About pre-order credit card charge

Was anyone else charged the whole amount for the PS3 Collector's Edition pre-order?

I was charged the whole amount directly to my credit card shortly after I pre-ordered. I thought they only charged you after they shipped...

Now I tried to cancel it so I can get it at a Canadian store, so I don't have to pay custom fees, but it said "No Refund Required. You have requested this order be cancelled. Because you have not yet submitted payment for this order, a refund is not needed. When the remaining items in your order are fulfilled, you will be billed for those items."

Basically, I'm kind of scared I won't get refunded. Just wondering if anyone else was charged the whole amount when they ordered.

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Originally Posted by Zelas

Was anyone else charged the whole amount for the PS3 Collector's Edition pre-order?

I was charged the whole amount directly to my credit card shortly after I pre-ordered. I thought they only charged you after they shipped...

Now I tried to cancel it so I can get it at a Canadian store, so I don't have to pay custom fees, but it said "No Refund Required. You have requested this order be cancelled. Because you have not yet submitted payment for this order, a refund is not needed. When the remaining items in your order are fulfilled, you will be billed for those items."

Basically, I'm kind of scared I won't get refunded. Just wondering if anyone else was charged the whole amount when they ordered.

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Where did you pre-order it from?

SE Store?
Amazon?

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Originally Posted by Lucke

Where did you pre-order it from?

SE Store?
Amazon?

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SE Store.

Sorry, forgot to mention. :B

It's also my first experience ordering anything on the SE Store so I'm not certain how they work.

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Originally Posted by Zelas

SE Store.

Sorry, forgot to mention. :B

It's also my first experience ordering anything on the SE Store so I'm not certain how they work.

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Not 100% sure, but you should have received your bonus codes (Early release and in game items). You were charged right away so you couldn't keep the code and cancel your pre-order screwing SE out of money (Getting the CE bonus for free).

Well, that's a possibility, but a pretty stupid one in my opinion. I didn't use their code, and I'm not planning to use it, since I'll be getting one from EB Games anyway. Why should someone be penalized for their decision to give out these codes early? A decision that not only doesn't make sense, but that is also not mentioned anywhere, before you pre-order. Nor do they mention anywhere that if you pre-order on their site, you can't turn back.

It would make a lot more sense if the codes weren't given until they were redeemable in the first place (they aren't yet, as far as I understand).

Still, if you ask to cancel, they should in theory refund you and invalidate the codes given.

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Was anyone else charged the whole amount for the PS3 Collector's Edition pre-order?

I was charged the whole amount directly to my credit card shortly after I pre-ordered. I thought they only charged you after they shipped...

Now I tried to cancel it so I can get it at a Canadian store, so I don't have to pay custom fees, but it said "No Refund Required. You have requested this order be cancelled. Because you have not yet submitted payment for this order, a refund is not needed. When the remaining items in your order are fulfilled, you will be billed for those items."

Basically, I'm kind of scared I won't get refunded. Just wondering if anyone else was charged the whole amount when they ordered.

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Reading your post again, odds are the "charge" on your card was simply a pre-authorization, not an actual charge (this is common practice when making certain purchases that can be for services yet to be rendered or of an uncertain amount) to ensure that your card can cover the amount. If you cancel the order, the pre-authorization should be removed and your avialable balance should return to the amount it was previously.

This is somewhat unusual for a preorder, but it is very common for things like paying for gas or dining at a restaurant with a debit card. Your card gets a pre-authorization for an amount that is certain to cover what you're purchasing (often at the gas pump this amount can be very high, like $100 or more; at a restaurant, the pre-authorization is for the amount of your bill plus an assumed gratuity), then after the retailer provides the actual amount (the actual gas purchase / the actual bill+tip you chose to give), the difference is returned to the card. But sometimes this can take a while to be reflected on your card, tying up the funds.

