Very long, complex story shortened as much as I can make it and have it still be comprehensible:
I did an online purchase & return shop. The merchant must be a fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pants outfit. No return process on their website; I had to email them to request authorization. They said to just send the item back for a refund. They received it on April 18, but I never got confirmation that the item was received or a refund. I waited several days, then emailed the scheduler, who said to contact the vendor to find out the status. Over the next two or three weeks, I called and emailed the company *five* times. No response to my emails, and I was hung up on once after being on hold for half an hour and then talking only briefly to someone. I talked to someone there the week of 5/9. He was a jerk. He asked why I was returning the item (this was in my email requesting to return), who said I could return it (their email to me), and tried to tell me that I had never contacted them before that call about the return. A lie. He finally checked the tracking, saw that the item had been received, and promised the refund.
Throughout, I gave the scheduler status updates and asked for guidance as to how much I should proactively push the vendor. Seems to me that if you're evaluating customer service, the customer shouldn't nag.
She indicated that these shops needed to be wrapped up by the end of this month.
On 5/17, I got an email from the vendor stating that I had been refunded (it hadn't shown up on my credit-card account yet, though). I immediately let the scheduler know, and I was to finish the shop once I got the refund. As of yesterday, no refund had posted to my credit card. It shouldn't take this long for a refund to post back to the card.
I got an email from the scheduler yesterday asking for the status and stating that I needed to finish it yesterday. The survey has a required field asking for the date of the the refund. I had no date to enter, and I kept getting flagged to fill that field out. It looked like the survey couldn't be completed without that date.
I told the scheduler I didn't know how to finish the shop without this date. But I got back online and tried again to finish it without entering a date. Voila! It let me submit without it, even though it kept flagging me. So I finished it yesterday and emailed the scheduler to let her know it was done.
I got a very curt email from her this morning stating if I wanted to get paid for this shop, I had to finish it and enter a date. Apparently she hadn't read my email of last evening yet. Now, if I hadn't been able to finish the shop without that date, there was no guidance from her as to what to do. How can I enter a date that doesn't exist?
There's the history. However, I have another problem. The shop guidelines state that "shipping and fees" will be reimbursed up to $25." "Fees" are things like unreimbursed return shipping and/or re-stocking fees. NOT the cost of the purchased item. My return shipping was around $5. I paid almost $30 for the item. They're only reimbursing me $25, which doesn't cover the cost of the required purchase. I am out of pocket about $10. I don't think this is right. That cost is not a fee. It was the cost of a required purchase. I chose one of the least expensive items that met the MSC's minimum order instructions.
There's a fee for the shop, but I'm not taking that $9 out of my fee--it was far more work than it should have been.
Finally, my question is this: Would you take up the issue of reimbursement with the MSC, or would you continue to contact the vendor to get the refund? Technically, if I get the refund, I'm owed only the return shipping fee by the MSC. But I feel like that would get screwed up, too. I doubt I'll get any satisfaction from them--they're notoriously bad at communicating with shoppers. And after the scheduler's last couple of emails, I don't think she'd help. Not my fault the vendor is incompetent!
I hate to say this, but this shop took so much of my time--probably about two hours more than it should have, and I'm in the red right now--I'm tempted to continue to pursue the vendor for my refund. And if I get it, just leave it at that. I know that's not right, and I'm an honest person, but this has been such an ordeal, I feel like I'm owed the "annoyance factor fee."
How would you guys handle this?
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/25/2022 12:01AM by BirdyC.
I did an online purchase & return shop. The merchant must be a fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pants outfit. No return process on their website; I had to email them to request authorization. They said to just send the item back for a refund. They received it on April 18, but I never got confirmation that the item was received or a refund. I waited several days, then emailed the scheduler, who said to contact the vendor to find out the status. Over the next two or three weeks, I called and emailed the company *five* times. No response to my emails, and I was hung up on once after being on hold for half an hour and then talking only briefly to someone. I talked to someone there the week of 5/9. He was a jerk. He asked why I was returning the item (this was in my email requesting to return), who said I could return it (their email to me), and tried to tell me that I had never contacted them before that call about the return. A lie. He finally checked the tracking, saw that the item had been received, and promised the refund.
Throughout, I gave the scheduler status updates and asked for guidance as to how much I should proactively push the vendor. Seems to me that if you're evaluating customer service, the customer shouldn't nag.
She indicated that these shops needed to be wrapped up by the end of this month.
On 5/17, I got an email from the vendor stating that I had been refunded (it hadn't shown up on my credit-card account yet, though). I immediately let the scheduler know, and I was to finish the shop once I got the refund. As of yesterday, no refund had posted to my credit card. It shouldn't take this long for a refund to post back to the card.
I got an email from the scheduler yesterday asking for the status and stating that I needed to finish it yesterday. The survey has a required field asking for the date of the the refund. I had no date to enter, and I kept getting flagged to fill that field out. It looked like the survey couldn't be completed without that date.
I told the scheduler I didn't know how to finish the shop without this date. But I got back online and tried again to finish it without entering a date. Voila! It let me submit without it, even though it kept flagging me. So I finished it yesterday and emailed the scheduler to let her know it was done.
I got a very curt email from her this morning stating if I wanted to get paid for this shop, I had to finish it and enter a date. Apparently she hadn't read my email of last evening yet. Now, if I hadn't been able to finish the shop without that date, there was no guidance from her as to what to do. How can I enter a date that doesn't exist?
There's the history. However, I have another problem. The shop guidelines state that "shipping and fees" will be reimbursed up to $25." "Fees" are things like unreimbursed return shipping and/or re-stocking fees. NOT the cost of the purchased item. My return shipping was around $5. I paid almost $30 for the item. They're only reimbursing me $25, which doesn't cover the cost of the required purchase. I am out of pocket about $10. I don't think this is right. That cost is not a fee. It was the cost of a required purchase. I chose one of the least expensive items that met the MSC's minimum order instructions.
There's a fee for the shop, but I'm not taking that $9 out of my fee--it was far more work than it should have been.
Finally, my question is this: Would you take up the issue of reimbursement with the MSC, or would you continue to contact the vendor to get the refund? Technically, if I get the refund, I'm owed only the return shipping fee by the MSC. But I feel like that would get screwed up, too. I doubt I'll get any satisfaction from them--they're notoriously bad at communicating with shoppers. And after the scheduler's last couple of emails, I don't think she'd help. Not my fault the vendor is incompetent!
I hate to say this, but this shop took so much of my time--probably about two hours more than it should have, and I'm in the red right now--I'm tempted to continue to pursue the vendor for my refund. And if I get it, just leave it at that. I know that's not right, and I'm an honest person, but this has been such an ordeal, I feel like I'm owed the "annoyance factor fee."
How would you guys handle this?
I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/25/2022 12:01AM by BirdyC.