I needed a laptop quickly and don’t have much room on my credit card. I knew they had a Toshiba for around 600 after rebates and that was fine with me.
The local store had 0 in stock but one about 25 miles away had stock.
I placed an order online using my new Exxon/Mobile MasterCard (by Citibank) and waited until I got off work to pick it up.
Five and a half hours later I’m off work and on my way to get the laptop. I get to Office Depot and explain to the one person working the register that I am there to pick up my online order. She goes to look for the manager and then has a conversation with the manager,
The manager then proceeds to give the the come over here signal with her finger. I’m thinking she doesn’t have the courtsey to come over to me so I walk over to her. This is when I’m informed they were told not to let me have the lamptop because the order set off red flags. I’m thinking to myself what the fuck? Ok I only used this card prior to buy gas maybe the credit card company put a flag for me to verify the purchase.
I use the house phone to call the credit card company and they tell me they approved the charge and there is no problem. I put the manager back on the phone and she tells them that they did not get an approval. Credit Card Rep then tries to giver her a manual approval to enter in the system but she is too brain dead to figure out how to do that. CC Rep apoligizes to me and they will cancel the hold and I can re-buy it the next day. I have to do this because I don’t have a high enough limit to buy two laptops.
The next day it snows and because I have classes that at that time were not canceled I had to take time off from work to drive through the snow 25 miles again to buy the laptop. I checked my balance online and there was enough money. At the store I speak to the same mananger who has them get a system out of the back. It wasn’t even being held like she said it would be.
I ask her can she give me a discount on a laptop bag for the inconvience they caused seeing as how it was Office Depot that did not approve the purchase not my CC provider and she said I would have to take it up with the main manager. I charged the laptop and went home.
The next night I get a call from the main manager telling me the charge went through and I can pick up the laptop. I tell him I already have the laptop I bought it on Thursday and he is confuced because they just got an authroization on it. I know that will put me over my limit so I’m pissed. I tell him I want them to cancel the charge because it will put me over the limit. I don’t even talk to him about a discounted bag because now I want more,
After getting off the phone with him I call my CC provider and they don’t see the new auth so I don’t think I have toworry about going over the limit.
I wrote Office Depot requesting the following
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That they train their employees on how to enter a manual auth. I’m sure at times their CC reader is down and it has to be phoned in
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The $30.00 off $150.00 coupon i original used and lose because it was online only and not valid in stores applied to my credit card or in the form of an Office Depot Gift Card
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A laptop bag sold at their cost.
