Lenovo charged me for cancelled order!

I posted this in the T61 complaint topic, but then thought better of it and decided to make a new topic for it.

I ordered a T60 on 4/30. On 5/30 my estimated ship date was 6/19! I called on the 31st and canceled my order (after waiting on hold for at least 40 minutes). I was told the order would be canceled within 24 hours. On 6/18, they shipped the order they told me they would CANCEL and charged me for it, putting me about $1400 overdrawn on my bank account and incurring (to date) $300 worth of overdraft fees. I discovered they had done this only after I tried to get some groceries at Walmart last night and my check card wouldn't work. A friend had to by my groceries for me!!!! As I type this, I am on hold with Lenovo waiting to speak to someone about this. (18 minutes and counting.)

NEVER again will I ever deal with Lenovo.

 

I would contact your bank ASAP and give them whatever documentation you had that you did indeed cancel your order. I'd also contact higher-ups at Levono, and also get ready to contact the BBB. I'd say Levono owes you at least a refund plus $300, though you might get the bank to back off on the fees once you explain the situation.

 

I cancelled my T61 order last Monday (9 days ago). There is still a pending 1300$ charge on my credit card. I hate lenovo. I've called them nearly everyday and they keep giving me the: "we'll email the credit union to get that cleared up."

Once again, I hate lenovo.

 

I've contacted my bank and have the form in hand. Thought I'd give Lenovo one more chance to do the right thing. 27 minutes and counting....

Oh and it was a T60p, not a T60.

I wound up buying one from Newegg (a T60p I mean). A bit cheaper and nearly the same as the one I had ordered. -_-;;

However, I'll never buy another Lenovo product after this fiasco...

BBB is next on my list as well.

 

I would think getting a canceled order email or something faxed from Lenovo should have been the right move back on 5/31. Otherwise you are assuming a customer relations rep actually canceled it without any proof.

 

Yes, that was an extremely stupid move on my part. Lesson learned.

43 minutes and counting...

 

I actually had to call twice to cancel an order... the first rep gave me no proof whatsoever, I was nervous as it still had a ship date.

The second rep ACTUALLY canceled it.

 

I should have asked for some sort of confirmation number...

 

I am sorry to hear that this happened to you. It is terrible that they charged you several days after cancellation. Unlike some of the other BBB post, your case is definitely justifiable course of action in filing a complaint with BBB. I hope it doesn't have to come to that and hopefully, this issue will be resolved today.

 

It is absolutely true in my case.

Do you have emails to Lenovo about this cancellation? It could be good proof for any dispute. I usally send out an email seeking confirmation after cancellation, though you may not get response, but you at least document it for possible future use.

 

GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

I was on hold for 43 minutes......
The guy picks up and apparently he could not hear me. I'm sitting there SCREAMING saying "I'm here" and he says, "You'll have to call back I can't hear you" and hangs up.

Beyond words.......


That's it.

.........

 

Lenovo does not provide any confirmation number, but I always ask for the rep's name and phone number for records, which proves to be very helpful.

 

I should have and didn't. My own stupid fault....

Also don't have any email confirm either....

 

Joshua, sorry to read about your problems.

In my opinion there are 2 lessons learned:

1 - never use a Debit Card (why have them authorize and hold your own money when you can use a Credit Card and use the bank's money until the bill arrives, then pay it off in full).

2 - After the Lenovo rep cancelled my first T61 order and replaced it with another order, I immediately checked the status of the first order online to confirm that it was indeed deleted from the system

Good luck, we're all in this mess with Lenovo together.

 

Yeah, I guess that could be a good time to use a CC.
It's just that I have issues with money sometimes and could really be tempted to spend money I don't have.

 

Talked to their manager if you can and go upper the chain if necessary. I totally understand your situation. Patience will be helpful too.

Some reps truly sucks and they simply dont do their promissed work.

 

Wow, I'm just amazed someone would use a debit card for such a large purchase.

 

I've been raised to not use Credit Cards, thus I don't have one.

As far as Lenovo goes. I am not about to get back on the phone for another 40 minutes and risk getting hung up on again.

I'm waiting on one of the people from my bank to call me back and see what she has to say.

 

bit off-topic...but:

You should consider American Express cards. I use AMEX for a lot of purchases, as I do not like spending money that I don't have either, but need to use CC for tracking spending. AMEX Gold extends normal warranty for up to a year at no charge, 90 day price matching as well as many other benefits. But benefit for you may be that the balance has to be paid off every month. It is hard to live with a CC (debit Visa/Mastercards are not accepted everywhere) and this is a good alternative if you have the money to spend out of your checking account.

