Be very careful when shopping on Catch with gift cards

LRoujuzi on 23/06/2021 - 16:28
Last edited 23/06/2021 - 17:17

I wish to share my nightmare experience with catch.com.au so fellow members can be careful in he future to avoid getting into my situation.

I was looking for a new Dyson vacuum because my old V6 is not good enough. So I saw v10 deal of $719 on Amazon on 21 June. I have been a loyal Catch customer for years, so I checked on catch and found a better deal at $599 + $10 shipping. To get some extra savings, I purchased gift card via Suncorp to pay for the deal.

I thought I got a good deal, but more than 24 hours later order was cancelled and I was refunded $609 store credit because I used gift card to pay for the deal. They cancelled it due to out of stock (says so in the email), but I can still see the vacuum in stock on catch at higher price.

So I called catch and they told me seller Bing Lee cancelled my order now it is seller Dyson selling at higher price so I’m not getting my order fulfilled. Then I requested to have money refunded instead of store credit. After multiple calls and emails, they refused refund into my bank account, so I’m now stuck with $609 store credit, no vacuum and no money.

In the email, they also mentioned it was due to pricing error (previously was out of stock), and I have to withstand the consequences because they have the right to cancel under clause xxx. Store credit is the only thing they are willing to issue because I paid with gift card. This is disgusting experience from a dishonorable online platform. I never want to shop with catch again but what happens to the $609 store credit? Of course it will expire if I don’t use them.

Edit: it looks like everyone thought this is normal practice. I felt it was unacceptable because service provided by other retailers to me were too good so far. If it was a pricing error, they could have cancelled it earlier and apologize for the pricing error. So I have chance to get other deal. Instead they cancelled after 24 hours past and did so without any communication but a cancellation email. Anyway they told me out of stock initially and the last email revealed it was a pricing error. So lessons learnt, don’t use gift cards to pay for expensive goods.

General Discussion

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Catch.com.au
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Comments

  • Archi on 23/06/2021 - 16:32
    +1

    are you sure you purchased a V10 thats seems oddly cheap

    • hamza23 on 23/06/2021 - 16:34
      +2

      Sounds like another Bing Lee price error item that got cancelled:

      https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/632650
      https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/632657
      https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/632635

    • Roujuzi on 23/06/2021 - 16:54
      +1

      Yes I trusted catch because I have been using them for many years, and now they blame bing lee for canceling the order. I did not know there was a difference I thought I’m purchasing from Catch.

      • ChipsChicky on 23/06/2021 - 17:07
        +3

        Catch sells on thr own and they have a Marketplace which is used by Sellers like binglee etc. Seems you placed order on marketplace, not Catch.

        I wont consider it as a mistake of Catch as I used it for a month in may and learnt this in first few days. This solely seems to be your negligence. Moreover, never buy expensive items from marketplace (catch) or anywhere on Kogan via giftcards (was stuck with kogan when they cancelled my dreame d9 order purchased via gift cards)

  • mskeggs on 23/06/2021 - 16:37
    +11

    I assume you paid via gift card to save a few percent via one of the discount sellers?
    Unfortunately, you took the risk buy the gift card, and that purchase was fine - you got your card etc.

    I suppose if you make enough of a fuss they might refund you, but I don't think they have any obligation to do so.

  • WreckTangle on 23/06/2021 - 16:38
    +4

    You you had a $609 gift card for Catch and now have $609 credit for Catch. How is that different?

    • ashm on 23/06/2021 - 16:44
      +2

      I think gift cards have 3 years expiry where as store credit just 1 year.

      I been in this situation n ended up buying something else.

    • Roujuzi on 23/06/2021 - 16:56

      I wouldn’t purchase that much gift card if it wasn’t for the deal, I could spend the money on Amazon or JB hi fi but now I’m stuck with catch store credit. I even checked on oz bargain and I saw v10 sold for $597 so I never doubted it was a pricing error, I thought it was a good deal.

