Billed for Returned Kit

[spelk]

I returned my kit to a Yodel pickup location containing the following:

Item Type Item Description Value

Broadband Router	Arris Hub 3	£40
Set Top Box	Arris TiVo box 1TB	£0
Set Top Box	Cisco TiVo box 500GB	£0

And now I've had an email and text saying I'm being charged £40! The kit has been returned!

After my disconnection on 22nd June, there was still £82.70 in credit under my account.

I don't know how to get that money refunded, and I don't want VM to take £40 out of it for returned kit I've dropped off at a Yodel point.

I can't seem to get any joy from the web chat option, it won't load. So rather than spend wasted hours on the phone, I thought I'd post here to see if anyone can help.

[Daniel_Et]

Hi @spelk, thank you for your post. 

We're sorry to hear about the situation you find yourself in 😔

Can you please confirm the date on which you returned your kit to us via Yodel and the date on which you received notification that you're being charged £40? It may just be a crossover.

Refunds are processed 45 days after an account has been disconnected. 

Please pop back to us at your earliest convenience.

Regards,
Daniel

[spelk]

Hi Daniel,

I returned the kit to a Yodel drop off point on the 15th July.
I received the notification that I was being charged this morning 23rd July.

Other messages and events:

7th July - VM said I should have received my returns packaging (I hadn't).

To facilitate the return, I requested another set of returns packaging on VM website.

13th July, I had a delivery from Yodel of the large returns packaging for my 3 items of kit (it had a "JD" delivery tracking code).

14th July, Message detailing that a charge of £40 will apply if I don't return my equipment.

15th July, I'd boxed up the equipment and dropped it off at a Yodel collection point. The drop off staff wanted my email address, so I would track it, but I declined to give it for privacy.

16th or 17th July I had another returns packaging delivered (a much smaller one) from Whistl (it had a "VIR" delivery code). I still have the unopened small returns packaging.

23rd July message saying a £40 charge has been applied to my account.

I hope that is enough.

Thank you for trying to help.

[Adduxi]

Do you have the proof of posting? Did you track the returns via the Yodel app? 

[spelk]

---

@Adduxi wrote:

Do you have the proof of posting? Did you track the returns via the Yodel app? 

---

I have the ID of the return and it was checked in at the Yodel collection point. But I declined to hand over my mail address and I don't use the Yodel app.

[Carley_S]

Thanks for getting back to us @spelk 

Do you have the receipt at all from when you dropped of the return? This should have a tracking number on it so that you can see when the equipment gets to us. 

Once the equipment is returned and processed at our side, the charge will be removed from the account. 

[spell]

This is a totally inadequate response regarding a scam that has been going on for years - it is certainly not justified by meaningless claims of a 'crossover'.

Virgin cannot steal money from a customer and then demand that the customer should be required to provide evidence that it should not have been taken before deciding they will give a refund by  cheque weeks of months later. The money that must have been obtained from customers who give up in frustration and stress must be an enormous amount.

I suggest going through the totally useless complaints procedure which at least will provide further evidence then pursue through  civil court for criminal offences.

[spelk]

Thanks for the info @Carley_S

I didn't get a receipt for the return, the member of staff at the One Stop scanned the returns box on a device (presumably Yodel device), asked me to put in my email address, I declined and the transaction was complete.

Naturally, I regret not complying and handing out my email address for tracking purposes, but I didn't want subsequent spam and marketing from Yodel and One Stop to flood into my inbox. I didn't think to use the Yodel app on my phone to scan the box myself, but I wouldn't want to install another data harvesting app on my phone neither.

I'd assumed once it had been scanned by the operator taking receipt of the package that it was in the system and VM or at least Yodel would know about it.

I'm hoping once the equipment is batch processed at VM's end that I will be refunded the £40 taken along with the remainder of credit that is on my now disconnected (on 22nd July) account.

[Matthew_ML]

This would of been your receipt.

No spam or junk emails just proof of postage.

Without any receipt this would be hard to track and there isn't no way we can track this without any this.

It can take up to 10 - 14 working days to be delivered back by our warehouse but without any receipt we would need to wait sorry.

If you was charged £40 you would get this back once the warehouse scan it in.

[spelk]

Thanks for the reply, but I don't quite understand how it is the fact that I didn't supply my email to the person scanning the package for Yodel means its "lost in transit" until it shows up at VM's warehouse. My email address is the single point of tracking that this box has? I mean the packaging box was sent out with an ID number, presumably Yodel use that to report back and send the box to VM itself?

Anyway, I appreciate folks help and insight on these forums, since there doesn't seem to be an approachable/amenable way to make contact with anyone in VM other than here.

The package was logged at the One Stop on the 15th July, so if it takes 10-14 days (end of July-ish) to be delivered back to the VM warehouse I'll wait to hear from VM when they receive it, and then wait on the refund of my monies sat in credit.

If I hear anything, I'll report back to this thread for other interested folks.