I placed an order last week with Hobby King. It was to be a birthday gift for my husband. He's used Hobby King many times and has always been happy with his orders. I went to check yesterday the order has been shipped yet. I couldn't just put in my order number and check on it that way. You had to sign in first. No problem I thought; until, I figured out that I had used the wrong email address when I set up the account last week. I put @aol.com instead of @gmail.com. I din't think this was a big deal. LITTLE DID I KNOW!
I couldn't get an answer at the 1-800 customer service number. I clicked on the nice 24 hour online customer service chat link. I got someone right away. Here is how the next 45 min. played out:
CS: Thank you for contacting the Hobbyking support team. How may I help you?
me: I placed an order last week and set up the account under the wrong email address so I'm not able to check on the order. how do I go about changing that? The email I used was ....... and it should have been ....... The order number was ........
CS: May I have your order number please? One moment please. My sincerest apologies. Our accountant requires futher verification of the credit card used to pay for this order. Please take a picture of the last 4-digits of your card, showing your full name (you can cover the rest) and email it to
support@hobbyking.zwendesk.com. Please attach the pictures to your message. your order will be futher processed upon successful verification. Thank you for your patience. After you receive the order, we could change the email address.
me: has the item been sent out yet? It is a gift for my husband who's birthday was yesterday.
CS: The order is in our warehouse now
me: Why do you need the credit card info?
CS: It is for security check
me: has my card been charged for this item yet?
CS: yes
me: Okay, is the item going to be sent out anytime soon?
CS: Please send a photo of your credit card to us first.
me: It's a big deal to try and get a photo added to my pc because I don't have a smart phone. I don't understand why the item won't be shipped when I have already paid for it.
CS: Please mention your order number in the subject. Our email is ......
me: Can I cancel the order and have the charged removed from my credit card?
CS: yes. It takes around 4-6 weeks to credit the moeny back to the card account. Please check with your credit card company or next credit card statement for details.
me. no! Either I get my order sent now or I get my money back now.
CS: We are sorry for direct credit card refund usually take 4 to 6 weeks. Plase advise if you want to cancle the order.
me. My husband orders from this company all the time and he hasn't had any issues like this. I'm very upset that he wasn't able to get his gift in time. Can you get the order shipped out today?
CS: We are sorry we could process your order after we receive the photo of the credit card.
Me: This isn't logical. I have already paid for the item. The money has been taken out of my account. I went through the verify process at checkout. I received an order number and statement that the payment has been approved. I want my item and I want it soon. I shouldn't have to jump through hoops to get something I've already paid for. I'm not changing the item, payment, or shipping address from the time the order was placed. So there shouldn't be any issue. Insert: the order verification and payment approved reply from the time the order was placed...
me: I have never had a company ask for a photo of my card. It makes me very worried about identiy fruad. we need to find another solution.
CS: Please be advised that for security purposes, our risk management department needs the information before we can process your order. If you do not feel comfortable to provide image of it, you may provide a screen shot of your credit card statement showing the payment to Hextronik Ltd. for this order #......., also show the credit card holder's name on the same screen.
me: can you please give me the number so that I may speak to someone live. I wasn't able to get an answer to the 1-800 number.
CS: We have checked for you with our account department again and we could process your order. your order is now under process. We will ship theorder as soon as it has been packed. We will send you an automatic email with a tracking number once the order is dispatched from our warehouse.
me: Can the email be sent to the corrected email? Insert: correct email vs. wrong email...
CS: The email will be sent by our system automatically. plase contact us about 3 days later.
me: Thank you for your help. I know you personally don't make the policy and have to go with what you are told. I just think all of this was stupid and a huge waste of my time. all I wanted to know from the start was when the order was going to be shipped and if I could changed the email. Fingers crossed my husband will have his new hili in 3 days so he's happy, I'm happy, and I don't have to bother you again. Thanks!
Lesson learned: You better make sure you have all of your information correct before ordering because you won't be able to change it later and they will be happy to take your money without ever shipping your order out.