I regularly buy stuff from Indiatimes shopping. Recently I got a Rs. 250 gift certificate for writing a travel review on tripadvisor.in. In order to use that certificate I ordered an item worth Rs.620 and applied the gift certificate on Dec 22, 2008. My credit card was charged for the remaining Rs.370. A few minutes later I got a mail from Indiatimes that my order was cancelled and the credit card transaction would be reversed in 5 working days.
Instead of the reversal of credit card charge, I got a gift certificatefor Rs.370 from Indiatimes with an expiry of 1 month. I called them today only to be told that as per the company policy they will refund anything upto Rs.2, 000 only through a gift certificate. I was also told that the order was cancelled due to technical problems. They are sticking to their guns that even if the order is cancelled by Indiatimes the customer will get the money only in the form of a GC and not in the original payment mode.
Here’s the company’s policy on the refund (https://shopping.indiatimes.com/media/misc/ishop/shoppingTC.html)
17.Refund Policy effective 16th December 2008 on products purchased from shopping.indiatimes.com -
All sub orders cancelled and have the order value below or equal to Rs.2000/- will be refunded in the form of Indiatimes Gift Certificatewithin 2 working days via email.
All sub orders cancelled and have the order value above Rs. 2000/- willbe refunded as per the payment mode selected by customer except forCOD/Cheque paymode , where refund shall be processed viaPayorder/Demand-draft, for the rest , the refund would be processed viasame mode.
The gift certificate will have one month validity, mergeable, can be used more than once within the validity period.
Gift certificate can be used as a paymode to purchase products across shopping.indiatimes.com.
Gift Certificate issued will be of the same denomination as that of the product ordered.
- This agreement shall be construed in accordance with the applicablelaws of India . The Courts at Delhi shall have exclusive jurisdictionin any disputes arising out or pertaining hereto.
Here’s the problem with this policy. Assume you go to a supermaket buy a bunch of things for Rs 2, 000 and handover money to the cashier. Instead of giving you the goods in your shopping cart, he gives you a gift voucher with 1 day validity because in his infinite wisdom he wants to cancel your order. If you shout and scream at him he will point you to someobscure board on some obsure wall with the terms and conditions. OK, I know this is exagerration but if Indiatimes had a supermarket, I am sure it will happen. Consumers need to stand up for their right.
What else is wrong with this policy?
The order was for a single item therefore the suborder term is not applicable to this order and hence the refund/cancellation rules (I am sure Indiatimes will have a different spin on this.)
I am a long standing customer at Indiatimes. I last read the termsand conditions a few months ago. The cancellation rules were modified on Dec 16, 2008, six days before I placed my order. As a registered user, I would have to be informed of any changes to the terms and conditions. I never received any email or intimation that the terms and conditions have changed. All international shopping websites do intimate the change in T&C and also highlight what has changed. Indiatimes never did that.
By not initimating the customer, the changes in T&C they are expecting us to read their terms and conditions every single time to place an order. Imagine, going through the fine print every single time you are going a place an order!
Another important issue here is that I did not cancel the order. It is Indiatimes, in their infinite wisdom (I am told due to technical problems), who have cancelled my order. Hence, I have to pay for their mistake. My question is WHY? Why should the customer pay for their mistake?
The biggest issue: They are giving the customer a GC with a validity for 1 month. For heaven’s sake why? Who are they to tell the customer that they will take my money and will not return it. The only way is to buy some thing from their website within one month else I lose my money for good.
For some of you it might seem trivial. You might even think, why notjust place the order again? Ofcourse, I can do that and recover my money. The point here is not about the Rs 370 but the callous behaviour of these websites. It is a matter of principle. (They take my money and cancel the order and then tell me that I have one month to redeem a GC.Who are they to define an expiry date to the money that was at one time in my pocket?) I have decided that I will never again buy anything from Indiatimes.
I request you all to think about the business ethics of Indiatimes before you go shopping again at Indiatimes.