Some Raru customers are struggling to get refunds on delayed and cancelled orders

[My_King]

Yaaasssss back online

 

[Silver82]

Yaaasssss back online

Not anymore. Website is officially down with nothing but a short notice displayed.

I'm sad to see them go. I used to love Raru - friendly service, reliable delivery dates, great product range, good prices, and then covid hit and they couldn't seem to get back up.

It's sad that they seem to have stolen money from a LOT of unsuspecting customers after being rocked during the global lockdown and the massive disruptions to the global supply chain, but that doesn't excuse what appears to be very unscrupulous conduct over the past year. I lost about R600-R700, not a train smash, but that's still my money that they stole.

RIP Raru.

 

[Ashez7]

So you saying I won't get my product or the refund? i just checked the website and they still down.

 

[Tanarri]

Damn this.... They owe me a lot of money now. This is BS.

 

[Psychopompous]

I did find this part of the article interesting...

"Takealot’s ratings on Hello Peter are also dominated by 1-star reviews, albeit in smaller proportions than Raru’s. Loot’s ratings are a similar story.

Raru, Takealot, and Loot’s HelloPeter TrustIndex ratings (out of ten) are 1.6, 2.1, and 2.5, respectively."

I don't find that all that surprising, TBH: by and large, people are far more likely to resort to sites like Hellopeter when they experience a problem with a company, than when they experience satisfactory service. After all, if all a company ever does is exactly what it advertises, that might be objectively outstanding as business practice, but does not ordinarily strike the average paying customer as remarkable or praiseworthy. (This is obviously at odds with the basic premise of sites like Hellopeter and Trustpilot, which assumes that a solidly dependable company should receive a preponderance of good reviews and high star ratings.)

 

[Psychopompous]

Bcos this company promises u the item will be received within a week or so on the latest and then the cool off period per say has lapsed. They know what they are doing to ensure they do not have to refund the customer and then the customer is forced to take something else and pay in the difference.

This was in reply to a question as to why customers don't initiate a credit card chargeback.

The merchant's stalling in this way does not actually prevent a chargeback.. If you look at the information on the site of the banking ombud (https://www.obssa.co.za/press_releases/chargeback-rights-explained/), it says that "It is very important to note that if a cardholder wishes to raise a chargeback, it needs to be filed within 120 days from the transaction processing date, or the delivery date of the goods or services"; however, it also gives among valid grounds for a chargeback (several of which seem to apply to Raru customers) "The ordered goods did not arrive on schedule, or by the mutually agreed extended delivery date".

What this means on the face of it is that (1) it's the promised delivery date and not the date of payment that matters for online orders - naturally a customer could not know goods have not been supplied until the promised date of supply has passed, so for an online order the promised date of delivery is equivalent to the transaction date for a payment at a physical store at the time of receiving the goods; and (2) if subsequent to the original order the merchant issues a promise of delivery at a new date, and the customer accepts this promise at face value, that constitutes "the mutually agreed extended delivery date", so the clock on the time limit is reset.

This seems to be confirmed by the fact that I lodged a dispute form (using the ground of goods not being supplied) and supporting documents (including the generic email saying the order should arrive in 2 to 3 weeks, dated 5 October 2022) with my card issuer on 21 November 2022, 123 days after the original order and payment on 22 July 2022 (with an expected dispatch date of 25 August 2022), and the charge was reversed on 22 November 2022.

 

[Psychopompous]

You can't do a charge back after a month, most of the time the product is supposed to arrive after a month.

The banking ombud says "It is very important to note that if a cardholder wishes to raise a chargeback, it needs to be filed within 120 days from the transaction processing date, or the delivery date of the goods or services"; and if you have queried and the merchant has responded by promising delivery, then it is the case that "The ordered goods did not arrive on schedule, or by the mutually agreed extended delivery date" (https://www.obssa.co.za/press_releases/chargeback-rights-explained/).

 

[RunningFromFat]

I don't find that all that surprising, TBH: by and large, people are far more likely to resort to sites like Hellopeter when they experience a problem with a company, than when they experience satisfactory service. After all, if all a company ever does is exactly what it advertises, that might be objectively outstanding as business practice, but does not ordinarily strike the average paying customer as remarkable or praiseworthy. (This is obviously at odds with the basic premise of sites like Hellopeter and Trustpilot, which assumes that a solidly dependable company should receive a preponderance of good reviews and high star ratings.)

Reviews should be mandatory but don't know how that could ever be enforced.