Who Got Duped by The Free Maglight Mini Deal? (AlwaysOnSale.com.au)

Hi, there was a free maglight deal, where you get up to free maglites free and you only pay for postage. Postage was $6 for the first, then $3 for each one after that. The great thing was postage was capped at $10.. so you were getting 5 for $10.. or $2 each.. great deal.

Today i received a small package.. with one maglite :(
and said i can get a $3 refund :(
Now i have to fill some forms to get $3 refund.. but still the maglight cost me $6.. which is a ripof, as you can get them for $5 from local shops.

Not happy.. I do not recommend dealing with always on sale..

Did anyone actually get all the maglights they ordered?

Mod:There has been one sockpuppeted comment on here and another in the deal page. This as well as the current issue with the maglight has seen earned the site with a ban.

Related Stores

Always On Sale
Always On Sale

Comments

  • +4

    if u look back at the original post, there are heaps of unhappy customers who also got scammed.

    http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/23024?page=1

  • Glad I missed out on the deal then. If it's too good to be true, it's probably is!

  • I got the 1 maglite and Letter as well
    MY guess is they only were giving 1 away and did not resrtict the shopping cart.
    I dont like there refund form either, its total crap,

  • Has anyone who had their order cancelled actually got a refund on their credit card yet?

    • got mine…..
      although via paypal…..

  • How did you get the refund? I went to the site, completed the form, but then got another email (with dead links on it) to photocopy the receipt and snail mail it to them. The only problem is, i never got a receipt?

    • I just completed the form…. put in my order number….requested repay to paypal….got the email you got, but ignored it. Checked paypal account today and it's in there……

  • Still no refund for me - and I don't even want a refund, I want my 4 other maglites. I have already posted a negative review on productreview.com.au and I will never deal with AOS again.

  • Refund Sorted via https://alwaysonsale.micash.com.au

    Will wait and see how long before they transfer into paypal account.

    I had quite a bit more to say, but for $3.04 who can be bothered.

    I won't be using their $10.00 voucher anytime soon.

    cheers
    Snap.

  • I used https://alwaysonsale.micash.com.au also, but a few hours later I got an email saying :

    Always On Sale Cash Back Offer

    Thank you for registering for the Always On Sale Cashback Offer.

    Your unique code is <DELETED>

    IMPORTANT:Please make a photocopy of your receipt and write this unique number clearly on the back, along with your full name and address. Then post to:

    Always On Sale Cashback
    PO Box 6371
    North Sydney, NSW, 2059

    Your claim will then be verified by our fulfilment team. Your claim is currently being validated and you will receive an email when it has been approved.

    You can check your status at any time by entering your unique code here.

    If you have any questions, please read the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the website.

    Kind Regards
    Customer Service

    There is no email I can contact.. and frankly cnat be bothered for $3 to jump through hoops when its their issue.. not mine.. I too dont want a refund.. i want my 4 other maglites.. Legally since they took your money they have to honour the sale…

    • +3

      WTF?….Post a copy of the receipt?

      What are these people on?

  • +2

    As soon as I got the 1 maglite (18/03/2010) I filled out the form online and got the paypal refund straight away, it did not ask me to send in my receipt.

    They must have changed it after a flood of refund requests. They are probably hoping that most people wont be bothered to jump through hoops.

  • +2

    Alwaysonsale are owned by Pinpoint Pty Ltd a LARGE MARKETING COMPANY.

    IMO all they really wanted was our Information for marketing purposes.

    https://universalgiftcard.com.au/about.aspx
    "Pinpoint is the largest marketing company in Asia-Pacific, and is a world leader in loyalty and rewards programs. We process $200 billion in transactions annually, and manage rewards pools and trusts of more than $2 billion"

    (Mod: Please do not post contact details of Pinpoint employees that are not related to AlwaysOnLine)

    http://www.search.asic.gov.au/cgi-bin/gns030c?acn=002693656&…

    Google search of the ABN number
    http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&q=%2249+002+693+656%22…

    A few of the Associated Business/websites operated by Pinpoint.(there are hundreds of associated sites)

    http://real-rewards.com.au/
    http://greatseats.com.au/bluetix/public/privacy/
    http://everythingbutflowers.com.au/
    http://rentalrewards.com.au/
    http://www.chooseandgo.com.au/
    http://www.topwines.com.au/
    http://youreventsonline.com.au/

  • Ok, I just rang them and spoke to a customer service person on the phone.

