Heads Up - Avoid PC Case Gear!!! (Australia)

[Buyer_Beware!!!]

I requested a refund of my store credit on Friday. I received no reply whatsoever. Today is Monday & my account is disabled! 

Very dodgy! They've basically stolen my money! Please don't trust these guys with your business! 

[Stormseeker9]

2 minutes ago, Buyer_Beware!!! said:

I requested a refund of my store credit on Friday. I received no reply whatsoever. Today is Monday & my account is disabled! 

Very dodgy! They've basically stolen my money! Please don't trust these guys with your business! 

Call them?

[Vishera]

Just now, Buyer_Beware!!! said:

I requested a refund of my store credit on Friday. I received no reply whatsoever. Today is Monday & my account is disabled! 

Very dodgy! They've basically stolen my money! Please don't trust these guys with your business! 

I am pretty sure that's illegal,you can threaten them with legal action,it might scare them.

[Buyer_Beware!!!]

11 hours ago, Stormseeker9 said:

Call them?

I will, but I think it's likely that they'll deny everything. I can't reset my password because I don't receive any email even though I prompt their system to reset it. It's pretty obvious that they intend to steal my store credit.

 

11 hours ago, Vishera said:

I am pretty sure that's illegal,you can threaten them with legal action,it might scare them.

Maybe. I've just come across a legal issue they had getting fined $250 000 for infringing Microsoft copyright. I just want to let others know that they're not a trustworthy site to buy from. 

[mr moose]

2 minutes ago, Buyer_Beware!!! said:

I will, but I think it's likely that they'll deny everything. I can't reset my password because I don't receive any email even though I prompt their system to reset it. It's pretty obvious that they intend to steal my store credit.

 

First off two things:

1. have you tried to call them and sort this out or is your first port of call to shit all over them on a public forum for what might be an honest mistake? (or worse they may have tranbsfred your money straight back to your card and closed the account.  It can take several days for the money to appear).

 

2. Have you got a record of your purchase? Because if so then it doesn't matter what they say.  you can show proof to the ACCC or your bank either way.

[Stormseeker9]

9 minutes ago, Buyer_Beware!!! said:

I will, but I think it's likely that they'll deny everything. I can't reset my password because I don't receive any email even though I prompt their system to reset it. It's pretty obvious that they intend to steal my store credit.

Have you checked your junk/spam box? You have quite decent consumer rights in Australia if I remember. Call them, email them etc. Just get them in the phoneZ hope you have some form of proof that you own this store credit

[Buyer_Beware!!!]

There's no reason for them to close my account unless they are being dodgy. For all they know, I'd continue to be a customer. If they've closed my account, it's seems very likely that they are stealing my money.

 

11 hours ago, Stormseeker9 said:

Have you checked your junk/spam box? You have quite decent consumer rights in Australia if I remember. Call them, email them etc. Just get them in the phoneZ hope you have some form of proof that you own this store credit

Thank you, I just checked my spam/junk box & it's empty. I know it's not nice to smear a company online, but it's not nice to steal from customers either!

The credit had been sitting there for months from a return that they didn't want to honour either. I'm not surprised I'm having this issue, considering the issue I had trying to get a return. I'll have to trawl through my old bank statements, but I will. 

I just want to warn others that these people aren't ethical. 

[mr moose]

4 minutes ago, Buyer_Beware!!! said:

There's no reason for them to close my account unless they are being dodgy. For all they know, I'd continue to be a customer. If they've closed my account, it's seems very likely that they are stealing my money.

or:

 

1. it was a misunderstanding

2. the money has been transferred already

3. they froze the account to ensure it was a legit claim and it isn't someone attempting fraud. 

4. Maybe the way you asked for the refund indicated you wanted the account closed, did you use terms like "finalize my account"?

5. there is a problem with their system and every ones accounts have been frozen/can't be logged into.

 

Again, have you contacted them yet?  Have you sort clarification?  Do you have a transfer record with paypal or your bank that money went into a pccasegear account?

[ManyCoresGuy]

36 minutes ago, Buyer_Beware!!! said:

I requested a refund of my store credit on Friday. I received no reply whatsoever. Today is Monday & my account is disabled! 

Very dodgy! They've basically stolen my money! Please don't trust these guys with your business! 

Instead of joining a forum and "warning everyone" about a disabled account, how about you try to reach out and try contacting them first? You should also reply to @mr moose posts because he brings up some good points but you seem to be dodging them. 

[Buyer_Beware!!!]

38 minutes ago, mr moose said:

or:

 

1. it was a misunderstanding

2. the money has been transferred already

3. they froze the account to ensure it was a legit claim and it isn't someone attempting fraud. 

4. Maybe the way you asked for the refund indicated you wanted the account closed, did you use terms like "finalize my account"?

5. there is a problem with their system and every ones accounts have been frozen/can't be logged into.

 

Again, have you contacted them yet?  Have you sort clarification?  Do you have a transfer record with paypal or your bank that money went into a pccasegear account?

I hope you are right and that I'm mistaken. It is too late to phone them here in Australia. I sent them another email today, but I still haven't heard back from them at all.

