Heads up about Cabela’s

[fishnguy]

I purchased some things on sale at Cabela’s online mid-December. All shipped and arrived as usual, everything alright. About a week later, I went though my credit card statement and noticed there were two charges from Cabela’s: one was what my order actually was, almost $200, and the other smaller, 30 some dollars. I actually checked to make sure I didn’t order anything else. Called the customer service and they said they only see one order for the total amount of the sum of two charges on my credit card. The guy on the phone couldn’t figure it out and referred me to email to info@cabelas.ca. I took some time to look over things and eventually figured out that they charged me as if there was no sale and the second charge was the discount amount. I emailed explaining what happened and that I wanted a refund as quickly as possible, asked why they charged my card for more than an authorized amount, etc. Never got a response. I emailed again in about a week (there was new year in the middle) and got a response in about four or so days informing me I will be refunded. The very brief explanation was that the sale must have ended in another time zone when I made the purchase. Can’t say I am satisfied how things were handled at all. Next time, which hopefully won’t happen again, I might as well call the credit card company and do a chargeback because I didn’t make that purchase. Will take a much less of my time and would be resolved immediately.

Still don’t understand how they can charge my card whatever amount they want either.

So check your statements of what they actually charge for the things you buy.

[Etownpaul]

Call your credit card company and let them know what's going on.

Your business means next to nothing to Cabelas, but if Visa or Mastercard get enough complaints and say something, Cabelas will listen.

[fishnguy]

I am thinking to call to find out how can someone charge me more than a preauthorized amount, which should be listed under pending transactions on my card until the charge actually occurs. Can’t really see the difference between this and theft.

[fishnguy]

I should also note that it has now been three days since the reply promising a refund and I just checked and, not surprisingly, no refund.

[pitw]

I see only two things done wrong here.
Buying at Cabellas and not using cash.

[elk eater]

Originally Posted by pitw

I see only two things done wrong here.
Buying at Cabellas and not using cash.

That’s helpful and informative. Derp!!!

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by pitw

I see only two things done wrong here.
Buying at Cabellas and not using cash.

Nope......not the answer.....call them and they will straighten it up....buddy went through this and yup mistakes happen and they corrected it.


This could happen at any outlet store etc so always verify your purchases on your cards etc and keep receipts too.

It's all part of being responsible.

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by fishnguy

I am thinking to call to find out how can someone charge me more than a preauthorized amount, which should be listed under pending transactions on my card until the charge actually occurs. Can’t really see the difference between this and theft.

You have to be VERY careful who you provide your credit card info to for a purchase. With Cabela's you will eventually get your money back. With other places, once you authorise one charge they can rack up lots of new charges to your card that you never authorised but since you provided the first permission there is no way to prove you didn't authorise the subsequent charges. There is a whole series of scams that are structured this way. One example, and there are many versions, is you provide your CC for shipping charges on a "Free" sample, if you don't like it you can cancel. In the fine print however it says if you don't cancel in 10 days they can ship you another order and charge you. You won't even have the sample until ten to 15 days from ordering. The second shipment is $700 and they charge your card immediately.

You will have a very hard time getting your credit card company to do anything about the subsequent charges. It becomes a civil matter between you and the vendor.

[waldedw]

I wander how many people actually watch their credit card statements closely, as well as their purchases when at a check out counter.

I have caught grocery stores charging the full price for items on sale and made them change it, how many people bought that item and didn't catch it, and how many times did I not catch items ???????? especially if you are not at the self check out so you can actually see what rings up. How about the phone in orders for groceries, wait in the parking lot to get them brought out to you, they don't have a clue what was or was not on sale.

Cdn Tire is especially bad for that, item on sale for $9.99 go through the till and it rings up $14.99 you have to watch everything. I saw a blurb on W5 about this very thing at a certain store in the the US, can't remember the name of the store, but 20% of the sale items when purchased were rung through the till at regular price, of course they apologised, blamed the computer scanner and refunded the money, but how many people didn't catch it ???

My grandfather used to say, " stay close to your wallet, otherwise everyone around you will have his hand on it " and today more than ever that is true.

[daveyn]

"You have to be VERY careful who you provide your credit card info to for a purchase. With Cabela's you will eventually get your money back. With other places, once you authorise one charge they can rack up lots of new charges to your card that you never authorised but since you provided the first permission there is no way to prove you didn't authorise the subsequent charges."

