I think Microsoft stole $1000 from me

[jamesk]

Calm down...

That's how my account looked like when I did an advance exchage. The Credit (amount with brackets) was charged first, then the charge without brackets was charged next. Nothing was ever charged to my card. It only showed in my MS account.

Does your credit card show an actual charge?

I have a business and we handle authorizations the same way. Most businesses will not actually charge your card, then place a credit/refund on your card later because all those charges and refunds have fees. They will be loosing lots of money by charging and refunding everyone that sends in units for advance exchanges. The amount just shows up as an "authorization" which is kind of like a deposit but authorizations do not show on your statement either unless there is an actual "charge". Authorizations can be seen in your online credit card account under "pending charges/transactions" but those fall off on their own if the store/business does not turn the authorization into an actual charge within a number of days.

All those fees are avoided by the way MS handled your account. So there really is no actual "Charge" you will be seeing on your credit card statement unless they charge you for not receiving your defective unit.

Unless you are seeing an actual charge on your credit card statement, not MS account. There is no reason to be worried.

 

[Garfield]

I made the same experience as jamesk: Microsoft only checked if your credit card "could be charged" with the amount. I saw this bookings only within my Microsoft account and never on my credit card.

So don't worry - everything seems to be OK.

Good luck,
Robert.

 

[CrippsCorner]

No. I need to go to the UPS store and ask them to look it up for me.

edit: but unless they took the China route from Canada -> China -> Canada I have a hard time believing it took 2 months.

Sometimes things get lost... and re-found? I work at a hospital and a delivery company actually managed to lose an entire X-ray tube

macmee, all I can offer you is a hug, your luck sucks lol.

 

[kristalsoldier]

Sometimes things get lost... and re-found? I work at a hospital and a delivery company actually managed to lose an entire X-ray tube

macmee, all I can offer you is a hug, your luck sucks lol.

Well, legend goes that the American troops in Vietnam "lost" over 500 tons of ammunition and weapons, which were never found. Some have claimed that the NVA found the stash and appropriated it with a large part of it going to the Chinese (and ultimately Soviet) military. Similarly, when Marcos was overthrown, it is alleged that over 100 tons of gold bars was "lost" and was never found. Ever since then, there have been periodic attempts to "find" and "recover" that treasure but with no success. Even Imelda Marcos' alleged wealth cannot account for that large amount of gold. Lastly, apparently in 1945, when Subhas Bose (one of India's fiery Independence leaders) was allegedly killed in an air crash in Taiwan, he was said to be carrying a large amount of gold (the word "treasure" is often used) gifted to him by Indians living in Burma and Singapore which disappeared post the air crash. That too has never been found.

So much for the history lesson for the week!

 

[Nuspieds]

When I did an Advanced Exchange earlier this year, I had nothing but praise for MS Support. It happened at an awkward time (my SP2 crashed late Sunday night before an early-morning business trip across the country), but first thing in the morning when Support was open, at the airport (just before my flight boarded) I called Support about my issue and I was given a Case Number.

Six hours later when I landed, I called back, gave my Case Number and they were on top of the situation. They worked very hard to find a store to do an over-the-counter exchange (because I was travelling back home on Friday and there were severe weather issues that were hampering quick shipment to my hotel). We couldn't find a store with stock so I decided to chance it and went about requesting the Advanced Exchange, so I ended up having that $1,000 hold placed on my credit card.

On Tuesday, the original Support agent contacted me and he did another search for a store with stock and this time we got lucky. I was able to do the over-the-counter exchange and I specifically asked about the hold--especially since MS had already processed the order to ship me a replacement SP2. He said that once I returned the SP2 that they would release the hold and that in 1-2 business days, it should disappear from my credit card; if not, then I should contact my credit card company.

Surely enough, after they received the return-to-sender SP2 shipment, the hold was removed within the 1-2 business days.

The important thing, though, is that I was given a Case Number and each time I called back, I always spoke with someone who never dismissed me or my queries.