    She told me that to get my refund to my bank account of $3.04 (which should really be $3.05, shouldn't it? Why does the one cent get to be kept by them?), I would have to print the email confirmation of the order and send it to:

    Always On Sale Cashback
    PO Box 6371
    North Sydney, NSW, 2059

    I asked about what to do if we don't want the one torch, but instead wanted 5. She told me I could get the full refund of the order if I sent the torch back. I asked her how I get it back to them, and she gave me this Reply Paid address:

    Att: Always On Sale
    P.O. Box 444
    Reply Paid 444
    Balmain 2041
    New South Wales

    And told me to include the order confirmation email and the torch in the parcel. Just use the envelope it came in. You might as well include some heavy packaging too.

    I am still deciding which path I am going to take.

    • +4

      19KG of padding to protect the free torch and send it back

  • +1

    These people can afford to send us our orders.

    They are just being a bunch of…………

    I'd suggest someone talk to the Managment of Pinpoint Pty Ltd.

  • My order got canceled, the thing is i didnt get any notice for it, i had to check myself so i dunno about the refund process, are they going to refund my $6.09 shipping? i payed using a debit card, how will i get my money back, i know its not much but im not letting them keep a cent from me

  • Shouldn't they have just not sent them, and put all orders unable to be filled on backorder and got more stock? And offered the people who got put on backorder the option of cancelling the order?

  • Hi all. Just got an email from Always On Sale. A few points here

    • Please be civil.
    • Please do not post personal details & anything that might raise privacy issue.

    Thanks.
    Scott

    • scotty are they going to refund us all or are they giving you a hard time ??

      • With refund — please contact AlwaysOnSale directly instead of putting private conversations/information on OzBargain. Well you know the Australian Internet legislations and there's very little protection to community website operators.

        Hope that you can understand my concern :)

        • +1

          Scotty,

          You will note from reading the original post that many users have suggested/requested this company be suspended (or outright banned) from posting on this site for the way they have treated members of the Ozbargain community.

          Could you please comment on this request?

          • +1

            @ash2000: there needs to be a rolling banner on the front page with a list of the top ten company and bottom ten company

          • +1

            @ash2000: The mods are discussing it and will comment on this thread soon.

          • +5

            @ash2000: @ash2000 — The moderators have now banned AlwaysOnSale.com.au. Not just with their recent fiasco but also sockpuppeting attempts from their staffs.

            • +1

              @scotty: Thanks scotty. I agree with your decision like most members would. We don't want this sort of company in our ozbargain community. We need to look out for any of their related companies too.

            • +1

              @scotty: Cheers Scotty …. A very wise decision. In my time following this site, I don't recall any other business treating this community in such a contemptuous way. Glad to see them gone.

    • +4

      Oh so AOS can be bothered emailing Ozbargain but can't be bothered responding to our threads or questions… and no contact email address. I cannot believe they want us to send a receipt, that is DISGUSTING treatment.

  • Very Poor form by Always on Sale… Very Poor.

  • I am actually a online retailer of various torches, one brand is 'Maglite', I couldn't even buy them from our distributor for the price they were selling one for!

  • +1

    Could have been tackled better by Always on Sale. If they couldn't fulfill all the orders and only managed to send 1 torch per person, they should have placed the extra $3.10 cash with the torch when they sent it.

    Alternatively, they could have placed a note with the order with detailed instruction on how to get a refund without having to incur extra costs to the customer (even phone calls to dispute things like these cost money).

    They could also have not sent the item out and email everyone with options on what they would like to do with their order ie. cancel the order/send 1 torch with refund.

    To me it seems like they are making every effort to make it difficult for people to get a refund and are banking on the fact that most probably wouldn't be bothered to do so to begin with.

  • +4

    Unhappy with scam, plus difficult to redeem excess money. Do not use this website again.

  • +5

    Far out… why do we have to fill out a stupid form to get a refund???

    They know they failed to fulfill all orders of these torches, so they should just automatically give refunds to everyone.

