So, weeks ago, I bought some expensive clothes online, but the seller apparently miswrote my shipping address, causing the package to be returned to sender.
Okay, no problem, just wait for seller to ship again, right? Except that the seller has apparently gone AWOL now for a very long time. No replies to emails, no replies to any queries on their website “Contact Us,” nor do they have a phone number.
I am thinking of getting a refund from my credit card, but am concerned that if I do so, and the seller suddenly does end up shipping the merchandise to me again, that now I’d be the one in legal hot water because I’d have free clothes. Sure, I could just mail the clothes back if that happens, but is that how it works?
If you initiate a charge-back on your credit card, the credit card company will attempt to contact the vendor, and will keep both of you apprised of what is going on. They will let the vendor know that the charge has been canceled. I believe this lets you off the hook if they go ahead and send the clothes anyway, but you can be a good person and attempt to pay them again if you want. Good luck with that, Most companies I deal with in mail order, if they have any volume at all, don’t have a clue how to fix anything that goes outside the automated processes, whether delivery problems, or the complications of canceled payments and then re-payments.
You could always contact the seller and pay again if you get the clothes.
There’s no legal hot water here. You aren’t trying to defraud someone. Sometimes you end up with merchandise that didn’t get paid for and you offer to pay for it (if you want it) or send it back (if you don’t). And sometimes the seller says don’t worry about it.
If you’ve sent emails clearly stating you want to cancel the order because it’s taken so long, go ahead and contact your credit card company for a chargeback now. If you haven’t - if all your emails have been of the “Hey, my order hasn’t shipped yet, what’s the story?” type, send an email clearly requesting a cancellation and refund, and if you don’t get your money back in a few days, go ahead and open the chargeback.
As long as you don’t lie, you can’t be held responsible if the bank refunds your money, and the company ships the stuff anyway. At the very worst, you’ll have to let them come pick up the merchandise they shipped. And that’s a 1 in a million shot anyway, the company is long gone and will never ship you a thing.
If the seller has already been completely non-responsive to multiple good-faith attempts to contact them, there is no legal or ethical obligation to contact them again and wait a few days. Failure to respond to customer contact is just not acceptable.
Under these circumstances, I would initiate the chargeback, stating simply that the goods have not been shipped and that the seller is non-responsive. I’d then just send another email to the seller with “chargeback” in the subject line informing them that you have initiated the chargeback because they are non-responsive. If this prompts them to act to resolve the situation, so much the better, you can always withdraw the chargeback request if the clothes or a refund show up. Under no circumstances can initiating a chargeback request (provided you are not lying) result in any problem for you.
Again, there is a time limit for chargebacks - I think it’s 120 days from the initial charge processing date for Visa and Mastercard. If you don’t act before then, you have no recourse.