Online purchase nightmare

24 replies

Hello all,

I'm new to this forum, so if this is not the right place for this inquiry, I apologize and please point me to the right direction.

I'm from Toronto, Canada. A couple weeks ago, my husband bought two H8 headphones through beoplay.com. It's supposed to be free shipping and returns for purchases made through their website; however, when the package arrived, there was a Charge on Delivery of about $250. We didn't pay and we emailed B&O to inquire about it.  However, it's been two weeks, and we've sent out a few emails to ecom-support-US@beoplay.com but have yet to receive any response. We check both the email Inbox or Junk folder. I've also been messaging back and forth with a customer service rep on instagram as well as emailing their support in Denmark, but it's basically been going in circles of them forwarding my email to ecom, and us emailing ecom again, and going back on Instagram to let them know that nobody from ecom has gotten back to us, and then them telling us to email again...

UPS told us that there could be an error in how the sender declare the tax when shipping out the order (we had already paid for the tax when making the purchase online), and they told us to contact the sender to get this corrected. But it seems like we've come to a dead end because B&O (ecom) is not replying to our emails. At this point, UPS still has our package, and the charge on the purchase has already gone through on our credit card, and also, we might even have passed the deadline to return the headphones when we do get them and if we're not happy with them (honestly, at this point, I'm so disappointed that I don't want any of their products anymore). 

Would anyone know who I can contact at this point besides ecom and customer service in Denmark? I've asked for a contact of a manager who looks after online sales, but they simply told me to email the complain to customer service and they'll forward it on.

Has anyone had a similar experience and could advise me what to do? I understand they just started shipping to Canada in September; thus, they sent out a 10% off voucher code to promote it (and I took the bait).  Any advise would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you.

Kim

At this point I'd get with your charge card company and contest the charge. Tell them you never received the items and explain the issue. Once B&O has no money and no product back I think they might pay more attention, but maybe not. I don't think the company's customer service is what it used to be sadly.

I agree with Jeff, and love Parry Sound🤒

What a thoroughly despicable way for a company to treat a paying customer. A true disgrace. Certainly demand your money back. I also hope that the new CEO of Bang & Olufsen hand writes an apology to you and gives you the two items as a gesture of good will. 

If that fails, take a photo of the H8 and write what has happened, post it on Instagram/Facebook/YouTube and tag Beoplay, BANG&OLUFSEN and hashtag H8 in it. A company that treats its customers with zero respect does not deserve to flourish. 

Kim_berly wrote:
It's supposed to be free shipping and returns for purchases made through their website; however, when the package arrived, there was a Charge on Delivery of about $250.

Having a look at the Beo Play website there is indeed a chapter where they stated:

Order today – have your products within 1-2 working days – and it is free of charge. The price you see, is the price you pay. No hidden delivery costs, fees or extra charges. Your product is delivered directly from the Bang & Olufsen warehouse in Denmark. The transportation is handled by UPS – and we use their second day delivery.

Nothing is stated about custom duties.

Remember, when you buy an item on the internet from a country other than where you live, the item must be "imported" to you from that country.  When a seller tells you that your items price includes shipping and handling, remember that they are paying to package and send you the item from their country to your address. But when the item arrives in your country the customs service, a government agency of your country, may charge you a customs fee on the item. The seller has no control over this and is very difficult to anticipate.

Having a look at

Before you launch the PaulW cyber attack on Beoplay I suggest you read the terms and conditions on their website; The state "We only ship to the following countries" and Canada is not on the list. Perhaps you can find a different Beoplay website? If not ,there must be a reason they do not list your country. The will not have a process but they should have a process to remedy your situation. I hope they do this and soon.

 

Kim,

I've just done a faux purchase on Beoplay, requesting shipping to Canada. Price indicated are in CAD. There are terms and conditions which I guess you are forced to accept before the contract is deemed in force.

 

B&O PLAY TERMS & CONDITIONS

Prices

All prices are stated inclusive of all applicable taxes. B&O PLAY does not offer VAT refunds for orders placed online at beoplay.com. The price applicable is the price set out next to the product in question on the website on the date of ordering. While we try to ensure that all prices on our website are accurate, errors may occur. If we discover an error in the price of goods you have ordered, we will inform you as soon as possible and give you the option of reconfirming your order at the correct price or cancelling it. If we are unable to contact you, we will treat the order as cancelled. If you cancel and you have already paid for the goods, you will receive a full refund.

Delivery charges are set out in the section Shipping and Handling.