TL;DR: If you cancelled your order, then the amount charged should disappear from your account within a span of some days. If it still isn't gone after like a week, you should contact them by whatever means possible right away. I experienced this with Digial River a long time ago when I purchased a copy of Windows from microsoft's marketplace (which is no longer in existence). I had cancelled my order and the amount charged to my card took a long time to disappear, during which time I made a complaint and they told me what I'm telling you now.

(Digital River stinks hardcore)

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Originally Posted by Alhanelem

It would make a lot more sense if the codes weren't given until they were redeemable in the first place (they aren't yet, as far as I understand).

Still, if you ask to cancel, they should in theory refund you and invalidate the codes given.

Reading your post again, odds are the "charge" on your card was simply a pre-authorization, not an actual charge (this is common practice when making certain purchases that can be for services yet to be rendered or of an uncertain amount) to ensure that your card can cover the amount. If you cancel the order, the pre-authorization should be removed and your avialable balance should return to the amount it was previously.

This is somewhat unusual for a preorder, but it is very common for things like paying for gas or dining at a restaurant with a debit card. Your card gets a pre-authorization for an amount that is certain to cover what you're purchasing (often at the gas pump this amount can be very high, like $100 or more; at a restaurant, the pre-authorization is for the amount of your bill plus an assumed gratuity), then after the retailer provides the actual amount (the actual gas purchase / the actual bill+tip you chose to give), the difference is returned to the card. But sometimes this can take a while to be reflected on your card, tying up the funds.

TL;DR: If you cancelled your order, then the amount charged should disappear from your account within a span of some days. If it still isn't gone after like a week, you should contact them by whatever means possible right away.

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Thanks for the info. I'll keep an eye on it. It's only been a few days, and it was the week end as well, so I guess it would be normal for it not to be gone yet.

Like I said, I'm unfamiliar with how Square Enix works with its store, since I never ordered from them. :P I guess I learned something new.

i called digiriver to cancel so i can order at amazon and they told me they they dont charge till it ships it is just a temporary hold as i hope this is the case or my bank account will bounce lol.

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Originally Posted by Notredamefan23

i called digiriver to cancel so i can order at amazon and they told me they they dont charge till it ships it is just a temporary hold as i hope this is the case or my bank account will bounce lol.

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If that's the case then Digital River has changed the way they handle orders (for the better). They've always immediately charged credit cards for pre-orders. I've run into this a few times from them.

the pre auth charge came off my account this morning so what they told me should indeed be the case even though i canceld just to be sure and ordered at amazon.

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Originally Posted by Zelas

Well, that's a possibility, but a pretty stupid one in my opinion. I didn't use their code, and I'm not planning to use it, since I'll be getting one from EB Games anyway. Why should someone be penalized for their decision to give out these codes early? A decision that not only doesn't make sense, but that is also not mentioned anywhere, before you pre-order. Nor do they mention anywhere that if you pre-order on their site, you can't turn back.

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If you didn't want to spend the money, why did you try to buy it? They have no way of knowing you 'won't use the code'. If you didn't want to pre-order it from SE, you shouldn't have pre-ordered it from SE.

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Originally Posted by Notredamefan23

the pre auth charge came off my account this morning so what they told me should indeed be the case even though i canceld just to be sure and ordered at amazon.

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It didn't come off mine yet, but I'm hoping it will soon. :V

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Originally Posted by Punainen

If you didn't want to spend the money, why did you try to buy it? They have no way of knowing you 'won't use the code'. If you didn't want to pre-order it from SE, you shouldn't have pre-ordered it from SE.

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Oh come on. Don't be an ass. I had no way of knowing for sure it would be available elsewhere at the time, and they stated on the page that it was made in limited quantities. I just ordered it there to be safe.

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Originally Posted by Punainen

If you didn't want to spend the money, why did you try to buy it? They have no way of knowing you 'won't use the code'. If you didn't want to pre-order it from SE, you shouldn't have pre-ordered it from SE.

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Most places you pre-order from, at least here in the states, either don't charge at all til it ships or only charge a small fee up front, usually if you go to a brick and mortar store at that.