Foto Discount World

[tridev]

I ordered a camera on the fotodiscountworld website and things aren't going smoothly. Just posting here as it might put pressure on them as I'm getting worried.

I wanted to buy a new camera the Canon M6 on the market that I need to use on a overseas holiday I'm going to in May. Locally I know Canon SA bring stock into the country based on orders from stores and I know they will get stock sometimes in end April.
The camera stores already had the camera on preorder so I placed an order with fotodiscountworld on the 31st of March and paid for my order on the 31st to ensure my order would be included in the initial stock that Canon brought in.

here is a breakdown so far:

31 March:
Placing order on fotodiscountworld.co.za I get an instruction only EFT is accepted for order amount greater than R10K.
After I placed the order I get shows on screen the bank account details I have to EFT to as well as getting following email

Your order is on-hold until we confirm payment has been received. Your order details are shown below for your reference:
Please make your payment directly into our bank account. Use your Order Number as the payment reference. Please send your proof of payment to [email protected]. Your order will be shipped only after the funds have cleared in our account. Transactions will be processed immediately

31 March:
I did an EFT to their Standard Bank account from my Standard Bank account and used my banking site to send the payment confirmation to the email address they instructed in the email. I verified on Standard Bank's website that payment confirmation was sent successfully.

4th April:
After not getting confirmation of them receiving payment I sent a email to the Contact us e-mail address on their website asking them to please confirm payment was received and give me and if they can give me an ETA for the order. I got a response they added a note to their system that ETA is 4 to 6 weeks.

Hello, a note has just been added to your order:

Good day,
Thank you for the order. Canon SA is currently taking back orders on this camera. ETA is 4-6 weeks.

Best Regards

They didn't answer the question if payment was received.

6 April:
I emailed the same address and asked for them to confirm payment has been received. I don't get a response.

9 April:
I emailed the same address and asked for them to confirm payment. I don't get a response

18 April:
I go to their website to see if I can get some automated has been received response from them and click on pay which gives me the exact same email I received on the 31st with instructions to pay via EFT again. with
" Your order is on-hold until we confirm payment has been received."

18 April:
I emailed them l and asked for them to confirm payment. I don't get a response

24 April: I contact Canon to find out if stock is in the country yet for the Camera. They tell me stockis arriving as we speak

24 April: I reply to my original order received saying my last 4 emails sent to them asking if payment was received was ignored and I want to know have they placed the order with Canon SA. I get a response of them apologizing but they say they can't pickup any payment.

I reply with an attachment of proof of my payment of the 31st.
I then got the response that payment has been received and order placed

We have received your payment Standard Bank 31-03-20 March
We have ordered the camera from Canon SA and will send it out
As soon as we receive it. Sorry for the inconvenience.

I can't understand how 3 systems failed to pickup my payment.
1. The original proof of payment sent with my order no as reference
2. Them not seeing the payment with order no in their bank statement for 24 days
3. Them ignoring me asking in 4 emails to confirm payment was received.

If I follow their online store's instructions of payment exactly then surely it's something wrong in their process as I can't think I did anything wrong.

The concern I have with Canon stores is that the stores can blame Canon saying Canon has back ordered it or don't have stock while in the meantime the store don't tell the customer when they place the order with Canon.

I am worried these Canon stores can easily not care that I buy a camera for a purpose and need it delivered no longer than 7 weeks from the date I ordered it

 

[RanzB]

Call 012-548 5651/2 Or 012-662 1734/19

 

[tridev]

Call 012-548 5651/2 Or 012-662 1734/19

Those are the physical stores contact numbers. I ordered from the online store. I also want to use email to have proof in case things go pear shaped.

 

[maumau]

Phone and ask canon if the online store has an order with them. Tell them the story if necessary.


Sometimes goods land in SA but there's a lot of admin before the wholesaler actually sends stock out.

 

[RanzB]

Those are the physical stores contact numbers. I ordered from the online store..

Get them to put you in touch with whoever is dealing with online sales. Once you speak to an actual human you can get confirmation via email.

 

[tridev]

Get them to put you in touch with whoever is dealing with online sales. Once you speak to an actual human you can get confirmation via email.

They have confirmed and added a note to their system today that I paid on the 31st. My concern is just they stick to the original 4-6 weeks note they added to my order as I need the camera for my holiday. If I post here it might put pressure on them to do so.

 

[OnlyOneKenobi]

I feel your frustration and this is also why I am not fond of ordering things online - but it seems the only way you will get answers is to speak to someone on the phone or in person - there must be some way to do this.

 

[maumau]

Any news OP?

