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Other Stuff => Bazaar of Obscurities => Commercial => Topic started by: geoffb on July 31, 2015, 05:16:19 PM
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Just wondering if anyone has had problems ordering online from Northstar?
I have had my card declined on two occasions despite never having problems anywhere else and know that there are funds on it?
I mentioned this to a pal and he said he's had the same problem.
cheers
Geoff
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Hi - I've just placed my third oreder with them in as many months and its gone through ok.
Only thing I can think of is that they ask for your cards "valid from" date as well as expiry date, which is a bit unusual these days - I'm clutching at straws, but could you have overlooked that?
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Might be worth speaking to your bank. I suspect the problem is that they have an old fashioned charging system, where the orders are printed off and someone manually charges the cards. Some banks/cards don't like it because the company has to tell the machine that the customer 'is not present'. It's the reason we have cv2 numbers, but automated bank systems tend to get twitchy.
It's a problem of modern systems, companies/banks/computers update and create new programs/systems and always assume that everyone else is following suite. While the truth is that most small companies are perfectly happy with the way things work and often don't want/need to update.
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Mine was declined yesterday, prompt email from them, reordered and went through fine second time. No idea it was declined, not overly concerned either though. Great service from them meant that the order was still placed within 24 hours even with the card shenanigans.
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I've ordered a couple of times in the last few weeks and the card payment process was fine :)
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Just wondering if anyone has had problems ordering online from Northstar?
I have had my card declined on two occasions despite never having problems anywhere else and know that there are funds on it?
I mentioned this to a pal and he said he's had the same problem.
cheers
Geoff
Geoff,
It happened to me a few years ago- then I realised that I wasn't putting my name in correctly as it was shown on my card! lol lol
Hopefully you've got more sense than me?
Darrell.
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Only problem I ever had with paying with a card online - and this was not with Northstar - was when a work-issued card which had not had its account credited on time was refused by an American publisher; the bank in response blocked the card outright until I went to settle the issue personally; and I was not informed, and only realised when I tried to make another purchase.
To be fair this was some 6 years backand never happened again. Could it be a similar over-reaction?
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Yes, a day or two ago, exactly the same, my card was declined when it shouldn't have been. I did think it was the bank messing the changeover of cards up as my new one was due to start today, but the existing one should still have worked 2 days ago. Reading these posts, looks like it wasn't me after all. So I didn't get my order.
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Yes, a day or two ago, exactly the same, my card was declined when it shouldn't have been. I did think it was the bank messing the changeover of cards up as my new one was due to start today, but the existing one should still have worked 2 days ago. Reading these posts, looks like it wasn't me after all. So I didn't get my order.
The best thing then to do is to contact Nick personally through the NS site and let him know that this is an ongoing problem.
Darrell.
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My experience with them is that if there's a problem they're always quick to respond to emails and then quick to resolve.
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My experience with them is that if there's a problem they're always quick to respond to emails and then quick to resolve.
Mine too :)
Darrell.
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Actually their customer service has been pretty shoddy but that's another story.
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I had my card declined twice but didn't hear about it until I followed up to see if what I had ordered had been dispatched.
Was told they had emailed me to tell me it had happened but I never received the emails.
Was a little gutted as the stuff I had ordered was reduced and is now no longer carried by them so I missed out on some great bargains. The other order was for one of the nickstarters.
Like I say, I didn't know there had been a problem until I followed up with them some time later.
I messaged and email Nick direct and that helped get communications flowing.
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As I suspected mine was not an isolated incident (I have heard from others in person and online of similar experience with them)
The bottom line is that they have refused to honour a sales price even though it looks very likely there is a problem with their online system and despite them giving me an order number and there being no problem with my card.
Personally I will be avoiding them in future and advise others to consider their poor customer service and rather rude attitude.
I did inform them that I would be passing on my experience with them.
Geoff
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+1 to messaging Nick he's done me a few favours above and beyond over the years
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I hardly think that's fair. I've had Amazon decline my card on numerous occasions, I've never thought it was a conspiracy against me. My bank have always said there is no problem with the card. In fact the last time, the bank said that Amazon had tried to put it through with the wrong expiry date twice, which would be odd given it was a saved card number I'd used many times previously, and a couple of times since without altering any details... Things happen, sounds like you were unlucky.
That being said, I'm local and buy my stuff in person so have never bought through the store.
Besides, you're clearly not happy with the service you got and are unlikely to buy from them again, nothing anyone says is going to change that. There are several companies I will never have anything to do with again after having bad service from them.
