Sometimes things go wrong with a purchase or download. We try very hard to give everyone a smooth experience, but software bugs, internet glitches, and human error (more likely ours than yours) mean things occasionally don’t behave as they should. If you experience a problem, we want to fix it!
Please don’t waste time struggling to fix a problem on your own. We’ve had customers write to us who were very upset that they wasted an hour of their time trying to get something to work without success. If something isn’t working, it’s probably not your fault, and also probably not something you can fix. So, please don’t struggle with it. We would be very happy to help you.
If you’re trying to do something (place an order, log in, download a book, etc.) and you’re not getting the results you want within a few minutes, stop. Contact us and we’ll look into it as rapidly as we can.
We ask you to help us help you. A message like “I can’t check out” doesn’t tell us enough to solve or even understand the problem. We can’t see what you see on your screen and we don’t know the specifics of what you experienced unless you tell us. Here’s some of the information that can help us figure out what went wrong and fix it:
- Zip/Postcode field problems? See this page for details on what you can do.
- Exactly what did you see? This is the most important thing. What page were you on, what button or link did you click/tap, and what did you see as a result? Walk us through it. Did you see an error message? If so, what did it say? The more detail you can provide about what steps you followed and what happened, the more likely it is we’ll be able to follow the same steps, see the same behavior, and devise a solution.
- What browser are you using? Safari, Chrome, Firefox, something else? Every browser has its quirks, and if we can test the problem on our end using the same browser, that will help us narrow down the problem.
- What device and operating system are you using? Differences among macOS, iOS, iPadOS, Windows, and other operating systems could have an effect on what happens. Please tell us what device you’re using and what version of the operating system it’s running. (We do not need to know how much RAM you have, how fast your processor is, or any other details. It’s sufficient to say “I’m using a Mac running Sonoma” or whatever.)
- Where are you…and where does the internet think you are? When you place an order, our payment processor needs to know where you are in order to charge you the correct sales tax/VAT/GST for your location (if any). If you use a VPN, it may give the impression that you’re in an entirely different part of the world, leading to weirdness in currencies and prices. So, if your problem is payment-related, tell us where you are (the city or region is enough) but also where you appear to be. You can use a service such as https://www.iplocation.net to see where servers on the internet think you are. If it’s in a different state/province/country from your actual location, that could factor into the problem and solution.
- Were you logged in? Our site may behave differently depending on whether you’re logged in to your Take Control account when various things occur.
Nearly always, if you’re willing to answer some questions, perhaps try an experiment or two, and bear with us while we do research and testing, we can solve the problem.
Most of all, please understand that we’re not trying to make your life difficult. Just the opposite! We want your experience with Take Control Books to be pleasant and trouble-free. If you’re unhappy, please give us the opportunity to make things right. We’ll do our best!