Is Play Asia A Scam!

[ExpatVideographer]

I ordered a digital download of Microsoft Points a month ago. They said that they were "Preparing the Order" (Your payment has been cleared and we are preparing your order now. In most cases your order will be dispatched within the mentioned "ETA" as shown in your order details page. You will receive a confirmation e-mail once your order has been sent out.), but there was no ETA shown. I emailed them and then suddenly the status of my order changed to "Waiting for payment" (We have received your order but your payment is still pending. Please refer to our payment details e-mail for a list of available payment methods. Please click on the "confirm payment" button once you have paid by any of our manual payment means.) So I then informed them them that it was rather strange that they had stated that they already recieved payment from me and then now suddenly they are waiting for confirmation. My bank statment already shows that they have recieved the money. <deleted>? They then respond with a "Cookie Cutter" reply stating, "We are sorry for the delay in sending your code. By the time you ordered for the item, it is not in stock. We have already contacted our suppliers for the restock. However, we could not guarantee the availability for the restock as there could also be a delay depending on our suppliers. We will send the code to you once we have receive the stock. We kindly ask for your patience". Listen Play Asia, I was patient for two weeks and then I asked what the continued delay was and assertively stated that I would very much like my code ASAP (as soon as possible). Then they replyed "Thank you for contacting Play-Asia.com. We are sorry that item is not in stock. It shown as 'this product has a lead time on the product page'. It is estimated to be re-stocked in 5-15 days. When you check out the product, the availability is shown as '5-15 days'. We apologize if the availability status has made you confused. We are regret that we are unable to make every product in stock all the time. As the code is not send out as your expected time frame, please let us know would you still want the code or not.Sorry for the inconvenience this has caused you." Now they think for some reason that I do not want my code so they further delay the process by changing my order status to "Order received" (We have received your order and are processing with your credit card authorization. This will usually take less than 24 hours on working days.) <deleted> is wrong with these people? Now I am really pissed! I informed them that this was very bad business practice and that I want something done ASAP! Remember, they already have my money! All pleasantries have gone out the window at this point. It's a "Digital Download" and it never stated that it was "Out of Stock" so needless to say I am not only pissed that I missed a huge LAN Party (online friends all meet up and play a game together in cyberspace) I had planned with friends from different countries and time zones, but now they are yanking my chain for no good reason. Here's the proff! After that interaction they then changed my order status to "Credit Card Verification" (A manual authorization of your credit card is required. Please refer to our e-mail we recently sent to you for more details.). Here is the email they sent me:

"We regret to inform you that we need further information to verify the status of the transaction. Please understand that this also helps to reduce the risk that your credit card is misused by any other person. Anybody who has your credit card number and expiry date, can you use your credit card on the internet for any payment. For us, being located overseas, it is important to protect our customers and ourselves from fraudulent transactions.If you have used a Visa Card, you may be interested in the Verified By Visa programme. This programme, available for any Visa card in any country, protects your Visa card with a password that only you know. If you are using this service, our payment server will automatically forward you to your bank's server to confirm your identity. Transactions made using Verified By Visa enrolled cards are accepted without the need for further verification. If you wish to learn more about Verified By Visa, please follow these links.

Please provide us with the following info:

• Front and back of your credit card
• Photo-ID card (such as driver's license, passport) showing the same name & signature as the credit card.

Please either scan & e-mail the required documents to [email protected]

or fax the required documents to [+852] 3145 0061 (Hong Kong).

In both cases, it is very important that you provide your Play-Asia.com Order Number (#2***2555) on each of the documents. We understand that you may feel insecure with providing these details. You may wish to black out a few digits of the credit card (but leave the first and last 4 digits intact) and the security code on the back before sending it to us).

Again we ask for understanding about this procedure, we would gladly skip it if it was not necessary; however we have to be sure the order was submitted by the rightful owner of the credit card used. We strongly recommend to upgrade to Verified By Visa and MasterCard SecureCode to prevent any further delay.Once again thank you for shopping at Play-Asia.com."

Um, two important things here, one:my card is Verified by Visa and two: you already have my money! <deleted>! Are they kidding me? It is obvious that they are A: trying to screw with me by using yet another "Cookie Cutter" response, B: using a scam to get my finacial information provided that my bank statment shows that they have already collected the money. I went to my bank here in Thailand (K Bank) and they even warned me not send this information to them because it was more than likely a scam! I guess I should have expected this from a business in a Communist country that is world renowned for employing children in almost all facets of industry, commerce, and business. I say this because it truly feels at this point like I am dealing with children. I never expect to get my money back and fully anticipate that they will never kow tow in this matter. I would strongly advise not doing business with them. If they get me my code and make up for this egregious error on their behalf in what I deem to be a fitting response, I will subsequently remove this post and maybe even consider spending more money with them. Accountability must start somewhere!

[MunterHunter]

I've used www.play-asia.com extensively in the past and never had a problem with them. I've held an account with them for several years. never had to give the copy of my card details like you are being asked for however.

i assure you, for physical disks etc, play asia are pretty good. Delivery seems fairly fast, prices for originals seems ok to me and a reasonable list of titles. they are not some scam merchant (or at least, they never used to be, haven't ordered anything for the past 6mths)

[griser]

I've used www.play-asia.com extensively in the past and never had a problem with them. I've held an account with them for several years. never had to give the copy of my card details like you are being asked for however.

i assure you, for physical disks etc, play asia are pretty good. Delivery seems fairly fast, prices for originals seems ok to me and a reasonable list of titles. they are not some scam merchant (or at least, they never used to be, haven't ordered anything for the past 6mths)

I've had issues with them. like failing to mention customs fees that would increase the price of they're products cost upon delivery. a hefty 50 percent increase. won't buy from them again.

Edited October 26, 2011 by griser

[MunterHunter]

Customs fees are nothing to do with playasia.com - that's the thai customs department

[griser]

Customs fees are nothing to do with playasia.com - that's the thai customs department

Duh. its The failure to mention it to me thats the issue. they export to thailand all the time. they now the score.

Greg

[MunterHunter]

I respectfully disagree...

5.4.

Seller will not be responsible for any tariffs, customs restrictions, customs clearance, or other regulations that apply in countries outside Hong Kong. It is the responsibility of Customer to pay the charges levied by the authorities and observe the respective regulations of the country in which he or she receives the Product(s).

Under "terms and conditions of sales"

http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-00-3-tos-49-en.html

I agree it could probably be a bit clearer and not in the T&C's - but at the end of the day we all know that it costs money to import stuff into Thailand, cant say its not there...