Hellopeter
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NM
Nonhlanhla M

1 reviews | Active since Jan 2020

02 Dec 2022, 21:20

@home refund processing pathetic.

I went to @home Willowbridge in Belleville Cape Town, the weekend of 12 November looking for a bed and I was told the bed I was interested in was not in stock, but they were going to check with buyers on the following Monday if Johannesburg had stock. Monday came , no phone call. I called on Tuesday and was told the bed was not available in Johannesburg as well. So I paid for a bed via EFT at CIELO the next day Wednesday. On Thursday Angela called me saying the bed was available in JHB and I could come to the shop and pay or do EFT. I called CIELO to check they could still refund me and they said they would within 5 working days. I then immediately paid @home for the bed on the same Thursday , because I really liked the bed after Angela had sent me a quote with banking details. She never sent a receipt back, but I understood she could be waiting for the money to clear. I reminded her to send me an invoice on Friday. Reminded her again on Saturday , the same day she called back saying the bed failed QC and they could offer me the bed on display at a discount or I could ask for a refund. I opted for a refund. I also received my refund from CIELO on Friday, a day after requesting the refund. I provided Angela all the info required to process the refund, even went to the shop on Sunday 20 November to manually complete the form that was sent in a photo format and couldn’t be edited on the computer. Todate, 2 December 2022, 12 days after completing all required info for a refund I still don’t have my refund and Angela keeps telling me she is sorry , EFTpayment department are supposed to refund me and she can’t call them, she can only email them. She can’t give me their number because they are not allowed to speak to customers. What the hell! I don’t want to speak to them either, I just want my money. I was almost a customer of @home, but I sure will never be. Their furniture looks good, but this level of customer service is absolutely pathetic. Angela seemed really sorry but clearly she couldn’t do much. This is absolutely disgusting.

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Replies (1)
NM
Nonhlanhla M's update10 Dec 2022, 18:25
Reviewer Update
I eventually received my refund on 7 December, 17 days after the refund request. I am grateful to @home Willowbridge manager Anthea and her area manager who put in the necessary effort to ensure their head office, TFG ultimately refunds me. I am also grateful to Hellopeter because I think publishing my pain fast tracked what could have been a long and painful journey. I think there is lessons for everyone here including myself. I think CIELO was able to quickly refund me because I am their regular customer and they did not have to think twice about my payment. On the other hand @home probably had to check and recheck my credentials. This means I must be slow to pay businesses I have no previous experience with via EFT .There is also a lesson for @home furniture consultant. No item must be offered to a customer when it has not passed all quality checks. This was unnecessary. I have also lost savings that were offered widely on Black Friday due to this mishap.