Fingerpointing Again

Here we go again, the fun of trying to deal with organisations that just blame each other instead of resolving issues.

 

I ordered a DVD recently from Bol.com ("the biggest mediashop in the Netherlands"). My purchases from them are charged to my American Express card.

 

I noticed when the charge came through on the last statement that it had been charged, not in Euros, but in Singapore dollars. Odd, thought I. Particularly since the original invoice from Bol.com was in Euros. And it meant that I ended up paying more than the amount shown on the original invoice.  

 

So I rang American Express… "Oh yes, sir, Bol submitted the charge in Singapore dollars – we suggest that you contact them to find out why they did that".

 

So I rang Bol.com… "But sir, our Finance department records show that we have only received the original Euro amount from your credit card company. We don’t know why you have been charged extra, perhaps it is commission costs from your credit card company. We suggest that you contact them to find out why they did that".

 

Aaaarrrggghhh!!!

 

Still, this particular cloud does seem to have a silver lining. I sent an email back to Bol.com expressing my frustration at the situation(!) and they have just sent me a coupon that covers the cost difference. No word of an explanation though. My nasty suspicious mind is thinking that perhaps someone inside Bol has got a nice little scam going on. It may be only a few cents on each transaction, but spread over enough customers and enough purchases, and it could add up to a tidy sum. On the other hand, it might have been just a single mistake at the keyboard. I guess I’ll never know.