Audicoonline and payfast beware:

[insect]

Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I have to vent my frustration and also warn potential buyers from making the same mistake as I.

This is the email I have just sent off to payfast which more or less sums up the whole story:

I made a purchase on Audicoonline on the 9th of September paid via credit card, I confirmed stock with them a day before, and a day after I have made payment they apparently had no stock.

I requested a refund.

On 11 September you deducted I*PAYFAST UB5252 CAPE R 4,370.00- from my account.

On 12 September you paid back the amount I*PAYFAST UB5253 CAPE R 4,370.00

It is now 21 September and yet there is still an Outstanding authorization amount R 4,370.00.

Which means I had no access to the R4370 since the 10th, so I can not use it to buy another item as I am still waiting for you to lift the authorization.

Could you please explain to me why you can take money in a matter of seconds from my account, but I must wait more than 10 days for you to return it?

Regards

This is the first email I sent to Audico:

Hi - I would just like to confirm if there is stock on the Asus Xonar Essence One?

I would very much like to buy one and the site says its in stock

Then the reply I got:

Hi Martin.

Thank you for your email.

we do have stock...

Regards

Naim

Sales – Audico Online

That was on Monday, I got busy on Tuesday and made payment first thing Wednesday morning.

On Thursday I got this response from Audico:

Hi Martin

Thank you for your order ,Unfortunately our suppliers are out of stock of the item you require
May we offer you a refund on your order?
Apologies on this , Please let us know .

Kind Regards

Geryn

So first they had stock themselves, and now their suppliers don't have stock.

There are sites which specifically ask you not to make payment after placing the order until they have confirmed stock , Audico on the other hand requires you to make payment before they check for stock.

So basically they take your money without knowing if they can supply the item and then if they can't they will take 10 days or more to do a refund :erm:

 

[Saajid]

That sucks, but I'm gonna state the obvious: you took 2 days between confirming stock and making payment. I would have confirmed stock 5 minutes before making payment, and made sure I sent through the proof of payment so that they could reserve the stock for my particular order. 2 days is a long time. If you had asked them to reserve the stock for you while you placed your order and made payment, then it would be a different story.

 

[reactor_sa]

Yeah, I lol when people want something urgently but take their time making payment (excuse or not)

 

[insect]

I do get that and I suppose this is my fault and I should be laughed at, I should accept it and move on while I wait patiently for my refund.

The site displayed "in stock" when I paid, I guess it was wrong of me to think they would keep their site updated with current stock levels.

Just to clarify, it is acceptable that a payment can take less than 5 minutes to process and a refund more than 10 days to clear? If so then I am at fault for complaining.

 

[Saajid]

I do get that and I suppose this is my fault and I should be laughed at, I should accept it and move on while I wait patiently for my refund.

The site displayed "in stock" when I paid, I guess it was wrong of me to think they would keep their site updated with current stock levels.

Just to clarify, it is acceptable that a payment can take less than 5 minutes to process and a refund more than 10 days to clear? If so then I am at fault for complaining.

It is only partly your fault, and I'm not laughing at you or blaming you. Many South African websites are notorious for operating like this, their websites aren't updated with the correct stock levels, or they try to sell items they don't have or can't source anymore. Just 3 weeks ago I had a tiff with Springbok Pharmacy about this exact issue. Total was for about R600 worth of stuff. I knew the risk going in though, and was prepared to wait, or have my money tied up, and was expecting that they will probably disappoint me, which they did.

If it's a new store you're dealing with, go in cautiously, and expect delays, no stock, and other issues etc. It's a calculated risk - so don't go in blindly.

There are only a few local online stores that I trust and use regularly. Even then, you must expect issues. Other stores, I tread cautiously at first, start off with small purchases, and test their turn-around times, deliveries, refunds, customer service, etc... That said, I won't be using Springbok Pharmacy ever again, even though their prices are damn cheap. I'd rather pay a bit more on Takealot and know when I will get my stuff.

Regarding the refunds, it usually does take longer. With more established sites like Takealot, it goes quite quick.