WAE+?

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4 Nov 2009
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357
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UK
I recently bought a Wacom tablet from a website called WAE+. I unfortunately failed to do my research and discovered that the company has an incredibly poor track record in delivery/refunds/customer service and generally it stands out as incredibly dodgy. (The fact it's parent company We are electricals has been investigated by trading standards, reinforces this).

I ordered on the Monday 1/10/12 and ordered it via Visa Debit transaction, however, I decided to cancel the order on 3/10/12 and asked for a refund. They were reluctant to specify when I would get my refund, but evnetually I was able to get a wild guess of 2-3 weeks or so from their shoddy customer service, however I am reading that legally they are able to hold funds for up to a month before they break Consumer protection laws.

I've already spoken to my bank HSBC and they have said they are able to dispute the claim and charge-back if they can prove that the refund was not given within their specified time-frame, however, could you call a wild guess on the phone after asking several times an accurate time-frame? The fact their accounts department doesn't take calls after I asked to speak to whoever deals with refunds started to ring alarm bells, so from this point on, I am concerned that they won't actually 100% confirm/tell me when I am going to get my refund.

Perhaps somebody else has had a similar situation with this company or another could provide some help, but basically, what are my options aside from the charge-back if it fails? This is the first time I've been caught out like this but I'm not terribly sure what the best option is. Most of the time the phone lines are full and emailing them is next to useless.

Cheers.
 
Well they have a month so you can't really do anything till 04/11. Then do a chargeback.

Always read reviews first. I nearly ordered an SSD from them as it was cheaper than elsewhere but found out they were European models with a smaller warranty.
 
Aye, I'm stupid for not checking. I'm confident I'll get my dosh back but it's a dodgy ponzi scheme they got going there.

They instantly take payment before dispatching for delivery. I'm fairly sure even other small companies have an holding account, so I don't see how it can take 2-3 weeks for a delivery when companies of a similar size or operation can do it in a far quicker timeframe. :confused:
 
How this site is still in business is beyond me. They regularly misprice items to get hits from Google Shopping etc.
 
A month later and I'm still waiting for a refund. However...

I rang them up yesterday and told them that if they didn't process my refund by 10:30am this morning that I would proceed with legal action, as I was entitled do (because as of tomorrow, it would be breaching consumer laws etc).

Funnily enough, as I predicted, I recieved an email this morning 2 hours before my deadline, and oh ho, whatcha know, an email from the magical 'accounts' department that is apparantly isolated and uncontactable 99.9% of the time.:rolleyes:

Dear X

Please accept our deepest and sincere apologies with regards to your refund as you were not happy with the service we provided.

I can now confirm you have been refunded in full and we can now close your investigation.

Your refund has been processed today and will be credited back to the debit card originally used. This will show in your account within the next 3-5 working days depending on who you bank with.

We would also like to take this opportunity to express our regrets and to assure you that we will do our best to avoid a repeat of what happened.

We really do value our customers and your custom and look forward to continuing our relationship in the near future.

Thank you for your kind understanding.

Yours sincerely,

X
Complaints Controller

Now we play the waiting game.

What's more interesting, is that the original item I purchased, is now on the website priced up over £200 more than when I initially placed my order. A stark contrast to earlier when the item was several % cheaper than any other retailer.

 
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