Need to Cancel, but Ultimaker lost my order while happily taking my money!

[genshi 0]

Buyer beware! I ordered on October 20th after being told the lead time was "maximum two weeks" for the Ultimaker 2. Then after finding out it's been pushed back 5 to 6 weeks (now 6 to 7 weeks) and due to unexpected family circumstances, I requested to cancel my order.

Now Ultimaker is claiming they don't have my order number or name in their system!? Meaning, the order would have never shipped to me anyway since they've lost it!

Funny thing though, my online account with that same order number shows it was paid and ready to ship on October 20th, don't know why Ultimaker can't see that... I've started a claim with Paypal to have this resolved since Ultimaker has obviously dropped the ball!

Very disappointed in all of this. I actually would have reordered again in a couple of months once I get back from my family thing, but after the way Ultimaker has handled this whole mess, I doubt I will be doing business with them again...

 

[SandervG 1,521]

Hi Craig,

Thank you for your post.

I have read it and went through our communication system to see what has been said.

I am afraid it is just a matter of a mistake, a human error.

When I looked up your ordernumber I found it, and I went ahead and cancelled it.

So we never lost it, no worries.

I don't really know why my colleague couldn't find your order, but in any way it is sorted now.

Tomorrow I will initiate the refund and it may take a couple of days before it went through the financial department and another couple of days for the transfer to appear on your account, depending on the method of payment you prefer. Speaking of which, could you let me know how you want us to do the refund?

Can you sent this info as a reply on your support ticket? I assigned the ticket to me.

My apologies for the inconvenience and I wish you the best with your family circumstances.

If you have any further questions, please let me know.

And I am looking forward to get a reply from you on the open support ticket.

Thank you,

 

[genshi 0]

Thank you for looking into this, I do appreciate it; I've just been a little panicked with everything that's been going on... I'll try to find the open support ticket and reply there. Thanks again.

 

[r4ix 0]

About this, i have to say maybe there's many problems (as i read and for my own experience) with orders and payments but soon or later they find a solution, even you have to insist a bit, later everything is ok with ultimaker team. Just we have to work in our patience. Maybe one yoga or meditation course should be included with the printer until you get it.

 

[genshi 0]

About this, i have to say maybe there's many problems (as i read and for my own experience) with orders and payments but soon or later they find a solution, even you have to insist a bit, later everything is ok with ultimaker team. Just we have to work in our patience. Maybe one yoga or meditation course should be included with the printer until you get it.

 

No, sorry, I am out $2800 U.S. dollars and it's been a month now since I ordered. It's a simple matter of them pressing the "Refund Payment" button in Paypal but this hasn't happened yet. So, no more patience... and by the way, I run a business (single handedly) as well, and at one time I had a much more popular item than the Ultimaker, and never put customers through this bad experience!

 

[r4ix 0]

Well, i say this because it happend to me with my first ultimaker order (1400€) and nobody tell me nothing, i called everyday during 4/5 days and nobody give me a solution until i call very angry. Then the next day my ultimaker was shipped.

Just i wanted to tell you i understand the feeling and the situation, is very frustrating when you pay such amount for something and you now nothing about what happened with your money while it was taked from your account in miliseconds. And then they now nothing about it.

I also think they should improve in a lot of things, not with the printers but with the customer service, a good product isn't enough. Today, after two weeks and i don't know how many e-mails i receive two stepper drivers and one filament and they have it in stock, the payment was lost. I can not undestand how one electronic payment can be lost but... finally it arrive.

I'm sure you will have your refund.

 

[briand 0]

genshi, has your refund been processed yet? i am trying to get a refund on an order placed in September and have now been told:

"Your request has been send to the financial department.

It will take a few weeks before you receive your refund."

I dont understand how it can take a few weeks to go to paypal, find the transaction and click refund! I suppose that ultimaker are keeping my €2.511,55 to earn more interest in the bank for as long as possible ?

 

[mr_seeker 0]

Its not their problem, its the whole thing around it. As soon as the seller presses "refund" on the paypal website, there is a whole process started at paypal that gives a "bad user feedback" to Ultimaker, which ultimaker has to respond with putting at least 10% of their 3-month income to paypal as a "guarantee", and some other crazy loopholes that made companies wish customers never used paypal in the first place.

