JooJoo refund issues creating some bad juju

Given the legally-disputed origins of the JooJoo and the current shipping delays, you'd think Fusion Garage would scrupulously maintain a squeaky-clean image with its customers as it leads up to launch, but it looks like it wasn't quite prepared to handle refunds in a sensible way -- we just confirmed that the company asked a customer for his bank account information in order to deposit a refund directly after running into some troubles with PayPal. Here's the relevant exchange:

"Support Joojoo" wrote:

Dear Rony,

We have checked this at our end and there seems to be a problem with
refunding via paypal.

To avoid any further wait time, could you send us your bank name, bank
account name, bank account number, sort or swift code and your bank address.

We will have a direct transfer done to your bank account. If you could
provide us the details today, we will ensure that the refund hits your bank
account by friday of this week.

Please advise . Sorry for the inconvenience caused.

Fusion Garage tells us that this customer actually changed his mind about getting a refund several times, and that they've only had three customers with refund issues, all of which were related to problems with PayPal issuing credit long after pre-orders were placed. While it's uncommon here in the States (and obviously this buyer wasn't keen on it), bank to bank transfers are the norm in Europe and widely used for the wiring of cash across international lines. Clearly after the issues with PayPal, however, the idea of handing over bank details doesn't seem appealing in this case. We'll see how everyone feels when that promised March 25 ship date rolls around, and we'll let you know what happens with Rony and his refund when we find out more. Maybe next time just mail a check, guys.

[trebores Posted Mar 16th 2010 4:45PM]

I'm a big fan of Engadget - especially because they are usually more responsible in reporting than other blogs. Nilay, you're a good writer and smart guy, but this is a non-event - with a negative spin. Refunding in this manner is standard business practice, and in fact it seems like they're trying to provide A+ customer support. This is lame and I'm sure Juju has better things to spend their time on then responding to this.

[kris2lee Posted Mar 16th 2010 4:46PM]

This is true. Bank transfer is usually prefered payment method in the Europe. It is also way cheaper than any other option.

[Addidis Posted Mar 16th 2010 5:08PM]

@Lord Vader

Best troll ever. +1

Ps this story is unfortunate , but doesnt seem to be fraud related. Looks like a nice unit.

[FORDY Posted Mar 16th 2010 5:40PM]

@Lord Vader
Or even Darth Ju Ju?

[Pete Posted Mar 16th 2010 5:47PM]

Lots of people *think* this information is harmless. However, people do really need to be careful about how they give this information out to.

Here's an example: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7174760.stm

[Pete Posted Mar 16th 2010 5:52PM]

@Pete I meant who they give the information to, obviously.

[TRRosen Posted Mar 16th 2010 5:49PM]

Hard To Believe --
"Fusion Garage tells us that this customer actually changed his mind about getting a refund several times, and that they've only had three customers with refund issues, all of which were related to problems with PayPal issuing credit long after pre-orders were placed"

Easy to Believe --
"Fusion Garage tells us "..." that they've only had three customers"..." all of which were related "

[Philip Schiller Posted Mar 16th 2010 5:58PM]

Dear Joojoo team,


When conducting business use a real a merchant.
Fucking noobs!!!

-sent from my iPad-

[TommyO Posted Mar 16th 2010 6:21PM]

I'm sorry, but why is this news worthy?
this is just basic wire info!!

[blj Posted Mar 16th 2010 7:38PM]

..and how exactly do you Americans exhange money via banks?? And how the h can anyone get to your money with just that info? Don't you have pin codes (or the like) when you log in to your bank (online or by SMS-text)? My bank is 100% online only and has been for 7 years.

[JeremyBenthem Posted Mar 16th 2010 7:49PM]

@Addidis
he was probably one of the CEOs before Engadget banned them

[Atkins Posted Mar 17th 2010 3:42AM]

@Jason B "They created a fake driver's license" Wow, they were motivated. Still, the cashier normally must ask for 2 pieces of identity.

[Atkins Posted Mar 17th 2010 3:46AM]

@Robbie Hottie "how is sending a check in the mail unsafe? someone would have to have a fake id of you to deposit it, but then they wouldn't be able to withdraw it without your bank card and pin."

Or someone can lose it.

[Atkins Posted Mar 17th 2010 3:52AM]

@Pete The article you sen for me is BS. Maybe this happened, but it would be someone's error (an employee of the bank). You can do nothing with an account number and name.
I do not know what is this Data Protection Act, but in case of a fraud it must be possible for the police to ask for the person's identity.

[Atkins Posted Mar 17th 2010 4:09AM]

@Robbie Hottie Ah, I forgot:
"unsafe to give out your bank account information"
It is completely safe the whole world does it, USA included.

[x11y00 Posted Mar 17th 2010 12:13PM]

1. All those details that they've requested for are standard information to do an international bank wire. This is due to regulations to prevent international money laundering. It is the same if you're to do a bank wire from US to someone outside US. The bank will require all these information due to regulations to prevent international money laundering.

2. Possibly they can't just send you a check because international checks do not clear the same way as domestic checks. The process of clearing international checks may take weeks or even months. This is why there're services like postal orders and bank drafts for international payments, but these methods don't get money into your account as quickly as a bank wire.

[Jason Murray Posted Mar 19th 2010 3:30AM]

Direct bank transfers are especially common in Singapore, where I believe Fusion Garage is located. This is perfectly normal business practice.