posted on February 20, 2001 11:59:16 AM
As much as I love BidPay, within the past week I've had 2 International orders screwed up by them.
First one involved a mistake by the buyer who used an incorrect email address for me. When I told them that this transaction was not showing up in my Seller Account on BidPay, they contacted BidPay & supposedly got the matter resolved. Problem is, 7 days later & it's still not showing up in my Sellers Account, nor have I received any email confirmation from BidPay for this transaction?
The high bidder is a repeat customer of mine, with solid feedback, so I know they're not trying to pull a fast one.
Next problem involved a (0) feedback user from overseas, who has never used BidPay before. In the intitial email from BidPay they have my shipping info incorrect. For some unknown reason they have my country listed as the USA, and I don't live in the USA. In the email they state:
As a registered seller, we are using the address information you provided (as below) and this ensures that any mistakes made by your buyer when entering the order are automatically corrected so that the payments are always sent to the correct address.
Well duh, I don't think so! I've been registered on BidPay since they started up, and my Country has never been listed as the USA. I checked today to make sure it still showed Canada in my registered account info, and sure enough it does.
I also found it interesting that even though the high bidder was new to both eBay & BidPay, and is from Oveerseas, the MO was approved AND mailed within the hour.
That too is a first for me. BidPay is supposedly checking out the users before sending the MO's, and usually that takes 2-4 hours for CC users in the USA. I've never had an International user approved this fast, and I'm now wondering if they are even checking?
posted on February 20, 2001 12:15:50 PM
Hi reddeer,
I had 2 auctions close this weekend that were paid through Bidpay. One international and the other from the US.
I didn't experience any problems with the transactions...and it still says Canada on mine.
It also took 7 hours before I received the confirmation on the orders, which I thought was actually longer than usual, and I chalked up to a holiday weekend.
...so, no, I am not experiencing the same problems.
Thanks for the response. I had 2 other payments via BidPay this past weekend that went through without a hitch. One Interntaional, and one from the USA. What bothers me is that when BidPay first started up, they didn't have a method to cross check the sellers shipping info, and many times the buyer got mine incorrect.
At some point in time BidPay introduced a feature where they would automatically use the shipping info in your sellers account, if you were registered with them. If that's the case, why would they list my home country as USA? I responded to the initial email from Bidpay within minutes [to correct them on my Country] but by the time I checked my sellers account on their site they had already mailed the MO. At this point I have no other choice but to make this new user wait 7-10 days until the MO arrives, or not. Same with the first case I mentioned above.
I hate making buyers wait that long, but these 2 orders add up to $100 US.
I also have no idea how they can approve/check a (0) feedbacker from overseas in less than an hour, and take 2-4 hours on average for USA bidders with 100+ feedback?
posted on February 20, 2001 01:36:16 PM
reddeer,
thanks for posting these problems here, as I, along with many others may miss the same errors in our own Bidpay emails.
I'll make a point of checking very carefully now before sending out any items.
Sounds like a glitch somewhere, but I am guilt of not readng through the emails carefully, and I imagine others are too.
posted on February 20, 2001 01:43:26 PM
No problem. The good news is the 2 orders that did go through without a hitch, were for a lot more $$$.
BidPay is not known for speedy email responses to problems, and their phone # is pretty much a joke, so when something does go wrong, you pretty much have to wait for the MO to arrive before shipping.
I guess I'll find it out in 7-10 days if they corrected these SNAFU's before sending the MO's?
posted on February 20, 2001 02:35:44 PM
it appears that glitches in the bidpay system crop up from time to time - glad to see that it isn't just to me only.
about a month ago i had one transaction go really weird ... international buyer used bidpay to pay me. i never received email notice of the payment or the approval. as i have had international buyers tell me they are going to use bidpay, and sometimes take a few days to actually do it, i wasn't too concerned. then out of the blue i received the money order. i went to check my bidpay account and that payment was not on my list at all. way weird.
around the same time i had another international customer pay me via bidpay and only the 2nd/approved email showed up - the first "payment being made" never showed. that transaction did though show on my list.
i emailed bidpay about both these incidents, but, alas, no reply at all from them
posted on February 20, 2001 02:37:13 PMHi reddeer I've also had my first International problem with Bidpay this last 2 weeks.
