1 reviews | Active since Nov 2013
Misleading Advertising, Poor Refund Handling, and Zero Accountability
I’m incredibly disappointed with Float Payments and the way they conduct their business — particularly around how they advertise their product versus how it actually functions in reality.
Float presents itself as an easy payment solution that allows customers to pay using their credit card — which, based on their marketing and how the service is positioned — leads many to believe it works similarly to Payflex, PayJustNow, or other "buy now, pay later" platforms. Instead, what Float actually does is immediately deduct the full amount from your available credit and then sets up a budget payment structure, which is essentially a standard credit card budget facility that your bank already offers without needing any third-party involvement.
This is not only misleading but borders on false advertising.
After falling into this trap, my brother and I requested a refund through the original merchant, Leroy Merlin, and the request was passed on to Float. From there, everything went downhill.
We spoke to two representatives: Sam and Caitlin. Sam was a bit more helpful and attempted to explain the process as best as he could. However, Caitlin was the one who initially misinformed us about how the refund would be handled. She was not forthcoming about the process, timelines, or what to expect — and left out critical information.
To make matters worse, every time we followed up, we were given inconsistent timelines — first it was “3 to 5 working days,” then “3 to 7 working days,” then back to “3 to 5 working days.” This has gone on for nearly three weeks with no urgency or proactive communication from Float’s side.
Throughout this ordeal, we received no proper updates, no reference numbers, and I had to follow up at least six times via phone to get basic answers.
The amount in question is well over R11,000, and this entire situation has caused serious disruptions in our lives — we haven’t been able to purchase basic necessities like groceries, all because of poor service, misleading practices, and a lack of transparency.
Consumers deserve better. If Float had clearly stated from the beginning that this is just a budget facility — something most banks already offer — I would have never used their service.
This has been a frustrating, disorganizing experience that highlights both false advertising and poor customer service. Float needs to be held accountable.
Thank you for your detailed feedback. We’re very sorry to hear about your frustrating experience and that Float didn’t meet your expectations. We understand how difficult it must be to deal with delays, especially when it impacts your ability to manage everyday expenses and we’d like to clarify a few key points.
Float is a Buy Now, Pay Later platform that lets you split purchases into up to 24 interest-free, fee-free monthly instalments, using your existing Visa or Mastercard credit card. To clarify, the core benefit of Float is that it allows you to make big purchases without being charged the full amount upfront, which gives you time to manage your credit card repayments instead of dipping into your cash. While we do reserve the full amount on your credit card, only the first interest-free instalment is charged, and the reserve reduces as you pay each instalment.
We make sure to explain this process in detail in our "How it Works" pop-up, the instalment schedule at the time of purchase, follow-up emails, and on our website. The goal is to ensure that you can manage your finances easily without taking on any new credit or facing additional charges.
With regards to your refund, please note that all refunds must first be approved and processed by the merchant. Once they notify us that the return has been accepted, we begin the refund process. This can take 3–7 business days to reflect in your account.
We acknowledge that the communication around your refund was not as clear or consistent as it should have been and that’s on us. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
Please email us at *** with your instalment plan number, and we will escalate it immediately and follow up.
Regards,
The Float Team
Thank you for your detailed feedback. We’re very sorry to hear about your frustrating experience and that Float didn’t meet your expectations. We understand how difficult it must be to deal with delays, especially when it impacts your ability to manage everyday expenses and we’d like to clarify a few key points.
Float is a Buy Now, Pay Later platform that lets you split purchases into up to 24 interest-free, fee-free monthly instalments, using your existing Visa or Mastercard credit card. To clarify, the core benefit of Float is that it allows you to make big purchases without being charged the full amount upfront, which gives you time to manage your credit card repayments instead of dipping into your cash. While we do reserve the full amount on your credit card, only the first interest-free instalment is charged, and the reserve reduces as you pay each instalment.
We make sure to explain this process in detail in our "How it Works" pop-up, the instalment schedule at the time of purchase, follow-up emails, and on our website. The goal is to ensure that you can manage your finances easily without taking on any new credit or facing additional charges.
With regards to your refund, please note that all refunds must first be approved and processed by the merchant. Once they notify us that the return has been accepted, we begin the refund process. This can take 3–7 business days to reflect in your account.
We acknowledge that the communication around your refund was not as clear or consistent as it should have been and that’s on us. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
Please email us at *** with your instalment plan number, and we will escalate it immediately and follow up.
Regards,
The Float Team