      • lgacb08 on 23/06/2021 - 21:26
        +4

        that's the risk you take with giftcard, just bite the bullet and move on. This's not solely an issue with catch but with any other retailers. Your title should be 'be very careful when shopping with giftcar at ANY retailer'

        • Roujuzi on 24/06/2021 - 00:33

          I have seen many retailers honour pricing error. When your order doesn’t get cancelled because of this, there is not much to be worried about if you pay with gift card. In my case, I didn’t know it was a pricing error when I purchased it, I only felt it was a very good price. If you search for V10 on OZB, you will see similar price in the past. Also, they cancelled without any communication, just a plain email “your order was cancelled”, which made me feel uncomfortable and they were inconsistent, initially saying out of stock, when I called I was told bing Lee did not want to honour the deal, later told me it was a technical issue causing pricing error. So every customer support has a different story for me. I’m not only angry because of I’m stuck with their store credit, I’m also disappointed it took so long for them to notify me of their error, I could have purchased from another retailer but I missed out the deal by the time they cancelled my order.

          • shaughan12 on 24/06/2021 - 21:24
            +1

            @Roujuzi: I know it is a pain in the ass but assuming it was obvious Bing Lee was selling through the Marketplace (I have used Catch on occasion and it is usually clear when it is a retailer) I would have contacted Bing Lee direct and asked if they would price match their Catch price and then purchased through them. I know this is hindsight but is the benefit of bricks & Mortar establishments. I always get bad service ordering items through the marketplace on Catch as they take the money but it is still the retailer handling the order and they talk to each other rather poorly.

      • magic8ballgag on 24/06/2021 - 08:58

        Your situation is no different from the product suddenly being made unavailable after purchasing the gift cards, you aren't guaranteed a sale.

  • dharm67 on 23/06/2021 - 16:38
    -4

    hi ,,,

    may thats the reason thay call CATCH to catch you…

    have try to look on this web site??

    https://www.appliancesonline.com.au/

    i love this people ,, good service and alwayes good price

  • Xyzzy on 23/06/2021 - 16:39
    +4

    Not getting cash refunds for gift cards is pretty much a given.

    Gift cards can’t usually be exchanged for cash, unless there is a remaining amount on the card that the business believes can’t be conveniently used.

    https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/advertising-promotions/gif…

    The business cancelling the order due to lack of stock or price error is fairly normal, if somewhat frustrating, behaviour too.

  • djkelly69 on 23/06/2021 - 16:40

    Not that I really want to defend Catch, but:

    1. Cancelling for price error or no stock is not uncommon and is presumably allowed under their terms (as with all online shops).
    2. Pretty sure most places will only refund to credit/gift card if you pay with credit/gift card, regardless of the reason for the cancelled order.
  • orangetrain on 23/06/2021 - 16:46

    Catch is laughing at catching another giftcard user.

    The law is heavily stacked in company's favour with gift cards in the name of AML. You're SOL.

  • dmbminaret on 23/06/2021 - 16:47

    To get some extra savings, I purchased gift card via Suncorp to pay for the deal.

    This is where you came unstuck. Lesson learnt?

    • Roujuzi on 23/06/2021 - 16:58

      Yea lessons learnt. Hope others don’t get caught.

  • dmbminaret on 23/06/2021 - 16:49

    Be very careful when shopping on Catch

    Should read:
    Be very careful when shopping on Catch with gift cards

    I purchased a 82" TV that never got delivered. They refunded my afterpay payment through afterpay.

  • brendanm on 23/06/2021 - 16:55
    +3

    Sounds relatively legitimate. Price errors don't have to be honoured. Refunds only have to be given in the same manner that you paid.

    You made the choice to buy the gift cards, that's why you get the same back. Just one of the reasons I don't use gift cards.

