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AIBU?

To think that Ocado are asking for trouble with the way they take payments?

28 replies

AlannaPartridge · 26/09/2013 02:33

I did an Ocado shop this week for the first time, making use of a £20 discount voucher. I'm feeling flush (for once) so it was a bit of a "treat ourselves" week - posh coffees & ice creams etc. that we can't usually afford.

I use a basic bank account with a debit card for all online shopping - it has a Visa debit card, but no OD facilities. When I know how much the order is, I transfer the amount from my current account & make the payment. Never had any problems.

So that's what I do this time. The bill is £116.25, so that's what I transfer - there's already 50p in the account.

Receipt from Ocado arrives via email a few hours before delivery, and all the shopping shows up at the right time. Marvellous. Last I heard about anything.

Then, I go to the website to check the price of something, and it won't let me log in because my account hasn't been paid Shock.

Sure enough, checking my bank account, it hasn't. And here's why....when I placed the order they "reserved" £1. Then when they went to take the money AFTER delivery, there's wasn't quite enough money so the payment failed. Their own bloody fault since nowhere does it say that they do this.

Of course, I will pay them but the bottom line is that, right this second, I have a cupboard full of Ocado groceries that haven't been paid for.

Surely to goodness, taking payment after delivery is asking for trouble? Do they always do this?

Incidentally, I have had no email or phone calls about this - I only know because I went back to the website for something else entirely.

This is a bizarre system, isn't it?

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Crowler · 26/09/2013 04:11

I can't understand this, because when they deliver the Ocado they have the receipt with payment information on it. Did you get your receipt?

Perhaps this was a failure on the part of the payment interface.

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AlannaPartridge · 26/09/2013 04:48

Yep - actually have two receipts. The one they emailed as a pdf and the one I was handed at the door.

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Whitershadeofpale · 26/09/2013 04:56

No they always do this. I've taken advantage when I've been short but know I can pay in a few days I've never been contacted to tell me either.

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AlannaPartridge · 26/09/2013 05:01

So when do they take the money, Whiter? Do I just need to wait until they try again? (There's enough money now).

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Whitershadeofpale · 26/09/2013 05:11

I've never had them take the money, I just log in and it usually gives you an option to make a payment. I have no idea how long it would take until they would retry my card.

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SuperiorCat · 26/09/2013 05:30

Better than the likes of Asda who take ghost payments for full amount, then the actual payment but refuse to deliver if it doesn't go through. Then hold on to your money for a week leaving you with no food or cash.

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AlannaPartridge · 26/09/2013 05:32

Really, Superior? So they expect you to basically pay twice before they'll deliver? That's disgraceful.

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AlannaPartridge · 26/09/2013 05:36

Well, I have paid them now.

Very, very surprised that they have this system though. A bit dodgy for them that they provide receipts before they've had the money!

But I shall bear it in mind for the future and make sure there's an extra £1 on top of the actual shopping cost.

Thanks all.

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DoubleLifeIsALifeHalved · 26/09/2013 05:38

Much better than the pay twice method of many other supermarkets... Don't take advantage of this or ocado will be forced to do this too!

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AlannaPartridge · 26/09/2013 05:46

I have paid them, Double. I have no intention of taking advantage.

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MisselthwaiteManor · 26/09/2013 05:47

I expect they give you a period of time to pay it yourself then start trying the card again. I doubt they just let it go. I prefer this to all the others who take the money before even picking your shopping.

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fuzzywuzzy · 26/09/2013 05:50

This happened to me too. They don't take the actual payment till the groceries are delivered.

Then they don't tell you if payments bounced!

I also found out a payment hasn't gone thro as my card details had changed,

I would not take advantage if it as Ocado are pretty decent, offer amazing customer service & they're one of the few who are polite & pleasant. If you start taking advantage of it on purpose they'll end up as crap as Asda & their deducting double the amount with no actual groceries being delivered.

I do wish Ocado would alert the customer if a payments not give through tho.

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coraltoes · 26/09/2013 05:52

It is fairly common

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TotemPole · 26/09/2013 06:20

Tesco take a ghost payment of £2 when you place the order then take the full amount on delivery.

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Mckayz · 26/09/2013 06:25

Asda have never taken a ghost payment with me. They just take it when it's delivered.

Strange that Ocado don't do similar.

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MortifiedAdams · 26/09/2013 06:44

Im so jealous...Ocado doesnt deliver near me Sad

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EagleNebula · 26/09/2013 06:45

This is common, pay at pump petrol stations do this too.

They 'ping' the card to make sure it's a valid payment method before the transaction (e.g. petrol being pumped, shopping being delivered) takes place. Once it has, the pound transaction disappears from your bank account, and gets replaced by the full amount. I check my bank account online daily and see this happen frequently.

You won't have been contacted as the full amount for the shopping was actually there - they aren't going to charge you the full amount + £1. There will just have been a crossover period before the £1 disappeared and after the full amount came in. If you'd have waited a bit longer to log in it would probably have sorted itself out by then and you wouldn't have noticed anything.

So perfectly normal and far better than ASDA's payment shenanigans..

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onetiredmummy · 26/09/2013 06:51

I've been caught out by Ocado's substitution policy before now. If they sub something and the replacement item costs more then you have to pay the full price. So if my shop costs £110 and that's what's in my account and they substitute something and I'm charged £115 and dont notice on delivery the payment is buggered.

Tesco never charge you any more for their subs.

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Lazyjaney · 26/09/2013 06:56

I guess right now Ocado customers by and large don't run to- the-wire accounts, as they expand demographically they'll hit it more often.

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MisselthwaiteManor · 26/09/2013 07:31

I just had a read of the T&Cs and it says they may take a £20 administration charge for failed payments and send to a debt collection agency so it looks like they do plenty to protect themselves.

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MisselthwaiteManor · 26/09/2013 07:32

Also the £1 thing was in their T&Cs in teeny tiny little writing. Tesco take £2 when they do it, Asda take a penny.

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cg13 · 26/09/2013 08:12

I shop with Ocado, never heard of this £1 thing.

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Manchesterhistorygirl · 26/09/2013 08:15

I've never paid more for subs with ocado! They always reduce the price of the higher priced sub.

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sparechange · 26/09/2013 14:16

I've had this as well, and they didn't tell me. It took me a couple of weeks to notice Blush
I think it is because some of the items vary in price - like chicken etc that is priced by weight, so they estimate the cost of your order at the time you place it, then after they deliver, they can take the correct amount

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delasi · 26/09/2013 21:45

Hmm I had no clue about any extra pounds or what have you. We've shopped with Ocado for nearly a year, DM has been shopping with them for over 10 years Shock, we've always experienced that they just take the payment after delivery and you see it come out of your bank account a couple of days later. I much prefer that to the double payments like above, plus it makes sense to me as occasionally something is out of stock after ordering so the bill would naturally change if they couldn't substitute or you didn't like the substitute. We have 3 accounts for all manner of things and I always have a minimum cushion/contingency for this reason of bounced payments - don't want to end up paying £25 to the bank for a reversal Confused

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