A comedy of errors on one CCS/CGC submission

[MadGenius]

I'm calling CGC customer service first thing Monday morning to resolve this, but I'm astounded at the number of mistakes CCS/CGC made on a single submission. Here's what happened:

 

In April, I sent a bunch of books off to CCS for a QuickPress followed by a CGC pre-screen. Like always, I completed my online CGC submission form and sent that along with my CCS Work Order form. Everything proceeded as normal with CCS and my books were transferred to CGC on 5/1. This was a Modern Slow Track pre-screen, so I didn't expect to get them back for at least 3 months. I periodically checked my submission online and saw the pre-screen invoices were verified and SFG a little sooner than I anticipated, but I figured they would get bogged down in Graded/QC until August or so.

 

Flash forward to today when I'm checking my online banking and see a debit card purchase pending from CGC for an odd amount. Keep in mind I always use a credit card when I do submissions because I get points for purchases from my CC company. I went back and checked my original CGC invoice and CCS work order and, sure enough, I used the credit card I always use on both. The last time I used that debit card with CGC or CCS was a year ago - May 2014!

 

ERROR #1 - CGC charged the wrong method of payment for my submission. I neither submitted that debit card for the most recent order or authorized them to charge it.

 

I go back to the CGC online submission center and sure enough one of my pre-screen invoices has already shipped and the other is in QC - well ahead of schedule which brings us to...

 

ERROR #2 - My CGC submission was Fast Tracked despite the fact I did not elect that service on either my CGC invoice or CCS invoice. I thought maybe I had by mistake but, nope, MST on both.

 

Great news for me! I get my books a couple of months early EXCEPT...

 

ERROR #3 -They, of course, charged me for the Fast Track service I never requested in the first place.

 

So that's where we stand as of today. I had a pretty large submission Fast Tracked without my knowledge or permission, was charged the inflated Fast Track rate despite the fact I didn't request said service AND had the fees charged to a debit card I didn't submit or authorize for use for that particular submission.

 

Nice job all around.

 

 

A day late, but there's your Friday thread.

[wombat]

That sucks.

[ChrisInBaltimore]

A day late, but there's your Friday thread.

 

A day late indeed

[joe_collector]

So that's where we stand as of today. I had a pretty large submission Fast Tracked without my knowledge or permission, was charged the inflated Fast Track rate despite the fact I didn't request said service AND had the fees charged to a debit card I didn't submit or authorize for use for that particular submission.

 

Well, CGC is going to legally owe you a hefty refund, so let us know how that goes.

[Artboy99]

What is the difference in the value between what you paid for versus the fast track service?

 

 

[MadGenius]

What is the difference in the value between what you paid for versus the fast track service?

 

 

On the first invoice there's a difference of $180 between MST and MFT. The second invoice that hasn't shipped yet has 20 books on it, so if they all pass the pre-screen then that's another $180.

[Bomber-Bob]

I suspect CGC will give you a credit and you will get your books early. It's just a clerical error, not a big deal. BTW, I would not feel safe with my debit card number floating around. You don't have the protection on your Debit Card like you do with your Credit Card. The only time I use my Debit Card is at the ATM. Too dangerous, your whole account is vulnerable.

[MadGenius]

I suspect CGC will give you a credit and you will get your books early. It's just a clerical error, not a big deal. BTW, I would not feel safe with my debit card number floating around. You don't have the protection on your Debit Card like you do with your Credit Card. The only time I use my Debit Card is at the ATM. Too dangerous, your whole account is vulnerable.

I agree. I only used that debit card once with CCS over a year ago. I have no idea why CGC used it again for this most recent transaction. That's perhaps the most baffling part of this entire debacle.

[MadGenius]

I suspect CGC will give you a credit and you will get your books early. It's just a clerical error, not a big deal. BTW, I would not feel safe with my debit card number floating around. You don't have the protection on your Debit Card like you do with your Credit Card. The only time I use my Debit Card is at the ATM. Too dangerous, your whole account is vulnerable.

