Beware bad customer service Canon Direct

[langdonb]

I have been trying to buy a refurb 70-300 L lens for months. They are always out of stock. Two days ago they became available and I ordered immediately. Today I called as I had received no shipping notice and was told me order was cancelled due to a "hard reject" of credit card. The CS woman would give no info, no reason and when asked why I was not notified she said "we don't do that". Of course the lens is not out of stock again. I asked a supervisor why they do not give an opportunity (like most companies) when a card is refused, he stated it was policy. It turns out that Canon's accounting department routinely turns down cards with no notification IF the order comes from an IP address outside of the USA. Although my order was form a US card, with a verified US billing address and shipped to that same address, it was still cancelled.

When asked if they would put me a a list to get the next one...no we can't do that. It is just plane crappy customer service.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

So you joined to complain about Canon, when it was your bank that rejected the payment??

I happen to run a business, and when a credit card is rejected, we sometimes get zero information from the processor as to the reason. We can't insist on it, because of comsumer privacy. Usually, when we get zero notice, it turns out to be a typo in cc number. Of course, the customer blames us.

Canon indeed cannot reserve a used lens, they may or may not get more in stock.

 

[langdonb]

No I did not join to complain and perhaps I did not make myself clear about the cancellation. It was made by CANON accounting, not the card company. It was based solely on the fact that the order was placed from Panama, not the USA, using a USA card. Canon could have at least post on their ordering page that they will NOT except an order from a foreign IP address. The supervisor made it clear that that was why the order was canceled.

So you joined to complain about Canon, when it was your bank that rejected the payment??

I happen to run a business, and when a credit card is rejected, we sometimes get zero information from the processor as to the reason. We can't insist on it, because of comsumer privacy. Usually, when we get zero notice, it turns out to be a typo in cc number. Of course, the customer blames us.

Canon indeed cannot reserve a used lens, they may or may not get more in stock.

 

[distant.star]

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Thank you. That's very useful information about Canon business policies. I did not know it.

Next time I'm outside the U.S. and ordering a refurb product, I'll keep this in mind.

 

[mwh1964]

Just buy a new one. You won't regret. It's a fantastic lens. Keep smiling.

 

[Maui5150]

Gee... And order coming in from Panama on a US Card...

While I am sure it happens, I am sure it is likely that it is 1% of the transactions Canon processes

Did you call Canon, or just try internet? The fact that it was based upon IP, I guess we know.

Imagine, if you had called on your cell phone, which would have come in on a US Number... I bet the transaction would have gone through.

This is not to say that your Credit Card company would have accepted it either.

I was just up in Canada, and had TWO cards deny transactions. and locked out two cards until I called and went through the BS.

Also had another card a week later flag a transaction online that was placed to another state.

 

[unfocused]

Sorry to hear about your experience. I have had nothing but good experiences with the refurbished store. In my experience they ship quickly and the products are excellent.

It looks like Panama is served by Canon Latin America http://www.cla.canon.com//Panama/Spanish/. I do not know, but strongly suspect that Canon USA is not permitted to sell items outside the U.S. Keep in mind that Canon USA is just one of many worldwide affiliates and Canon Latin America has the rights to Panama.

Perhaps they just routinely deny any orders coming in from outside the U.S. in order to avoid conflicts with other affiliates and with Canon headquarters.

If you just happened to be visiting Panama and will be returning to the U.S. soon, then I wouldn't despair. I'm a Canon Refurb addict and the 70-300 L shows up pretty consistently. Also, while the refurb price is good, this is one of those lenses that can often be purchased new for not a lot more than the refurb price.

 

[Grumbaki]

Three letters to solve it all: VPN.

 

[RGF]

I have occasionally reached back home while traveling into my bank, brokerage accounts. No problem logging in, but next day I get all sort of red flags that someone in a foreign country is trying to hack my account.

Yes they look at the IP address to verify the deal is legit.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

No I did not join to complain and perhaps I did not make myself clear about the cancellation. It was made by CANON accounting, not the card company. It was based solely on the fact that the order was placed from Panama, not the USA, using a USA card. Canon could have at least post on their ordering page that they will NOT except an order from a foreign IP address. The supervisor made it clear that that was why the order was canceled.

While I'm sorry to hear about your situation, it is a pretty common happening. I hope you are able to get one. I've bought numerous items from the Canon refurb program, and the customer service is outstanding. I've never had better service from a online company, they go out of their way to be helpful.

I reject them as well. Most of them are stolen credit cards, and If I ship product, I lose it plus the bank not only takes my money back, but they charge me a penalty. It is unfortunate that I have to do that, but its also true that the odds of fraud are overwhelming, and there is no way to know if its fraud or not.
Merchants have some pretty sophisticated fraud reporting software that computes the likelihood of fraud. Its not perfect, but its right enough times that they are willing to shell out their $$$ for it.

