Buyer Beware

[Bobbisox1]

My friend saw something her grandchildren could play together on Christmas Day, the ad was on FB although it was for Smyths Toystore , she clicked on the link and it took her to Smyths, she ordered the toy ( Table Hockey) , immediately she was rang and text by her bank( Lloyds)with a possible fraud alert,the Smthys transaction was kosher but there was also a charge of £.87,looking like £87 till she saw the decimal point after the £sign, against it were the initials fb, apparently they charge if you order from their website ,happily the bank moved swiftly and blocked the 87p transaction

[Zacs-Master]

I wouldn't but anything off Facebook.

[Bobbisox1]

Me either Zac , I’m sick of telling her

[Old_Geezer]

You save them moving goods from warehouse to shop, and they charge you for allowing them that benefit ? Doesn't sound a company one would wish to trade with under any circumstances.

[Meaghan27]

Why would the bank block the 0.87p transaction if it were a legitimate charge? I buy herbal supplements from the EU and my bank (Lloyds) charges an international transaction fee. I presume this 87p charge was a similar fee?

[Zacs-Master]

'I’m sick of telling her'

A fool and their money...............

[Canary42]

..... and how much will the bank charge for blocking the apparently non-fraudulent payment (they charge for stopping a cheque). More than 97p possibly. I hope they don't, but good luck.

[Meaghan27]

Smyths will probably not honour the order either if part payment has been stopped.

[Zacs-Master]

'(they charge for stopping a cheque)'

Ahhh, cheques. I remember them!

[Bobbisox1]

They applied no charges, she had her parcel delivered today , happy ending

[THECORBYLOON]

I read there is a Facebook Pay system and they make a temporary charge just to make sure the card is valid.

The same happens if I pay for petrol at the pump. After putting in my debit card and PIN, a £1 deduction is made to validate the card and that shows on my account as pending for a few day but it is never deducted.

The charge of 87p is an odd amount so it might be the sterling equivalent of whatever it is in dollars or cents.

[Bobbisox1]

Thanks Corby, that makes sense

[Buenchico]

I've ordered plenty of stuff directly from Smyth's website, without any extra charge. Oddly, I can't find anything online about additional charges when accessing the site via Facebook. (Even if Smyths weren't very open about their policy, I would have expected to see posts from other people complaining about it). Smyth's definitely use a Facebook tracking cookie on their website though:
https://postimg.cc/7Gckq9KP

My only problem ordering online with Smyths has been when I've used their click-&-collect service and been misled by a text stating "Your order is now ready for collection". I'd ordered a product which required batteries, plus the batteries to go with it. I got both an email and a text advising me that I could collect my order and therefore didn't bother to open the email, assuming that they both contained the same information. If I'd have opened the email, I'd have seen that (contrary to the information on the store's website) the product was out of stock and therefore that the only things awaiting collection by me were the batteries for it. (The text failed to mention that!). So I had a wasted journey.

Sadly now though, with the youngest recipient of presents from me about to become a teenager very soon, I'll now no longer have an excuse to buy all of the toys that I would loved to have had myself :(

[Bobbisox1]

Chris she ordered only on Tuesday and they delivered free of charge this morning , she reckons their CS is exemplary