Complaint: Newport Skate vendor not replying to refund request

[Kirsty24]

My son purchased an e-scooter from Newport Skate (at newportskate.com) and when it arrived it could not be assembled due to screw holes not aligning. We emailed and submitted a form on their site and have received no reply. Several days later we received an email with an error message saying that our email could not be forwarded on to their secondary email (I assume they have email forwarding activated) - that email came from a Shopify address so I deduced their store software is Shopify. 

This company has not replied to four emails/forms sent. Are the emails even getting through? Can Shopify help as they must have a way to contact Newport Skate if they are paying for your software? We have been sent a faulty product and want it sorted out, but we can't even get in contact with the company.  Thank you for any help you can provide. 

[Maz]

Hi @Kirsty24!

Thanks for reaching out about this issue with the order you purchased from newportskate.com. I am sorry to hear about this experience and that the product purchased is defective.

You mentioned the email has bounced from the contact form you submitted, it might be the case there is an issue with the set-up of their form. In regard to the email address they have listed on the site, did you email that address too? How long has it been since you emailed the email address listed? Sometimes it may take sellers up to a week or longer to respond during busy periods.

Another option would be to check if the store's website has other forms of contact, such as social media pages. I can see on their footer they have an Instagram and TikTok page linked via the icons.

If you still do not get a response, you can also try this link to receive customer service at a store and report a problem with an order. Simply enter the requested data for the system to send your message directly to the merchant. To be able to contact the seller this way, you will need the Order Confirmation URL, see here for how to find it. 

In regard to our role, we cannot confirm if the business uses Shopify or not, but do understand how this experience can make it discouraging to shop online. We are a platform that offers the technology for merchants to set up their virtual stores, but each store operates independently. This means that we do not manage individual stores, and each store is responsible for their inventory and shipping of the goods, payment and refunds.

If after 30 days have passed, and you have had no response/update about your defective order, then the next step is to contact your bank to discuss options. Some financial institutions have consumer protection mechanisms and will be able to check what options are available to help you with this situation. I recommend reading this article that explains how to request help at the main banks.

Let me know if you have any other questions, and I hope this will be resolved for you shortly!

[Kirsty24]

Thanks for your reply, @Maz and all the resources you provided. The scooter was purchased 7 Feb and the first email and form sent on 8 Feb, so it had been a while. We did forward our email on to every address we could find for them to cover all bases. Funnily enough, they finally sent a response about 12 hrs after I wrote this query. We wrote back and are now again waiting to hear back from them - so the saga continues. 

I completely understand that Shopify is just the software provider and not at all responsible for the service provided by individual shops. Thank you for assisting where you could and I hope we'll resolve this issue with Newport Skate in a timely manner. 

[Maz]

Hey @Kirsty24!

Thanks for your response and I do hope this does get resolved for you very soon.

We understand that as a customer you want to know that you are dealing with a legitimate company when purchasing online. This is really important. If you are planning to buy from an online store, we suggest that you first check the "About Us" section of the store; if they present means of contact on the website (e-mail, telephone, physical address); and whether they have a clear privacy and return policy.

By the way, take a look at this super complete post on how to protect yourself before making any purchase on the Internet.

If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact us again.