The high bidder is from UK with excellent feedback for fast pay , and his first payment did not come reach me , although they aknowleged it ; but after my 10 day reminder , he said it wasn't recorded in his account ! Said he'd send another that day (15th. Feb.)I e-mailed him last night as I'd had no e-mail from Bidpay . The buyer said he was assured by Bidpay that the M.O. did go out (mailed) on the 16th. and he provided me with the reference # and M.O. #. I figured it to be because of the Holiday yesterday , but it isn't in today's mail , and what really concerns me is the lack of notification from Bidpay. They've always been within 24 hrs. before..
How do I start tracking all this if they don't respond to e-mail or service phone #?
The buyer verified my correct address with them too.
I'd hate to see Bidpay go belly-up , as it's a boon for International bids where their own country's bank or P.O. fees for international checks or M.O.s are so high.
Hope yours comes through O.K. reddeer. Keep us posted !
posted on February 20, 2001 03:16:43 PM
We also had a U.K. bidder last week and though they said they had paid through Bidpay we did not receive confirmation. We were finally sent one e-mail by Bidpay but not the second one like we usually do.
When we logged into our account it verified that payment had been made and the money order was sent. We received it yesterday so no problem.
uglimouse, if you log into your account at Bidpay you will see if your customer has paid or not.
posted on February 20, 2001 03:33:21 PM
I've had several items purchased via BidPay in the past where no email notificaiuon was sent, but ....... this is the first time I've had one where the item doesn't even show up in my seller account on Bidpay, or where I've had my shipping info screwed up.
2 SNAFU's in one week out of 4 items, not looking too good.
posted on February 21, 2001 03:25:15 PM
I wish Marek would respond to this thread...one place or the other. BidPay is the only payment service I'm using. If they prove unreliable, I'll quit them just as I did PayPal.
I've really liked BidPay so far. I had one problem with missing confirmation emails...emailed Support and they resolved it the next day.
posted on February 21, 2001 05:00:39 PM
I had bidpay mess up my address.
Even though I list my address as PMB 257 = Private Mail Box They kept sending it as POB.
After over a week of returned payments and hassels I dropped them.
I find International buyers are just as comfortable with Billpoint.
In the past 6 months since stop using BidPay I haven't had anyone complain.
Not to mention my refusal to ship items until I received money order.
I had one buyer request I ship item global express once he paid Bidpay and this buyer got all bent because I waited the 4 days until I received payment.
Joe B
I didn't sign up for PayPal because of their pizz poor customer service, and if this is the best that BidPay has to offer I'll be dropping them as well.
posted on February 22, 2001 12:38:46 AM
If you send this thread to them, add my complaint! I stopped using the service because of this:
BidPay is not always good. I have used the BidPay service for quite sometime and stopped using it when a 2 payments disapeared.
I had a bidder contact me many times because he had paid with BidPay and the payment showed on his account, and on my account. However, I never recieved the payment in the mail. So, BidPay gives a number to call Western Union to check the status of a money order. When I called, they had no information and said that it was either cashed or it was too old to investigave. They told me to call BidPay directly to work out the problem. After serveral calls and emails I have still heard nothing back for 2 months.
So, I was unable to find out anything. In the meantime, I had the bidder accusing me of stealing his money and I did not want to send the item because I could not take that huge of a loss. Then, shortly after, the same thing happened again with another bidder! I decided I would no longer use BidPay since this has happened twice.
I still have never recieved those payments and am still trying to calm down those 2 bidders. What bothers me is that they really did pay, but because the payments disapeared, they got screwed and I am the one that looks guilty to them. All they see is that they have proof that they paid for the auction. They did nothing wrong here. Automatically they think its my responsiblity to take blame for BidPay's mistake. I will probably end up sending the items just because I know they paid, but since I have to take that huge loss, I will never use the service again.
posted on February 22, 2001 01:57:02 AM
I posted this in another thread but it really does belong here:
For all the horns that Marek keeps a'tootin', the only time I contacted customer service to make a suggestion after a seller had a small stroke reading their letter (she didn't want to have to join ANY on-line payment service), they were EXTREMELY arrogant and uncaring.