 

Wow, I almost never heard of this type of crap when IBM was in control of things. After Lenovo's second round of layoffs, this last time being 1000+, I can see the quality of service plummeting even though their products still might be better than average. I personally don't want to support a company that differentiates the two to such extremes.

 

YEah they wouldn't give me one either when I cancelled mine. Said they'd send me an email. Have yet to see that either. Got his name though.

Pretty rude to me on the phone about the whole thing too.

 

This is very wrong, at least here in North America. Credit card is a very convenient method of payment with plenty of benefits, rather than a way of borrowing money.
Oh by the way, this is a first step in building your credit history.
Just pay your balance in full every month.

[sorry for a little offtop]

 

Let's save that discussion for another day, shall we?

Okay, I've done everything my bank's asked. Now it's up to them to process my claim. I asked about the OD charges and supposedly I have someone who is going to look into them soon. Unfortunately, my local branch that I use suffered some roof damage yesterday and the building is kinda....flooded. *sigh*

When it rains, it pours I guess.

I'm about to start on filing a BBB complaint.

Thanks for everyone's advice so far.

 

Joshuas88,

Credit Card Services
Lenovo (United States) Inc.
419 Davis Drive
Durham, NC 27705
1-800-426-3325

They may ask for a passcode. But this is where Lenovo handle problems dealing with Credit Cards and Debit Cards. BTW, I have used both CC & DB to make purchases online. The problem is not your DB, its Lenovo.

 

Unfortunately when they do a cancellation it's not instant. Your cancellation hinges upon your ability to hope that your cancellation gets through before the time zone lag in their system occurs. I'm guessing the Chinese can ship out your thing long before Lenovo even knows it's been shipped.

 

Also, consider never using a debit card to pay for transactions. It's like cash, and you have zero recourse, you also get tagged with overdraft fees. Also, add a credit card account to the bank account you have, and have it linked so overdrafts go over onto your credit card, charges become 40.00, instead of 300.00

 

Cancellation is never instantaneous. There is a 12 hour time difference between the U.S. and China. And if you happen to call on a Friday here in the U.S., the factory in China is already closed. Communication from the U.S. office to the factory in China will not be picked up till 2 days later after the weekend. And on top of that, if it's been 3 weeks since you placed your order, your order might already be assembled and sitting in a depot somewhere to be shipped out. When the factory receives the cancellation notice from the U.S., they have to physically track down your oder, pull it from the assembly line, the depot, or the truck (on its way to UPS), or wherever your order might be at that point in time.

All this takes time. And the worst case scenario, the factory can't pull the order in time, and it gets shipped to you. Had you not purchased another computer right after you canceled your first purchase, all you had to do was to receive your order, give Lenovo a call, and Lenovo will issue you an RMA and UPS would come the next day to pick up the package. About 8 days later, your bank account would be credited.

This is how every made to order internet business operates in this day and age.


And about the long wait times when you call Lenovo... Yea, if everyone can just have some patience stop calling Lenovo EVERYDAY to inquire about their orders, I am sure the wait time would cut down drastically.

 

I made the initial order April 30th.

I canceled the order on May 31st

The order was not even shipped until three or four days ago. They've had about three weeks to cancel my order.

 

I also had to cancel an order (this was WAY before the delay problems surfaced though) and while I was tempted to order another T61 immediately, I made sure that my first order was canceled before so I could avoid these charging issues.

 

This person's advice - take it. Lenovo hasn't really done anything out of the ordinary. I shop online all the time and find myself frequently calling my credit card company to cancel payments because these companies aren't always on top of things. It's very common for online companies to charge the card and then credit you back a week later - I can see where this would be a huge problem if you're using a debit card and not a credit card.

 

Wow, lenovo did the same to me. They refused to give me my money, i cancelled the rder the next day, and they said it takes 48 hours to cancel.... I do not know what time zone lenovo works from... but 5 days AFTER the cancelltion date, they still shipped it and charged my account. The only thing that saved me was my credit card company, and that I filed a unauthorized transaction report. What Lenovo does is very illegal, do waht I did, and even if the comp comes to your door step, do not accept it. If it gets lost, too bad.

