After many glowing reviews about the great service of AKC, I decided to use them for my new kayak purchase. BOY O BOY, was that a mistake. It has been nothing but a cluster F**k since the order. Here is my story:

Let me start by telling you that my bank account has a $400/day ceiling on debit purchases, for my protection. I can raise that ceiling, for any single day, just by calling the bank, but the following day, the account will go back to the $400 ceiling.

Knowing this, I called to have my bank raise the ceiling to the desired amount for the day of my purchase. I made the purchase, online, and the website said my kayak was "in stock".

Later that same evening, I received a call from an AKC representative, advising me that the kayak I had ordered was on back-order. He advised me that they (AKC) would receive the shipment on 3/23, in Austin, and be able to have the yak at my door within a week. He stated that, when the yak arrived, on 3/23, someone would call me to make shipping arrangements. I agreed to those terms.

On 3/28, I had still heard nothing from AKC, so I called to check the status. I was told that AKC had not yet received the shipment, and they should have it in a few days.

On 3/30, while I was at work, my wife received a call from AKC, stating that they had tried to run my card, and it was declined. Well, hell yea, it was declined, I am only able to raise the debit ceiling for one day at a time, and THAT was done on the day I ordered the D*** yak (2/25).

So, my wife called the bank, had the debit ceiling raised AGAIN, then called AKC back. AKC rep told my wife that they would run the card one more time, and call back if there were any issues. She never called back, so we assumed that all was well.

So, today, I call AKC to make shipping arrangements, and I am told, ok, we just need to run your card one more time. HOLD THE F***KING PHONE. We have already been thru this twice! And if you run it today, guess what, the ceiling is lowered back to $400, so it will decline AGAIN!!!

So, I had to call my bank AGAIN, have the debit ceiling raised AGAIN, call AKC back, have them run my card AGAIN, and I still don't have my kayak!

So, my issues are that we are over a month into this, and I still don't have a yak that was "in stock" the day I ordered it. And they seem to have real difficulty in running a good debit card, on the day they are supposed to run it.

I normally am not the type to complain, or bash anyone publicly, but this is pathetic! I hope to get my kayak before too long! I hope that my account isn't actually charged three times for this yak, and I will NEVER do business with AKC again! Not only that, but I will tell my story to everyone I can, in hopes that others can avoid this same frustration!

it has been brought to my attention that I keep saying AKC, when I mean ACK. Excuse the error, as I am very frustrated today, and had a brain fart.

What are you trying to buy bud? Sorry about your bad luck and customer service experience with them.

I am not too fimilar with ack. I do know that there are many stores to choose from and that means options. If you were dissatisfied with their service why do business at all? I also understand how from their side having to deal with card issues like that could be a pain in the butt. I make my purchases at mariner sails and am very satisfied with the service.

It's a bummer they "sold" you a kayak that was "in stock", but ended up being backordered. The communication could have been better, and I know kayak shipments sometimes are delayed from the manufacturer from time to tie depending on demand. I would think it's bad business to run a card for a purchase with no product to exchange for said purchase. Yeah, it's an inconvenience for both you and ACK for your bank's fraud protection.

I mean, did you not notice your bank account was not a grand or two lighter after 2/25? I would have followed up immediately if they said they were going to run the card and didn't, may have prevented a lot of headaches.

ACK is really a fine organization, nice guys and generally knowledgeable about the products they sell.

100% satisfaction? No, not for me either. I once ordered a cart and ACK should have known that Natives don't support scupper hole models. It voids the hull warranty. And, the cart was really way below any acceptable standard. So, I sent it back, the only thing I have ever returned to them.

On the positive side, for general items it has in stock, ACK has the best order fulfillment process I and many others have ever witnessed . . . across any and all sorts of merchandise one could buy in the market place. Harvard Business School ought to do one of its business case studies on ACK order fulfillment.

I am STILL not certain how they do it, but if you place an order over the Internet, it will literally be on your front porch the next day in the D/FW area coming from the Austin area.

Anyway, with a kayak, I guess I'd want to see it and pick it up locally but I sure understand your deep frustration.

Was that a debit card you used? If not, I think the maximum loss a credit card holder can lose if a card is lost or stolen is $50 and I don't even think they normally ask for that. If it weren't so, no one would dare carry a credit card. The CC companies write off the losses. A debit card is an entirely different "animal" and, there, if you have a big balance and someone gains access to your funds via a lost or stolen card, you suffer the loss. At least that is the way it used to be.

If you have a credit card and you are self-imposing a $400 daily limit, you are actually insuring the credit card company instead of the other way around. You may have another reason for doing so, of course.

Hope to see you in your new kayak soon. Your blood pressure will drop fast!

Brad

neumie, no, I didn't notice the lack of charges, because I don't always look at my account on a monthly basis.
Brad, yes, it is a debit card. I try to avoid the credit card trap. i am not the most financially disciplined person, and CREDIT cards seem to get me into trouble.

christian, I will be using mariner sails in the future, for sure.

Coming from Grand Saline, Mariner Sails would not be a bad drive to come check out the store. You will always get great customer service and straight forward info there

Sorry to hear that man. I have only bought a Hawg Trough from them so I can't really provide much input.

Hopefully they will try and make it right.

And I am usually not a fanboy of anything but must give ACK their due. They have kept me in boats and accessories (and out of city traffic) at competitive prices, next day, at my doorstep, for years. I think I might be inclined to steer clear of the manufacturer of the product you are trying to purchase. Care to name them?

Fixed it! I'm pretty sure he meant it's "not" a bad drive.

You should get a proper credit card and not have problems like this.

A credit card certainly provides better protection but can be easily abused without some discipline.

I used to always use debit cards. My bank actually suggested that I open a second checking account with a separate debit card for making online purchases. They recommended only keeping a few dollars in that account and then transferring the amount needed for a purchase. That way I didn't expose my main account to possible fraud or a mistaken charge by a vendor. Of course that wouldn't have prevented the issue in this thread.

The manufacturer of the product I am trying to purchase is PERCEPTION.

But, I'm not sure what that has to do with the fact that ACK advertised a product as "in stock" when it was back-ordered.

Also not sure what it has to do with the folks at ACK not being able to run a DEBIT card at the appropriate time.

But, if YOU chose to avoid a particular manufacturer due to a DEALERS inadequacy, then that is your choice.