My only suggestion was to make it a little clearer in the letter that the seller need not register, nor do anything else - that an MO was simply coming their way. Bidpay does include that information in the letter, but it is in small print after all the caps strongly pushing the seller into registering, especially by saying they could only check the address the buyer input if they register. IMO this makes the seller feel they MUST register or risk having the MO sent to the wrong address. I also suggested to Bidpay that sellers should be able to check to see if their address was correctly input by the buyer [u]without[/u] having to register.
This is the e-mail (which indicates a high level of customer service training - NOT!) I received from Bidpay regarding my suggestions (don'tcha just love when someone starts a sentence with "no offence, but....." ) :
Dear XXXXXXXX
No offence, but its a non-issue. We handle literally tens of thousands of transactions per day... have over a million registered buyers and half a million registered sellers.
The TOS "clearly" states, NO REGISTRATION is necessary.
The email sent to the seller "clearly" states that NO REGISTRATION is necessary.
Our main page, the sellers FAQ, confirmation email, the buyers FAQ and as you stated the money order and follow up email all state NO REGISTRATION is necessary.
Below is the standard email sent to any buyer or seller asking if the seller must be registered in order to send a payment... and it too 'clearly' states that NO REGISTRATION is necessary.
We only ask sellers to registered to ensure that payments are properly addressed and so that they can review payment history online.
There is no other request to register other than that one... and you are actually the first person in two years who thought of this as an issue.
Obviously we take all email requests from clients (both buyers and sellers) seriously as indicated by my reply.
But this is quite literally a one-in-a-million complaint we go to great lenghts to let both our buyers and sellers 'clearly' know what is and is not required of them.
Mark B.
I personally don't think alot of them because of this. I can't stop someone from using this service, but I hope no-one does with my auctions.
[ edited by oxford on Feb 22, 2001 02:04 AM ]
posted on February 22, 2001 09:55:13 AM
I've had nothing but respect for this service, and have always gone to bat for them on the various boards, and Marek knows that.
He's also had no problem responding to my email in the past, but all of the sudden when a couple SNAFU's take place, I become the invisible man.
I offer BidPay as a service to my Overseas customers, and IMO I can accomplish the same thing with Billpoint, and IMO their CS ranks 5 stars.
The last problem [months ago] that I had with Billpoint I had a CS rep email & phone me twice, in less then an hour. He not only acknowledged the problem, but contacted my customers [via phone & email] to walk them through a fix for the problem they were having in paying for their items.
Now that's Customer Service.
Quite frankly, with the amount of customers I have that use BidPay, it won't make much difference if I drop them.
The sad part is I have a new user to eBay AND BidPay & it took me several emails to explain what was happening, and that it was not her fault.
I went ahead & shipped her parcel [she was very excited to have won it] and at this point I have no idea whether the BidPay MO will even show up.
posted on February 22, 2001 10:53:49 AM
My customer had one feedback. She was overseas and wanted to pay for the purchase with a personal check on her boyfriend's account. I suggested Bidpay and she paid right away through them and got back to me.
I did not receive a confirmation e-mail that day so I told her to check again to see if it had gone through as I was doubting her. The item I sold was exactly what she had been looking for and she was very anxious to get it right away.
I did not receive a confirmation from Bidpay until the following afternoon and then only got one. With the time difference between our countries a couple of days had gone by for her.
Now I am wondering if this is going to happen again.
Perhaps a bit of consideration from the rep to address the problem? A bit of reassurance? An apology? But all we get is total silence? Very strange.
posted on February 22, 2001 03:29:48 PM
Yup, totally unreal. I'll no longer be promoting their service to my bidders either.
And for those that do want to use it, they'll have to wait until the MO is in my hot little hands.
posted on February 22, 2001 05:02:55 PM
I'm with you, reddeer. I've been sending the item as soon as I receive BidPay's 2 confirmations...no longer.
If they have problems, and don't care enough about their customers to address those problems...how can we continue to trust them? How can we maintain any kind of confidence in their company?
I really don't expect perfection. I do expect service.
Damn. I really liked them. Stupid, stupid lack of response on their part.
