Topic: Nintendo UK's Unhelpful Policy on Address Changes

I've had to move due to reasons which aren't relevant to this post and therefore I've been changing my address in various places, particularly where I have pre-orders outstanding for things. The Official UK Online Nintendo store is one of those places: being lucky enough to get a pre-order in for an Olimar amiibo, I naturally want to make sure I'm still getting it since I'll have moved house long before the advertised ship date.

I logged in to see that my address isn't stored in my profile and although I can see the delivery address indicated in the order record, there is no option to change that. I used the contact form to indicate my situation and ask that the delivery address be changed. The response was that they cannot change a delivery address, even on pre-orders (unlike Amazon or GAME, or indeed I'd expect any other online retailer) and that the only solution was to cancel the order and place it again. I replied that given this pre-order was for an item that sold out, that wasn't a helpful suggestion. I went on to indicate that if Royal Mail could be used as courier I could enable mail forwarding (albeit at a cost three times that of the amiibo!), but all they would do is confirm the courier is Hermes.

I'm now at a bit of a loss what to do. I suppose I can try to appeal to the property management company or try contacting Hermes after I get confirmation of posting in the vain hope I can get them to forward (they're basically a network of local independent couriers), but it would be nicer still if Nintendo could do something that I'd regard as pretty basic for any retailer and allow me to update the delivery address.

Anyone else have experience of this? I'm thinking it might be a good one for Nintendo Life to take up with Nintendo as this isn't very fan-friendly...

I think the best way is to keep on arguing your case with them, maybe even ask to speak to management. If you back down, you won't get no where.
As for NintendoLife taking up the case, that ain't gonna happen, this site is not affiliated with them, it's run by fans for fans.

The most blunt way would be the inform them under the data protection act you have the right to rectify any incorrect information they have about you (look this up it is the law and they are breaking it by refusing to change the details they have when requested to by you, they are responsible to do it so asking you to cancel and resubmit the order is not in compliance with the act). They are breaking the act clear and simple here.

If you move the address is then incorrect and they are obligated to change (rectify) the delivery address if you inform them of such under the law, if they don't change it tell them you will consider legal options. Hopefully this will put a bit of wind in their sails.

@dizzy_boy we are actually looking into it

Thanks for the input @dizzy_boy and @RedDevilAde. I'm well aware that Nintendo Life isn't affiliated formally with Nintendo: I used to write for them and had to field a fair number of email inquiries from people who thought NL was Nintendo! The press can often be useful as a way to leverage better behaviour from companies - ESPECIALLY if it's a fan site with a close relationship to a company.

I've sent a further reply reiterating my surprise and noting that I've had no issues updating a pre-order with GAME (oddly enough for another amiibo) and I've asked about the data protection implications and attaching that link as well as requesting escalation.

Thanks Ant, I was going to take my chances, but I thought "I've seen NL go to Nintendo with fan issues in the past, so why not try it?"

Fingers crossed for a consumer victory!

@antdickens oh, ok. I didn't think that it was something you would be able to help with. Just shows how much I know, huh?

Good luck @sean_aaron & go get 'em @antdickens !

No problem @Sean_Aaron, we'll see if we can help - no promises though!

I've found over the years that most stores do actually want to do right by their customers (despite popular belief!), but sometimes don't always have in place the right procedures to deal with every issue - hopefully they can resolve this one for you and anyone else in the same situation, it shouldn't be a big deal

I agree and Nintendo are pretty fan-friendly (in terms of their general attitude) so I was a bit surprised. Fingers crossed!

It is what I expect from the Hut Group. (What was unexpected was Nintendo choosing to let them do anything for them).

It's the same with payments. I ordered amiibo two months ago that are due out at the end of this month. The chip on my card has stopped working, and I need to order a replacement, but the Nintendo store won't let me update payment details.

