# How to cancel an order from a shady website? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 21, 2009, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-cancel-an-order-from-a-shady-website/507235 "2009-08-21T19:56:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ChadVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ba0ec/32.png) [@ChadVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChadVader)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-cancel-an-order-from-a-shady-website/507235/1 "2009-08-21T19:56:50Z")
I ordered a sheet set from “Precious Bedding”. After about 3 days I checked on my order and it was still listed under “processing”. So I googled precious bedding and it turns out there are _tons_ of complaints about this company. They either take very long, never send the order at all, or end up sending the wrong stuff. Some people even got billed twice. It’s been over a week now and it’s still listed as “processing”. I left an email but haven’t gotten a response (and don’t expect to). They don’t even have a phone number to call! The only good thing out of all of this is the bill still hasn’t hit my banking account. My question is what’s the best way to cancel this order? There’s no “cancel order” button on the website. I think if I email them again they’ll just ignore it. Can I call my bank and warn them ahead of time? Will they reject the payment? Can I reject the payment after it hits my bank account? (I paid for it with my Bank of America checking account). Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-cancel-an-order-from-a-shady-website/507235/2 "2009-08-21T20:00:58Z")
You can put a stop payment with your bank but that is going to cost you - maybe $20. It’s always best to use a Visa or MC for online orders so you can dispute the charge much easier than using other forms of payment. (this assumes you need to dispute it, they could get your order right) ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-cancel-an-order-from-a-shady-website/507235/3 "2009-08-21T20:04:35Z")
> [@ChadVader](#): > > I ordered a sheet set from “Precious Bedding”. After about 3 days I checked on my order and it was still listed under “processing”. So I googled precious bedding and it turns out there are _tons_ of complaints about this company. They either take very long, never send the order at all, or end up sending the wrong stuff. Some people even got billed twice. > > It’s been over a week now and it’s still listed as “processing”. I left an email but haven’t gotten a response (and don’t expect to). They don’t even have a phone number to call! The only good thing out of all of this is the bill still hasn’t hit my banking account. > > My question is what’s the best way to cancel this order? There’s no “cancel order” button on the website. I think if I email them again they’ll just ignore it. Can I call my bank and warn them ahead of time? Will they reject the payment? Can I reject the payment after it hits my bank account? (I paid for it with my Bank of America checking account). > > Thanks. Did they charge your credit card yet? They’re not allowed to charge your card until after they’ve shipped. If they charged your card a week ago, you should be able to tell your bank the whole story, tell you it’s not been shipped and that you can’t reach them after trying and they will issue a chargeback to the merchant. Then, depending on whether the merchant is sinister or incompetent they will either realize they no longer have your money and not ship, or still ship the merchandise and you`ll have to deal with getting it back. If they haven’t charged your account yet your bank will have at least authorized the charge, and you can talk to your bank about eliminating that authorization. It wouldn`t necessarily mean an incompetent merchant still wouldn`t ship you the stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-cancel-an-order-from-a-shady-website/507235/4 "2009-08-21T20:06:54Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](#): > > Did they charge your credit card yet? They’re not allowed to charge your card until after they’ve shipped. If they charged your card a week ago, you should be able to tell your bank the whole story, tell you it’s not been shipped and that you can’t reach them after trying and they will issue a chargeback to the merchant. > > Then, depending on whether the merchant is sinister or incompetent they will either realize they no longer have your money and not ship, or still ship the merchandise and you`ll have to deal with getting it back. > > If they haven’t charged your account yet your bank will have at least authorized the charge, and you can talk to your bank about eliminating that authorization. It wouldn`t necessarily mean an incompetent merchant still wouldn`t ship you the stuff. oh I see now they didn`t capture the funds yet. See if they can reverse the temporary authorization? It’s possible the merchant has your CC information stored in a database somewhere but it’s more likely they got a authorization for the amount when you clicked “buy” and are waiting to capture the funds when they ship. ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-cancel-an-order-from-a-shady-website/507235/5 "2009-08-21T20:26:29Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](#): > > Did they charge your credit card yet? They’re not allowed to charge your card until after they’ve shipped. This is not true. They are allowed to charge your card as long as they ship within 30 days of the charge. ---
**Author:** ![ChadVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ba0ec/32.png) [@ChadVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChadVader)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-cancel-an-order-from-a-shady-website/507235/6 "2009-08-21T21:13:41Z")
[QUOTE=Bijou Drains] You can put a stop payment with your bank but that is going to cost you - maybe $20. It’s always best to use a Visa or MC for online orders so you can dispute the charge much easier than using other forms of payment. (this assumes you need to dispute it, they could get your order right) [/QUOTE] I paid with a BoA Debit Card (but it’s the one with a VISA logo at the bottom corner). Does this count as a credit card? [QUOTE=Fuzzy Dunlop] Did they charge your credit card yet? [/QUOTE] They haven’t charged or even attempted to charge. This is where I need help. How can I stop a charge that hasn’t even come in yet? I figure they will eventually try to get money from me, whether they ship the goods or not. I want to be able to block them before they even try, if that’s even possible… ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-cancel-an-order-from-a-shady-website/507235/7 "2009-08-21T21:32:57Z")
