Pathetic Service From Takealot.com - Refund Issues

On the 18th September I purchased wireless headphones on takealot.com. I paid with my debt card online and had to wait 5-7 working days for the item. on the 30th September, my item showed cancelled and I was later sent a message that they could not source my item and therefore cancelled my order.

They issued me with a "credit" on Takealot for the items. But as I did not see the point to having a credit when I would actually need to purchase the item at a store, so i requested a refund into my back account.

On the website, which i have proof of, it says that refunds can take 3-5 working days. Now what I don't understand is, why issue anyone with a credit if they never asked for it? If i pay with my card, I expect that I should not have to wait so long for a refund.

Why is it that they made me wait 8 days for them just to tell me that I will not be getting it, then take a further 6 days to issue a refund of which it is stated on their own website 3-5 working days.

Its very interesting that if I pay with my card now, its immediately off my account. if i eft money to ANY other bank, its in within 2 days maximum. usually the very next day. BUT with Takealot, we must wait for them to decide when they will give our money back.

Their customer service people tell me that i must wait 7 days for a refund. so in total now, I've been made to wait 14 Days. of which 8, were all the time it took for them to try to "source" the item that they are advertising on their website. with no guarantee that they can actually get that item for you.

I'm definitely not going to be purchasing any items from Takealot anymore. It used to be a good way to shop even though their pricing is outrageous on most items. But after this, its left me with a rather bad taste in my mouth for them.

I will rather go to a store from now on wards.