Disney Store Warning

[equine.]

(Please move this thread if it's in the wrong thread, I'm new to the boards and the news board seemed like the best option.)

This seems like decent enough news to me and I thought it important to bring it to everyone's attention.

When purchasing from Disney's website and you receive the error "A generic error has occurred" when you go to submit your order, please do not hit submit more than once as despite the fact that nothing will actually be happening (i.e. an order being placed, Disney having record of this, etc) Disney will still continue to take money from your account.

TLDR; On Thursday, I attempted to buy myself the Nightmare Before Christmas Dooney & Bourke wallet, long story short Disney had taken $500 from me and my bank is opening an investigation to get my money back and Disney in an utter blank slate.

FULL; The site gave me continuous errors and in the end removed $185.43 x3, essentially taking $500+ from my bank account. I had total proof as did my bank and Disney had nothing. I received no order number, confirmation, etc - only had money removed from my account.

I called customer service about this who then directed me to calling my blank - which I did. Although, I would still have to wait 3-5 business days and being in need of an immediate refund my bank directed me to contacting customer service again. However, I spoke to a manager and not even my card could be found whereas my bank had all the information. A conference call was attempted between Disney and my bank but due to privacy it couldn't continue. I've spent nearly four hours of my day attempting to get over $500 of my money back from Disney, who seems to have absolutely no record of any of my information.

Ideally I would like all three cancelled and for me to be completely refunded, my bank is currently conducting an investigation, however I still must wait for my money to come back. Because of what is occurring on Disney's end I'm left with nothing but 30$ in my bank account.

I've had an extremely poor and stressful experience, my bank is doing everything possible but Disney seems to be a blank slate. All I wanted was to purchase a wallet, not to lose $500 and go back and forth between them and my bank several times.

I am still conferring with Disney about this and the most they will do is continue to day "We apologize for any inconvenience" and even go as far to suggest I place an order over the phone - quite funny considering they left me with $30.

Please be aware and cautious about buying from their site. I would hate for this to happen to anyone else. I am a die hard Disney fan and have vacationed at DW several times and that's what makes this so unfortunate.

 

[soniam]

Were you paying with a debit card? I usually pay with a credit card, gift card, or Visa rewards. I was having problems with their a couple of weeks ago. It would say it had added stuff to my car but then show me no items in the cart or even let me try to buy stuff. Sorry about the problems. I hope it gets resolved soon.

 

[Duffjk]

You hit submit more than once I gather? Most websites tell you not to do that and to wait. Don't know if Disney does. Either way you will be waiting 24 hrs to 2 weeks for a refund once all things are done.

 

[minnie mum]

It's tough learning lessons the hard way. Get a credit card for online purchases. Don't use a debit card. If you'd used a CC your bank account wouldn't be almost empty.

 

[equine.]

Still waiting to hear back from Disney but will keep the thread updated.

@soniam @minnie mum

Yup, a debit card - my fault. Will definitely look into getting a CC and not use my debit online or at least not with Disney.

@Duffjk

They don't want you hitting submit more than once, you're right. Currently there is nothing on their site that suggests otherwise, not even with errors, I brought up putting a warning somewhere on their website so no one makes the same mistake as I did.

 

[mousehockey37]

Are you calling the correct place? Disney is a big company.

The worst mistake made was continually hitting the submit button.

I haven't had any issues with ordering off of their site. Yes, your situation sucks and is good for others to learn from, but don't make it out that Disney is trying to scam you out of your money. Website issues occur. Also, were you on secured Disney pages when this happened?

Normally they'll send you a receipt to the email you provide, your computer security isn't compromised is it?

 

[equine.]

@mousehockey37

I was speaking to a manager within their billing department, I think I have to wait until Monday to speak to anyone beyond that (24-48hrs). I can totally fault myself for hitting the submit continuously, I just wish there had been a warning. I was secured on their pages.

I don't mean to fault them so badly, it's just scary to lose $500 from your account.

No, there's nothing wrong with my computer security. They couldn't seem to find my debit, email, phone number, etc it was if there was no record of my "purchases" ever occurring, though my bank has all the information. There seems to just be a lot of back and forth between Disney and my bank at the moment.

 

[mousehockey37]

@mousehockey37

I was speaking to a manager within their billing department, I think I have to wait until Monday to speak to anyone beyond that (24-48hrs). I can totally fault myself for hitting the submit continuously, I just wish there had been a warning. I was secured on their pages.

I don't mean to fault them so badly, it's just scary to lose $500 from your account.

No, there's nothing wrong with my computer security. They couldn't seem to find my debit, email, phone number, etc it was if there was no record of my "purchases" ever occurring, though my bank has all the information. There seems to just be a lot of back and forth between Disney and my bank at the moment.

I understand your concern. I woke up to an alert on my phone from the CC company inquiring about a purchase made at a mobile retailer for almost $300. I called them up, verified the last purchase I made on the card and the fraud dept. is handling the rest.

As for their site, it can be a little screwy sometimes. Also, you should try using a CC on the Shop Disney Parks App... I've ordered from there too and had no issues.

 

[equine.]

