TLG canceled my P&B order and future orders placed through S@H

[Dosenbrot]

The Title should pretty much tell everything, but heres a short summary:

Today I wanted to buy some unique pieces from Bricks and Pieces. Manly Star Wars pieces like Sabine's Helmet. I made my order and got an E-Mail shortly after which said:

"We offer a free service to replace LEGO® bricks that were missing or faulty in a new set. After reviewing your account history and parts requests you’ve made over time, we’ve decided to no longer offer this service to you. As a result, we’ve cancelled your order. Any future orders will also be cancelled.

You can still buy LEGO bricks and sets elsewhere, but orders placed through LEGO.com, for both Shop and replacement parts, online or over the phone will be automatically cancelled from this point on."

I know they assume you abuse the system if you order too much, and I admit ordering some pieces 2 years prior (I was really nitpicky back then about slightly misplaced printings, but anymore thank god).

But the point is, I wanted to BUY the pieces. Not get them for free. I entered my credit card informations and they still cancelled it. Why feels like a giant "Screw you" to me.

I wouldn't mind if it was an order about missing bricks, but no, I just wanted to buy them and they still treat my like this.

Reading this sounds like im ranting really hard, but it isn't really, since they have a reason to be suspicious to me.

But what actually unsettles me the most is that they told me that ALL Orders from the Online Store will get cancelled. Every.Single.One.

I tried to contact them once because I really had a broken piece to be replaced, but they ignored my E-Mail.

Edit:

Sorry for the late answer, but I finally asked them about this issue per phone.

It did NOT get solved. The woman I talked to explained me that the decision came from a person on an higher position than her and she couldn't do anything about it to change it.

Well, now I feel like I just got a giant middle finger shuffed in my face...

So I don't really know what to do know. I think a phone call would come in mind, but let me hear what you say about this messy situation.

Edited February 15, 2016 by Dosenbrot

[Captain Britain]

Ouch! I'd definitely call them! Doing a quick search I've seen quite a few people seem to have been banned but it looks to be because they've ordered items then resold it.

[Junior Shark]

Hmmm. I won't pretend to know everything about TLG's workings, but that is strange. Like you said, it would make sense if you kept on endlessly requesting "missing" pieces, but you were paying for these. Also strange that they didn't just cut off your access to B&P, they cut off your access to the S@H as well. But again, I don't know squat about TLG's policies when it comes to things like this.

I would definitely try contacting them again. Maybe someone here on EB with more knowledge on this than I could help you out.

[geezerman402]

That is really weird. No clue why they would cancel an order; you're a paying customer!

[Balhu]

You payed for these, and they sill canceled your orders. Odd...

I don't pretend to know TLG's inner workings, but perhaps a phone call could solve the issue?

[chump]

Your subject feels very click baity. They're not cancelling all "Bricks & Pieces" orders, just yours. There are two sides to every story. So call them, as they would know the full story that lead them to that action.

UPDATED: OP has changed the title to be more clear, as it originally had read "TLG cancels all Bricks & Pieces orders"

Edited February 5, 2016 by chump

[Sven F]

Are some of the parts you ordered the same as those you were picky about before?

Are you 100% sure you didn't accidentally go in the missing parts section? The green buttons are changed around since they opened again.

Not that i would know anything, but perhaps there's just a tiny bit more information to go by.

Edited February 4, 2016 by Sven F

[fatsomania]

Ouch! I'd definitely call them! Doing a quick search I've seen quite a few people seem to have been banned but it looks to be because they've ordered items then resold it.

Darn, didn't know you couldn't sell stuff from there (I was thinking about it). It's okay to buy Star Wars torsos and stuff though, right?

[anothergol]

Can you confirm that you really used "buy bricks" & didn't abuse "missing/broken bricks"?

That's like the detail that changes everything.

If you really used "buy bricks", then it's pretty serious, and I don't see where Lego says that "buy bricks" can't be used like PaB.

If on the other hand you did abuse "missing bricks" (even if you wanna pay), well you deserve it.