It will be hard to find proof, as my store credit had been sitting there for months. I had issues just trying to get a return on a keyboard months ago. I didn't request that my account be finalised. I simply requested that my store credit be refunded into my bank account. 

Surely you can see how dodgy it looks that I requested a refund, didn't hear from them at all and suddenly my account is disabled and unable to be reset? 

[Dabombinable]

What was going on before the refund? Because in the past when I'd forgotten to change the postage address from my old one I:

• contacted them and got a response with a couple of hours (well before shipping)
• got a refund to my card (pre-paid visa)
• was able to do the correct order immediately afterwards without any further issues

Got any screen shots of what was going on (just blank out anything personal information)?

[Buyer_Beware!!!]

37 minutes ago, ManyCoresGuy said:

Instead of joining a forum and "warning everyone" about a disabled account, how about you try to reach out and try contacting them first? You should also reply to @mr moose posts because he brings up some good points but you seem to be dodging them. 

I have replied to Mr Moose, but I've been busy responding to others too. 

I have contacted them twice via email, and received no response. It's too late to phone them in Australia right now.

It is very dodgy that I request a refund, and suddenly my account is disabled.

[mr moose]

1 minute ago, Buyer_Beware!!! said:

I hope you are right and that I'm mistaken. It is too late to phone them here in Australia. I sent them another email today, but I still haven't heard back from them at all.

It will be hard to find proof, as my store credit had been sitting there for months. I had issues just trying to get a return on a keyboard months ago. I didn't request that my account be finalised. I simply requested that my store credit be refunded into my bank account. 

Surely you can see how dodgy it looks that I requested a refund, didn't hear from them at all and suddenly my account is disabled and unable to be reset? 

Cal them on Wednesday, tomorrow is a public holiday in Victoria.  I am sure you will have a resolution. As bad as these places get*, they are not generally in the habit of stealing outright like that, it is actually a criminal offense and very easy to prove.

 

*CPL online got done with the same thing from MS, MSY was fined $750K for misrepresenting warranty etc.

[ManyCoresGuy]

2 minutes ago, Buyer_Beware!!! said:

I have replied to Mr Moose, but I've been busy responding to others too. 

I have contacted them twice via email, and received no response. It's too late to phone them in Australia right now.

It is very dodgy that I request a refund, and suddenly my account is disabled.

Looks like i jumped the gun a bit. Good luck with your store credit. If i were you i would just contact the bank and file a dispute.

[Buyer_Beware!!!]

39 minutes ago, Dabombinable said:

What was going on before the refund? Because in the past when I'd forgotten to change the postage address from my old one I:

• contacted them and got a response with a couple of hours (well before shipping)
• got a refund to my card (pre-paid visa)
• was able to do the correct order immediately afterwards without any further issues

Got any screen shots of what was going on (just blank out anything personal information)?

I had issues months ago trying to get them to give me a refund because they claimed that the keyboard was on sale, when it wasn't clearly on sale on their website when I bought it. I was emailing someone (and someone who claimed to be the manager) but then reached someone different on another day who honoured the refund. 

On their website you have to apply for a refund, and I was granted one, but then they tried to say no after I had posted it back to them. 

[mr moose]

Also I should add that it isn't always possible with some point of sale systems to simply transfer money back into a bank account (especially after several weeks has gone past).

I am pretty keen to find out what the actual issue is.

 

 

[Buyer_Beware!!!]

11 hours ago, ManyCoresGuy said:

Looks like i jumped the gun a bit. Good luck with your store credit. If i were you i would just contact the bank and file a dispute.

Hopefully I've jumped the gun a bit too. 

 

11 hours ago, mr moose said:

Also I should add that it isn't always possible with some point of sale systems to simply transfer money back into a bank account (especially after several weeks has gone past).

I am pretty keen to find out what the actual issue is.

 

 

I'll keep you updated.

[Dabombinable]

1 minute ago, Buyer_Beware!!! said:

I had issues months ago trying to get them to give me a refund because they claimed that the keyboard was on sale, when it wasn't clearly on sale on their website when I bought it. I was emailing someone (and someone who claimed to be the manager) but then reached someone different on another day who honoured the refund. 

On their website you have to apply for a refund, and I was granted one, but then they tried to say no after I had posted it back to them. 

If you have the invoice still, that should make things a fair bit easier for you. Still got all of mine from dealing with them in gmail+outlook.

[Buyer_Beware!!!]

11 hours ago, Dabombinable said:

If you have the invoice still, that should make things a fair bit easier for you. Still got all of mine from dealing with them in gmail+outlook.

I don't know if I do.  I'm not sure if I paid via bank deposit or Paypal. I'll look into it if I have to.

Hopefully it gets sorted out easily, but it seems pretty suss at the moment. 

I'll update everyone. 

 

11 hours ago, Dabombinable said:

If you have the invoice still, that should make things a fair bit easier for you. Still got all of mine from dealing with them in gmail+outlook.

I just realised what you mean! Yeah, I'll have the invoice in my gmail! 

[Dabombinable]

1 minute ago, Buyer_Beware!!! said:

I just realised what you mean! Yeah, I'll have the invoice in my gmail! 

