Overcharged by Merchant! HELP!

Hi!

I've searched these pages for how to get refunds and I'm not quite sure I'm ever going to get one, but I thought it would be worth asking. I was in a clothing store and purchased something for $800L. Next thing I know my account was charged $2400L for a skirt pack I only received one of. Needless to say I've been overcharged $1600L and have requested it back from the merchant three different occasions all with no response. I have also contacted SL support with the three transaction numbers that were all charges at the exact same time and got a response, "We do not get involved in merchant-resident disputes. Most merchants work these issues out and I hope that this merchant will contact you as soon as they are in world to assist you." This of course has me irate. The only reason I bought these items from Merchant is because her stores advertisement was on SL's main page. grrrrrrrrrr. What can be done if a merchant will not return money for the additional two transactions that I never approved? Do you have any suggestions beyond sending the merchant an IM or notecard? sigh. Thanks for all your time.

How much time did you wait for a reply? Mistakes will happen... patience is a virtue. Also, you might think of not mentioning names in the forums, T'is against the rules

Hi Regan

1. Remove the name from your post - it's against forum rules. Do it now!
2. Have you tried sending a notecard? As often IMs get capped. Include all the detail you can
3. Others with more shopping experience than I (/me waves"hello ladies!" lol) will have other suggestions

Inc

You need to remove the store name and the owner's name from your post, you're not allowed to point fingers at specific people.

That said, that specific seller sells everything "no transfer" (fairly certain anyway ), so you should just get a refund if that's the case. Have you tried dropping her a notecard? Content creators' IMs tend to get capped all the time, and even if they're online they might be AFK or crash before they get to your IM in which case it'll just be lost/missed.

I asked her a question one time before buying something and she was just very friendly.

(Quote all transactions with ID/time/amount/etc in the notecard and just explain your problem, and then drop it on her profile. And do give her a few days to get back to you in case she's away from SL for a while)

(Edited to add that you could join her store's group - if she still has one - and check when she was last online, but don't use it as a way to harass her - not saying you would, but if you come over as rude you minimize your chances of getting the outcome you want)

I second this... everytime I've had a problem with a merchant all it took was a little patience. Just send a notecard and wait for a bit..

Did you try purchasing three times?

Perhaps because the vendor wasn't responding fast enough?

In SL you have to be careful to "Buy" or "Pay" only once and then wait.


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A notecard works, also if the store has a store group, join it till you get your refund.


This really sounds like a lag related over-purchase.

I can just say the same - a notecard. Because it's a limit to the IM's, and when it's full, the rest just don't come through or show up later when other IM's is read. The merchant here may be totally innocent. Or you are unlucky and she was in a birtday party or something RL and has been away a day or two. Those things happens.

And yes, remove the name ASAP or you will just get trouble.

Can't argue with that. If anyone has a problem at one of our shops, all it takes is a notecard to either Dani or myself and we will aim to sort it out.

I'm not sure how long you gave the merchant to get back to you, but sometimes all that's really required is patience. Granted, that's a lot of lindens to be overcharged, but everyone has a RL, too, or s/he might even be on vacation and away from SL for a brief time. Your best bet would be to send a notecard in addition to the IM. Just right click on notecards in your inventory, "new note" and then type into the box that appears. Save the notecard, and then name it, I would just use your avie name with problem in parenthesis or something like that. Bring up the merchant's profile, and drag the notecard from your inventory into the bar for inventory on the profile. Even with a notecard, it might still take a couple of day for her/him to get back to you. Most content sellers on SL are great people....they want to take care of their business and understand that means good customer service. I've heard bad things about some, but have yet to have a problem with merchandise that wasn't helped by the seller. Good luck and welcome!

In the past few weeks there have been some vendor issues--I think there was even a blog post about this. Specifically, delivery on single prim vendors that use the "Sell Contents" function have had some delivery lag.

Note that sometimes other types of vendors can have their scripts "bork" as well. Rarely will the merchant be able to discover this until someone tries to buy something and there is a delivery failure.

If you merchant for a while, things like this will happen. If you are lucky, the person will send you an IM and a notecard (capped IMs are typical for people who run SL businesses). Then you can check your transaction log, send a replacement copy, and run over and kick the stupid vendor a few times until it behaves itself.

It's also important to understand that the merchant might live in a different time zone than you do, or might not even sign onto SL everyday (I know, horrid thought, but it happens). Last week was a US holiday week, the merchant might be off with relatives.

98% of the merchants I know will happily refund items in the event of delivery failure--I strongly suspect that the individual has simply not got your message. P.S. Whatever your frustration level, a bit of civility goes a LONG way.

1) So so sorry about the name dropping!!!! geez. My first post ever and I'm kicking my own a**.

2) Is it possible for the notecard I sent to have been lost or declined by accident? I shall create another.

3) The transaction occurred on the 19th.

and... i purchased the item once. not three times. i've chalked the overcharge up to lag. and you're right Kitty... I am not a harassing or rude type of person... text does lack inflection. I know that won't get me anywhere. Me being 'irate' was in reference to SL supports answer.

Staying CIVIL.

A few times I've had people buy the same item more than once without realizing that they did it. It happens sometimes. Hopefully the store owner will get back to you shortly. They may have been out of town for Thanksgiving and are still getting themselves back into the swing of things.

Be patient, and bear in mind that it may take a day or two to get a response. Make sure you send a POLITE notecard to the merchant, as IM's frequently get capped.

And also, before you get terribly bent out of shape... L$1600 is only six dollars US. Yes, you only expected to spend three dollars, and instead got charged nine. But judging from the transaction info you noted, it sounds like all that happened was that lag or you clicking multiple times or some other circumstance caused the order to be sent three times. The merchant will also have a transaction log, that will show that the exact same no-transfer item was bought by the same person three times in the same moment. A pretty obvious glitch. I can't imagine any merchant in SL who would, if approached about that in a civil manner, do anything other than say "Oh! Certainly, here's your L$1600 refund!".

Yes, maybe your notecard was declined by accident. I would try and try again (politely), keeping in mind that it was all probably a mistake. 99% of merchants are honest and really do want to set things right... Anyway, that has been my experience.

Thanks for all of your help. Much appreciated. I'll create another notecard.

and again... sorry to all for breaking forum rules! doh!

-RM

Did you check your transaction history? Provide the merchant with the transaction number(s).

It's also possible that you accidentally purchased a "fat pack" as some sellers name them, where you received the same item in several different colors.

It's OK Regan. And hey... Welcome to SL!

One more thing to consider, since this started on Nov. 19, is that last week was a major holiday week in the US, and if seller is from there, he/she might have been or still be away from home.