Unable to process a refund which meant I had to contact my bank
I purchased a sofa from SDB Living in November 2024 and was told they should be able to deliver before Christmas. However, just before Christmas they called me and apologised that their supplier was unable to fulfil the order (sounded like they'd gone out of business) and they would offer me a full refund (which they said could take between 3-7 working days) plus £50 as an apology. They seemed genuine and very apologetic, and also followed up with an email detailing what we'd discussed, but I figured I'd wait for the refund to come through to my credit card before giving them my bank details for the extra £50. Can't be too careful these days.
Early January (more than 3-7 working days later) I emailed them because my refund hadn't come through and they responded to say they'd look into it with their accounts team. Another week goes by and no refund so I call them. Again, he seemed genuine and said he'd call me back before the end of the day, which he did but he didn't really have an update, but he said he'd phone me back tomorrow. I said that there's going to come a point soon when I need to raise this with my bank. He did call me back the next day but I was in a meeting and missed it. I called him back within 15 minutes but he didn't answer. I heard nothing further from him over the following days, despite calling and emailing, so I contacted my bank.
Fortunately I know to use a credit card when purchasing from companies I've not dealt with before, and within 5 minutes of talking to Mastercard they had refunded me and were picking up the issue with SDB themselves.
SDB certainly appear like a genuine company on the face of it - they were pleasant to talk to and gave me an email trail proving that the order was cancelled, which made getting the refund from Mastercard a breeze. However, if they are genuine, then why were they unable to process a simple refund? Something doesn't add up.
If you're considering buying from this company then I recommend using a credit (not debit) card, in case you have a similar experience to me.
18 novembre 2024
Avis spontané