Here is a small narration of what happened with me. It is a regular phenomenon when you try out an onaine sale. PayTM is the culprit here, where I just made my second purchase and it failed.
a. Ordered Orpat Blender(898510383), 14-April-2015, 860 with Rs 300 in 40% cashback
b. Committed date was 21-April-2015
c. Called them to check status on 22-April-2015 and also dropped an email( they forgot to deliver)
d. 24-April, they said sorry, the item can’t be delivered by vendor(10 days later)
e. In the account they mentioned:
"As requested, item cancelled from your order. Money will be added to wallet. Go to paytm wallet for refund to bank / card"
On repeated requests to keep the same discount available for next purchase, fulfill order with other vendors who have same product offering.
Response - "Your money has been refunded into your Paytm account so that you can buy some other exclusive products from our site as your next purchase.We are very sorry for the inconvenience caused, we will make sure that the same will not happen in future."
7 people addressed in 7 different emails, writing same thing(copy-paste), with no indication of an understanding the issue of "Non-fulfillment" of "Sale-promise".
My Question!Are these marketplaces responsible for what vendors sell? Or vendors?Is there any regulation on them?
This is the delivery issue that too with new entrant, but I am sure, as offline market gets killed by online market, there can be more issues because of the inherent problems of "Delay", "Distance", "Automation", "Machine touch".Why do they create "Sale" when they can’t fulfill? Remember Flipkart Big Bullion day.
> To drive customer traffic to their site! and earn bad name.
Will these online platforms ever be able to achieve the personal touch that we used to have with shopkeepers and an understanding? Will this "No questions asked" refund policy be available for all time to drive purchase online.
PayTM refuses to correct! There is no penalty so far in system for such misleading advertisements. It has implications related to the content of advertisements as well in other cases.