An E-commerce Platform Charged Me for an Out-of-Stock Item and How it was Resolved

With the proliferation of technological products like POS machines, debit and credit cards, Fintech apps, etc., e-commerce has basically become a buzzword in cyberspace. Many companies are cashing in on this new trend, and many fintech and e-commerce startups are springing up around the world to offer a variety of services.

Africa has not been left out of this revolution. Cities Like Lagos, Nairobi, Cape town etc. have become technological headquarters of sorts, proudly hosting promising fintech and e-commerce platforms like Jumia, Konga, Kuda etc., many of which have become international brands.

This makes me very proud as an African and I a give a major salute to these companies and the people who put in the hard work to create and run them.

However, I think that there is still room for improvement, especially in the area of logistics and customer support, as these are very important factors in securing customer trust. I say this due to my recent experience in trying to purchase a product from one of these e-commerce sites in my country with a fintech bank card.

To protect their image, I will rename the e-commerce platform to “stayandbuy” in this story and also rename the fintech app to “couchspender.” Don’t worry, brothers, I’m no complete snitch 😉.

Now, onto my story.

That time I tried to buy from e-commerce with fintech

So I’m sitting on my couch pressing my phone like basically every millennial alive. I remembered that I needed some clothes. The thought of having to get up and trek to the nearby market was like a heavy load that retained me on the same couch I had been sitting on for the last 6 hours.

But there was a counter thought;

Swaggering to class in those new hoodies I had my eye on sure seemed like a fitting reward for the great task of having to trek a few blocks.

So I reached for my ATM card. I had just gotten it free from one of those fancy new online banks that I had created an account with not so long ago. I already used it for some transactions, so I was sure it worked.

“Couchspender” was a great app.

So, I grabbed the card in an effort to head for the market. But a better thought crossed my mind;

“You already have a card for internet banking; how about you just check out one of those online marketplaces you heard about and buy the clothes from there? Then you can just avoid this looming trek to the market while still ensuring that you will swagger to class in a new hoody”.

Seemed like a win-win!

Couch potato life forever!!!

So I quickly picked up my PC and headed to the “comeandbuy” site. Searched for the particular item I was looking for, and to my great excitement, they not only had it in stock but also had it in a variety of colors.

This was even better than going to the market! They were many more good-looking clothes to buy at the click of a button (and deduction of some cash too, of course, but no one ever says that part). So I added a number of clothes to the cart and mustered enough courage to stop adding more and proceed to make payment.

The total amount was there. I entered in the card details, and 1, 2, 3….., payment complete.

Wow! Just like that? Delivery expected in 2 days.

Excelent! excellent!! Exce….

But wait?

What’s this rubbish on the screen?

Why is there one item missing from the items to be delivered?

Hope it’s not the hoodie that I actually came here for?

What the hell? Why is the hoodie that I will swag to class with not among not the items to be delivered?

I looked at the money deducted from my account. It was the full price for all the items in the cart, including the hoodie. Then I returned to the page of the hoodie, and a crazy message was on the screen screaming at me.

“This item is out of stock!”

What is this? How could an item that was still remaining after I added it to the cart now be out of stock? And I wouldn’t even get mine.

A small voice whispered to me. “Maybe someone bought it all while you were strolling around the site loving other items before making payment.”

That seemed to make sense. But a bigger question arose.

Why, then, did you allow me to buy an out-of-stock item and also debited me for it?

How was it resolved

After waiting angrily for two days with no refund, I proceeded to go online and fight for my money. First, I mailed my fintech bank (“Couch Spender”). I figured that they probably debited me by mistake and forgot to refund my own part of the money after crediting “Stayandbuy” for the items that were actually in stock.

But to my surprise, they replied that all the money was credited to “Stayandbuy.”

Why would they take money for an item they won’t deliver?

I then sent a mail to “Stayandbuy” and complained about the debit. They asked me for a receipt from my bank, which I got in about two days. Then they took the receipt and replied that they were working on the issue.

Long story short, I didn’t hear back from them again for almost a month.

I had even forgotten about the issue till an event made me remember. Then I sent “Stayandbuy” the harshest email I could muster about the matter.

They eventually replied that the refund was processed some time ago.

I checked.

There was no alert on the refund, and there was no mail from them to conclude the issue I had logged with them when the refund was supposedly processed. However, the refund was reflected in my bank statement for that month.

In summary, I don’t remember receiving the refund. Maybe I got it; maybe I didn’t. But the record said I did, so let’s respect the almighty record. But, I had spent about a month on a transaction that could’ve taken 2 hours tops if I just went to the market.

Hence, the entire process seemed rather unprofessional and untrustworthy.

To Conclude

I conclude with the following suggestions for e-commerce platforms and users;

• I don’t know if it occurs often, but I don’t think it should be possible for an out-of-stock item to be reflected in a buyer’s cart and payment. It’s probably a bug that needs fixing.
• E-commerce platforms should have an automated way of quickly noticing and refunding incorrect payments from buyers. This will help build trust.
• If you mistakenly pay to e-commerce sites that seem refundable, quickly reach out to them and complain instead of waiting. Waiting might not yield any results.
• Lastly, e-commerce platforms should make life easier and not harder for buyers. All hail couch potatoes. Hail!!!