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“I don’t understand the world anymore!” Walter Reichel (77) of Wädenswil ZH is confused when he holds the reminder. In fact, he wanted to order Elmex toothpicks online, which were out of stock at his local Migros. But a chain of events and decisions has caused Reichel’s invoice amount to currently exceed 200 francs.
It is a visual example of the pitfalls of online commerce. In the current situation, Reichel has found
September 11, 2022 The toothpick you want on the Elmex website. You can choose from a variety of external online dealers to purchase them. Reichel decided to take an offer from the dropino.ch market and bought a few of the 32 toothpicks that cost about 5 francs, the value of the goods was 55.70 francs. When it comes to pay, the retiree is headquartered in St. He chose to pay via Powerpay, the provider based in St. Gallen and common in Switzerland. You can use this payment service provider to make a purchase on your account in online stores.
“I will pay when the goods arrive”
However, this means that the invoice amount is transferred to Powerpay and not to the online store. Order confirmation from Dropino.ch and invoice from Powerpay arrived immediately. Reichel did not pay immediately, he waited. His belief is, “I will pay while the goods are there”. However, this did not come for a long time. Reichel contacted dropino.ch several times, but was only delayed because Elmex was having delivery problems – in addition, a Dropino employee said in correspondence that Blick made it clear that the delays were “no joke”.
Powerpay sent Reichel a reminder in October as it gives a 30-day payout period. The pensioner’s request for the postponement of the payment period and the cancellation of the reminder was rejected. A customer service employee from Powerpay said: “As we assume the risk of default against our customers and also pre-finance receivables, we are strictly committed to customers’ adherence to the agreed payment terms in the terms and conditions.”
Cancellation impossible
Reichel asked Dropino several times to cancel the order and therefore the invoice. Nothing happened. Whether the right of withdrawal from the purchase is granted in the terms and conditions can no longer be restructured.
In any case, the toothpicks were delivered on November 30, about three months after the order was placed. Reichel immediately paid 55.70 francs for the goods. But meanwhile, Powerpay had saved 127 francs for reminders and fees. Reichel contacted dropino.ch about this. However, this company went to the diving station after delivering the goods. Websites are no longer available.
Powerpay continues to insist on payment, and eventually added something more: a debt collection handover. It costs 50 francs. This means that the price for a few packs of toothpicks is over 200 francs, including reminders and fees.
Difficult business models
Reichel finds the situation “weird”: “I think there is a procedural system after the supplier and payment service provider are two almost completely independent companies.” He was particularly shocked by the communication behavior of the two companies involved, which he considered “totally unacceptable”.
However, Reichel will likely have to pay the entire amount. Alexandra Scherrer, 31, Managing Director of consulting firm Carpathia, agrees that business models in online retail are sometimes “hard to understand”: “But it’s the consumer’s responsibility to clarify exactly who is contracting and with whom obligations are per the General Terms and Conditions.» Reichel’s arbitrary decision to pay for the goods only after they are received is hardly justified, even if the goods are delivered late. “If you are informed about the delivery problems and the goods are finally delivered, there is almost nothing that can be done,” says Scherrer.
The specialist admits that communication with online stores is not always the best. Therefore, when choosing an online platform to trust well-known providers such as Digitec-Galaxus, Brack or Zalando, they advise: “They may not always be the cheapest, but they are certainly reliable.” Unfortunately, this is sometimes not the case in smaller no-name shops.
Source :Blick
I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.