I had similar experiences with paypal before: Merchant accounts frozen for over 3 months (and no way to get a refund), credit card companies blocking accounts due to high paypal amounts going in/out, accidental refunds causing the whole sharingans of idiocy going skyhigh. One refund caused a small indie developer team to almost go bankrupt (Project Zomboid). As soon as a customer presses the "refund" button, the seller will end up in a kafka loop of pointless calling to an answering machine, which they would like to prevent.

Also, all dutch companies have a 7 day guaranteed refund after sale. Best is to send a message that you want a refund, make sure you mention that you give them 14 days to reply (standard time in here) and then file a claim at paypal stating that they never delivered the goods.

Refunds can take upto 3 months at paypal. Its not the seller's fault, its the anti-fraud system of paypal. I only had to do 2 refunds, which took around a week or 2 to show up on my paypal account (not on my bank account).

 

[genshi 0]

No, my refund hasn't even been initiated yet; after being told that it was "sent to the financial department and it will take a few weeks" I told them no, it shouldn't (on their end) and doesn't take a few weeks on Paypal's end (unless I initiate a claim, which I am trying to avoid.)

So now they're telling me that it's actually in the financial departments hands, but they only process refunds on certain days! And after that, it will take a couple of days for "my bank" to show it, but again I explained to them, I'm not using a bank, only Paypal, and as long as they just simply press the "Refund Payment" button, it should be in my account next day. I know this because I run a business; using my Paypal business account exclusively for the last 8+ years!

It's when you file a claim with Paypal that things get really messy; you are practically guaranteed to get your money, but it takes longer because Paypal has to do a full investigation and that can take awhile... but I'm about at that point. Will be giving them two more days.

I don't care how good of a reputation their "printer" has, this is no way to run a business; to take your money before shipping (most companies only charge you once the product is going to ship, not months before) then not finding the order once you try to cancel, then excuse after excuse for delaying the refund.

And I got to say in my defense, I'm not one of those guys who nitpicks and complains about every little thing, and who buys things and returns them continuously (there is a certain type that does that; that has to have every new gadget that comes out, then gets buyer's remorse and returns it.) I buy a LOT of stuff both online and in brick&morter, and I've only had to return or ask for a refund twice in my entire life... and I'm 49 years old. So pretty good track record for being a good consumer.

But I also expect - when told my product I just spent $2800 on will ship "maximum two weeks" and then it's pushed back 5 weeks, then 6 to 7 weeks, then I lose confidence and cancel - I DO expect to get MY MONEY BACK within a reasonable amount of time (if not immediately!) And you would think to keep a company's reputation in good standing that they would want to satisfy this request as soon as possible in hopes that the customer will come back and buy again, but the longer this takes, the worse the consequences for them are, because next steps: file claim with Paypal. Then civil lawsuit. Then file official complaint with U.S. Federal Trade Commission as well as the Netherlands Authority for Consumer Markets... but I'm sure it won't have to go that far, right?

I've also just recently had a family emergency, so I am in panic mode and this is the last thing I need or want to worry about but instead, it is getting in the way of what I do need to deal with... (and maybe I'm being a little more impatient than I could be.)

/rant_end

 

[genshi 0]

I do want to add that SandervG is making a strong effort to get this resolved, and I do appreciate that greatly. I'm trying to be patient, but as I said previously, bad timing, a lot going on in my life...

 

[SandervG 1,521]

Hi Craig,

Thank you for your post.

I understand your level of frustration because of it is not going as fast as you would like and because of the things you seem to go through.

But there is no need to think about next steps to take or emergency plans.

Our financial department has your refund in process, and once approved the 'button will be clicked' on paypal and your refund will be completed. All I ask is for some more patience.

I think it goes without saying that it is not unreasonable to have guidelines and certain structures as a company.

In this case it means your refund has to go through a few steps, before completion.

I have asked our financial department for an update so I can give you a more specific reply.

I will get back with you on this detail.

@Briand, I will also follow up on your case as well.

Please have some patience.

 

[genshi 0]

@SandervG Thank you again for your attention to this, and I do understand that there is a "process" to this. I will try to be a bit more patient. :-)