Sneaky Policy Changes mid Return

Be cautious when buying online & make sure that you won't possibly need to return your order as their service when ordering is good, but the after-sales service is not...

I was looking for an item & searched online for it. I came across Marmaduke Pets. When placing my order their service was good, they rep**** quickly when I messaged. Upon order arrival, they sent me messages to confirm delivery, if I am happy etc. I was happy until this point. My order also qualified for free shipping.

I received it on a Thu. and that same day I notified them the item I ordered won't work for the purposes I needed it - even though it was in perfect condition & I measured before ordering, once it arrived & I could see it in the area I ordered it for, I saw it would be too big for the area. This is where their service changed...

I let them know I need to return the item. I was fami**** with their return policy as I had read it multiple times before ordering. I didn't get a reply from them as promptly as usual - I was left on read which never happened before. I sent them a mail the Fri. Still no reply. Sat. I sent an IG message as they had been active on IG. They rep**** the Sun. saying they will reply to my mail to explain the process.

Throughout this time I reread the returns policy again.

Mon. they rep**** & referred me to their returns policy. Lo and behold, they CHANGED their policy on their site! I found that very suspicious - I ordered on the old policy and they held off on replying until AFTER the change.

I contacted them and said I noticed they changed their policy before replying to me & they told me it had been coming for weeks, but it's REALLY coincidental and suspicious that they changed it right when I was trying to return. Almost like they specifically updated it due to my return. I'm not sure if they hadn't realised that I was fami**** with their policies and whether they thought I wouldn't even notice the change.

The new policy stated I was responsible for the return shipping even though they offered free shipping - one always assumes if a store offers free shipping, returns are likely free too, unless otherwise stated. (Their first policy didn't mention the customer pays returns)

Their quote for return shipping was R540 (the item was big) and they also claim 5% of the order as transaction fees. Honestly - I am already paying the return fees, now you still want to claim more money from me? They also stated that refunds take up to 2 weeks to clear.

They received the return on Mon. 26 Sep, & after that I heard nothing from them - I emailed them the next Mon. to ask when they will start the refund process, as they hadn't asked for my banking details after a week. No reply. I sent a Whatsapp the Wed. after which they rep**** to my mail to ask for my details. Why should I have to contact multiple times to be asked for my banking details? Money taking time to clear between banks I understand, but why take over a week just to ask for my details (after I had to reach out first) - as the payment can't start until you have my details?

After I spent R1400 on the order, they refunded me R800. If I had known I would have to cover returns in the event of a return (which is naturally a possibility when buying online) or that the shipping was over R500, I possibly wouldn't have used them and would've ordered from a local company or one who covers shipping & returns. (Or who at least states UP FRONT that the customer will be held responsible instead of quickly changing the policy afterwards.)

I just feel like they really treated me differently after I needed a return, as if I did something wrong - when running a business, there is always the possibility of orders being returned - if you are listing big items on your store where the shipping will be R500+, maybe state that the shipping will be that amount if needing to return.

This whole experience just made me feel like I was in the wrong for ordering something & then needing a return & sudden sneaky policy changes mid-return seems suspicious to me.