivery charges, other than to say "this item delivered FREE with Super Saver delivery" so with no further information I could only come to the conclusion that it would be free delivery.

It's that kind of thing that will put me off buying from them in future, despite being a big fan of their service and pr

roundthebend said:

JAYJO said:

As im a tight arse i tend to read then read again before i push the button. Measure twice cut once. 

That's the point. I read it several times and it makes no mention of delivery charges, other than to say "this item delivered FREE with Super Saver delivery" so with no further information I could only come to the conclusion that it would be free delivery.

It's that kind of thing that will put me off buying from them in future, despite being a big fan of their service and prices.

I though you could view the total charge of the transaction before finally pushing the button. I havent used it enough to get caught out i suppose.

JAYJO

JAYJO said:

roundthebend said:

JAYJO said:

As im a tight arse i tend to read then read again before i push the button. Measure twice cut once. 

That's the point. I read it several times and it makes no mention of delivery charges, other than to say "this item delivered FREE with Super Saver delivery" so with no further information I could only come to the conclusion that it would be free delivery.

It's that kind of thing that will put me off buying from them in future, despite being a big fan of their service and pr

roundthebend said:

JAYJO said:

As im a tight arse i tend to read then read again before i push the button. Measure twice cut once. 

That's the point. I read it several times and it makes no mention of delivery charges, other than to say "this item delivered FREE with Super Saver delivery" so with no further information I could only come to the conclusion that it would be free delivery.

It's that kind of thing that will put me off buying from them in future, despite being a big fan of their service and prices.

I though you could view the total charge of the transaction before finally pushing the button. I havent used it enough to get caught out i suppose.

Youd think i would have the hang of this site by now. ffs I cant even post properly, Amazon will love me.

Emp_Fab

Also, be aware that if you have signed up for the Amazon credit card (which I recently have - only to get the discounts though), they will have automatically changed your default payment method to the Amazon card.  So.... if you are used to purchases just coming straight off your debit card and don't pay attention, you may find yourself accruing interest - or worse, penalties if you don't have an automatic repayment plan in place.

I agree these practices are disgraceful and underhand, and I'm less of a fan of Amazon since Mrs F has just pointed out they have a poor record on employment practices too (zero hour contracts etc).   However....  part of me thinks that if you are careless enough to not be certain of what you are paying, to whom and from which account, then you need to be fined. :-)

roundthebend

Just had an email saying they are going to refund me for the first purchase. Fingers crossed they do the same for the second one as it's already been dispatched.

I'd like an explanation from them too, then I might buy from them in future.

not_the_dj

JAYJO said:

As im a tight arse i tend to read then read again before i push the button. Measure twice cut once. 

This, even then you also get a confirmation e-mail so you can check the order details and update it straight away if it's wrong.

roundthebend

They've also emailed me to explain that 1-click defaults to First Class postage, rather than the Super Saver option. They say you can change this prior to the order moving into Dispatch state.

My gripe is that the item page says "FREE delivery with Super Saver" then offers "order now with 1-click" which misleads the customer to think they can get FREE delivery with 1-click, as in "a single click".

Maybe I'll continue to use Amazon but I'll switch off 1-click.

not_the_dj

roundthebend said:

They've also emailed me to explain that 1-click defaults to First Class postage, rather than the Super Saver option. They say you can change this prior to the order moving into Dispatch state.

My gripe is that the item page says "FREE delivery with Super Saver" then offers "order now with 1-click" which misleads the customer to think they can get FREE delivery with 1-click, as in "a single click".

Maybe I'll continue to use Amazon but I'll switch off 1-click.

Doesn't is actually say "Eligible for FREE Super Saver Delivery". As far as I recall even going through the full site I've always had to actively select that I want the free delivery option.

randomhandclaps

digitalscream said:

An opposite trick - if you buy an MP3 album with 1-click and your payment is refused (or your card's expired), you have a window of about 5 minutes to download the tracks anyway before their payment system figures out that it's an invalid transaction...

:ar!  That is a pretty cool thing to know.