**UPDATE 05.05.2011:
I have sent 2 emails both have been completely ignored.
Have also called when they said the payment has been ‘authorised’ but yet nothing is showing. Quite frankly I don’t believe them. In my experience once I get a returns received email from a company the refund notice from Paypal arrives shortly afterwards.
They say because they have a business account so a refund can arrive at ‘any time’ – well I have a business Paypal account and any refunds I have to send are immediate.
Plus – I HAVE NOTHING TO RETURN IN THE FIRST PLACE! The delay for a refund should be zero. They never even had the item in first place.
If I sold something and realised shortly after I didn’t have the item in stock I’d be spending a refund asap – it’s embarrassing and unprofessional so it’s the least you can do.
Remember – Hard To Find Records = Ignorant and the worst customer service (if you call non existent customer service, service at all) EVER!**
I don’t know whats up with my luck but basically, I’ve been having some crapola experiences online recently! Without a doubt it’s put me off online shopping, at least from places that don’t have ‘real’ stores too…
Anyway directed by Mr C, I went to a store I had never heard of before called Hard To Find Records to buy a microphone for Saturday when I will be doing some filming.
The site looks very professional, so I didn’t think I had anything to worry about. The microphone was out of stock on some other sites but since htfr.com had it in, I didn’t worry and paid for it via Paypal.
After the bank holiday weekend I got an email confirming that the order at 10.45. At 16.57 they emailed me again and lo and behold – they didn’t have it in stock. A quick phone call confirmed that they they would be out of stock ‘for weeks’.
So I ask for a refund – after all my Paypal refund is immediate so why can’t they refund right away? I know it can be done right there and then if they want to. No, says the nonchalant man, who makes me feel like I did something wrong, it will take 5 days for a refund (I know it is literally as easy someone pressing 2 buttons).
So now I am out of pocket and mic-less. And why should I have to wait almost a week for money to be returned to me – money which shouldn’t have been taken in the first place because the item was not in stock.
Guess what – my microphone (by Rode if you are interested) is still showing as in stock as I write this so more innocent mugs will part with their cash whilst Hard To Find Records ignore the very basic fundamental of running an online business – stock levels.
When will companies stop pretending they have something that they don’t?!
Have you ever had a similar experience?
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
god, they are such a bunch of muppets!! xx
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How annoying! Checking off one more online shop to avoid. They should be ashamed of themselves!
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Deary me, you really don’t seem to be having much luck with online purchases of late
Companies like this, and ebay, need to get their act together, sharpish!
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Urban Outfitters is the same, which you wouldn’t expect but I ordered and paid for a skirt only to get an email two days later telling me that they were out of stock and that I’ll have a refund within 5 days or something. It’s so frustrating!!!
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Quite shocked about this actually, I use HTFR quite a lot online and I frequent their store and usually they’re quite helpful ):
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I get this a lot from amazon marketplace sellers. I emailed amazon about it but all I got was a form reply stating the seller guidelines and saying that if I was unhappy with them I could always shop elsewhere. Nice.
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Hi Emily
I have to say one of the reasons I don’t shop with Amazong sellers is that I don’t know what’s going on – I don’t trust that people will just have things in stock – even if it isn’t that’s ok, but companies must refund asap! x
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Just having the exact same nightmare with them now, they said they’d push the refund through today i have been waiting nearly a week already, its MY money that they should have NEVER took in the first place as the item was out of stock, it only takes a few clicks to refund by paypal so what they say is a load of rubbish…. will let you know what happens today…..
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Hi Rickie
I finally got my money back after a week. It’s disgusting – I know for a FACT the refund doesn’t take that long to process (how come other companies issue refunds right away and it lands in my account – granted, it may take a few days to get to my bank account but still). Nightmare won’t shop with them again
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I visit the store on a regular basis and personally find the customer service superb. Sure, stock levels on some items arent great and probably have to be re-ordered to demand with their suppliers etc, but who can blame them in this economic climate, manufacturers and suppliers simply dont have the product available on demand like they could 4-5 years ago.
In regards to refunds, I’ve not yet experienced that side of the service but I do know Amazon and other online retailers state 4-5 days for funds to ‘clear’ into your account. I thought that was standard business practice to be honest!
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Check your facts please. I develop websites that use PayPal, and part of that involves pushing orders through the system. As such, I KNOW for a fact that SOMETIMES if PayPal see a lot of refunds coming from a specific account, they hold them for 5 days.
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Even if this is the case (which I doubt) the least they could’ve done was offer better customer service/communication. Which if they did I would’ve been far more patient.
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