    These guys are scum

    • +4

      A manual refund system will always ensure that a certain percentage of people will not bother (or forget) claiming their ~$3. This could run in to many hundreds of dollars (or more)….a nice little earner for this company.

      • Yup, what scum. It's the least they could do to make up for their wrong…. but making us fill out a stupid form? come on, it's the maglite, what other maglite is there and what's the bullshit about serial number etc…

  • +1

    Always On Sale Cashback Offer
    Dear —————,

    Thank you for lodging your cash back claim.
    Unfortunately we are unable to process your claim as the product you have purchased is not eligible for the cash back.
    If you have any further enquiries please call 1300 789 377.
    Regards
    Always On Sale

    Wheres my $6.09??

    • +2

      Wow. How low can you go AOS?

    • i didnt fill out the serial number tho, i just put a question mark, where do i find the serial number?

      • +2

        wtf? how thick can they be??? like as if it's a different maglite…

        for crying out loud, they know which maglite we are on about!

    • I got the same message SyNG, and since I put in my order number they have NO EXCUSE. I have resubmitted but am not holding my breath.

  • +6

    I seem to have been one of the last people to receive their one maglite. I understand why people are so mad. It's not the money, it's the fact that it's so obviously a bait and switch or basically email farming by what appears to be an unreputable company.

    Reasons why I think this is a scam rather than a simple mistake:

    1. Absolutely NO comment by the company or its reps regarding this issue after people found they'd been duped.

    2. It doesn't appear to matter whether you were the very first person or the very last person to place your order, you received one maglite no matter how many you ordered. If it was an automated system it would have allocated the stock and if there was a mistake, maybe the last 10 people or so might have missed out but that's not the case here.

    3. The claim to get your money back is ridiculously convoluted, and the only conclusion one can come to is they're hoping that people won't bother with it for a mere $3 or whatever. OR that the money back (Micash) system is a further scam or email farm. There's absolutely no reason to operate in this way from a busienss point of view, an automated refund is much easier and faster, and it's always been the way I've gained a refund in the past from reputable online companies.

    4. The only way to take advantange of their offer to 'refund the balance of shipping' is to give them more money in the form of purchasing something with the $10 voucher, which can't be used for shipping, so whatever you purchase, you'll still be outlaying more money to them.

    5. $$ PROFIT $$ :)

  • Received my one maglite and the letter, NOT HAPPY.

  • +2

    Don't give up

    I phoned them each day and i did not give in

    I now got what i wanted

    I am happy with what thay have agreed to do over the phone

    I don't have login to there web site or fill in any crap

    there going to take care of it all.

    Now i hope they deliver what they agreed.

  • If anyone has successfully received their refund (ie. you physically have the funds returned to you) please let us know too. From what I've observed to this point, no one has.

    • +2

      I paid by VISA, and had my money returned via PayPal. The company returning the money via PayPal is called "digitalglue.com.au".

    • +1

      my money is in my paypal account…..

  • -7

    Mod: Sockpuppeted Comment
    Yep I got my money back…I did it online - bit of a pain but at least i got my money back.
    came through pretty quickly too.

    • Just noticed you've been a member for 10 minutes……….

      • -2

        I ordered direct through Always on Sale…
        googled to find out if anyone else din't get the offer and came across this forum.

        • +5

          I knew it. Damn sockpuppets. Didn't wanna mention my suspicions at the time just in case I was wrong.

          • +2

            @Livert: Well spotted Livert!

            • +1

              @ash2000: Yeah, made a report as soon as I made the observation. I don't know whether it had any influence on the investigation though.

              • @Livert: Yes, I noted you initially decided to run with a very diplomatic (yet highly suspicious) "welcome" ….. before changing it to a more appropriate "Knew it"!

                • @ash2000: Thanks to that comment, I initiated a refund thinking that it'd be quick… well its been two days wonder where my money is at.

  • +2

    http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/815327#h2_…

    I am starting to think a complaint is in order. I couldn't be bothered before but I am getting more and more annoyed with this scummy company.

    • mmm….on what grounds?

  • -2

    I got all 5 and only recieved them today gues i was one of the few lucky ones woohoo

    • +1

      really? how is that possible? i was one of the first to order and i only received 1. this company is a joke if it sends different quantities to identical orders.

