Unfiltered Story #352636
(My mom bought a phone in september through a seller sub-contracted by a big French company, recieved it in october, used it for about a week, and then it stopped working. She sent it back to the seller, in Hong Kong, for 25€. The seller first tried to tell her that the warranty had expired because it was only a month, then begrudgingly admitted that she had only recieved it a week prior. 3 days later, they contacted us again, telling us that the phone had water damage. My mom having never gotten it wet, our theory was that it was kept in a humid place before being sold to us, which can oxydize compounds and activate the LDI. We started disputing their claim in order to get refunded. To do so, we had to go through the big company. My mom sent an email explaining the situation, and we got one back saying that they were on it. 2 months later, no news, so, knowing that I am more stubborn than her, my mom told me to call their customer service on her behalf.)
Customer service #1, after verifying my infos and everything: So what’s the problem?
Me: Well the litigation has been going on for 2 months and nothing has happened, I want you to refund me ASAP.
Customer service #1: I will escalate this file to the refund and finances dept, you will get a refund within 10 days.
Me: Okay, thanks!
(10 days later, no refund. I call again.)
Customer service #2: Oh, you were told 10 days? It’s more like 15.
Me: Okay, so I just wait another 5 days? Sure. But can you send me an email confirming that I am owed a refund?
Customer service #2: I will do the necessary.
(Lo and behold, still no refund. No email, either. I call again, this time a bit annoyed.)
Customer service #3: I see that the refund hasn’t been processed yet.
Me: And why is that? I was assured twice that it was being done.
Customer service #3: I don’t know, I suggest you send an email to our refund dept. They will answer you quickly.
(I send the email with all the infos, and as you can imagine, I get zero answer. However, 2 days later, my mom gets a phone call from someone called Jessica (no last name given) who tells her that she’s going to take care of her file herself, and call my mom back on friday. We assume she’s a manager of some kind. On friday, we get an email notifying us that “a new message has been sent to the seller in an attempt to resolve the situation”. As the seller had made his position clear, we found that halfway between hilarious and hopeless. I call again on saturday, intent on reaching Jessica.
Customer service #4: She isn’t here today ma’am, managers don’t work on saturday.
Me: Okay, I’ll call on monday then.
(On monday, my only break is between 1 and 2, so I call then.)
Customer service #5: Okay ma’am what’s her last name?
Me: How am I to know? You guys only answer the phone with your first name! This is ridiculous, how was I supposed to know that to reach her again I needed to ask what her last name was?
Customer service #5: I’m sorry, I can’t help you.
Me: How many managers called Jessica do you have?
Customer service #5: I don’t know, ma’am.
Me: Well look at my file, don’t you see who called?
Customer service #5: I see you got a call, but I don’t know by whom.
Me: Then get me any manager.
Customer service #5: They only come in at 2.
Me: Fantastic. I’ll call back tomorrow.
(By this point, I had called 5 times. For the sake of brevity, I cut from those phone calls the part where the reps asked me each and every time what my problem was (even though they had access to my file) and assured me that they were escalating my file. The next day:)
Customer service #6: Hello, how can I help you?
Me: Could I speak to a manager please?
Customer service #6: But ma’am, I am here to help you.
Me: Without a doubt, but I have called half a dozen times already, over a period of a month, I’m getting tired of it, nothing is getting done, I want to talk to a manager now.
Customer service #6: They are currently in a meeting. I suggest you call us again.
Me: I sure will.
(I call again half an hour later. I get put on hold for 5/10 minutes, and then the girl tells me that they were still in a meeting, but she had informed them of my call. I won’t lie, I was pretty satisfied that she had gone and bothered them during their meeting. Finally, I call again at 3:)
Manager: Hello, my name is [Name].
Me: First, could I have your last name? I was contacted a few days ago by one of your colleague and discovered recently that you guys do everything no to be reached again.
Manager: Of course, it’s [Last Name].
(Even though the USA are pretty trigger-happy about sueing, in France, it’s incredibly rare for anyone to threaten a compagny with a lawsuit, so my mom and I thought it would be a bit of a wake-up call for them.)
Me: Thanks. (I explain the problem with the phone, and the dishonest seller.) The litigation has been opened for 2.5 months now, with no results. I’ve called about 6/7 times, every time I’ve been assured that I would get refunded, that my file would go further and further, I’ve asked repeatedly to be sent emails, I’ve sent one and got absolutely no answer, I will not tolerate incompetence any further, I leave you until friday evening to send me an email confirming the refund, and to start processing it, or I will start sueing.
Manager: This is your right, however, I assure you that I will personnaly take care of your file, and do everything I can.
Me: That’s fine, but I’ve been told that 6 times already. Either the problem is with your staff, or with the refund dept, but somewhere, someone isn’t doing what needs to be done. Plus I got an email that you were trying to resolve things with the sellor? Ridiculous! You are the company that are endorsing him, it’s your job to refund me. As far as I’m concerned, you’re the ones who have the money, because I payed on your website. Whether you send that money to the seller is irrelevant to me, and I shouldn’t have to wait for the seller to decide that he wants to refund me to be refunded.
Manager: I agree, and I know that this situation isn’t ideal for you…
Me: It isn’t. So I repeat, you have until friday to take care of it, or on monday, at 8pm, I will sue you.
Manager: I understand, but it is up to the refund dept, all I can do is send them an email, and my coworkers have already done that.
(We finished the call, with her assuring me that she would take care of it personnaly, and do what was in her power. Two days later, my mom got an email confirming the refund, which arrived a week later. Funny how they couldn’t to that in 2.5 months, but the mention of a lawsuit motivated them to do it in 2 days.)