Oh and for your own good sake, DO NOT TRY TO GET YOUR MONEY BACK BY FOLLOWING THEIR DIRECTIONS!!!, they will tell you to put return to sender.... no true, later they will tell you they never recieved it, and the fact that you intially accepted the laptop keeps you from getting your money from the credit card company. So once you cancel the order, save all paper work of lenovo's customer reps, because they are as dumb as it gets. Let the computer sit out until it gets stolen or hopefully picked up by the mail man, that computer is not your repsonisbility, so do not accept it as yours.

 

Technically, you want to remove yourself from the chain of responsibility for the laptop. As long as you do not accept the package, the delivery service is responsible. Thanks the the agreement that everyone agrees to when they ship via any service, there is a max liability and the service is protected. This means the shipper, in this case Lenovo, is in deep doodoo.

Sorry if I don't make sense. Very sleepy, but got loads of work to do.

 

I completely agree. And for all those who are "against credit" cards.....please, please think twice....I am against the concept of going into debt...but I am a med student...I am already $150,000 in the hole in education debts...and I have no other choice if I want to be a physician

In regards to credit cards....they offer many benefits...such as when i used amex to purhcase my comp...i now have an extra year of warranty plus i had 90 day theft/accidental coverage protection...debit cards can't offer this

Next, you have to be very disciplined. You must make sure you have set aside money that you have charged on your credit card...as if it has really came out of your bank account. In fact, I have an account committed to credit card fees...and I NEVER withdraw from that account. I just make sure I go ahead and transfer money from my checking/savings into my 'Credit card' account on a weekly basis...this way the money is there and I never have to incur the wrath of those ridiculous rates they offer.

I even take advantage of the credit card system. Many cards offering no interest on transfers for 1 year. If you are going to make a large purchase. use an exisiting credit card. Then go ahead and transfer that to the credit card with no interest for a year. Just keep that money aside in a CD that is ready to mature a few weeks prior to when the no interest rate time expires....

Please..use credit cards to your advantage...not your disadvantage

THAT IS HORRIBLE ADVICE...absolutely horrible, horrible, horrible....

please do not do as he said

it says in the TC that if you do not accept the package and return it in an authorized manner, they are not responsible

If a order gets shipped to you (this happened to me 3 times because I kept messing with my configuration and ordering new ones and cancelling prev orders) do this:

Make sure you call in....have a RMA issued to you and have a UPS label emailed to you......that's it then

Return it to a UPS store and make sure you get a receipt indicating that you dropped it off

I also LOVE amex....i use them for any electronic purchase due to the extra year of warranty....also I love the 90 day price protection and theft/accidental coverage warranty!!!

 

Yes, I really don't understand people who are afraid of credit cards. What is so difficult about treating a credit card the same as cash in your wallet. If you don't have it, don't use it. In addition to all the other benefits of credit cards mentioned in this thread already, many of them offer cash rewards. On my last Thinkpad purchase with a credit card, I got an extra 1% cash back (about $17) in addition to the ability to dispute the transaction. I use credit cards for every transaction possible and always pay the bill in full by the due date (very easy to do with online banking and bill pay). Why not take advantage of their free cash back, etc. All it takes is a little discipline. But I guess that is just beyond a lot of people.

 

wow after reading this thread
I am so glad I did not get a lenovo
because it was my 2nd choice

 

I used to think like you, but with time I realized that many people don't have, what I call a sound relationship to money. Quite a few people will spend money faster than they earn and then face the problems afterwards. They don't necessarily do this intentionally, but sometimes it is really a kind of disease/addiction. Quite unfortunate really.

I suggest you take many things with a grain a salt on these forums. I do not doubt the validity of the OP's incident, but there are many happy ThinkPad users as well. Most likely much more than those who are unhappy. I have read about quite a few unfortunate incidents on the Dell/Toshiba/HP forum as well, but again I apply a bit of common sense before jumping the gun. Btw, don't forget that you can also buy a Lenovo notebook from a retailer as well.

As for the ThinkPads themselves, they are generally very well built and of higher quality than many other notebooks. The Dell XPS M1330 is a very nice and powerful 'thin and light' multimedia notebook, but compared to a Thinkpad the build quality and construction is not in the same league.

 

I agree with those who recommend NOT using a Debit card online. You can easily dispute a charge with a credit card and only make your minimum payments until the dispute is cleared up. If you use the debit card you have to fight to get your money back. I also don't want my debit card information out on the web.

