Faulty product refund delay by company

[Bundy]

So I bought magnetic USB charging cords online from VOLTA for a present, the cords were tried a week after I received the parcel in the mail (received 3/Dec, opened 11/Dec), both were non functional on opening.
Emailed company support address (as directed by their web page) that day to say I had issue and ask how was I to proceed with refund , no answer… 11 days go by and I get a product satisfaction email (22nd Dec) supposedly from the company founder and CEO with a guarantee he reads and replies to all responses asking how I was enjoying my new cords to which I sent a reply that my previous email hadn’t been attended to, again no reply.
Fast forward past Christmas and into the new working year and I send a 3rd email (20/Jan) to which I finally receive a reply that sorry to hear of my experience and no other emails had been received and that I need to simply send a video demonstrating the cords not functioning and they would process the “Replacement Request”
Sending required video I included the note that it was indeed a refund and not replacement request to which I was informed that since they claimed they had not received either of the first 2 emails that it was outside the 30day refund time as per their policy which put me into the “Lifetime warranty” replacement category…

The total for the cords was a little over $43, not bank busting by any means but add to that a further $50 spent on new cords in the meantime and its enough to be of consequence

Does this come down to my word against theirs?!

I fulfilled my obligations to inform well inside the allotted 30 day window (checked and rechecked emails that show dates and times sent successfully and all to the same address they finally replied to me on)

Would I have a case with fair trading should it need to go that far?

Feeling Miffed…
Bundy.

[PhilT]

Welcome to the community @Bundy,

Based on your post you have records of the emails you sent. I recommend you contact your card issuer or paypal as appropriate to dispute the transaction. As evidence of your position take screen shots of all the ‘guarantees’ and your attempts to contact them.

Is ‘Volta’ the voltacharger.com company claiming to be located on the Gold Coast with only a PO Box address and no phone number?

As a business the web pages are impressive but lack many of the basics for trust such as an ABN, street address and phone number unless I missed them; and there are many caveats that make their company ‘guarantees’ all but meaningless - calling in formal communications using the Australian Consumer Law could get you a better response than having been played (some companies unfortunately do this) until they believe their obligation to honour the ACL or your rights for a bank chargeback have expired. If you are unfamiliar with card disputes (chargebacks) this other topic may be helpful.

Card chargebacks

Hello out there! I’m writing a piece on card chargebacks, looking at how they work, any problems with the process, and how different banks/payment systems compare when it comes to dealing with them. Have you tried to get a chargeback? I would love to hear about how it went – successful or not. Thanks, Saimi **EDIT Thanks for all the responses. Here’s our report on credit card chargebacks:

Contact your card issuer immediately, and read your rights under Australian Consumer Law. You can find many links to the ACCC as well as Choice advice using the community search.

Please let us know how you go.