BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

I have worked for companies that will receive invoices at the beginning of the month, escrow the money in a separate account, then use it to buy short term bonds or CD's (yes, there are 15 day CD's). When the CD matures, the original amount is returned to the escrow fund, but the interest goes into the general or targeted accounts. Now, if you or I did that, the interest might be $0.0001; but if a multimillion dollar does it, the interest can be substantial. Our company would send our payments on the 28th of the month to avoid penalties. They are more cautious now since the city services bills from many communities are due within 15 days with a 100% late penalty. I worked for this company for 26 years as a mid-level executive and had to field the calls from creditors; when I finally found out the truth, I began to explain it to the people who called, thus directing the calls to the proper office, the corporate accounts payable department. My supervisor told me that the process was learned from a foundation member who was a national vice-president for a major banking corporation. The down side was that many companies refused to do business, making it necessary for us to do business with unreliable suppliers and poor quality contractors. Fourteen years after my retirement, they're still pulling the same crap!

stuart416

I haven't had this particular problem, but they have a ridiculously slow method for vetting orders. I had purchased a body and lens and they wasted a week for me with their nonsense. Frankly, I would rather buy from Amazon Prime.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

The only "facts" we have are what courts would call "hearsay" - dependent on what OP heard.

It is now 8:30pm in NYC and 5:30PM in LA. Surely the OP has had time to make some kind of contact with someone with authority at Canon. I am extremely surprised that we have heard nothing. We should probably stop commenting until we do hear something.

Bill_de Loc: US

The people in authority are enjoying a long holiday weekend. Tuesday morning they will come to work, have coffee and then take a look to see what happened over the weekend.

--

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

I ordered a refurb EOS80D on 8/4/2017, a Friday, and got an immediate order confirmation. It shipped on 8/7/2017, the next business day, it was delivered on schedule on 8/14/2017. Communication was good, product just as expected. I didn't mind waiting a week for UPS ground for a 30% discount over the new price. Amazon is certainly good, but not always perfect either. By the time the camera arrived I had the battery grip from B&H and two spare batteries from Amazon which were fully charged and ready when the camera landed. Nothing to complain about. There will always be anecdotal stories, and always things that do not go perfectly.

Some people just have unrealistic expectations.

Haydon

It's human nature to respond to the negative and not comment to the positive. Just look at the evening news :)

RRS Loc: Not sure

I try not to do that anymore, it can ruin a perfectly good day!

NormanTheGr8 Loc: Racine, Wisconsin

When they did this to me I did get a free wireless remote out of it (not worth the headaches)
Than last winter they .They I had problems with them again .I am done dealing with Canon Direct and their customerdisservice

Japakomom Loc: Originally from the Last Frontier

It would have been nice if the OP would have come back to share an update as to the end result with Canon.

ejones0310 Loc: Tulsa, OK

I had a similar problem with Canon. I set up a PayPal account to take advantage of their 12 month no interest program. The problem was that I could never get Canon to take the PayPal account. So I switched to the Discover card and a similar thing happened. I called Canon and they looked at the order and said Discover was returning a bad billing address flag. So, I called Discover and they said the charge had been approved. So, I switched to my Credit Union Visa and the charge went right through. I still don't know what the problem was.

Haydon

Probably the problem is solved and he felt no need to rant further or explain himself. The is the typical MO in these scenarios. I've noticed this pattern.



Great quote to use rehess.



Wise choice RRS :)

Here's my quote that the many naysayers should read "Fix the problem not the blame." Ranting solves little except devaluation of oneself.

whitewolfowner

Perhaps some day you will come to comprehend what I said.

TMcL

UPDATE: I called Canon this morning and once again asked why my order had been cancelled. Once again they did not offer any explanation. I asked to speak with the fraud department, but the sales rep said it would be better to simply place a new order. She assured me that since she was going to enter the order manually, as opposed to putting it through the automated system, it would not be cancelled.

Even though I had spoken with a representative and provided all the information that was asked of me, I received a voice mail message a few hours later asking me to call Canon. For some reason they wanted me to re-verify my name, address, credit card information, etc. Apparently this was a different division within Canon. I checked my bank account online, and at this point Canon had placed two "pending transactions" of $3k each on my credit card; meaning my available credit had been reduced by $6k. I asked what they needed to verify, since the bank had apparently approved both transactions, and they already had all the information they needed to do whatever verification they needed to do. All they said was that they could not process my order without me giving them the same information once again. I spoke with two levels of supervisors. Same answer. I asked if I could speak with someone who was empowered to make an informed decision based on the specifics. They said no one could make any exceptions. I spent a lot of time on hold and being shuffled between departments. Not only were they not helpful, they were rude.

The person who took my order in the morning had told me that the camera would ship that day (Friday), since their cut-off time for same day shipping was 12:30 PM. Since it was now about 2 PM, I asked if the re-verification would be done in time to ship the camera on Friday. They said they could not guarantee it; and that since Monday is a holiday, it would likely ship next Tuesday.

At this point I thanked them for their time, and called Adorama to place my order. In the process I saved about $200 in sales taxes, so I decided to get a spare battery for the new camera! A couple of hours later I received a tracking number.

Interestingly, as of right now (early Saturday morning), Canon has still blocked $6k on my credit card.

I've tried to present just the facts, without offering any opinions. I am beyond disappointed with Canon.

Haydon

I wonder what their side of the story is?

Unfortunately, we'll never know....

skippix Loc: Central Virginia

Just a few thoughts

* Depending on the dollar value of the sale, Canon USA verifies their sales over the phone. They will call and if they do not reach you, they will leave a message for you to call them back. If you don't call back, they will cancel the order.

* The number for Canon USA's verification department is 866-510-1342. It is a very small department (less than 7 people) and they work normal hours, M-F. They are committed to Canon and Canon customers and will do everything they can to make things right. Just be patient and don't take out your frustrations on them. Also, while they can and will assist you, they do not have all the answers about what your bank is doing and why your bank is doing it.

* Know your daily credit limit, especially if you are paying with a debit card. If your order exceeds your limit, it will get cancelled, or your order maybe automatically/algorithmic-ally modified to stay within your daily limit (and if this happens, do not attempt to make another order on the same day without consulting your bank first.).

* Make sure your billing information matches your banking information EXACTLY. If anything - ANYTHING - is off, your order will be cancelled.

* If you receive a fraud detection alert from your bank, it doesn't matter if you approve it, Canon will have already received a rejection from your bank and your order will have been cancelled. You need to contact your bank's fraud prevention department and get a preauthorization for the transaction.

* If your order is cancelled, it will have to be resubmitted. Sometimes it is easier to order over the phone and let someone else do the typing. It is rare with larger, established companies that they have "internet only" pricing.

As for Amazon, be very, very, very careful when spending any amount of money you deem significant: https://petapixel.com/2017/08/11/fell-victim-1500-used-camera-lens-scam-amazon/

I recommend buying gear from brick and mortar companies, keh.com, or individuals I either know or can meet face-to-face.

In the end, you are better off being put off than ripped off...

Of course, though, YMMV ;-)