SPOT THE ERROR! BIG W customer’s lay-by mix-up causes confusion
- Replies 7
We know that a lot of our members love shopping at BIG W. It's a great store with a wide range of products, and the prices are always very reasonable.
BIG W is also one of the few stores that still offer the old-fashioned lay-by service, which can be very helpful for people who want to spread out the cost of their purchases.
However, there seems to be some confusion about how lay-by works at BIG W these days, especially when it comes to using Afterpay as a payment method.
Recently, a shopper took to Facebook to ask if anyone else had experienced problems using Afterpay to pay off their BIG W lay-bys.
'Last fortnight was a bit of a shorter week financially so I put $100 of it on Afterpay with no issues, nobody said anything,' she wrote in a post.
'I went in today and thought “why not” and chucked another $50 on it with Afterpay once again.'
The woman was confused as to why her payment was declined when it was successful the first time. Credit: news.com.au.
When the cashier enquired if she had used the buy-now-pay-later option after the payment was authorised, the customer said that it was her second time using it.
The woman added: 'She looked a bit lost and unsure what to do before telling me that I can’t Afterpay lay-by and that I may get a call Monday about it. She said that it’s in the lay-by T&C’s which I guess I didn’t see.'
'I did this last time with no issues, no phone call, but my remaining amount still went down accordingly.'
Now, she's asking other BIG W shoppers if they know any particular reason why the payment was declined if she was able to use it the first time.
Other shoppers were divided; some could comprehend why the payment wasn't honoured, while others couldn't understand how the purchase had gone through.
One person wrote: 'I feel like Lay-by and Afterpay are essentially the same things except for Afterpay you get your goods and pay later, so it would make sense to me that you couldn’t use it.'
'It’s probably on their system and they haven’t removed it or aren't able to remove it as an option for payment.'
Another pointed out that the 'huge fees' associated with Afterpay, compared to a bank card, were the cause.
'I can’t remove the payment option in my store either. You’d think if Afterpay has this as their request they would have a feature that triggers a decline with lay-bys/pre-orders,' the shopper explained.
Others, however, argued that if the payment went through, there shouldn't have been a problem in the first place.
One comment read: 'It’s no different to using EFTPOS. If the cashier wasn’t looking at your phone when you tapped she wouldn’t have even known. It’s one of those grey areas since they brought out the Afterpay card.'
'I would ignore her, it’s the same with returns, they need to be on the same card. I’ve proven that isn’t true. I used a completely different card and it went through straight away,' another added.
A third chimed in: 'In my view – you’re just transferring your BIG W debt over to an Afterpay debt – they’re still getting their money. Just means Afterpay has to chase you for payments instead of them.'
A BIG W spokesperson confirmed that the payment was declined due to system error. Credit: Nilsson Jones.
BIG W has since made it clear that there was a mistake.
According to a representative, BIG W offers customers various methods to shop, including Afterpay and Lay-by.
'Customers are able to use Afterpay as a form of payment for in-store Lay-by only through their digital wallets. Afterpay is not available for online Lay-by purchases and payments,' the spokesperson explained.
There are many different payment methods available to us these days. We can use cash, credit cards, debit cards, and even online payment platforms like Afterpay. While it’s great to have so many options, we need to be careful about which one we choose.
Each payment method has its own terms and conditions and it’s important to read the fine print and understand them before using these platforms.
Have you experienced having your payment denied due to an error before? Share your stories with us in the comments below!
BIG W is also one of the few stores that still offer the old-fashioned lay-by service, which can be very helpful for people who want to spread out the cost of their purchases.
However, there seems to be some confusion about how lay-by works at BIG W these days, especially when it comes to using Afterpay as a payment method.
Recently, a shopper took to Facebook to ask if anyone else had experienced problems using Afterpay to pay off their BIG W lay-bys.
'Last fortnight was a bit of a shorter week financially so I put $100 of it on Afterpay with no issues, nobody said anything,' she wrote in a post.
'I went in today and thought “why not” and chucked another $50 on it with Afterpay once again.'
The woman was confused as to why her payment was declined when it was successful the first time. Credit: news.com.au.
When the cashier enquired if she had used the buy-now-pay-later option after the payment was authorised, the customer said that it was her second time using it.
The woman added: 'She looked a bit lost and unsure what to do before telling me that I can’t Afterpay lay-by and that I may get a call Monday about it. She said that it’s in the lay-by T&C’s which I guess I didn’t see.'
'I did this last time with no issues, no phone call, but my remaining amount still went down accordingly.'
Now, she's asking other BIG W shoppers if they know any particular reason why the payment was declined if she was able to use it the first time.
Other shoppers were divided; some could comprehend why the payment wasn't honoured, while others couldn't understand how the purchase had gone through.
One person wrote: 'I feel like Lay-by and Afterpay are essentially the same things except for Afterpay you get your goods and pay later, so it would make sense to me that you couldn’t use it.'
'It’s probably on their system and they haven’t removed it or aren't able to remove it as an option for payment.'
Another pointed out that the 'huge fees' associated with Afterpay, compared to a bank card, were the cause.
'I can’t remove the payment option in my store either. You’d think if Afterpay has this as their request they would have a feature that triggers a decline with lay-bys/pre-orders,' the shopper explained.
Others, however, argued that if the payment went through, there shouldn't have been a problem in the first place.
One comment read: 'It’s no different to using EFTPOS. If the cashier wasn’t looking at your phone when you tapped she wouldn’t have even known. It’s one of those grey areas since they brought out the Afterpay card.'
'I would ignore her, it’s the same with returns, they need to be on the same card. I’ve proven that isn’t true. I used a completely different card and it went through straight away,' another added.
A third chimed in: 'In my view – you’re just transferring your BIG W debt over to an Afterpay debt – they’re still getting their money. Just means Afterpay has to chase you for payments instead of them.'
A BIG W spokesperson confirmed that the payment was declined due to system error. Credit: Nilsson Jones.
BIG W has since made it clear that there was a mistake.
According to a representative, BIG W offers customers various methods to shop, including Afterpay and Lay-by.
'Customers are able to use Afterpay as a form of payment for in-store Lay-by only through their digital wallets. Afterpay is not available for online Lay-by purchases and payments,' the spokesperson explained.
There are many different payment methods available to us these days. We can use cash, credit cards, debit cards, and even online payment platforms like Afterpay. While it’s great to have so many options, we need to be careful about which one we choose.
Each payment method has its own terms and conditions and it’s important to read the fine print and understand them before using these platforms.
Have you experienced having your payment denied due to an error before? Share your stories with us in the comments below!
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