So you didn't claim some parts were missing & then told Lego you wanted to pay for them, did you?

Edited February 4, 2016 by anothergol

[large88]

As pointed out, this has happened to more people recently... Just call them and ask what the problem is.

I have ordered through B&P about 4 times in the last 3 months. And yesterday I got confirmation of shipping for my most recent order.

[dr_spock]

Something about your history with LEGO has made them set a "blackflag" to your name in the customer records database. You're best bet is to contact LEGO to deal with it. Companies may ban customers for failing to paid past invoices, fraud, bad credit risk, etc.

I think there was another EB user who was banned by LEGO.com. It turned out it was his room mate using his account and abusing the system.

[Robianco]

Reading that email from Lego certainly sounds like they're flagging you for abusing the replacement parts service rather than the 'Buying' service.

I've only once requested missing parts on a set but I've made around 6 or 7 orders from B&P's purchased bricks section. Didn't another user mention that Lego have stated they're happy for people to buy as many things and make as many orders aether like from PAB or B&P but it's the use of the free service that'll get you banned.

[Captain Britain]

Reading that email from Lego certainly sounds like they're flagging you for abusing the replacement parts service rather than the 'Buying' service.

I've only once requested missing parts on a set but I've made around 6 or 7 orders from B&P's purchased bricks section. Didn't another user mention that Lego have stated they're happy for people to buy as many things and make as many orders aether like from PAB or B&P but it's the use of the free service that'll get you banned.

Agreed. I've placed an order for parts that broke before on my Ecto-1 and didn't have any problems. I've also placed a few purchases and all been fine. I did contact them at one stage to purchase new stickers for my Slave 1 but they said as good will they'd replace for free as they know how tricky they can be! Recently I made the mistake of ordering a Maria Hill and Nick Fury from their site thinking I'd be able to pay at the end but it went through as free (didn't realise the store was closed over Christmas! Thought it had just changed!). Anyway I did contact Lego on the back of it after sharing here (I believe it was actually Robianco's advice!) and they couldn't have been more friendly and helpful. I offered to pay and said it was a mistake and didn't want to abuse the system and she thanked me for my honesty but said she'll make sure it's noted down but she was happy to leave it be.. never dealt with anyone with customer service like Lego!

[Sven F]

I think some people are unawaringly getting into the missing parts section thinking they are in the buy, i've seen this on this very forum several times. I don't know what the missing pieces part looks like from the inside as i never used it, but i suppose the prices wouldn't be listed there.

[Cwetqo]

It's not that. Lego will ban you from S@H or bricks@pieces if they suspect reselling (head on to Brickpicker forum and you will see it happens daily). Buying certain licensed parts in larger than normal quantities will certainly flag you as reseller.

[Robianco]

It's not that. Lego will ban you from S@H or bricks@pieces if they suspect reselling (head on to Brickpicker forum and you will see it happens daily). Buying certain licensed parts in larger than normal quantities will certainly flag you as reseller.

What would be considered 'larger than normal' I've never order more than 2 or so of any particular piece, 3 maximum. I'm assuming if you were ordering 30+ of a licensed torso or parts they'd consider you a reseller? There are so many seller on BL that have a large stock of those licensed parts that you must feel unlucky if you get called out for it when some of those BL sellers must have been making very large orders, and regularly, to stock up their store.

[AFOLguy1970]

The lesson learned from this is to not use the free replacement service unless I really have to. If they forget to put in a white 1x2 brick in the modular I just purchased, it might not be wise to use the service--just suck it up and get the part from my spares, bricklink, or online PAB. Thankfully, part issues have been few and far between. There have been some misaligned prints and bent sticker sheets, but I have quietly accepted them. They seem to be tracking account activity like this based on volume alone rather than percentages of sets that you order that have errors. The more you buy, the more likelier it is that you will have an error. Now the decision seems to be, at what point do you request the free replacement service? Misprinted tile? Probably not. Missing bag such as the Fire Brigade incident? Definitely so.

