BNT - Do not use - Bunch of cowboys - Please read

[Seasider]

Hello My name is Seasider and I have bought a coin from BNT.  With hindsight I can only say that I had just been spurned by the Royal Mint and so my defences were low.  I was on the rebound.

Without wishing to tempt fate I can confirm that I did get the coin I ordered and was happy with it.  I am of course as blind as a bat.  Only this week someone pointed out a flaw on a sovereign to me and I still couldn't see it with a loupe and him pointing to the spot.  Then when I saw it I could not understand how I ever missed it.  No it was not the one I bought from BNT.

Yes there was some delay - quite a contrast to Chards and Bullionbypost who delivered coins I bought from them very speedily and with lots of emails detailing their journey.  But I believe them when they say the coins have to go to Germany to be checked (a good thing if it means they don't send out poor quality coins) and it ties in with some comments on here about the staffing of the UK operation.

Yes there was some funny business with taking the payment - it appeared and disappeared and then reappeared in a slightly alarming manner but they did not take more than they said they would.  @Kimchi they really do need to give you something for distress and inconvenience even if the bank refunds all the charges.

And finally yes the barrage of emails afterwards is something I can live without

But my experience with them was not bad.  It certainly did not merit a pile of manure.

[kimchi]

@RogerBelmar yeah I had to explain to them, among other things, that a Strike on the Day coin is struck on the day...then when my order was finally despatched from Plymouth to near London I was told up to 28 days for delivery by RM! I did point out that RM don't have a '28 day within the UK' postal option but oh no it could take that...it arrived the next day of course, left on my doorstep by postie (as no signature required).

Another thing is their website does not actually show stock in real time (like the RM at times), however one person on the phone assured me it did.

@Seasider thanks for chipping in with another experience, it's good to have balance 3/4 coins I received were not good enough so sent back. To be fair they seem to have somehow managed to find an extra 3 of this heavily oversubscribed coin to try to fulfill my order. The problem is this charge out the blue, and an extra £1500 being taken, a day after agreeing that quality and the number I wanted and any charge would be notified in advance.

Manure keeps coming up....I have a cousin in Plymouth and there are a lot of horses around there I expect

[Seasider]

If those horses are laying SOTD sovereigns then I shall be there with my bucket and spade.

I hope it all works out for you.

[kimchi]

24 hours on and once again only after I chase them up do I get told they have 'still not had a reply from the finance team'.

Meanwhile I have realised I am basically bankrupt as of now, aren't I?

 

[Laurens88]

14 hours ago, kimchi said:

24 hours on and once again only after I chase them up do I get told they have 'still not had a reply from the finance team'.

Meanwhile I have realised I am basically bankrupt as of now, aren't I?

 

I have no idea how the banking system works at your side of the pond but if you call your bank and tell them that there has been a unauthorized charge on your funds shouldn't that issue be resolved immediately?

[kimchi]

Had to chase them up yesterday. to get any news. The second time I was told that there had been no reply from the finance team despite multiple messages, and they had now gone home for the weekend. That they had done all they could for now at this end, and hopefully the correspondence will be picked up when finance are back at work.

2 hours ago, Laurens88 said:

I have no idea how the banking system works at your side of the pond but if you call your bank and tell them that there has been a unauthorized charge on your funds shouldn't that issue be resolved immediately?

They've put a dispute on the transaction but my bank had already authorised it (I have paid BNT before so they've no reason not to) so if the retailer claims it I think it will still go through. Strange though as my bank shouldn't accept a transaction that sends me overdrawn, and worth clarifying where things stand. I'll talk to them again about that and also explain that I've spoken to the retailer and they agree with me but their finance team has not yet acted as requested.

[Laurens88]

19 minutes ago, kimchi said:

when finance are back at work.

pfff, perfect example of; on a sunday, our responsibility is your problem.....😕 

[kimchi]

15 minutes ago, Laurens88 said:

pfff, perfect example of; on a sunday, our responsibility is your problem.....😕 

One might expect the least the UK end of the operation would have achieved in two days was confirmation that finance were dealing with the matter and had put a stop on the payment request.

Or am I expecting too much?

[Laurens88]

1 hour ago, kimchi said:

Or am I expecting too much?

Absolutely not, I would be a mild state of Canadian disappointment (understatement of the year) if I found out my bank transferred such an amount to a company after I dispute that there was an agreement of sale. I would demand an immediate refund of my funds and let the bank solve it with the company. To me this shows a complete lack of care for a client's funds and would be a direct reason to terminate my dealing with this bank. In all respect, it is your money and there is not a single piece of evidence that there was an agreement of sale. Willingly putting  a person in financial problems and respond with a 'our finance department will look into it', is an outrage.

[kimchi]

Quite right @Laurens88!

The problem here was that the recognised retailer 'properly' charged my bank, who accepted the transaction their end, and my dispute came after the fact and in that 'limbo' period where the money is pending on your account, waiting for the retailer's to confirm receipt. Here in the UK we have rubbish banks with foreign call centres which are often not a problem, but alas sometimes you do get folk who don't speak and understand English fluently.