I also never use a debit card where someone takes it into the back room to make a charge (like restaurants). I always use a credit card for those charges as well.

 

To the guy who said there are many happy users of lenovo thinkpads,

No one here is disagreing that there are not man happy users. What we are disagreein about is about those people who cancel an order. You never had to face this problem most problbly because you never cancelled an order. Many people are happy users, but what if any one of those people one day cancel an order? just because we cancel something does not give Lenovo the right to push us around. We are arguing the cancel order problems here, and if you did not cancel it, then it may be harder to relate, but there are huge problems with this process, and now the company sent me letters of debt collection... apparently they never got their comp back, and on that note, type in Lenovo return shipment problems.... thats a whole different screw up of its own, the only thing good this company seem to do is sell, but then again... when I purchase a thinkpad, I am paying a whole lot extra, and its not just because i like the Thinkpad name, i expect exceptional service, otherwise... dell it is right?

 

i personally had to deal with these issues. I ordered a computer, cancelled it, and it still showed up at my doorstep to my surprise...a total of 3 times.

now this issue regarding lenovo putting you in debt collection....it is probably your fault as to why this occured

You should have properly called in for a RMA, printed out the label sent to you via email and drop it off at a UPS Store and obtain a drop off receipt. If you did all of those processes, then you shouldn't have any problems

Yes, lenovo has a crazy order system. The cancellations do not always go through once the order has reached the warehouse because the building starts and they just can't take it off the assembly line. For some reason, it is too late to cancel by then.

 

yes, maybe i should have stuck an RMA form on it, but i would rather show in court that i chose to take no responsiblity over their mistake, because showing that i stick an RMA on the package shows that i accepted the package and their terms of return, therefore i accepted the purchase, and i did not accept the purchase... so , all i did was put return to sender. i would not have accepted it if i was home, someone else was the one that accepted the order,i was not home at that time, i personally would not have accepted that order at all, and no i did not tell that person to accept it, they assumed that just because it had my name on it, it was a valid purchase, but the invalidity of the purchase is the reason the debt collectors will not be able to do anything.... think about it... someone sends you a random article and charges your account, the article shows up at your door, legally just because they mailed you something, does not mean you are entitled or should keep it, we are giving this company much leaway for this horrible cancelation thing they have, but as rude as they were with me, why should i be nice to them?

So back to legality, if the contract said 48 hours, 48 means 48, not 56, not 72, and if they cannot do it in 48, and "accidentally" ship it, why would you or i be responsible or let them push us around to be responsible?, would lenovo allow you to return a product or give you customer service if you were even 1 day over? no they would not. i have way to many things to do on a daily basis than to go aorund figuring out how to streamline their process, they need to learn that we pay a higher price so they can provide a better service. Otherwise you an get a much better comp from any other company.

 

an about returning the package in an authorized manner, for goodness sake folks, it was an invalid and unauthorized transaction, their rules of purchase only apply when the order is shipped within the 48 hours of shippment, and if it is after the 48 hours, then that is their mistake, and a mistake is not subject to an automatic contract, i'm an accountant by trade and took plenty of law classes, a contract is a contract, if they do not abide by the contract, then that invalidates other contracts that rely on that contracts event.
In this case, the contract of purchase was broken by Lenovo, therefore, no other contract such as contract of return applies to my case. I'm sure this does not happen to everyone, but in my case, they were over their own 48 hour period.

 

oh and one more thing, the idea of "return to sender" was given to me by Lenovo's customer rep, he said that was their return policy... i just hapend to check it out online and find out the real policy...

 

The word contract appears in your post 9 times in two sentences. I'm pretty sure there is a law against that, just FYI.

 

Finally someone said it!

 

the problem with returning to sender here is that the sender is china....so they are going to try to ship it back to china, when in fact, the center that deals with returns is in NC.

 

haha, i am sure there is a law against using that word so much.

and as for the return address being in china... no, actually it says on the box the return to sender address, i made sure of that before i sent it off, the address is in the states, i forgot where it was or is.

 

i also had an order cancelled. the good thing was that i had a rep assigned to my order which i received through an email. when i found out that the ship date was way too long, i email the rep to have him cancel the order which was a pretty good deal. i used my bank card to order it and got my fund credited back into my account 5 days after the cancellation. the rep also emailed me for a passcode to call lenovo billing dept in NC. normally, once your order has been cancelled, you log in lenovo account and you won't see your order there anymore.