Billing fiasco re my account - Is BoB that incompetent lately?

[chriden 10]

I have been a member of Bidorbuy since 2006 and have been selling good for a number of years. There has never been a problem with my account payments.... until recently. In January i received a warning that my account for R29 was overdue and that i would be blacklisted etc if I did not make payment. BoB has all my banking details on their system and have been deducting fees ever since I started trading online. I have changed nothing and there are (and have been) sufficient funds in the account to cover my fees. In January I made more sales and the fees due to BoB rose to R136.50. but Bob continued to send me rude emails and threats of being blacklisted etc. I was even downgraded for a short while. I spoke telephonically to:Konigile?, Claudia, Natasha and Bennett re this issue. Only Bennett admitted and agreed, after scrutinising my account details on his side, that the fault did not lie with me. He re-instated me as an advanced seller. He said that BoB would rectify the problem and he would notify the Accounts Dept. But, I am still getting notifications that my account is overdue along with all the threats. I am getting rather fed-up with this treatment! I would like to know if anybody else has experienced similar problems with fees being deducted (or not), and if so, how was your problem resolved? I have emailed the accounts dept again tonight, but I have lost faith in their competence. However, I am wary of blacklistings, etc which can be very detremental to my personal credit rating. What must one do to hold Bob accountable for their error? Who can offer advice?

 

I have just noticed that I am now being referred to as "Junior Member/Junior Apprentice"?

Edited February 15, 2013 by chriden
corrected spelling

[MiemsJewels 11]

1. No problems with Bob whatsoever and I've been trading since 2008.

 

2. Bob is definately NOT incompetent.

 

3. You only post and comment 12 times so far on the forum, that's why you are still a JUNIOR APPRENTICE.

Edited February 15, 2013 by qball
Edited

[RISadler 10]

No fair, qball.

[chriden 10]

Well, at least there is someone out there who has read my message and edited the offensive reply from Miems, which triggered my response (which has been deleted). Maybe a more sensible and helpful reply will be forthcoming?

Edited February 15, 2013 by chriden

[qball 12]

First of all, there is no reason for anyone to become confrontational on the forum, no matter what the gripe is... I therefore request all concerned to remain civil.

 

From what I can see, your fee payment in January (for December) did not go off, it says it failed, as to why this happened, we cannot always ascertain as it may be an issue on your side 9possibly your bank), or alternatively a possible issue on our side (technical or otherwise). We process thousands of debits around this time, so the chances of it being a widespread problem are minimal as most sellers have been debited successfully for fees owed. It could have simply been a technical glitch. We will investigate further to try find out why it failed.

 

As a result of the payment failing at that time, the system sends out automated reminders and notices, once on the 15th, again at month end with you latest invoice, if no payment is received the system automatically removes you from the sellers group. The messages are not meant to be threatening and are in no way rude or impolite. These are unfortunately standard, automated responses due to none payment, that the system sees as being unpaid. The customer service staff also cannot see the exact reason why it failed as they do not have access to the accounting systems and may not necessarily be in a position to see why it failed without getting the accounts team to investigate, all they can see and probably told you is that your debit failed and the account was unpaid as per what the system tells them (as this does not happen often, the staff could assume that there is another explanation for it, possibly from your side, even though you state you have funds available). Again, this is not necessarily a clear cut case as to why the debit failed.

 

We apologise if the emails offended you, that was not our intention. We deal with numerous defaulters every month, so unfortunately steps like this are a necessary evil, to ensure we are paid.

 

Thank you for your understanding and patience.

[qball 12]

Well, at least their is someone out there whos has read my message and edited the offensive reply from Miems, which triggered my response (which has been deleted). Maybe a more sensible and helpful reply will be forthcoming?

 

The same can be said for your comments too...

[chriden 10]

...and thank you for a more constructive and civil reply (unlike the first one which was editted). As I said, it is not about paying R136 (which is a negligible amount to warrant potential blacklisting), it is about finding the problem and sorting it out. However, now that I know it is being investigated, you do have my understanding and patience.

[chriden 10]

true, I did fight fire with fire....

[Mad about Jack 10]

I have read this and shouldn't the title read "debit order not processed" or something to that effect instead of billing fiasco ? Also, the blacklisting refers to your trading status on Bob, not your credit rating.

 

I have dealt with various members at the Bidorbuy office and they are always helpful and "problems" if any gets resorted asap.

 

Your tone was set in the first post, hence the reply received I would gather.

 

My 2c worth.

[chriden 10]

If it was an issue that was a once-off occurrence, I agree.... the fiasco started with being chased from pillar to post without any luck (hence me eventually taking down the names, dates and times of the various people I had spoken to). Maybe you might also adopt a "tone" after so many attempts at sorting out an issue which all of you think is such a quick and simple thing to solve. (I too, had that impression initially, but all of you assume I am the unreasonable party here). But hey, I am only a Junior Apprentice on this forum . What most of you seem to ignore is that a "fault" was created (not by me) and yet I was labelled a "defaulter" and the issue got thrown back at me along with all the threats of suspension, handing over to credit bureau and blacklistings which form part of "the steps" that need to be taken (according to qball's reply) without ensuring that the initial problem was addressed and rectified. Who wouldn't develop a "tone" if this happened to them?

Edited February 15, 2013 by chriden

[Miss Jewels 10]

chriden....your "tone" here is once again one of attack. The forum in general is a place where sellers and buyers help each other, often have a good laugh or two over jokes or postings and sometimes take the hickey out of a poster (in good spirit). I think it's sound advice to let sleeping dogs lie and not refer back to an unpleasant post all the time.