This is almost true. Actually you don't have to prove you didn't authorize the transaction, the merchant has to prove you did, otherwise you will get your money back. The grey area comes in the terms that you agree to with the charge. The best example is car rental companies who will charge your card for things like topping up gas or windshield chips after you return the car, which are over and above the rental for the car, but in the terms you sign with the rental agreement you actually agree to allow that, same with hotel cancellation fees etc.
The merchant needs to prove you actually authorized the charge , then need to have 3 things, your signature (electronic is acceptable, )the card needs to be swiped through a terminal (card has to be physically there, ) and an authorization from the credit card company to process the transaction. Miss one of those steps and the client can get there money back from the merchant. The caveat to that is the client just has to demonstrate they did not get what they paid for (goods never arrived or service never provided for example) and you can also be re-imbursed despite the merchant having signed/swiped/authorized. Whether you are happy with it or not is irrelevant, if you got what you paid for you have no recourse.
In cases of fraud where somebody else uses your card the merchant is protected as long as he has all 3 of those things and the re-imbursement comes from the credit card acquirer (different than the credit card company its complex and I'm not going into that )
Thats a pretty simple explanation of something that is far more complex than what I just described, but thats basically it.
You can get your money back if you didn't authorize the charge, as always, you need to actually read the disclosures.

[zero_eight]

I've had a heck of a time lately with Cabela's double charging on online orders. It's to the point where I won't shop there online any more.

[owlhoot]

My last order in Dec they charged my CC twice but one was for the fishing supplies and the other was shooting supplies, it all added up at the end, Two different Departments?

[zero_eight]

Same item, it was a firearm

[MK2750]

Originally Posted by fishnguy

I purchased some things on sale at Cabela’s online mid-December. All shipped and arrived as usual, everything alright. About a week later, I went though my credit card statement and noticed there were two charges from Cabela’s: one was what my order actually was, almost $200, and the other smaller, 30 some dollars. I actually checked to make sure I didn’t order anything else. Called the customer service and they said they only see one order for the total amount of the sum of two charges on my credit card. The guy on the phone couldn’t figure it out and referred me to email to info@cabelas.ca. I took some time to look over things and eventually figured out that they charged me as if there was no sale and the second charge was the discount amount. I emailed explaining what happened and that I wanted a refund as quickly as possible, asked why they charged my card for more than an authorized amount, etc. Never got a response. I emailed again in about a week (there was new year in the middle) and got a response in about four or so days informing me I will be refunded. The very brief explanation was that the sale must have ended in another time zone when I made the purchase. Can’t say I am satisfied how things were handled at all. Next time, which hopefully won’t happen again, I might as well call the credit card company and do a chargeback because I didn’t make that purchase. Will take a much less of my time and would be resolved immediately.

Still don’t understand how they can charge my card whatever amount they want either.

So check your statements of what they actually charge for the things you buy.

There is often two charges and two separate shippings on one order. I was told it is often split if something has to be shipped from a store if shorted at the main warehouse.

"Called the customer service and they said they only see one order for the total amount of the sum of two charges on my credit card"

That is kind of what this says so if the two charges exceed the total amount of the order you should call back and make certain you and customer service are on the same page.

[fishnguy]

Still no refund. Called today... again. Was told by the rep she sees the notes on my order but no refund being processed. She sent an email somewhere to speed things up. Nicely done, Cabela’s!

[graybeard]

Originally Posted by pitw

I see only two things done wrong here.
Buying at Cabellas and not using cash.

X 2...
I use cash for everything unless I use Master Card on a large purchase and for that, I get the added insurance.

[Sundancefisher]

Originally Posted by Etownpaul

Call your credit card company and let them know what's going on.

Your business means next to nothing to Cabelas, but if Visa or Mastercard get enough complaints and say something, Cabelas will listen.

X2. Any time I ever had a false charge I took a photo of the item and receipt and screen capture of what’s credit card showed...submitted to card company. Fixed in less than two days.

[fishnguy]

To update, received the refund yesterday. Took over a month, 2 or 3 emails and 3 phone calls. That’s in addition to the fact that I was the one who had to figure out why there were the extra charges; they sure as hell ensured me everything was on point. Call the credit card directly if you know you were overcharged. That’s what I am doing next time for sure. F this kind of service and waste of time.

[Kyle]

I have used their free shipping codes online and still been charged for shipping. Luckily, I caught the mistake each time and they refunded the amount. I am sure there has been many people they burned on this.