As for policy, there is a link at the bottom of every page.

AVAILABILITY OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

The products and services displayed on this Site are intended for sale in the United States only and may not be available for purchase in your particular country or locality. The reference to such products and services in the Site does not imply or warrant that these products or services will be available at any time in your particular location.

 

[expatinasia]

I have occasionally reached back home while traveling into my bank, brokerage accounts. No problem logging in, but next day I get all sort of red flags that someone in a foreign country is trying to hack my account.

Yes they look at the IP address to verify the deal is legit.

I know your pain! Facebook is terrible at this too. Every time you log in from a new country you have to go through a security barrier. Thankfully they have made it easier now, but at the beginning you had to name some of your friends from a selection of photos, get so many wrong and you would not be allowed in. Problem was that at the beginning the system did not always show you a picture of your friend, but one of her cat or a sunset or other weird stuff. Now it is a lot easier, but still. 8) ;D

 

[Grumbaki]

Kind of paradoxal isn't it? the world wide web businesses dont like people to actually be worldwide...

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Kind of paradoxal isn't it? the world wide web businesses dont like people to actually be worldwide...

Businesses don't like and can't afford to be ripped off. Its unfortunate, because I would love to sell world wide. However, a charge initiated in another country with a US card or vice versa raises a red flag, and its a big one that is hard to miss.

The crooks keep innovating and one misstep can put you out of business if you are a small seller. I get about 100 fraud e-mails a day due to my online store.

This is bad for the customer, and therefore bad for the business.

 

[bdunbar79]

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Thank you. That's very useful information about Canon business policies. I did not know it.

Next time I'm outside the U.S. and ordering a refurb product, I'll keep this in mind.

Classic

 

[Grumbaki]

Kind of paradoxal isn't it? the world wide web businesses dont like people to actually be worldwide...

Businesses don't like and can't afford to be ripped off. Its unfortunate, because I would love to sell world wide. However, a charge initiated in another country with a US card or vice versa raises a red flag, and its a big one that is hard to miss.

The crooks keep innovating and one misstep can put you out of business if you are a small seller. I get about 100 fraud e-mails a day due to my online store.

This is bad for the customer, and therefore bad for the business.

ON the other hands, businesses like Amazon have a sensible approach: Secure the payment then ship. I regularly use Amazon US with a French visa card and delivery adress in China, never had an issue.

Card fraud isn't businesses matter, it's between customer and their banks. Other payment mean (like the dreaded paypal) are another matter...

Some companies (like blizzard who always refused to sell me their latest because I have a chinese IP) take this stance way overboard.

But i get it, people touched by this situation is like less than 1% of customers so who cares....except us (and then VPN an IP in the country of the seller, as long as delivery is within their policiies it'll work)

 

[expatinasia]

ON the other hand, businesses like Amazon have a sensible approach: Secure the payment then ship. I regularly use Amazon US with a French visa card and delivery adress in China, never had an issue.

Yes me too, never have any issue with the big merchants like Amazon.co.uk, B&H etc. and that is despite my IP being in one country, card from another and often the shipping address somewhere else.

Still, like you, I can also understand why merchants do have to be careful, especially the much smaller ones. And I won't even touch paypal, so any merchant that only accepts that will never get my business.

 

[LSV]

Sorry about the bad experience, but has anyone noticed that Canon has recently increased (improved) the warranty on re-furbished stuff to 1-year limited instead of 90-days?

 

[Rienzphotoz]

A US credit card being used in Panama WILL raise eyebrows ... I worked for a US bank for 3 years and when processing requests for renewals or new credit cards we were instructed and required to inform the customer to let the bank know if the customer intends to use it outside the USA or even in an other state of USA, anytime during the validity of the card including short trips etc ... when the customer calls and provides such information we were required to log that info in our system to enable the customer use the card without any issue ... when a CC is used from a place that has never been used before, the system generates "red light". My bank in the middle east immediately calls or sends a text message when my CC is used outside my normal "zone". People should take the time to learn about the dos and don'ts of how to use their credit card before blaming Canon. :

 

[Grumbaki]

when the customer calls and provides such information we were required to log that info in our system to enable the customer use the card without any issue

Yeah, even better idea. Go abroad = white list the country with your bank.

That also works for lots of internet stuff like gmails and such.

 

[expatinasia]

People should take the time to learn about the dos and don'ts of how to use their credit card before blaming Canon. :

That's all well and good, but it varies from country to country, and bank from bank, and is not quite as simple as you make out.

Still, I do not think the OP is blaming Canon, I got the impression he is more unhappy with the lack of communication on the issue (which I am guessing here, may have allowed him/her to use a different payment method).