Club shop online? - A bunch of thieves....

<rant>

Has anyone had dealings with the Club shop on-line?
Was it a good experience?

On Wednesday night, I tried to order the 150 year anniversary shirt. I filled in all the details on the website and proceeded with the order, which was for £45 + £21+ for shipping (Yes, £21+!!!!).
The website asked me to to enter the code that they had sent to my telephone.

After entering the code, a message popped up saying that there was an error with the billing address. I was returned to the page where I filled in the details. I checked the address that I had given. It seemed OK so I assumed something had gone wrong with the transaction and continued with placing the order again. I entered the new code that I been sent and the same thing happened, an error with the billing address. i have been using the internet for 20 years and buying on-line for the last 12+ years without any problems at all, so I presumed that everything was OK.

When I tried again, I didn't get the error, the page just accepted it and I thought that that was that, and presumed that the order was placed. Although I didn't receive an order number or an email confirming or declining the order, I assumed that I would receive it the next day.

On Thursday, I got home from work for my lunch break and checked my mail - nothing, so I decided to check my credit card balance, only to find that there was only €0.45 left to on it...

I immediately called the club to find out what was going on. The guy that answered explained to me that the transaction had failed twice because my bank did not recognise the billing address.The third attempt failed because of insufficient funds. I was gobsmacked. If my bank did not accept the billing address, how could they take the money from the account? "It is Sage pay, and is an anti-fraud measure." was the reply.
By this time I was boiling over. "The money will be refunded to your account in two days, maximum." said the guy at the other end of the phone, trying to calm me down.

Thinking about it afterwards, I came to the conclusion that their "anti-fraud measure" in itself is fraud. A credit card is issued to the user and for it to work, both the user and the bank have to agree to the transaction before any money is taken from the account. If my bank declined the transaction because of an error in the billing address, then the transaction is was not approved and no money should be taken out of the account. For example, if I came to your house and took your car without your consent (with the intention of returning it after two days of joyriding), then I have committed an offence and can be punished by the court.

This is the same thing...

It is now Saturday morning and my credit card balance is still €0.45, so I can't do my planned Christmas shopping and I am not going to receive my shirt in time for Christmas...

Me, angry? You can bet on it.

To add insult to injury, I received an email this morning from Forest player saying that my subscription had expired because there was insufficient funds in my credit card account to pay this months subscription!!!

How can a "professional" business be allowed to get away with this? I'd like to know if anyone else has had the problems that I have had.

If anyone else has had similar problems, I would like to hear from them as I am considering sending this sorry tale to Watchdog on the Beeb. After all, bad publicity is not what the club is looking for...

</rant>