I’ve been wanting a new laptop for over a year. When I retired from teaching, I reluctantly had to give up my laptop; I had hoped to be able to purchase it, but alas, no, that was not to be. I have a desktop computer at home, but something about the flexibility and ease of a laptop just had me itching for a new one. There was absolutely no way that I could justify the expense, especially now that, as of November 1, 2019, my husband had joined me as a retiree, and we were now on a fixed income, significantly lower than just months before.
But I really wanted that laptop, so I began looking at alternative sources.
Imagine my delight when while browsing through our banking website and studying our accrued points from credit card use I discovered that my dream laptop was not only available, but we had more than enough points to redeem it.
I need to interject something here that is really important. I do NOT advocate having credit card debt. We do not have a debit card due to repeat problems with the information being hacked and purchases being made by thieves; instead we have a credit card that we pay off each month and are rewarded with points that can be redeemed for all sorts of items…including my lovely laptop!
When I set aside the time to make my laptop purchase/redemption, I saw that, happy day, there was even a sale in progress and the cost in points had been slashed. I felt that it was indeed a “sign”, and that laptop would soon be mine. I studied the various sizes and options and settled on a MacBook Air in “space gray”, entered all of my information and hit the return key. I may or may not have been salivating.
Within seconds an error message appeared in the center of the screen. There was a problem with my request, and I should try again later. No other explanation…try again later.
So, of course, I went back to the purchase screen, checked through all of the entries and information, and hit return…again.
Same error message.
Rats! This was annoying.
I waited a few minutes and repeated the process, getting the exact same result. So, although, I really prefer cybershopping and avoiding human interaction, I called the number given for assistance. I was greeted by a very pleasant voice who identified himself as Anthony. Anthony listened to my story, and I’m pretty sure I took too long to tell it and included too many unnecessary details. I heard clicking sounds as he entered all of my information into his computer, feeling hopeful that my laptop was surely within my grasp. But…heavens to Betsy…Anthony got the same error message! We were both flummoxed!
After several more attempts, he suggested that I wait a day and try again tomorrow. “Something must be wrong with the system.”
Bright and early the next morning I was back at it. As I was finishing up my redemption request, something caught my eye that I had missed the previous day. The mailing address for the requested item could NOT be a post office box…it must be a street address for security reasons. How I missed that I cannot fathom, and why the error message did not tell me that before was a mystery, but, oh well, I had it figured out. I changed our address accordingly, hit return, and, voila, the order was processed. The points were deducted from my account accurately, and my laptop would be delivered in 6-8 weeks…
The following week a UPS van rolled up our driveway. Christmas packages were beginning to arrive per my prolific cyber shopping, so this was no surprise. However, I was thrilled to accept a laptop-shaped package from the delivery man. And yes, yes, yes…it was my laptop…in all of its space gray glory. And that should be the end of this rather bland story.
The next day I went to the post office, and there was a yellow slip in my box indicating a package for me. Hooray…more Christmas fun! The postal clerk said I had several packages…eight to be exact…and he went to retrieve them.
Three packages were unidentifiable, but five of those boxes were laptop-sized and identical to the one I had received the day before. Five! When I arrived home, I opened two of those clones, and sure enough, they were the same space gray beauties. I needed to think about this. I knew how I would respond, but I did have a few whimsical momentary daydreams about giving some of our grandchildren very extravagant gifts for Christmas. No…I had to act responsibly. I taught my children that it was not right to unfairly profit from someone else’s mistake, and this was definitely one of those mistakes on a pretty grand scale. I made the phone call to the bank, spoke at length to someone in the redemption center, and was told they would get back to me. A few days later another laptop-sized box appeared at the post office.
No one really knows how it all happened, which is rather troubling to me. I guess it is one of the downsides of cyber transactions. A human, I presume, might have puzzled over seven laptops being sent to someone within a week’s time…and possibly glanced over the paperwork. But maybe not. A human might have noticed that my cache of credit card points could get me one laptop…but no more…and double-checked the order. But maybe not.
I don’t really like where these thoughts are taking me. So very much of my purchasing is done using keystrokes and wifi…using plastic representatives of money or sending electronic payments through my bank. It’s like the idea of a transaction but without a tangible exchange occurring. I can’t remember the last time my husband or I received a paper, “hold it in your hand and endorse it on the back” paycheck. I have this nagging feeling that this is not a good thing.
I know, I know…I sound old. I’ve adapted and embraced technology. I’m a primo online shopper, especially at Christmas. But then something happens, and a computer sends you $8000 worth of merchandise in error, and it just gives you pause.
I sent the laptops back using the return labels that were emailed to me yesterday…but my heart wasn’t really in it.
Haha, good moral lesson. We all can be tempted but that little voice which was programed in you spoke loud and clear. I bought a new truck once and about two months later I received a clear title to the vehicle from the bank which financed my purchase. I called the dealer and he put me in touch with the financial institute in New Orleans, La. (not where I bought the truck). I talked to a very nervous meek sounding young lady who had mistakingly sent the order to the State of Texas that my loan was paid. I often wondered how long it would have taken them to discover their mistake.
Wow…that’s a huge mistake! They were sure blessed by your honesty. That poor lady would probably have lost her job when the error was detected. Glad you liked my story.