They don't ask you to callback to 'reconfirm' the order unless you used multiple discount codes.

+1
I got my N900 ordered with 2 discount codes, also using Topcashback, mid-Oct.

A colleague of mine did the order, his bank is Nationwide. The card wasn't used in a while and because it was an internet transaction, the bank stopped it. He phoned bank and nokia and indeed Nokia says there is a change he gets his 30% off still. He would know by this evening.

Still unhappy on the 10% topcashback. But if I get the 30%, I'm a bit more happy ...

Order rejected, Lloyds TSB, 1 code, 15% discount REFUSED today.

2009-10-16 Order placed
2009-10-29 Order regenerated manually
2009-11-23 Lloyds TSB refer transaction, reject, phone up to confirm OK
2009-11-24 Phone Shop.Nokia, Chris says can resubmit order BUT REFUSED 15% discount. Asked for management - none available.

So, original 1 code was 15% off. First manual reorder removed 15% from accessories, credit card hold looses 15% completely.

After using Nokia phones since a very early 2110, and tablets since the N800 this experience leaves a VERY bitter taste. It certainly damages Nokia's reputation in my eyes, and drives me towards competitor products.

After the build up of waiting several months in eager anticipation for the N900, it feels like Nokia Shop is using errors in the merchant card systems to rob consumers of £70.

Whatever the legal facts of the situation and merchant system transactions may be, a £500 telephone is an emotional purchase and the excitement has been soured.

I'm waiting for a call from the 'manager' as in my opinion, this is very sharp practice. The call is more in hope than expectation.

How much was the iPhone, again? :-)

That's not true.

mardibloke quidco
cgarvie 3 codes
jimus no discounts
ewan 1 code
zaheerm
jimcon 3 codes
daver53 3 codes
jjx 2 codes
Caprio
open-collar 1 code
custard 3 codes
pancro
shaksta 3 codes
hass 2 codes
netweaver 2 codes
derrickj 1 code

+16

The declining the transaction isn't really the problem, and not what I was referring to as 'incompetence'; it's something that happens pretty routinely for online orders for expensive electronics. The problem is that Nokia know that, and should behave as other retailers do and simply hold the order pending authorisation, which usually only takes a few minutes to sort out. What they did was to completely lose the plot and cancel the order outright. That's what I'm calling incompetent, and it is.

Mine hasn't failed yet, but I am fully expecting it to do so. The amount is outside my normal spending pattern. I rang Nokia and my bank this morning to see what could be done. The guy at Nokia said that he was aware that their system cancels an order when a cc company asks for further information, and that this was not normal for online retailers. I mentioned that Amazon attempt to contact the buyer and get them to authorise the transaction over the phone, and he said that the fact that they didn't was 'just part of our ordering system'. He suggested that I ring the fraud department at my bank, as Nokia's system showed the order to be 'pending'.

My bank were very helpful, but could not see the transaction as either having happened or in ear-marked funds. They can't do anything until they actually have the transaction request, and by then (it seems) Nokia will likely have failed and cancelled the order. The woman I spoke to said that 'Nokia are not following the correct procedure' by bailing on orders at the first hurdle, and I got the impression that she was referring to some kind of code of practice (formal or informal) that was established between payment processing agencies and retailers. I guess that - in the usual run of things - retailers are keen to actually get the money, and so will pause the order and deal with it again when the buyer has contacted their payment provider.

So for me the lesson here is that Nokia UK is not that desperate to have me as a customer. It makes sense in a way, as whomever I buy from will have to get the phone from them, so there's no real motivation to compete with the customer-friendly payment practices of other online retailers.

Oh, and the Nokia rep told me that if I did have to reorder because this transaction failed, it would only take 'one or two days' to get my order processed. I asked him if they had enough stock to make that kind of promise and he said that he was sure they did. I would not, however, get my discount, as 'there are no discount codes available at the moment' (whatever that meant). Of course, I would be extremely unlikely to reorder from Nokia simply because the same thing would almost certainly happen again (fail-cancel-grrr etc).

It seems to me that Nokia UK's payment processing system for online orders is fairly untypical, and - according to my bank at least - incorrect. This incorrectness is leading to many customers losing discounts for which they originally qualified. I think that consumer interest organisations and media programmes would probably be fairly interested in this.

It is true.
Everyone I know whom have been asked to call back all used 2 codes or more.

My order was declined yesterday (Mint). I just had total point blank refusal from Chris at Nokia UK to give me (1 code) 15% discount.

I told him this was completely unacceptable he just said "If I could I would"

If anyone else gets into the position where a Manager or Supervisor is not available - suggest you will wait. It will jam the call stats up which reflects badly on the call maanger so they will want to deal with the issue.