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Sunday, February 12, 2012

ASOS & BOA don't mix!

I love browsing stuff online, however I've never been a fan of online shopping UNLESS free shipping & returns or at least free returns to the store.  I really dislike paying for shipping.  I feel it is such a waste if you end up not liking something and then you end up with nothing!

I was super busy before a long weekend trip to L.A., so no time for the mall, decided to head to my trusty macbook and do some shopping online. While doing a ShopStyle search for some cute white lace dresses, I came across one on ASOS.  I've heard of ASOS due to street style of bloggers and celebrities, but I've never actually purchased anything or even really browsed their site.  I actually confused them with Top Shop thinking they had a store in New York.

According to Wikipedia, ASOS is U.K's largest online only fashion and beauty retailer.  They have their own label and also a wide variety of other labels including Aqua, French Connection.  The site has lots of great fashion and best of all amazing sales.  Love the fact they show you a runway video of the outfits as well. It definitely gives you a better idea of how a dress moves in a video versus a photo and can definitely tip my decision on whether to buy an item or not.

While checking out, for some reason my credit card got rejected possibly due to a typing error?  Anyhow, it wouldn't allow me to use an online code I found again!  I was pretty bummed about that, but by then I really wanted to make the purchase and didn't feel like calling their customer service (bad bargain shopper).  I ended up not really liking anything from my purchase except the jewelry. Although extremely cute, the fit wasn't there, slightly too large or boxy, or just didn't work out for me unfortunately.






red, white, floral, black


I ended up using my Bank of America credit card to make the purchase.  Everything went through just fine, although my CC company did kindly check to make sure it was not a fraudulent charge the next day.  Now the problem lies in the fact that I had NO idea whatsoever I would be charged a FOREIGN TRANSACTION FEE!  This is my first time buying something from ASOS - all prices are in American dollars, the website does not end in .UK so I didn't even think twice about a foreign transaction.  Granted, I am sitting in my home in the U.S.A. making this purchase online.  No where when making the purchase did it say, your CC may charge you an additional foreign transaction fee.

Anyway, I ended up making a good sized purchase from ASOS and I got a $10 foreign transaction fee added onto my bill.  I tried calling BOA to let them know of the situation and why I was obviously unhappy about the situation.  You know trying to give them the I am a valued customer for years, always pay my bill on time, and so forth.... but no avail, no one would budge about the foreign transaction fee.  I told that I made the purchase in the U.S., the website showed all products in American dollars, so why would I even think I would be additionally charged for this purchase?  It was more about the principle of the mater.  Obviously the charge wasn't anything totally ridiculous that I could not pay, but I would have used my CAPITAL ONE credit card if I had known (no foreign fees, thank you very much!)

Anyway, was super unhappy about the customer service and this is lesson to me and to anyone else thinking about purchasing from ASOS or any other foreign retailer and using their Bank of America card.  I advise against it!  Definitely use a credit card that doesn't have any of these hidden fees.  I understand that maybe ASOS should have given a disclaimer that possibly you would have been charged a foreign transaction fee, but the un-helpfulness of Bank of America to the situation really did not make me happy with their service.

Have you ever an encountered a problem shopping online with an overseas retailer? Please share if so!

18 comments:

Unknown said...

sorry about the bad experience. but i really like the floral dress :)

delicatelyfierce.blogspot.com

Leeann @ Join the Gossip said...

NOT OK! Ugh that's so frustrating! I would be livid because I wouldn't have known either. That's a real bummer :(

Couture Carrie said...

Sorry about the snafu, darling...
Love the dresses!

xoxox,
CC

Cafe Fashionista said...

Gah! That is such a horrible situation to encounter! I can't stand hidden transaction fees - they feel so unfair. :/

Jo and Sue said...

want them all especially the one and the red one they are cute =)

Fleur d'air said...

Me encanta el vestido negro! Qué preciosidad de corte :)

http://cashmereflowers.blogspot.com/

Virna Ívinna said...

Os vestidos são lindos! Não costumo comprar online, mas conheço ótimas lojas que vendem pela internet aqui no Brasil. Nunca precisei comprar algo de outros sites estrangeiros. Beijos!

Audrey Allure said...

I haven't really bought anything online from an overseas retailer but I did have a bad experience from an online US retailer (my fault I guess for trying to buy cheap stuff) lol. Waited for over 3 weeks for my order, and ends up that they were out of stock & didn't notify me until I called. Took another call to get my refund.

Winnie said...

Oh no, sorry to hear about your bad experience! Obviously since I'm from the UK, I've never had any problems but I also like to pay with paypal with a lot of online retailers which is really useful!

Jacquii Lie said...

Ooooo I really like those dresses! My fav is the black back - stunning. Love your blog hun!

Following you!

xx
Couture Caddy

Melmo Momoko said...

hm that is really bad :/ Luckily I've never had a bad experience with Asos...

Mimi said...

ohmygosh, so sorry to hear about that! and thanks for sharing that experience with us! i've never bought anything from asos, but i've always wanted to. thanks to you, now i know not to use my bank of america card. :)

<3, Mimi
http://whatmimiwrites.blogspot.com/
Udderly Smooth Giveaway

Jacquii Lie said...

Love ASOS, do not like BOA for doing that to you! How can they make an ASOS shopping experience so unpleasant!

xx
Couture Caddy

Anonymous said...

The same thing just happened to me with ASOS and BOA! I would have used a different card had I know I would be charged the fee. I am going to contact ASOS and ask them to refund it. I know they aren't making the charge, but they should at least give you a heads up.

Anonymous said...

Same thing just happened to me, BOA SUCKS!!!
Ugh .. Thanks for your feedback though!

Anonymous said...

Same experience with BOfA. I found your blog, trying to figure out why I got charged extra because I used my AMEX in the past and was not charged a foreign transaction fee on ASOS. Oh well...

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Anonymous said...

Yes, I had an issue with a Canadian company called Rudsak. I purchased 2 jackets from them that were on sale. At check out there was a disclaimer that stated that you may be subjected to custom duty fees, however they don't specify how much or how to calculate such fee. I had no clue until receiving an invoice from UPS a month later that that fee would be $179! The messed up part is I ended up having to return one of the jackets because of a defect and I'm still stuck with paying the entire fee. Never again!