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I have to say my 'issues' were sorted out to my satisfaction almost immediately. Shit happens as far as I'm concerned but they fixed the error in a timely, professional and very friendly way. Can't fault them and will continue to buy from them in the future.
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Only ever had one problem - part of an order was missing - but I emailed and they sent me the missing bits two days later.
Packaging is always top class - I'm usually more concerned about stuff arriving safe than quickly.
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Just ordered a few days ago without probs. Will buy again. I also suggest contacting Nick before getting into hasty conclusions
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Nick's a LAF reader, so he may see this thread anyway.
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He is aware of this. They just refused to honour the price.
Tis that simple
I can live without the models, I just don't like their attitude.
Geoff
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He is aware of this. They just refused to honour the price.
So someone made a mistake in the price and they refused to lose money on the deal? The bastards.
I'm sure if you check their terms and conditions making an order on the internet isn't a finalised order until they actually accept it. The days of internet companies being forced to sell TVs for £1.78 because someone misplaced a decimal point are long gone.
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Best to know the facts before you talk shit pal.
There was no mistake in the price. They just refused to honour the sale price even though the problem was with their system
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Best to know the facts before you talk shit pal.
There was no mistake in the price. They just refused to honour the sale price even though the problem was with their system
So, as I said, someone made a mistake and they refused to lose money as both their conditions and the UK's retail regulations allow.
I won't resort to insults but check the law.
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Again, the price was not wrong as I previously said.
As I suspected there are others who have had problems with their system which is what I was trying to find out.
If you wanted an insult I could easily oblige however I merely said you don't know the facts. Which you don't.
I have nothing else to say on the matter - however I have relayed my experience with them for the forum which others can bear in mind when deciding whether to purchase from them in future.
Personally I won't be.
Geoff
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The problem here Geoff is that people don't agree with you. You feel hard done by and that's your right however we don't know all the facts. For example, if you ordered some stuff they don't make themselves during the sale, they quite possibly sold out and couldn't supply you. Equally, if you were as aggressive in your contact with them as you have been to people on the forum, they could well have just decided not to serve you...
That said, I know these people personally and I'm trying to remain objective but the more this goes on the less likely that is, so I'm bowing out before I say something offensive myself.
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It's obvious that Nick is just a filthy capitalist and should be dragged out of his ivory tower and strung up or shot.
I won't buy anything from anyone again who tries to make a profit.
I'll just get my figures from Tesco from now on.
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I have stated the facts but people seem to be speculating as to what happened. I'm not trying to start an argument I'm just relaying my experience.
So one last try
Northstar have a flash sale which I am made aware of through Twitter.
I try to buy two Rubicon Panthers at a sale price 4.99 each
As far as I can see the sale goes through and I receive an order number.
I post a message on Twitter to them to say I haven't received any other confirmation and is this normal?
The next day I get and email saying all is well.
Later on I get an email saying their was a problem with my card.
I reply saying that I had the same problem before Christmas but just bought elsewhere at the time assuming it was a glitch.
I also had a chat with a pal over a game and he said he had had the same problem.
Bear in mind the card is fine - never had problems before and was using it on the same day - funds in it etc
Next day I still had no response so phoned them.
I explained what had happened and also told them about the problems I had with their site and had heard at least one other person had.
I was told there were no problems and that they would not sell at the sale price now as there was no stock.I replied that I can see on their website that they do have stock.
They still refused to do it so I told them I would make others aware of what I considered poor customer service to which I was accused of blackmail.
I said I am perfectly within in my rights to make friends and others of my experience with them.
I also said that I might be doing them a favour as they could be losing business with other people if as it seemed they have trouble paying for orders to which they replied there was no problem and they actually just had a record month.
End of conversation.
As I informed them I am making people aware of their service.
I no longer care about the items but think they were out of order and in fact quite rude in ignoring my follow up email and quite rude on the phone.
That's it, I'm not trying to be offensive to anyone however
So someone made a mistake in the price and they refused to lose money on the deal? The bastards.
I think this is not only wrong but very sarcastic.
I actually had a much more interesting response in mind but have kept it civil.
So thats it. Make of it what you will but I'm finished with the thread and won't be posting anymore.
Geoff
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Alright, since this is going nowhere, the official statement from Northstar is as follows:
The card payment was declined by the issuing bank, due to which the deal could not be resolved in time for the One-Day Special Sale in question. They have no further information on why the bank declined the payment.
I'll lock this thread to avoid it spiralling further.