> [@crazyjoe](#): > > This is not true. They are allowed to charge your card as long as they ship within 30 days of the charge. Sorry, this is completely incorrect. Per Visa’s Rules for Merchants - [http://usa.visa.com/download/merchants/rules\_for\_visa\_merchants.pdf](http://usa.visa.com/download/merchants/rules_for_visa_merchants.pdf) [QUOTE=Visa] Ship Merchandise Before Depositing Transaction . For card-not-present transactions, **do not deposit sales receipts with your merchant bank until you have shipped the related merchandise .** If customers see a transaction on their monthly Visa statement before they receive the merchandise,\*\* they may contact their card issuer to dispute the billing .\*\* Similarly, if delivery is delayed on a card-present transaction, do not deposit the sales receipt until the merchandise has been shipped . [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-cancel-an-order-from-a-shady-website/507235/8 "2009-08-21T21:45:05Z")
> [@ChadVader](#): > > I paid with a BoA Debit Card (but it’s the one with a VISA logo at the bottom corner). Does this count as a credit card? Yes. > [@ChadVader](#): > > They haven’t charged or even attempted to charge. > > This is where I need help. How can I stop a charge that hasn’t even come in yet? I figure they will eventually try to get money from me, whether they ship the goods or not. I want to be able to block them before they even try, if that’s even possible… Well if they really haven`t tried you could only change your credit card. More likely though is that they’ve gotten what’s known as an authorization from your bank. That’s how an online business normally works. The authorization is a guarantee from your bank and visa that the merchant can take the funds from your account. Then at some point in the future they actually take the funds. The reason for the two step process is, contrary to what **crazyjoe** said, they’re not allowed to actually take your money until they’ve shipped the merchandise. I don’t know whether your bank would remove an existing authorization but they should tell you if any exist. My experience has actually been the opposite, as a merchant who had a temporary authorization and neither I nor the customer wanted. We could send a fax on corporate letterhead asking it to be dropped immediately - I don`t know if you as a customer could do that. Why not check with the bank for temporary authorizations from the Precious Bedding people? ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-cancel-an-order-from-a-shady-website/507235/9 "2009-08-21T22:16:05Z")
Just because you paid with a debit card with a Visa logo does not mean it counts as a credit card. The charge has to be put through. They can put it through as a debit charge or a credit charge, depending on how the website is structured. A “Shady” website is more apt to process charges as debit, even if you aren’t aware of it. If you had to three digit code on the back of your credit card you probably paid with the card as a credit card. I say “probably” because if the site is truly “shady” then they’ll work around a way to charge your card. For extra protection you may want to call your company and say you “lost” the card and want a new number. That way that site no longer has your card number ---
**Author:** ![ChadVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ba0ec/32.png) [@ChadVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChadVader)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-cancel-an-order-from-a-shady-website/507235/10 "2009-08-21T22:27:45Z")
I went to my account history at the BoA website. It shows a few charges as “Pending”. Is this the same thing as a temporary authorization? Anyway, no precious bedding charges are shown. And yes I checked by the dollar amount incase they’re shown as a different company. ---
**Author:** ![IAmNotSpartacus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@IAmNotSpartacus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IAmNotSpartacus)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-cancel-an-order-from-a-shady-website/507235/11 "2009-08-22T10:50:14Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](#): > > Sorry, this is completely incorrect. Per Visa’s Rules for Merchants - [http://usa.visa.com/download/merchants/rules\_for\_visa\_merchants.pdf](http://usa.visa.com/download/merchants/rules_for_visa_merchants.pdf) While it might be incorrect, if you are going to cite Visa’s rules for merchants you might as well actually cite the merchant agreement, and not the chargeback guide. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-cancel-an-order-from-a-shady-website/507235/12 "2009-08-23T14:16:03Z")
Close your bank account, switch it over to new number, immediately. Voila, problem solved. Of course I don’t know how complicated your banking is, mine’s real simple so this would be the easiest thing to do, by far. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-cancel-an-order-from-a-shady-website/507235/13 "2009-08-23T15:14:36Z")
Huh, Amazon always makes it sound like something special that only they do, that they don’t charge a card until merchandise ships. I hadn’t realized they were just following the same rules as everyone else. ---
**Author:** ![IAmNotSpartacus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@IAmNotSpartacus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IAmNotSpartacus)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-cancel-an-order-from-a-shady-website/507235/14 "2009-08-24T01:05:48Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](#): > > Sorry, this is completely incorrect. Per Visa’s Rules for Merchants - [http://usa.visa.com/download/merchants/rules\_for\_visa\_merchants.pdf](http://usa.visa.com/download/merchants/rules_for_visa_merchants.pdf) > [@IAmNotSpartacus](#): > > While it might be incorrect, if you are going to cite Visa’s rules for merchants you might as well actually cite the merchant agreement, and not the chargeback guide. Having done some more research and reading the actual merchant rules and regulations, it appears you’re incorrect. Merchants are free to process pre-paid transactions where the customer has consented to the pre-payment at the time of billing. Sez Visa (section 5.2.O.1.e): “The Merchant may deposit a prepayment, within the time limits specified in Section 5.2.O.2, if the Merchant advises the Cardholder of the immediate billing at thetime of the Transaction, for: • Prepayment of services, excluding estimates for services to be provided, and • Full prepayment of custom-ordered merchandise, manufactured to the Cardholder’s specifications” Cite: [http://usa.visa.com/download/merchants/visa-usa-operating-regulations.pdf](http://usa.visa.com/download/merchants/visa-usa-operating-regulations.pdf) Additionally the merchant is free to require a deposit prior to processing the customer’s order and may process that deposit transaction, I find nothing in the manual saying the merchant can’t collect a 100% deposit.