I had ordered another product from Futurebazaar, the 1st purchase had come to me in 3 days, so naturally i was expecting the same blazing fast delivery. When even after 7 days i got no confirmation that my shipment was ready, i wrote to Futurebazaar customer care, No Reply after 24 hours even, i was worried, another email shot to them.
Then they replied, they told me that my order was still under process and they were yet to charge my Credit Card, this was strange, as i dont think they can store my Credit Card information, plus i enter Credit Card information only at the ICICI bank Credit Card gateway.
So i wrote an email to HDFC Bank, asking about the status of the charge, this is what they replied :
At the outset we wish to clarify that HDFC credit cards are accepted at all Merchant Establishments affiliated to Visa/MasterCard International. Consequently, some of the charges incurred by our cardholders are presented to us by the other banks affiliated to Visa/MasterCard International. The transactions are processed to the card account as and when the same is received from another member bank.
While we have received authorisation requests for the amount of Rs.xxx and the same was approved, our records indicate that the transaction has not been processed to your card account as on date. In absence of any charge being processed to your card account for 20 days, the authorisation amount blocking the limit will be cancelled.
Should you require any further assistance or clarification please do not hesitate to contact our service representatives at any of our 24 hour Call Center telephone numbers given below.
Assuring you of our best service at all times.
Sincerely,
Customer Service Officer
So basically the amount is already approved by my bank, but its waiting for a formal request from their bank to send the money. This is quite an interesting strategy, as in case they run out of a product or fail to deliver , they just dont process the charge and you get your money back automatically.
But anyway, I would only give futurebazaar, 3 out of 5 for this particular shopping event, i hate waiting, and i hate not being replied to early. Otherwise the shopping experience is a 4.5/5, they just gotta work on their CRM. My last product came with a certificate of authenticity, this one did not though.
But anyway, futurebazaar.com is looking really promising , their product portfolio is pretty good and i daresay their prices are tempting, and also they themselves sell their products, unlike Indiatimes, where people sell grey market fakes and smuggled goods often.
Rating: 
October 14th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
Hi there…
Wanted to increase your confidence… thought of keying some words !! INR 4290 is of course a tempting deal esp. if you have decided to buy a DVD Player… Purchased this product online with future bazaar… Philips DVD Player along with 5.1 Home Theater SP055 (looks pretty decent… right !!) and then starts the waiting game… I made an online payment on 25th September, 2008 and was quite excited to surprise my wifee with this product probably before 1st October (It was a long weekend then). Days passed and i was still waiting ! Oct 1st, 2nd…….. Finally got one product (Philips DVD Player) !!
Note: The offer was like this - The Customer shall buy the 5.1 Channel Home Theater SP055 for a price of INR 4290 and collect a free Philips DVD Player absolutely free… ; )
SURPRISED !!
I got the product that is free… and my main product (Home Theater speakers) are expected shortly (Not sure of how short this one is…) Of course !! Constant tele-follow-ups are in place.. the best of the Customer Service is that for any kind of queries, they would get back to us after 2 WORKING DAYS !! Interesting strategy !! (Keen to figure-out the business aspects in it…)
Leaving a comment on 14th Oct, 2008 @ 12.58 PM… I am likely to receive my product by end of this week or beginning of next week (Courtesy: Cust Care)
Shall write as soon as i get it !!
October 21st, 2008 at 11:11 am
Mohan again !!
With respect to my previous reply… Thought of continuing writing as soon as i get the product… Got listed in the ‘unfortunate’ ones !! Here’s some more for all of us who intend to shop online (Futurebazaar.com) W.R.T the order placed on 25th Sept, 2008… I am still in the same state waiting for the product… Here’s the explanation of why i din’t get my product as promised -”Your Product was ready for shipment, Sir! However, there was a technical problem with the product and hence gone back to the warehouse / respective brand and so you will have to wait till 22nd Oct, 2008 to know the status… we regret for the inconvenience! (Sounds good only on the script, they never meant it though…)” And I have been waiting for the product from a long time… and by now, completely saturated to listen to any music either on the speakers or with the customer care…
Shall definitely write after getting the product !! (To be Contd….)
November 3rd, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Mohan again…
Firstly, I couldn’t write to share by experience due to Diwali Vacation…
For all those who shopped online… Finally, got some shelter in a hot sunny season !! UNBELIEVABLE !! When I hardly had any hopes of getting my order before Diwali… Gotta call from Bluedart.!! 23rd October Morning (08 of course!!) Got the set of speakers that i had ordered, though a different version.. a better one… SP 050 was what was bought, Got SP 070R… Integrated FM was an added advantage…
Happy Ending !!
Nope…. Not yet… W.R.T my earlier post… Buy Speakers and get DVD Player free.. and so, the invoice of DVD Player is Rs. 0.0…
After a long chat with customer care… there was some technical problem with which my existing order SP 050 was cancelled… and finally they placed a new order for the replacement on SP 070R and so, the replacement order will not have a tag on it… and so the invoice of the Speakers is also Rs. 0.0
DID I GET THE PRODUCT FREEEE !!!
Nope… My Credit Card is charged
Though, I don’t have an issues with that… It is a ‘loop-hole’ !! I hope some Future Bazaar representative might go through this post by chance… and might escalate it which has a probability of getting resolved…
Thanks & Regards,
Mohan
SP 070R
November 5th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Yeah, we hope that too.
Thanks Mohan for sharing that experience.