Not to get sidelined too much into the banking side of things, as I think the main point is that BNT took money after I had told them not to, and an extra, separate £1500 to boot! But today my bank says the payments were reversed on the 23rd (a day after I had instructed BNT but a day before I disputed the payment) and although they say they are not completely sure where in the system the money is (! - presumably in that 'limbo' period between banks again) I have been able to make a couple of small transfers, which I couldn't on Friday (24th).

This suggests to me that my dispute successfully registered, though the date of the reversal might suggest it was at BNT's end. If it's the latter then BNT could have put my mind at rest by actually making sure they spoke to the 'finance team' either on Friday or yesterday, rather than leaving me for 48 hours worried that I was well overdrawn (touch wood there as I'm not 100% there yet after these 'muddy' answers from the bank). A further mystery would also then be why the nice chap I spoke to with my instructions on Wednesday didn't contact me yesterday while in work, instead leaving it to a colleague to break the bad news.

It could well be their very strange 'charge then reverse payment system' (TM) has been in full force again (even those who received good quality coins on this thread have questioned that).

Assuming all the nonsense with the money is over (a big assumption!) I now await an explanation from BNT as to what on earth has gone on, and what the deal is with these replacement coins they seem to have magically found for me...

Being a positive sort of chap at least they have not sent me any marketing spam yet today

[Martlet]

A lesson for using credit card instead of debit card. Creates a buffer between your bank account and the vendor to protect from problems, and any problems are the CC company's problem too.  Nightmare going into a bank holiday week end with no cash.

[kimchi]

1 hour ago, Martlet said:

A lesson for using credit card instead of debit card. Creates a buffer between your bank account and the vendor to protect from problems, and any problems are the CC company's problem too.  Nightmare going into a bank holiday week end with no cash.

Very true and wise words.

I must say though that after a catalogue of errors that they were already (finally) apologising profusely for on Wednesday (I was already tearing my hair out with them at the end of July as per that post) a separate arm (presumably the German head office) then go and pull this on me. The UK lot have been polite and understanding enough, but they rarely seem to know what's what or have any meaningful proper communication with head office, if at all (directly). Yes, definitely use a CC, but I've bought from probably around ten companies in my three or so years, and none have been as bad or as stressful as this, and it's so unnecessary. Just tell your customers when they have been charged and the item despatched, it's not rocket surgery. That's what I want to emphasise.

Oh and don't charge them £1500 extra!

Not good enough by far from British Numismatic Treasury, and they've even been tagged in this thread as they have accounts here (@BNTCoins and @BNTCoinsEmma) but don't appear to care enough to bother replying.

Crazy business practices.

[kimchi]

Absolutely no contact from British Numismatic Treasury today, as rather anticipated, alas. I've moved my meager savings into another account so they can try to charge me if they like to try but I don't think my bank will play ball seeing as I have no overdraft on the account they have details for.

That's three of their 'working days' they haven't bothered to sort this out (four if the finance team is in Germany at HQ and they didn't have yesterday's bank holiday there).

Meanwhile I had to chuckle at their daily spam today 'Is your life in balance? New yin and yang coins out today!'

[SILVERFINGER]

Aye I dont think I will be using them anytime ever.

[Ansel]

Absolutely shocking @kimchi. Thank you for sharing, I hope the finally make you whole, very soon. 

[kimchi]

No contact today from them, nothing.

At this point I think (hope!) my bank account is fairly safe from them, so I'm just waiting to see really how they come back to me without me chasing them up, as that's all I've been doing pretty much since a few weeks after I made my order (end of May!).

[kimchi]

My last update is on this thread:

Will cross link it with here.

[Mike]

Thanks all - I have emailed but had no response, still no refund.  Credit Card company on the case

[kimchi]

11 minutes ago, Mike said:

Thanks all - I have emailed but had no response, still no refund.  Credit Card company on the case

The UK call centre do answer the phone - what did they say?

[Mike]

2 minutes ago, kimchi said:

The UK call centre do answer the phone - what did they say?

I’ve spoken to them 3 times, apparently they only process refunds on Fridays and for the last 3 Fridays they haven’t been able to get mine...Apparently it was processed on Monday and refund would be showing on my credit card within 2-3 days, but Mastercard have confirmed that there is nothing even pending to credit via BACS for next 2 working days (after today)

I’m not worried because Mastercard will fully reimburse me and I have tracking and can prove they have had the coin for over 3 weeks.  Just frustrating at how much time I am having to invest getting my money refunded

[kimchi]

4 minutes ago, Mike said:

I’ve spoken to them 3 times, apparently they only process refunds on Fridays and for the last 3 Fridays they haven’t been able to get mine...Apparently it was processed on Monday and refund would be showing on my credit card within 2-3 days, but Mastercard have confirmed that there is nothing even pending to credit via BACS for next 2 working days (after today)

I’m not worried because Mastercard will fully reimburse me and I have tracking and can prove they have had the coin for over 3 weeks.  Just frustrating at how much time I am having to invest getting my money refunded

That sounds very strange indeed...and I thought I'd had the most horrendous experience possible with this company...it sounds like they have got even worse since I last dealt with them a few months ago

[Mike]

UPDATE - Just got off the phone from Mastercard, they have credited my account, they can now see refund due to be credited via BACS