Debit and Bank Card Information

We accept debit and bank card transactions; however, there are several limitations on their use that customers need to understand:

1. General - The customer assumes the risk of knowing the policies of their bank and using a bank debit card; we cannot possibly know each bank's debit card policy. Furthermore, please understand the debit card system's limitations, as explained below:
2. Time of Charge Processing - We typically charge the transaction upon shipping the items. Exceptions to this rule are special orders, which we charge at the time the order goes into production.
3. Time of Funds Transfer - When either a credit card or debit card is processed, the merchant's system (in this case, Marlow White) sends an electronic inquiry/reservation request to your account. Assuming there is enough of a credit limit (for a credit card) or balance (for a debit card) an approval is sent back to our system, along with information regarding the Address Verification (success or failure). The financial institution immediately reserves or "locks" the funds in your account. The money does not actually transfer out of your account until midnight of that same day, when the day's transactions are transmitted as a batch. If, for some reason, we cancel or void the original debit-card charge before midnight in our system, the financial institution will continue to "reserve" the funds in your account for 3-5 business days. In other words, the bank-card system does not transfer our void request back to your financial institution. We feel this "quirk" is a nationwide design flaw in the bank-card system that is outside our ability to affect.
4. Returns on Bank Cards - A return or a reversal on a bank card takes 3-5 business days for the funds to be deposited in your account from the time we process the transaction. This time is outside of our ability to control and affect. On the rare occasion when we make a processing error, the fix can take a few days even after our immediate corrective transfer.
5. Bank Card Precautions - Accordingly, if you choose to use a bank card, please:
   1. Ensure the billing address you input in the shopping cart fields is the billing address of the bank card.
   2. Keep in mind that it is best to keep a balance in your account that is several times the value of your order. Should we find it necessary to void a transaction, this will prevent an overdraft.
6. Multiple Credit Cards - Our data-base system allows the tracking of one credit (or debit) card per customer. If you have submitted several orders in close proximity to each other and are using different credit and/or debit cards for each order, there is a possibility that we may inadvertently bill the incorrect card for your order. If you have submitted several orders with different cards in a short amount of time, please call us and let us know so we may manually ensure the correct card is charges for the correct order.
7. Apparent Use of "Fine Print" - We know this looks like a lot of fine print. Nonetheless, from experience, we decided that we needed to educate customers on the limitations inherent to using today's credit and debit card systems.

It is important that you manage your credit and bank balances when placing orders so that you are not inconvenienced should some of your funds be tied up for a few days.