If archive.org has pccasegear, try checking for a snapshot of the store page as well. If you're lucky the keyboard's page will be on it.

[Buyer_Beware!!!]

36 minutes ago, Dabombinable said:

If archive.org has pccasegear, try checking for a snapshot of the store page as well. If you're lucky the keyboard's page will be on it.

That's exactly what my son did when they said the keyboard was on sale!!!  I think we found a screen shot of the keyboard not on sale!

[Spotty]

34 minutes ago, Buyer_Beware!!! said:

I requested a refund of my store credit on Friday.

Well, that's not how store credit works... You typically can't cash out store credit. That's why it's store credit and not cash.

 

How did you end up with store credit? Did you return an item through change of mind? Or did you receive a faulty product and they provided you with store credit instead of a refund?
In Australia refunds for faulty goods must be provided in the form of the original purchase - If you bought with cash they have to refund you with cash - NOT STORE CREDIT.

But, if you just changed your mind and decided you didn't want it anymore, they can either refuse to refund you, or if they want to they can offer store credit (or a normal refund).

 

Quote

Replacements and refunds

You can ask for a replacement or refund if the problem with the product is major.

Replaced products must be of an identical type to the product originally supplied. Refunds should be the same amount you have already paid, provided in the same form as your original payment.

https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/consumer-rights-guarantees/repair-replace-refund

[Buyer_Beware!!!]

49 minutes ago, Spotty said:

Well, that's not how store credit works... You typically can't cash out store credit. That's why it's store credit and not cash.

 

How did you end up with store credit? Did you return an item through change of mind? Or did you receive a faulty product and they provided you with store credit instead of a refund?
In Australia refunds for faulty goods must be provided in the form of the original purchase - If you bought with cash they have to refund you with cash - NOT STORE CREDIT.

But, if you just changed your mind and decided you didn't want it anymore, they can either refuse to refund you, or if they want to they can offer store credit (or a normal refund).

 

https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/consumer-rights-guarantees/repair-replace-refund

It was a change of mind. I was freaked out by the warning from California I think (?) that said the Asus keyboard contained carcinogenic stuff & you were supposed to wash your hands after using it. It was for my young son & I didn't want that playing on my mind. 

I'm pretty sure that their website offered to cash out store credit, or I read it in my dealings with them. 

Either way, why isn't my account still accessible now? if they wanted to say no, I should still be able to access my account and store credit. 

[Spotty]

Just now, Buyer_Beware!!! said:

I was freaked out by the warning from California I think (?) that said the Asus keyboard contained carcinogenic stuff & you were supposed to wash your hands after using it. It was for my young son & I didn't want that playing on my mind. 

Ah.
California is a bit weird with warnings like that. That warning is on any product that contains lead, which is found in solder used in electronics. All electronic products have that warning. As long as your child isn't breaking the keyboard open, pulling out the PCB, and licking the lead solder points, I'm sure he will be fine.

The Asus keyboard is not going to be any more or less carcinogenic than any other keyboard.

 

10 minutes ago, Buyer_Beware!!! said:

I'm pretty sure that their website offered to cash out store credit, or I read it in my dealings with them. 

Either way, why isn't my account still accessible now? if they wanted to say no, I should still be able to access my account and store credit. 

If they have provided you a refund for a returned item via store credit and then cancelled your account or revoked the store credit you should contact your states consumer protection agency as well as lodge a complaint with the ACCC. If you paid by credit card you can go through the bank and do a chargeback (in addition to filing a complaint), otherwise you might just have to seek a resolution through the consumer agencies.

 

I'd be extremely surprised if PCCG state you can cash out store credit, but if you do manage to find any information about it on their website please post it.

[Buyer_Beware!!!]

10 hours ago, Spotty said:

Ah.
California is a bit weird with warnings like that. That warning is on any product that contains lead, which is found in solder used in electronics. All electronic products have that warning. As long as your child isn't breaking the keyboard open, pulling out the PCB, and licking the lead solder points, I'm sure he will be fine.

The Asus keyboard is not going to be any more or less carcinogenic than any other keyboard.

 

If they have provided you a refund for a returned item via store credit and then cancelled your account or revoked the store credit you should contact your states consumer protection agency as well as lodge a complaint with the ACCC. If you paid by credit card you can go through the bank and do a chargeback (in addition to filing a complaint), otherwise you might just have to seek a resolution through the consumer agencies.

 

I'd be extremely surprised if PCCG state you can cash out store credit, but if you do manage to find any information about it on their website please post it.

I've just lodged a complaint with the ACCC. I found my invoice and an email where they state they'll credit me. Fingers crossed!

 

To get into the warranty and returns section, you need to be able to access it from your account, which I cannot do, but I'm sure it says in there somewhere that they'll give you a refund of your money. I'll keep an eye out for it if I miraculously have access to my account again.

 

11 hours ago, Dabombinable said:

If you have the invoice still, that should make things a fair bit easier for you. Still got all of mine from dealing with them in gmail+outlook.

Such great advice! I found my invoice and email saying they'd credit me in my gmail account. Thank You! I've attached them both to my complaint to the ACCC.