  • CyberMurning on 23/06/2021 - 16:56
    +7

    "I have been a loyal Catch customer for years,"
    so you can stay with them for another years and finish the gift card.

    end of story.

  • spackbace on 23/06/2021 - 17:03
    +4

    Refund via the same payment is not only expected, it's also written into ACL.

    This isn't a Catch problem, and in this instance they don't deserve a public warning

  • jjjaar on 23/06/2021 - 17:20
    +5

    I have on several occasions opted not to get a discounted gift card for fear of something like this happening. You took a chance to save some more money and it didn’t pay off.

  • xabiso on 23/06/2021 - 17:23
    +1

    You'll be in a similar situation if between the time you receive your gift cards and confirming the purchase - the item becomes out of stock. It's a risk you have to bear with gift cards - the larger the cost of the item the bigger the risk.

    I know it is painful but do know that over time those who take advantage of gift card savings are better off than those who don't. You might find something you like from catch as a loyal customer.

    2%-10% discounts are amazing so keep doing it and take some risk. Some ppl just don't know how hard it is to consistently earn 2-10% from investing/fix deposits.

    My wife bought Catch gift card thinking we can use it for Catch Connect 365 days subscription - we ended up grabbing something else.

    • eyebrows7 on 23/06/2021 - 19:46

      Off the top of my head, I recall you can use catch gift cards for catch connect, provided you buy your sim plan through catch.com.au instead of catchconnect.com.au. Ive done it myself in the past. Unless of course they've changed that recently.

  • garetz on 23/06/2021 - 17:48
    +1

    That's the problem with gift cards, that is the risk you take.

  • godofpizza on 23/06/2021 - 18:39

    gift cards are risky, you played their game and lost.

  • ihbh on 23/06/2021 - 19:36

    Did you not know that you get refunded to your method of payment.

    Look at it from the retailer's perspective. If you had paid say $90 for a $100 Catch gift card and used it to buy price errors or whatever, you could profit $10 if they credited it back to your bank account/credit card. Scale up and you're set. Unfortunately computer says no.

    • Roujuzi on 23/06/2021 - 19:47

      I didn’t request for $609 cash payment I was just trying to get what I paid, at 6% off. But anyway I now know that is just impossible, and it is my risk to bear when paying with gift card. The retailer did the right thing, all actions were lawful. But I will stay away from catch after I finish these store credit, I can spend my money at those retailers who offer better service to me consistently.

      • Ughhh on 23/06/2021 - 22:27
        +1

        You'll find most if not all, businesss' will only refund to original payment method for security reasons.

        The gift card purchase transaction is not related to the purchase of the Dyson. Your Intentions/plan etc doesn't matter.

  • Neoika on 23/06/2021 - 19:51

    Kogan has the same practice.

    • WoodYouLikeSomeCash on 23/06/2021 - 22:03

      Every company is, it’s written under the ACL that it goes back to same payment method. This isn’t Catch’s fault, it’s user error.

  • ronnknee on 24/06/2021 - 09:45
    +2

    You're unlikely to get a refund through bank transfer or credit card since you paid by gift card. You can try pushing them to issue you a gift card of that amount and not store credit, since that was your method of payment.

  • bamzero on 24/06/2021 - 11:58

    You can't expect cash back for gift cards.

    However issuing store credit instead of the original payment method is pretty dirty.

    I can't find a definitive answer on whether gift cards need to be refunded as gift cards in the case of failure to supply, I'd suggest a call to ACCC but it's something I'd definitely be pushing for.

    At least you can sell the gift cards (hopefully next post isn't "Sold my gift cards, got scammed)

    • Roujuzi on 24/06/2021 - 19:23

      Haha, I’m actually worried to be scammed for selling gift cards (never done it before), so I’m not wasting my time pushing for gift card. Thanks for your advise though! I browsed catch for hours last night and have my eyes on a few toys and will use the store credit to purchase when the price is better. Once I finish the store credit I will spend my money elsewhere in the future.

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