    • +1

      ur the first one that said you recieved 5… I received mine today - just one + a letter

      • i was quite surprised actually was expecting one if any as it arrived so late. No receipt or paperwork in bag just five blue mag lites

        my order went through just before 3pm on the 10th of march

        • +1

          Unfortunately, I only received one and a letter saying they wanted me to spend more with them.
          Order went in at 2:46pm on 10/03/10

          • @daye: its funny wonder how they worked out who got more
            I'm happy with my 5 but feel sorry for thos who never got their 5. Happy though they didn't send 2 as then you have no grounds for refund as was $3 each postage, and you paid for 5 effectively. strange though that i got 5 and other didn't.

            I guess they must have packed orders maybe in alphabetical order and they realised they were running out so rather than send none they sent everyone who ordered just one at least they ar giving a refund or voucher thats something

            • @aussman: They wasn't packed alphabetical. My order was placed at 12.38pm. I received 1 of 5 last week. A relative with the same surname is still waiting for hers.

            • @aussman: Was there anyone else who received 5? Or just this one customer? As far as I can see, of all the people who have bothered to comment, Aussman was the only one who received his complete order.

  • +3

    Alwaysonsale doesn't like the attention It's getting.

    They acted rather quickly (within 75 mins) when a bit of information about the company was posted.

    I obviously hit a raw nerve with my previous posts on this topic, Sincere appologies to site admins.

    Maybe this needs a thread on Whirlpool?

    I'd like to see them bully Whirlpool around.

  • What gets me is the fact that they advertised that there was a limit of FIVE torches per order, yet they still only sent one!

    How hard would have it been to have a limit of ONE torch per order??? Would have saved themselves a lot of heartache!

  • +24

    For transparency purposes, Please note that a positive comment on here and one on the deal were both sockpuppets of AlwaysonSale parent company. With this in account as well as the issue at hand, we are banning AlwaysonSale from Ozbargain.

    • +6

      You know your really dealing with a dodgy company when even the company's own sock puppeteer (see mandyp above) admits it's a "bit of a pain"!

    • Thanks neil

    • +1

      Thanks Neil, thats a good stance to take. I'm new to OzBargain and was interested to see how you guys reacted to something like this. It's good to see I can still rely on OzBargain after being bitten…

      Are you able to say whether A.O.S. have given a reason or explanation behind this?

      • +3

        Paraphrasing, too much demand, not enough supply was the basic reason. Fair enough but no explanation to why they wouldn't just cancel the order and refund, instead of partially filling the order. Even after that, it would have been nice for the rep to post on here (the reps account is still open so he can post) what has happened. Beyond that employees of the company create Ozbargain accounts and post suspicious positive statements.

  • +1

    I'll be steering well clear of this company - and I was considering buying some electronics from them (even had it bookmarked).

    Glad I saw this message. Always On Sale has become 'Always On My Avoid' List.

  • +1

    I'm really annoyed that I have to go through the refund process to get that silly refund back. They obviously are trying to make it harder so you won't bother to get it back. If I want them to refund into my paypal, I've gotta provide them with my primary email address which I am reluctant to do. Either that or my bank account details. Gah!

  • +4

    Good work mods on acting on this and banning these scumbags.

    I would like to reinforce the idea of actually naming and shaming these dodgy businesses

  • +1

    its like cashbacks companys know that if they offer a cashback the pick up rate is only 60% so they look good but don't have to pay up and that is the likelyhood with this they know 50-60% will ask for refund and rest will forget about it this way they will have got $6 for each torch instead of $3 double money

  • +1

    got mine today.. ordered 5. got one. the letter didnt make up for it. $10 credit is poor. ther is nothing i want on that site. not happy jan.

  • Has anyone received their $3 refund??

    I've applied for it to be refunded to Bank Account and have seen nothing since. No email, no money.

    Absolutely poor service!

  • +2

    Ah I came here to give a negative review as well, but as they are banned it seems moot.

    I too got this bait and switch letter, I was going to try their online refund service but it asked for stuff I didn't know. So rang them up and was told she would pass on, but needed to do what the letter said.

    I commented that it looks like I'll have to contact the ACCC about this bait and switch. I'm still not happy about the very poor account security over there as well.

    EDIT: Oh and I recommend contacting them after your refund and getting your account deleted and details removed from their system. Privacy and their lack of security as the reason.

