Gift voucher gone missing or red herring?
August 22, 2022 4:29 AM Subscribe
I've had a strange experience with a company and am looking for advice on what steps to take next.
I bought a ticket for my nephew to attend an activity centre. When I discovered he couldn't attend I rang the centre and left a message to cancel and also an email. They replied back to say that they could give me a gift voucher and to send them my home address which I did. Less than one hour later they sent me a message saying that one of their receptionists had dropped my voucher off at the wrong address and when they had remembered they had knocked on the door but there was no answer and they would try again to retrieve it the next day. Towards the end of the next day I contacted the company again but got no reply. I also went to knock on the door of this address but there was no answer. The following day I opened up the email thread to find that all the contents had been deleted/completely disappeared. I rang the company who claimed they had no knowledge of what had gone on but that they would put a note against my booking and I could ring up in the future to use this booking again. I asked them to send an email so that I would have evidence. They have not done so. What steps can I take next?
I bought a ticket for my nephew to attend an activity centre. When I discovered he couldn't attend I rang the centre and left a message to cancel and also an email. They replied back to say that they could give me a gift voucher and to send them my home address which I did. Less than one hour later they sent me a message saying that one of their receptionists had dropped my voucher off at the wrong address and when they had remembered they had knocked on the door but there was no answer and they would try again to retrieve it the next day. Towards the end of the next day I contacted the company again but got no reply. I also went to knock on the door of this address but there was no answer. The following day I opened up the email thread to find that all the contents had been deleted/completely disappeared. I rang the company who claimed they had no knowledge of what had gone on but that they would put a note against my booking and I could ring up in the future to use this booking again. I asked them to send an email so that I would have evidence. They have not done so. What steps can I take next?
Email threads normally don't disappear like that; how do you access your email? Otherwise, yes, just do a chargeback if you can't reach them.
posted by sagc at 5:12 AM on August 22, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by sagc at 5:12 AM on August 22, 2022 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: I am really puzzled as to how the contents have just disappeared. I access through a web browser on my Chromebook.
posted by charlen at 5:53 AM on August 22, 2022
posted by charlen at 5:53 AM on August 22, 2022
You said, "The following day I opened up the email thread to find that all the contents had been deleted/completely disappeared."
Do you mean you couldn't find the thread (the email messages had disappeared), or that you found the thread of messages, but all the messages were blank? If it's the latter, you could restart your browser or restart your computer. If it's the former, you should check your spam folder.
You also didn't mention how you looked for the email thread. Did you just scroll through your email looking for it, or did you use the Search function? If you haven't yet, you should use the Search function. You should also check your Sent messages mailbox. If you can locate the messages that you sent to them, it could help you find their replies.
I would not do a credit card chargeback in this situation. The company hasn't done anything wrong, and a chargeback will hurt them with the credit card processing company. You chose to cancel for your own reasons, and now your email is acting up. I'd search some more for the email messages, and then take them at their word that they will give you a credit.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 6:39 AM on August 22, 2022 [3 favorites]
Do you mean you couldn't find the thread (the email messages had disappeared), or that you found the thread of messages, but all the messages were blank? If it's the latter, you could restart your browser or restart your computer. If it's the former, you should check your spam folder.
You also didn't mention how you looked for the email thread. Did you just scroll through your email looking for it, or did you use the Search function? If you haven't yet, you should use the Search function. You should also check your Sent messages mailbox. If you can locate the messages that you sent to them, it could help you find their replies.
I would not do a credit card chargeback in this situation. The company hasn't done anything wrong, and a chargeback will hurt them with the credit card processing company. You chose to cancel for your own reasons, and now your email is acting up. I'd search some more for the email messages, and then take them at their word that they will give you a credit.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 6:39 AM on August 22, 2022 [3 favorites]
Any update?
posted by Ahmad Khani at 6:41 PM on August 23, 2022
posted by Ahmad Khani at 6:41 PM on August 23, 2022
Response by poster: I've tried to rebook for this weekend but no reply from the company. My bank says a chargeback is not possible in this situation.
posted by charlen at 5:58 AM on August 24, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by charlen at 5:58 AM on August 24, 2022 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by phunniemee at 4:49 AM on August 22, 2022 [2 favorites]