THE NORTH (and Heritage) REMEMBERS ! ! ! 0

[Domo Arigato]

About three months ago I was browsing the internet for graded comics and video games.

I ended up on the Heritage website.....checked out their Wata graded video games in their current auction, and noticed some games I might be interested in.  I knew I hadn't bid on anything from Heritage in quite a while, so I had to hunt for my user name and password.  Finally found it......logged onto the website and updated all of my personal and credit card information.....then put a bid on a game I wanted that I knew wasn't high enough to win, but wanted to check that I was approved for bidding since I hadn't done it for a while.  Everything check out ok and the bid went through with no problem.  There was still about five days left on the auction, so I also added a few games to my watch list to see where final prices ended on them.

About two days prior to the end of the auction, I went back to the Heritage website without logging in, just to see how high the bidding was going.  I then happened to notice that the game I had bid on was now sitting at less than it was after I had place my bid on it.  It looked like my bid had been erased.  So, I went to log in to see what was going on.  But now my password wouldn't work and I couldn't get to my account.  There was just a message saying to contact Heritage.

WTF?  I had updated all of my contact and credit card information when I logged on a few days prior.....but thought maybe the account was too old and had been inactive too long, so maybe they had cancelled it.  Oh well.....I just made a new account with all of my current information and placed the same bid on the same item that I had before.....no problems.  Except the next day I went to log on, my new account password wouldn't work either, my bid was cancelled again, and the message just said to call Heritage.  What the frig?  The auction only had like a day left and I'm locked out again.

Fine.  I called Heritage and they transferred me to their accounting department.  The lady there said I had an invoice for $111 that hadn't been paid.  She said that the book was no longer available, but I would be required to pay a 20% penalty fee ($22) for non payment in order to get my account reinstated.  That seemed a bit strange, since I hadn't bought anything from them in quite a while, and I was able to log on just a couple of days ago.  I asked her what the item was, and she told me it was a CGC 8.0 copy of Avengers #9.  That seemed like a ridiculously cheap price for that book, so I told her I had absolutely no recollection of ever bidding and winning that book, and asked her if she could email me a copy of the invoice. 

Here is what she sent:

Ok.......the mystery of why I didn't remember it had been solved.......it was two decades ago. 

I still didn't remember winning it, but I didn't doubt that I had.  I had switched jobs and moved at around that time, so that's probably why it got lost in the shuffle.  Obviously it was my own fault.  But I had to chuckle..........a 20 year old invoice with a $22 penalty due ......and it's like they were waiting all this time for me to log back on.

 

Ok......the auction closing is getting nearer, so I call the lady back and had to leave a message.  She eventually calls me back, and I ask her what all I need to do to get my account reinstated.  She said I would need to pay the 20% penalty due on the unpaid invoice, and then they could mark the account as paid and cancel the newer account I had made.  I told her no problem.....I need to grab a credit card and I would call her back in just a few minutes.  

 

 

I called back several times to pay the invoice and left a couple of messages....but she never called me back that day before they closed.  I called the next morning (the auction was ending later that day) and left another message for her.  After a couple of hours with no return call....I called again and asked if I could speak to someone else in the accounting department. 

A very nice gentleman immediately got on the line with me.....I spent a few minutes explaining what was going on and that I just needed to pay an invoice so I can get my account reinstated.  He looked up my account and there was dead silence on the other end of the phone.  He eventually said.......uh, the amount owed is only $22......I told him that I knew that.......he then said, but it's from a 20 year old invoice.......and I told him that I also knew that and would like to pay it.  He chuckled....told me he was going to do a courtesy credit for the $22 and to just forget about it.  He was going to immediately reinstate my account and thanked me for being a Heritage customer.  I thanked him very much and apologized that I hadn't paid the original invoice and that I wish I had (that book is now selling for over $2,200).  Oh...and I ended up losing the auction for the video game I went after.

Moral(s) of the story:

• If you win a CGC 8.0 copy of Avengers #9 for $111........pay for it.
• A Lannister always pays his debts (to Heritage)......or else.

 

Edited May 16, 2021 by Domo Arigato

[greggy]

You would be rich if you had that Avengers 9, non-paying twerp.

xoxo

greggy

[vheflin]

buyer's premium ... $0

no tax

shipping ... $6

[BlowUpTheMoon]

Pay your bills.

[Galen130]

[Domo Arigato]

26 minutes ago, BlowUpTheMoon said:

Pay your bills.

Nothing on the invoice indicated when the payment was required.

If it had said payment was due within 19 years, then I could understand why they might be upset.

 

Edited May 16, 2021 by Domo Arigato

[Bludriver]

It was nice of them to give you a courtesy credit.

I am going to try this with the IRS and see how things work out 20 years from now.

[Domo Arigato]

37 minutes ago, vheflin said:

buyer's premium ... $0

no tax

shipping ... $6

I noticed that.  I'm not sure....but think they might have removed those fees when they "cancelled" the purchase.

[iggy]

3 hours ago, BlowUpTheMoon said:

Pay your bills.

A Lannister would...!

[Domo Arigato]

9 hours ago, iggy said:

A Lannister would...!

They couldn't even wait the standard 25 years before selling the book out from under me. 

[valiantman]

[ADAMANTIUM]

2 minutes ago, valiantman said:

not the library detective!  over due? we'll get to you! haha

[Domo Arigato]

Fine.

If Heritage finds me another Avengers #9 in CGC 8.0......I'll step up and pay the $111 for it.

But they'll owe me big time if I do.