Complaint Review: Westons Internet Sales

I am pleased to see that a refund has been processed by the merchant through the securetrading system and that this arrived at the customers account quickly and efficiently. The reversal process is not used that often but is a key factor in delivering customer satisfaction.

I do need to provide additional clarification following the updates, as internet payments are not as simple as many people think.

Payment service providers cannot ensure that all goods are shipped by all merchants prior to billing. If we did this, it would be all that we would do. We rely on our customers, the merchants, to process payment requests as and when the goods are shipped.

We can confirm that we have, and will continue to process transactions for Westons, who are a good customer of long standing with large numbers of satisfied customers. As for the securetrading failure to respond to the one email sent to us, it was unfortunate that the email sent by Donald was deleted as it was thought to be Spam. For this we apologise.

Ripoff report does provide a useful service and we appreciate the opportunity to respond to what, at face value, appeared to be a potentially negative situation for the consumer. We are all consumers ourselves and as such we recognise and encourage fora such as this.

Westons, on 3/26/05 credited my credit card account for $49.76.
The original charge was $50.58.
I am relieved for the return of my charge but it looks like their finance department is in disarray as is their customer service department. They just can't get it right.
However, I did get my money.
I learned a lot.
Thank you Ripoffreport.
Case closed.

Finally a rebuttal from Secure Trading and a response from Westons. It is too bad that it takes a complaint on Ripoffreport.com to elicit some communication. After numerous emails just asking for a courteous response and status, you would think their so called customer care would just respond with a simple email at least with an update response.
I guess that is the world we see today. Get the cash at any cost and if we loose a customer, there are always more.

All that aside, I did get an email, finally, from Westons:

"Westons Internet : Order DM6********476 : manufacturers can't supply.
Dear Donald Michel,
Thank you for your order.
Unfortunately manufacturers can't supply COSNPAD
We have therefore cancelled and refunded this order.
If charged, allow two billing cycles for your bank to show
the refund on your credit card statement
Regards,
WESTONS
customercare@westons.com"

No reason for months of ignoring my email requests. No apology for their complete disregard for their customers. Just a nice canned statement which could have been sent many weeks ago. However I did get a response finally.
I will keep this complaint informed when my refund is received. I do business online so the date they credit my account, I will report. That way I won't have to wait the two months they suggested.
As for Securetrading, they are not completely innocent. They proceeded with a charge with no proof that the item was sent.
Thank you Ripffreport for a forum like this.

I am CEO of Securetrading, www.securetrading.com
I am investigating this report and will file an update when I have completed my enquiry. The consumer in question used a credit card to purchase the goods. If he has not received his goods his recourse is simple. He should contact his card issuing bank and advise them of the non receipt of the goods. The card issuing bank will charge the transaction back to the merchant and credit the consumers account. Securetrading are an Internet payment service provider, not the acquiring bank.

The Acquirer is responsible for their merchant. They will fund the chargeback and then recover funds if the chargeback is not contested for viable reasons. We will take steps to contact Westons to investigate this. Should Westons not be able to provide a satisfactory reply (which they may) we will consider our position in supporting them but at this time I am unable to comment further.

I do object to the use of the word fraud used in this report, as well publicised remedies are in place to protect consumers who use the services of Visa and MasterCard.

It is unfortunate that Donald appears not to understand the options open to him and I hope this advice helps him to recover his payment quickly.

The merchant does have the ability to refund and this may take place after we have discussed this matter with him. securetrading is committed to providing a safe and secure environment for online shopping and treats the satisfaction of merchants and their consumers very seriously.

3/23/05 Link to this report Sent to Westons, Securetrading and Councilmen at Mid and West Sussex UK.
Maggie Jeffers of Securetrading deleted message without reading it. (maggie.jeffers@securetrading.com). No response from Westons as yet.