  • I’m waiting for my $3 refund. I received an email on Monday saying "you will receive the payment within 5 working days".

    I also placed 2 orders for a relative. I mistakenly ordered one so I placed an additional order for 5 and requested they cancel the first order. They cancelled the order of 5. It says the meaning of cancelled "Order has been cancelled and payment will be returned within 7 days (as bank will need to process repayment)." I assume this means I wait.

    My relative thought they were getting 5 torches for $6 and gave me cash. I gave them their money back because this experience will just add to their fear of online shopping.

  • +2

    I just got my ONE maglite too… RIPPED OFF ~!!!!!!

    I want my money back… guess 6 bucks is a cheap lesson ~

    BAN ALWAYSONSALE!!!

  • NOW all the emails they got are going to get spam

    I just got my 1st email you are all next

    at least there an Unsubscribe link on it

    • +3

      I also got a spam email - i unsubscribed and it asks you to put in why you are unsubscribing. I told them what i think of them :)

  • +2

    Well wouldnt you know it.. I just got the always onsale advertisment spam email.. In all honesty if they were reputable, i would not mind buying stuff from them, as they do have some interesting items, however considering what they did for a sub $10 deal, there is no way I would conduct business with them.

    i am actually suprised that after all this fiasco, which obviously they are reading, they still had the nerve to sent the advertising email..

    • +1

      bloody hell… got the spam too… time for my colourfully worded unsubscribe email

  • +3

    Whats Free and annoying as hell?

    nɐ˙ɯoɔ˙ǝlɐsuosʎɐʍlɐ ɯoɹɟ ɯɐds

  • +1

    A few good "Product Reviews" have already been left by ozbargain customers here:

    http://www.productreview.com.au/showshop.php?&shop_id=1380&s…

  • OK Guys

    Here what else we can do - Unsubscribe their newsletter

    They will ask you to provide a reason - please feel free :-)

    http://www.alwaysonsale.com.au/public/unsubscribe.aspx?d=aos

  • Ive sent my second cashback claim (after the first one was denied) more that 24 hours ago, got the confirmation of my claim but no reply, are they allowed to ignore claims??

  • -3
    All I can say is I got all of my 5 Mag-Lite Solitaire's.
    • 10 Mar - around 1 - Order
    • 20 to 25 Mar - got my 5 Mag-Lites - 10 to 15 days later.

    So after criticising them at least to me they fulfilled their promises.

    I have nothing else to say at this stage except yeah they're really old fashioned. Look me up though if you want. ORM

    • -3

      other than me you are the only one to get all 5 anyone else get 5?

      • -5

        I got my 5, which I've since flogged off for $8 each lol.

        I also ordered on 10 March and received goods on 22 March. I did also order something else at the same time for $10 and stacked their $10 "mar2010" coupon on it, so don't know if my order was fulfilled because of that?

        But yeah, I feel for everyone who missed out, I'd be pretty p*ssed off too if I missed out. Wonder what this fiasco did to their "Currently our order success rate is 98.7%" statement lol.

        • -5

          and yet you didnt even want or need 5. I have a name for you but I won't say it cause I don't want the penalty box.

          Pathetic.

          • +1

            @AntMan76: It's really none of your business what he does with his purchase. Wow you are the biggest sook I have ever seen on Ozbargain. Who's the pathetic one I wonder.

            • -6

              @lazed: Hahahaha I'm the biggest sook? You don't pay much attention around here if you think I am a sook.

              Are you insinuating I'm pathetic? For thinking poorly of someone ordering and getting 5 of these and then selling them when there will be some here who had a legitimate need for 5 (friends, family etc) but missed out? Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. How interesting.

              • +2

                @AntMan76: its up to him, what he does with them I gave them away to family and friends kept 2 for me one in drawer and one on keyring

                • +1

                  @aussman: to be fair, i think there was a maximum limit of 5 imposed.

              • +3

                @AntMan76: It does not matter if you think you or someone else had a better purpose for them, it's completely irrelevant. He scored a good deal, they're his torches now, too bad. You labelling his actions pathetic is just beyond belief. No one judges you on the things you purchase, learn to keep your thoughts to yourself because no one cares or wants to hear it.

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