I agree. I only used that debit card once with CCS over a year ago. I have no idea why CGC used it again for this most recent transaction. That's perhaps the most baffling part of this entire debacle.

Once this billing issue gets resolved I think it might be a good idea for me to cancel that debit card and have another one reissued.

[Bomber-Bob]

Once this billing issue gets resolved I think it might be a good idea for me to cancel that debit card and have another one reissued.

 

I concur. You don't want that number out in the wild. You can gain a positive out of this CGC error.

[DougC]

ERROR #1 - CGC charged the wrong method of payment for my submission. I neither submitted that debit card for the most recent order or authorized them to charge it.

 

This same thing has actually happened to me before! I opened and normally keep my account paid yearly with a debit card and all submissions I like to have done with my CC (for point!). I had an invoice charged to my debit card for an onsite submission and had to recheck the invoice to see if I put down the wrong number.

 

I called the CGC and had them change my CC# number on file so it didn't happen again. I chalked the error up to clerical problems and that maybe the invoice (hand written) could have been smudged so they went with what they had.

 

 

[MadGenius]

ERROR #1 - CGC charged the wrong method of payment for my submission. I neither submitted that debit card for the most recent order or authorized them to charge it.

 

This same thing has actually happened to me before! I opened and normally keep my account paid yearly with a debit card and all submissions I like to have done with my CC (for point!). I had an invoice charged to my debit card for an onsite submission and had to recheck the invoice to see if I put down the wrong number.

 

I called the CGC and had them change my CC# number on file so it didn't happen again. I chalked the error up to clerical problems and that maybe the invoice (hand written) could have been smudged so they went with what they had.

 

Interesting. The really weird thing is I never used that particular debit card for a CGC submission. I always use the same credit card and have done several submissions with CGC this year already. I think they somehow got that debit card number from CCS, but I have no idea why CCS gave it to them.

[Transplant]

The invoicing and accounting side of CGC may actually be the worst part of the business.

[DougC]

Interesting. The really weird thing is I never used that particular debit card for a CGC submission. I always use the same credit card and have done several submissions with CGC this year already. I think they somehow got that debit card number from CCS, but I have no idea why CCS gave it to them.

 

Ah, that is completely different then and not so laissaz faire. If CGC never had your debit card (only CCS) then someone needs a blunt private conversation.

[Davenport]

I think they somehow got that debit card number from CCS, but I have no idea why CCS gave it to them.

Does the CGC/CCS 'synergistic relationship' and 'direct transfer',and all that PR stuff, not spill over into invoicing?

Haven't messed with it since the buyout, just curious. Are CCS charges a line item or totally separate invoice? (assumed client-sharing includes every bit of data collected by either, no?)

[MadGenius]

I think they somehow got that debit card number from CCS, but I have no idea why CCS gave it to them.

Does the CGC/CCS 'synergistic relationship' and 'direct transfer',and all that PR stuff, not spill over into invoicing?

Haven't messed with it since the buyout, just curious. Are CCS charges a line item or totally separate invoice? (assumed client-sharing includes every bit of data collected by either, no?)

My understanding is they technically operate as two separate businesses. CCS does their thing and invoices you separately from CGC. They even have their own separate websites, so not really synergistic at all.

 

It seems like the same set up as Classics Inc., except now they can hand deliver pressed books to CGC instead of mailing them.

[Illustrious]

My last submission had the same problem, they charged a different credit card than what I had listed on the invoice for that submission. I'm seeing a pattern of ineptness here.

[PovertyRow]

Seems like contacting the companies involved and getting reimbursed for the extra unauthorized charges is the first thing to try. And if the companies dig their heels in with some bizarre reasoning, move on to plan-B (blacklist, spread the word, use another service provider).

[Davenport]

Exacty. If it's a mistake they'll fix it. If not "Fool me twice, shame on me." kicks in to play.

[MadGenius]

My expectation is they will 1) refund me for the Fast Track charges I didn't request and 2) actually charge the correct form of payment. This is 100% their fault. If I made a mistake on my forms I would eat the cost, but I clearly submitted these books MST in multiple places.

 

We shall see Monday morning.