Need some advice: 10 weeks, no money back

[TeeEmCee]

So it’s now been about 10 weeks since my order cancellation and I’m yet to see my money back. I’ve spoken to Tesla twice and, as of 6 weeks ago, they were going to send me a check. They initially told me they tried and could not refund my money because I made the reservation payment via PayPal.

It seems that, unless I have half a day to spend on hold, I can’t get anyone to answer the phone at Tesla.

Do you know of any more productive ways to get in touch with Tesla and avoid the hassle of having to take them to court? I’d appreciate any suggestions that would help me put an end to this charade.

TIA!

 

[SpiceWare]

sending things to NULL is a sure fire way to make them disappear

 

[SMAlset]

Paypal still isn't as readily "accepted" I've found for paying or getting refunds. I know the vast majority of people who couldn't wait and asked for a refund on cancellation got theirs refunded pretty promptly. Think someone said refunds either went back directly into bank accounts or to credit cards. Should be a thread on this somewhere. I recall one guy had an issue because the card he put it on either had a credit card number change due to stolen card info and reissuance by credit card company or had he had switched credit card sources and cancelled the one had had put it on and Tesla was having trouble figuring out the routing. Obviously they need to be careful to see that the correct person gets it back.

Paypal kind of is that in between guy here. I like using Paypal on a number of things but things aren't as direct when there's an issue. Have you tried asking Paypal for help getting it routed back to you? You'll need your Paypal transaction refererence number and date. Also may help to have your bank statement or credit card statement handy for transaction numbers for when it got taken out at that end too. I'd try going through their contact phone number as it might be easier/quicker to tell them over the phone than by email of your situation.

Let us know how it gets resolved. Really don't think Tesla is trying to keep your money. Totally appropriate to escalate to a manger level given the length of time already.

 

[TeeEmCee]

sending things to NULL is a sure fire way to make them disappear

Technically, it was FROM “Null” and, as of now, to /dev/null

 

[TeeEmCee]

Paypal still isn't as readily "accepted" I've found for paying or getting refunds. I know the vast majority of people who couldn't wait and asked for a refund on cancellation got theirs refunded pretty promptly. Think someone said refunds either went back directly into bank accounts or to credit cards. Should be a thread on this somewhere. I recall one guy had an issue because the card he put it on either had a credit card number change due to stolen card info and reissuance by credit card company or had he had switched credit card sources and cancelled the one had had put it on and Tesla was having trouble figuring out the routing. Obviously they need to be careful to see that the correct person gets it back.

Paypal kind of is that in between guy here. I like using Paypal on a number of things but things aren't as direct when there's an issue. Have you tried asking Paypal for help getting it routed back to you? You'll need your Paypal transaction refererence number and date. Also may help to have your bank statement or credit card statement handy for transaction numbers for when it got taken out at that end too. I'd try going through their contact phone number as it might be easier/quicker to tell them over the phone than by email of your situation.

Let us know how it gets resolved. Really don't think Tesla is trying to keep your money. Totally appropriate to escalate to a manger level given the length of time already.

Thank you for your reply!

Yes, I have involved my CC issuer and PayPal and I have a chargeback request in place. It’s Tesla that is being unresponsive. They never followed through with the promise to me to refund by check nor did they respond to the bank’s inquiry yet.

For what it’s worth, when I did manage to talk to someone about this, about 4 weeks ago, I did not feel I was being given the runaround. They were able to look up the account, find the status of the reservation and see that there had been a failed attempt to refund via PayPal. Alas, the process is once again stuck somewhere. Assuming that there is no intent on Tesla’s side to hold on to free liquidity for a while longer, then it’s still properly disappointing to see such a basic customer-facing process fall apart like this.

 

[djplong]

That's so odd. I made two reservations on 3/31/16. After configuring my car last month, we didn't know what we were going to do about the other reservation (there was a possibility that we might be able to afford 2 cars but those circumstances didn't happen). We offered the reservation to relatives but, no takers. So, a couple oif weeks ago, I went to the Tesla site to request a refund. Late on Friday afternoon, I filled in the form, giving the information from my debit card. Before 10AM Saturday, my money was in my account.

I have a PayPal account but I've learned not to 'stress' it with anything but the most basic transactions.

 

[SMAlset]

Thank you for your reply!

Yes, I have involved my CC issuer and PayPal and I have a chargeback request in place. It’s Tesla that is being unresponsive. They never followed through with the promise to me to refund by check nor did they respond to the bank’s inquiry yet.

For what it’s worth, when I did manage to talk to someone about this, about 4 weeks ago, I did not feel I was being given the runaround. They were able to look up the account, find the status of the reservation and see that there had been a failed attempt to refund via PayPal. Alas, the process is once again stuck somewhere. Assuming that there is no intent on Tesla’s side to hold on to free liquidity for a while longer, then it’s still properly disappointing to see such a basic customer-facing process fall apart like this.

I can't recall what store I needed to return something to and get a paypal credit refund but ran into something similar. I know paypal isn't a bank and have no idea how companies use bank routing numbers and such to do transactions but for some reason getting money back into paypal just seems to be a problem for some companies. One online store I buy from dropped paypal as a payment source a few years ago and I was told it was due to customer dissatisfaction in doing returns.

Hmm Tesla saw a failed attempt on their end to forward the credit to you. Wonder what's going on that it didn't go through. I'd give Tesla another call and ask for a manager this time to track it down and personally stick with you until you've got the credit issued. Really this length of time is highly unusual from everything I've seen posted on the forum.

 

[N5329K]

Bank-to-bank refund after I canceled was normal and reasonably prompt.
Robin

 

[TeeEmCee]

Let us know how it gets resolved. Really don't think Tesla is trying to keep your money. Totally appropriate to escalate to a manger level given the length of time already.

A few days after posting this, my credit card account showed a completed dispute. Either Tesla responded to their inquiry and issued a refund or they failed to respond in time and the dispute was automatically adjudicated. The bank told me the merchant has 3 months to respond, lest it be adjudicated automatically in the consumer's favor. I think the completion of my dispute came just a bit short of the 3 month deadline. Tesla never sent a check like they told me on the phone.

 

[nvx1977]

there's some irony here, given Musk's history w/ PayPal.

 

[SMAlset]

Thought the same thing.

 

[SMAlset]

A few days after posting this, my credit card account showed a completed dispute. Either Tesla responded to their inquiry and issued a refund or they failed to respond in time and the dispute was automatically adjudicated. The bank told me the merchant has 3 months to respond, lest it be adjudicated automatically in the consumer's favor. I think the completion of my dispute came just a bit short of the 3 month deadline. Tesla never sent a check like they told me on the phone.

That's really sad that other forms of payment, no problem.