Jeff@PLC
01-15-2003, 12:42 PM
This is just a warning to anyone ordering from JC Whitney.com - my order went less than smoothly. I ordered a few tools (stands, jacks, etc) from JCWhitney.com a week ago and the total was about $1000 bucks. Well to make a long story short the order arrive 4 days late and they charged my credit card twice. My credit card company called me to ask if I had authorized two transactions for the exact same amount... I said no and asked when the charges were made. The charges were actually made 4 days apart but are identical amounts. So I called JC Whitney to straighten this out and then things got interesting. JC Whitney does a pre-authorization to your credit card before the actual charge is made. Then once they have your order together, they go ahead and charge you for the order and ship it. Here's where this might present a problem for other people. If your credit card limit is $1000 bucks and you order $500 dollars worth of stuff, JCWhitney.com is going to put two charges on your card, one is the pre-authorization, the other is the charge. Now your credit card is maxed. My credit card company told me that most pre-authorizations drop off within 15 days. Here's problem number two... let's say your credit line is $900 bucks and you order $500 dollars worth of stuff from JCWhitney.com - the pre-authorization will go through but when it's time to actually bill the card your account won't have the available funds... and your credit card company will decline the transaction and your order won't go through.
I know a few other businesses do this but I thought I'd save someone the hassle. If you've got plenty of room on your card this is no big deal. If you are buying toys for your truck on a budget and use your cards to purchase them be careful.
Let me add this... JCWhitney.com is otherwise a great source for stuff. They might only do the pre-authorize stuff for orders reaching a specific amount. A friend of mine just told me that his order had the same thing happen and it was around $300 bucks. You might want to call ahead of time and ask JCWhitney what they will actually place on your card.
Aloha
I know a few other businesses do this but I thought I'd save someone the hassle. If you've got plenty of room on your card this is no big deal. If you are buying toys for your truck on a budget and use your cards to purchase them be careful.
Let me add this... JCWhitney.com is otherwise a great source for stuff. They might only do the pre-authorize stuff for orders reaching a specific amount. A friend of mine just told me that his order had the same thing happen and it was around $300 bucks. You might want to call ahead of time and ask JCWhitney what they will actually place on your card.
Aloha