[AmperZand]

I've been told by the manager of a LEGO store that if they suspect someone of buying for the purpose of reselling, they are to refuse the sale. They don't have a hard-and-fast rule for determining suspicion but a large quantity of the same set or even a small quantity of a very large set (say 3 or more) could get your purchase declined. Of course, the staff want to sell as much as possible, so are not very keen on enforcing the limit. And if they know someone is an AFOL and therefore buying for themselves, they are flexible.

[Iria]

Are you guys completely sure that Bricks and Pieces in the same way you would Pick a Brick?, because these are the options under BnP:

Missing Bricks - Tell us if there is something missing from your new set

Broken Bricks - Let us know if a brick has broken

Buy Bricks - Buy replacement bricks here

Replacement being the keyword, which makes it sound they don't want have people buying any brick, in any quantity, unless you already had it and maybe lost/damaged it. If LEGO is changing the primary purpose of BnP, this may be why people are being flagged more frequently lately, especially if they see you've made multiple Missing Brick claims. It doesn't sound like a money issue to them, unless they suspect the buyer reselling the bricks for profit.

[K-Nut]

Are you guys completely sure that Bricks and Pieces in the same way you would Pick a Brick?, because these are the options under BnP:

Missing Bricks - Tell us if there is something missing from your new set

Broken Bricks - Let us know if a brick has broken

Buy Bricks - Buy replacement bricks here

I don't see why that would be when you could get replacement bricks for free.

I was planning on ordering a few of the same Star Wars torso just in case they crack, but if it might get me banned I'll have to wait and see...

[LegoFjotten]

Buy Bricks - Buy replacement bricks here

Replacement being the keyword (snip)

If you look at the main Customer Service page, the heading is "Buy bricks"with detailed text "Visit Bricks & Pieces to find more unusual bricks and DUPLO parts". Using that link you can enter BaP without seeing the word replacement, so I don't think it is intended as purely a replacement service. Didn't they also change the number of max pieces per lot from 100 to 200 not so long ago?

[Andrzej777]

Just out of curiosity

I bought the airjitzu temple last year right when it came out. - The set has a quantity limit of 1 - I have been toying with the idea of buying a second set in order to build a complete temple and might actually do it one day - now after reading this I am a little bit worried. Could this make them think I am a reseller and black flag me?

Edited February 4, 2016 by Andrzej777

[dr_spock]

Just out of curiosity

I bought the airjitzu temple last year right when it came out. - The set has a quantity limit of 1 - I have been toying with the idea of buying a second set in order to build a complete temple and might actually do it one day - now after reading this I am a little bit worried. Could this make them think I am a reseller and black flag me?

Limits are set so that other customers can get a chance to buy and own the set like children who have to save up their allowances over time. I don't think the limiter algorithm on S@H is sophicated enough yet to check your past purchases to determine if you have already purchased the set before. It'll stop you from entering a quantity of more than 1 on the current order. That doesn't mean LEGO can't run queries on your purchasing history at a later time and figure out you bought more than one. If you don't want your extra purchase to be in the system tied to you, don't buy from S@H. Buy the set from other retailers with no limits. I don't think 1 extra is going to ban you but if you have a repeating history of doing something like that, then the risks are higher.

Edited February 4, 2016 by dr_spock

[Dosenbrot]

Can you confirm that you really used "buy bricks" & didn't abuse "missing/broken bricks"?

Im 100% sure I used this option, or else they wouldn't have asked for my credit card information.

Thanks for all the comments, I will try to phone them but this week is really busy for me so i have to ask them next week.

[rollermonkey]

I'm not sure why there is any surprise about this response from TLG... There is probably a dozen threads on this site where this has happened before.

Don't be anal about prints, only use Missing Bricks when a set you've bought is actually missing something, and call them when you have large orders. I've called a few times when I was trying to build a discontinued set, or large MOC, and when you speak to a real person, they understand that. When you mostly use the web service, the computer just flags based on whatever algorithm they have set up.