 

Payment - Credit/debit cards

We accept payment by MasterCard and Visa. Your credit/debit card will be pre-authorised for payment at the time of ordering. As part of this authorization process, your bank will place a hold on your account for the purchase amount of the order. The hold will be removed after a number of days determined by your banking institution. You will not be charged for the goods until they have been shipped.

The B&O PLAY payment solution is based on the SSL standard, which means that your information submitted in connection with the payment transaction is protected by encryption.

 

Delivery - Destinations

Delivery is only made to addresses in:

• Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom

 

- Times of delivery

The usual time of delivery depends on the address of delivery and is estimated in the Shipping and Handling section.

 

- Liability for late delivery

B&O PLAY makes every effort to deliver goods within the estimated timescales; however delays are occasionally inevitable due to unforeseen factors. If B&O PLAY does not deliver the goods within the estimated timescales, you should request B&O PLAY to make the delivery within an additional period of time which in the circumstances is appropriate. If B&O PLAY fails to deliver the goods within that additional period of time, you are entitled to terminate the contract.

 

Cooling-off right

You have the right to withdraw from your purchase within fourteen (14) days after receipt of the goods without giving any reason.

The cooling-off period will expire after fourteen (14) days from the date on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires physical possession of the goods. In the event of different goods ordered in one order, but delivered separately, the period is calculated from the date when the last goods are in your possession.

To exercise the cooling-off right you must inform B&O PLAY of your decision to cancel this contract by an explicit statement. You can do this by filling in this form.

To observe the cooling-off period, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your cooling-off right before the cooling-off period has expired. Returning of the goods must be made no later than fourteen (14) days from the date on which you notified us that you decided to exercise the cooling-off right.

 

- Cooling-off effects

If you regret your purchase, we will reimburse you for all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (with the exception of the supplementary costs resulting from your choice of a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us), without undue delay and in any event no later than fourteen (14) days from the date on which we were informed about your decision to cancel this contract. We will make the reimbursement by the same payment method used in the initial transaction unless otherwise expressly agreed. In no event will you be requested to pay any fees in connection with the reimbursement. We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.

If you would like to discuss your cooling-off right and return of products, please contact us.

 

Complaints

Any complaints will be handled by our customer service in accordance with the relevant national legislation.

You can complain to B&O PLAY by the means mentioned in the section “How to contact B&O PLAY”.

 

Governing law and jurisdiction

These Terms and Conditions are governed and construed in accordance with applicable law. Any disputes will thus be settled by ordinary courts of law.

Continue shopping  

Free and fast delivery  

Free return  

It's easy

 

 

 

1.       By agreeing to the T&C’s, Beoplay as a European company accepted the Contract.

2.       You paid by credit card – so it is likely that Visa Canada and Beoplay (Euro legislation) are jointly liable. i.e. you can sue Visa/Mastercard for non-performance.

3.       Although the Beoplay T&C’s omitted Canada as a delivery destination, by agreeing to the T&C’s, both parties agreed on the sale.

4.       T&C’s indicate that free delivery and taxes are paid at the point of sale.

5.       The T&Cs also have provision for a cooling-off period of 14 days once you or your 3rd party receive the goods. This means you can reject them and return them for free at any point up to that 14 days and for any reason (no reason).

 

I would imagine it is a problem both with the Beoplay email address you used and with UPS. I would tell UPS you refuse to accept the goods with any cost additions and tell them to return Sender period! I would contact Beoplay and tell them this is your intention and request a refund. If they fail to do so, sue the Credit Card Company.

 

If you still want you Beoplay goods, (I think UPS is wholly at fault here - with their usual megacorp arrogance), buy from the Toronto B&O Dealer direct.

 

 


 

Yes, that's the thing I noticed. It's just unfortunate there's no specific response to an order attempt from a country that's not on the list. This needs to be in the form of an "are you sure?" type warning to avoid bad experiences. From what the OP said however they were sent a voucher to buy from a country not on the list because it was now added to the list of countries.....

Sorry for any mishap, but there's a store in Chicago Abt.com, that sells B&O, with tax free and free shipment. Very reliable Store. Shop there for almost 14yrs, no problem. You can try them. How about the Store in On Davenport in Toronto?

Called Visa, and they said we have to get the package first and then try to return them. If there's any issue with the return, then we can dispute it (on the B&O site, there's different info on how the 14-day return is counted, one say start from the day of purchase, the other says start from the day of possession). But in order to get the package, we'd have to pay the $250, which is the local tax plus brokerage fee - but we've already paid for the same amount of tax online with B&O.  

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