Well I have my reply. The main thing is they're trying to make it right, but the fact they haven't considered that circumstances could change in the 30+ days between a pre-order being placed and delivered (another good point Peach64) surprises me. @urandomsam you know I think I had noticed reference to The Hut in reference to a delivery from them before - is that what they're doing, using an online retailer as their procurement service? I can't see how that's making things easier for them - it's their stuff after all!

Here's the (more helpful) reply I've received since emailing NL:

"Dear Sean,

Thanks for getting in contact with Nintendo.

I'm sorry for any disappointment or frustration this situation is causing.

The reason for not updating your address is not a case of being against policy, at this time it is a technical restriction which prevents us from doing so. The DPA information you have indicated would not apply to historic data such as purchase history.

However we would very much like to be able to get your pre-ordered amiibo to you, to that end we expect in the next few days to have the facility in place which would allow you to re-order this item to your new address despite it's sold out status. I will contact you again on Wednesday evening to advise further on this."

Get ready a new proof of address, such as a utility bill or bank statement. If they have technical restrictions, they may require this in order to process the order to your new address. That way, if/when they ask for it, you don't have to find one or go through the hassle of getting one printed off. And it may mean the difference between getting your amiibo on time or not.

True. Not sure what I'll be able to come up with in a couple of days though; I've only just put in my change of address. GAME certainly didn't need anything like that, just logging in with my account was sufficient.

Worth pointing out that they have fobbed you off there with a load of BS that they have just made up. The whole point of the right to rectify under the data protection act is to force correction of inaccurate historic data about yourself held by companies (it's the obvious reason for such a right to exist). What they have said is wrong and makes zero sense (the link even says the right is to allow old information to be brought up to date). I'd point this out to them and besides that a live order is not historic information so can't even be used as an excuse here even if it were true (how dumb do they think people are?). Whether data is historic or not is irrelevant under the act only that it exists on their systems.

I get so annoyed when companies just make up "laws/rights" hoping they won't be challenged, many retailers do it to get away with things.

I just had a thought on this, would it be worth going to a Citizens Advice Bereau. They might have somebody who knows consumer laws and how to move this in the right direction.

I had a similar problem with Target. Their online service wouldn't accept my full address when I ordered Jigglypuff. Target would not change my address even with it being several months out. Eventually I just had to work with the leasing office and I was able to get it.

Good Luck with your issue.

Working as a complaints manager I understand where you're coming from there. I hate having to apologise to customers for mistakes my own staff have made! What Nintendo has said is true but misapplied. The DPA still applies in Sean's case for the reasons you've pointed out; his account information is out of date, and therefore needs updating. Whilst it technically does not apply to 'historic' purchases (the purchases have been made already with the old address) the pre-ordering of a product would not place it under the 'historic' category, since the order is still active, and therefore they still have an obligation to update his address.

It's for this same reason I recommend getting proof of the new address. If their system has 'technical limitations' (also no excuse) then they may need the proof for auditing purposes to justify why they've sent it to an address that was not 'recorded' on their system.

They're still waiting for some mechanism to be provided by the agent (Hut Group, apparently) that will allow them to change the destination address. I've also been assured they won't be selling my amiibo out from under me, so I'm hopeful a resolution will come and I'll be able to get Olimar delivered to my new address.

Okay, got a notice of order cancellation and an email today with a link I could use to order the figure again when signed in (no, I'm not going to share that). So that was the remedy, however all is not quite done and dusted yet as I initially tried PayPal which failed to complete when it bounced me back to the shop site, though I still got a confirmation email from PayPal (nothing shows on the Nintendo page, but I've flagged it to avoid a double-charge) and I had to tick a box for a £1.99 delivery charge, which I'm pretty sure I never paid before, so I've asked for confirmation that is correct.

So far so good, I guess, but something more transparent to me would have been preferred.

Added: ugh, just realised that they list no information about the card on file; it's likely got my old address against it, which is no longer the billing address, so I deleted it, but that might make any payment fail. I might end up doing all this again!