 

[airborne]

I have used them before, they aren't the sharpest tools in the shed but they are legit.

And anyone that doesn't have instant eft enabled withtheir online cart system you know is rather backwards.

 

[tridev]

Any news OP?

Camera was delivered on April 2nd Tuesday but it was not the colour I ordered from the website. When I informed them they said they will order the camera from Canon but it will take 2-3 weeks

 

[airborne]

Camera was delivered on April 2nd Tuesday but it was not the colour I ordered from the website. When I informed them they said they will order the camera from Canon but it will take 2-3 weeks

Hahaha, well not really funny but thays exactly what happened to me, but with binoculars. They sent the wrong version, price was really good so I didn't make much of a scene but the person I dealt with was absolutely clueless.

 

[tridev]

Hahaha, well not really funny but thays exactly what happened to me, but with binoculars. They sent the wrong version, price was really good so I didn't make much of a scene but the person I dealt with was absolutely clueless.

I checked on takealot site and they have stock of the camera in the colour I was sent (not popular) but not in the colour (popular) I want and ordered with fotodiscountworld so they also have to backorder from Canon.

I don't think the colour of your binoculars was a mistake but rather what the dealer had in stock or not. I understand dealers don't want to sit with unnecessary stock so they will send you a colour they have in stock and hope you don't mind as you will have to wait a long time for the correct one if you do have a problem. It's also a risk for them to sit with stock on hand especially unpopular colours in case of storage theft. That is probably why they mailed me and asked me to reconsider the one I was sent even though I didn't order it. They also asked me to return it at my expense which they know is another motivator for me the consumer to take what was sent.

Canon SA basically takes orders from dealers and bring in the cameras into the country. If Canon SA doesn't have stock in SA, the dealer can pass the blame onto Canon SA for the delay. Knowing this instead of placing the orders with Canon SA, the dealer is able to tell the consumer that Canon doesn't have stock and the consumer is left to wait months thinking Canon SA is the problem.

If I could redesign the process I would say that the consumer should get a Canon tracking number for their order from a dealer on order if Canon SA has to bring the camera into SA. That way the consumer is protected from dealers who use the Canon is out of stock excuse , send them another unpopular colour of stock in hand or not even order it with Canon SA if the dealers knows they might have cash flow problems a month which the consumer's EFT will balance out.

 

[tridev]

This is getting ridiculous.

I phoned them today to get a status update.
- They have no record of my order no on their system. They have no record of my payment.
- They asked me to forward them the email they sent me on 31 March mail as well as the payment confirmation on 31 March. I did this.

I can now order the same camera from other stores , takealot lists delivery in 4 days, and I can get it in time.
But because I ordered from fotodiscountworld 47 days ago I am out of luck.

 

[airborne]

Sorry to hear that, bummer when you've paid full retail and still get treated like that. Suppose you just need to be patient get your camera and never go back. And warn everyone what a bunch of idiots they are.

 

[tridev]

Sorry to hear that, bummer when you've paid full retail and still get treated like that. Suppose you just need to be patient get your camera and never go back. And warn everyone what a bunch of idiots they are.

They only accepted EFT above amounts of R10K. If it was credit card I could have gotten it reversed but now I'm stuck.

 

[maumau]

This is getting ridiculous.

I phoned them today to get a status update.
- They have no record of my order no on their system. They have no record of my payment.
- They asked me to forward them the email they sent me on 31 March mail as well as the payment confirmation on 31 March. I did this.

I can now order the same camera from other stores , takealot lists delivery in 4 days, and I can get it in time.
But because I ordered from fotodiscountworld 47 days ago I am out of luck.

See post #4 from 24th April

 

[xrapidx]

Ask for a refund? If they refuse tell them you're going to open a case of fraud, contact your bank, contact their bank - and get the consumer commission involved?

 

[tridev]

See post #4 from 24th April

Thanks. I did contact them back then. I sent them a link to this thread. Canon basically says they bring in cameras into the country every two weeks. They said all they can confirm is that it is a legitimate dealer but said they couldn't confirm if my order number was in the order that dealer made.

Knowing Canon SA brings bulk orders from dealers every two week is why I checked up again today .

 

[tridev]

After I forwarded their own mails to them and sent the payment confirmation again they mailed me back asking me to reconsider the other colour again. I responded and said for the 4th time I want the one I ordered.

They then replied within a hour saying they have the camera I ordered and are dispatching it.

It was good I checked up today as without an order in their system I probably would have never received it.

 

[xrapidx]

What are the chances you'll be getting a different colour after that conversation