@mousehockey37

I'm glad my bank is so good about handling this though, I'd probably be a lot more stressed if it wasn't for them, I'm hoping for updates on Monday.

Thanks for the tip! I'll definitely be switching to a CC, I hadn't thought about their app though I'll definitely look into that too. CC, app, and/or calling in my order is what I'm going to be doing from now on - and not being an idiot.

 

[mousehockey37]

@mousehockey37

I'm glad my bank is so good about handling this though, I'd probably be a lot more stressed if it wasn't for them, I'm hoping for updates on Monday.

Thanks for the tip! I'll definitely be switching to a CC, I hadn't thought about their app though I'll definitely look into that too. CC, app, and/or calling in my order is what I'm going to be doing from now on - and not being an idiot.

Well, it's technology. Technology does fail. Next time when buying from the website, find something less expensive and give it a test run (not that you should have to do this, but it can help re-affirm that the web is still good for buying).

What I'm interested in seeing is if Disney still can't "find" anything, what's going to happen? There isn't anything on their site now under your orders is there, aka, there was a delay in the processing of your order? Normally if things are bought before about 5pm EST, that will show same day, after that, everything will go and be on hold for the following Monday.

Let's just hope that you do get your money back.

 

[CounselorX]

Yep, it's not just Disney's site. It's a good practice to never hit Submit more than once when dealing with a financial transaction.

 

[Liljo22]

I work with credit card processors daily so I have a good idea of what happened. The website had an error so the transaction never fully completed. Since the order was not completed, the charge made to the card was voided in the Disney system hence why they can not see the transaction. The problem for you is your bank shows it as a transaction waiting to be settled. It will never be settled so it will eventually just fall off but takes several days. There is nothing Disney can do because their system worked correctly and it's in the banks hands now.

 

[phamton]

I was going to write almost the same thing that Liljo wrote. On these websites, when you hit submit, it puts a hold on the amount on your account. Then if you click multiple times, the company or your bank voids the sell. That is why Disney has no record. No money from your account ever went to them. After a few days (usually 2-3 days but could be longer) the amount drops off. There is no refund issued by the company or your bank, you will just see the monry available again. I worked for guest services at Universal Studios and this happened from time to time on their website also. I also had an issue in April when I was filing my taxes electronically. I got an error so I called the phone number listed. They told me that they didn't have a record of it being submitted and took the info over the phone. When I checked my debit balance it looked like I was charged twice, once when i submitted it and got the error and once over the phone. I called back and they explained that even though it didn't go through online that my card had a hold put on it for that amount. They said it would drop off in a couple of days and it did.

 

[equine.]

@mousehockey37 I think the reason Disney is unable to find anything is due to what @Liljo22 and @phamton are saying, it seems right now it's all about playing the waiting the game and seeing what my bank is able to do.

Hoping this thread helps others to learn from my mistakes!

 

[TLSnell1981]

It takes much longer to receive a refund, if a debit card is used.

OP go luck. What a pain in the rear.

 

[FigmentFinder]

I thought this was a warning that every time your 5 year old daughter steps into the store, she finds another hundred dollars of things she "needs".


Sorry, OP. I've had issues with the site frequently. A couple of times I thought I placed an order, but the confirmation e-mail never came and the order wasn't placed. I always shop online with a credit card. They back you up better than the bank via debit.

 

[King Schultz]

@mousehockey37

I'm glad my bank is so good about handling this though, I'd probably be a lot more stressed if it wasn't for them, I'm hoping for updates on Monday.

Thanks for the tip! I'll definitely be switching to a CC, I hadn't thought about their app though I'll definitely look into that too. CC, app, and/or calling in my order is what I'm going to be doing from now on - and not being an idiot.

Oh c'mon- you're being to hard on yourself.

You made a minor mistake and it sounds like the website shares the blame as well.

I'm sure you'll get it straightened out-

Meanwhile, welcome to the DIS and the Community Board!

Stick around; we have the occasional bit of fun here.

 

[cvjw]

Get a credit card for online purchases. It does not pull your "real" money and risk you being overdrawn. These "hold" charges will eventually clear, but it is playing with your real money. If you had used a credit card, the holds would be placed and cleared and never effect your day to day finances.

You have learned a good lesson, albeit a hard one. I have taught the same lesson to my teens about only using a credit card when online shopping.

 

[equine.]

@TLSnell1981 Thank you for your sympathy!

@FigmentFinder It's not just the five year olds finding things many things they need in a Disney Store

@King Schultz Thanks for the welcome! These boards are going to come in handy soon, I'll be planning my fifth Disney World trip with a friend pretty soon

@cvjw Once this is straightened out I'm on the CC hunt

 

[robinb]

Yep, it's not just Disney's site. It's a good practice to never hit Submit more than once when dealing with a financial transaction.

It certainly is Disney's fault. Their software processed 3 orders from the OP in quick succession after the order lagged. They should have either (1) warnings in place or (2) some kind of safeguard in place that doesn't allow for identical transactions that are so close together. For cripes sake, I can't make two posts on the DIS less than a certain number of seconds apart (I think it might be 30).