What's new
Carbonite

South Africa's Top Online Tech Classifieds!
Register a free account today to become a member! (No Under 18's)
Home of C.U.D.

Not getting refund from online store - HELP!

Status
Not open for further replies

vylint

VIP
VIP Supporter
Rating - 100%
141   0   0
Joined
Apr 5, 2018
Messages
1,324
Reaction score
159
Points
4,335
Location
Cape Town
Hi there Fellow Carbies

I purchased lithium batteries from an online store early April 2021, received Friday 9 April 2021.
NOTE: Seller is not from Carbonite.

On receiving the items, I immediately reached out to the retailer telling them that their packaging (basically black bag with bubble wrap) was extremely poor AND the items received look NOTHING like what is on their website. I asked to return/refund on the same day.

I was told I had to return it at my expense (I'm fine with this) and they can only refund my purchase amount less the courier fees to ship it to me (less fine, but OK).

I arranged for courier to deliver the batteries to another customer of theirs who happened to also purchase what I'm returning....not back to them.... items collected Tuesday 13 April and deliver 15 April.

Then I'm told I had to wait 15 business days (counting from 15th April) to get a refund, which was their policy and it would be from a different account to the one I paid into.

I get an ABSA proof payment on day 15 and then wait....receive nothing. I reach out to ABSA and get confirmation that the proof of payment is not legitimate, as in it is fake.
Now I'm not getting any response from the company (calls don't go through, whatsapp messages don't get received and website chat gets no responses).

I'm owed more than what small claims court manages; so quite a fair amount.

I appreciate anyone who managed to read my story this far.

So what can I do now?
Is there any recourse for me at all?
This is a lot of money that I have essentially been scammed of.
Any guidance is appreciated.
 
name the store so we know who to avoid
 
Hi there Fellow Carbies

I purchased lithium batteries from an online store early April 2021, received Friday 9 April 2021.
NOTE: Seller is not from Carbonite.

On receiving the items, I immediately reached out to the retailer telling them that their packaging (basically black bag with bubble wrap) was extremely poor AND the items received look NOTHING like what is on their website. I asked to return/refund on the same day.

I was told I had to return it at my expense (I'm fine with this) and they can only refund my purchase amount less the courier fees to ship it to me (less fine, but OK).

I arranged for courier to deliver the batteries to another customer of theirs who happened to also purchase what I'm returning....not back to them.... items collected Tuesday 13 April and deliver 15 April.

Then I'm told I had to wait 15 business days (counting from 15th April) to get a refund, which was their policy and it would be from a different account to the one I paid into.

I get an ABSA proof payment on day 15 and then wait....receive nothing. I reach out to ABSA and get confirmation that the proof of payment is not legitimate, as in it is fake.
Now I'm not getting any response from the company (calls don't go through, whatsapp messages don't get received and website chat gets no responses).

I'm owed more than what small claims court manages; so quite a fair amount.

I appreciate anyone who managed to read my story this far.

So what can I do now?
Is there any recourse for me at all?
This is a lot of money that I have essentially been scammed of.
Any guidance is appreciated.
"I was told I had to return it at my expense (I'm fine with this) and they can only refund my purchase amount less the courier fees to ship it to me (less fine, but OK)."

That is against CPA to begin with as an online store. They would have to cover return shipping.

You definitely have enough info/grounds to open a case with the police and then take that case number to your bank to get a reversal on that payment.
 
Question is the store legit firstly.
Since the way it operates seems suspicious to me.
Which store ever asked a customer to courier incorrect goods supplied by them to another customer.
 
There are plenty of fake online stores opening up and offering lithium batteries at really good prices, unfortunately you will either get nothing or something worth much less than what you paid. You have to make sure to use reputable retailers. There are 2 locally run forums dealing with alternative energy like inverters and batteries: energytalk.co.za and powerforum.co.za
There have been several threads in the past about fake online retailers, so it's a good idea to ask on one or both of these forums if anybody knows of or has used a particular store before giving them your money.

As far as getting your money back, I can't help much there.
 

Does not look good unfortunately.
 
Status
Not open for further replies

Users who are viewing this thread

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom