Sanity check please

I’d love a sanity check, please. I recently (~3 weeks ago) purchased a saddle fitting “package” that is effectively a virtual saddle fitting appointment with, as I understand it, a a tracing kit sent in advance of the virtual sesions. I messaged the fitter once in advance of making the purchase and felt confident in making the purchase after the exchange. Also, this fitter has been recommended on COTH in recent years.
Well, here we are 3 weeks since I’ve purchased the service and I cannot get a response from the fitter. I have called, emailed numerous times, and contacted vial social media. Do I dispute the charge via my credit card? I acknowledge that small businesses get overwhelmed sometimes and human people get overwhelmed sometimes. I would happily give the benefit of the doubt if I could get even the slightest bit of reassurance, but I’m completely in the dark here.
Do I dispute the charge and cut my losses? Do I continue to knock on the door and hope for the best? I would genuinely appreciate a sanity check here. Thanks!

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I would contact your credit card company and dispute the charge. Not sure how your credit card works, but many have a set amount of time in which you can dispute charges.

In the business world, three weeks is a long time. How time consuming and difficult is it to send a text or an e-mail responding to a paying customer?

If this is any indication of how this person runs their business, I would not want to do business with them. What if you were to order a saddle through them or from them?

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I’d dispute after sending one last msg to the Fitter, informing them that I was going to dispute if no reply to that msg was rec’d.
Some cards have a time limit on disputes, so make sure yours is still available for dispute.

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Wow, that has to be so frustrating. Sorry you are going thru this.

Three weeks with no response, not even an automated away message, seems very unprofessional.

I agree with the above posts. Find out how long your credit card gives you to file a dispute. Do a final reach out to the saddle fitter and file that dispute.

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Thanks for the responses! I followed up politely and mentioned that I would be disputing the charge if I didn’t receive a response in 24 hours. Of course, I promptly received a response. Now, assuming the tracing kit arrives, the next hurdle will be to navigate the fitting consultation despite the distrust that now clouds the relationship.
Gosh I wish people could understand how easy it is to build trust in their clients with simple communication, but how incredibly difficult it is to regain it once it’s lost or eroded.

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Good luck!

I hope they had a good excuse for ignoring you for three weeks.

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Yes, wow, I almost think it might have been better just to dispute the charge. Or maybe ask for your money back instead of going through with the fitting. I think it might be difficult to have a good customer-client relationship after the business owner has ignored you for three weeks, or to trust that you won’t get forgotten about again halfway through the process.

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This is what I was thinking.

Cool, they finally responded because you basically forced them to. But I wouldn’t want to continue any service with this person.

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I was told the last time I filed a dispute that credit card companies hold that as a “black mark” against the disputed company, which can affect the rates the credit card companies charge. Most companies do not want the penalty so will jump through hoops to avoid disputes.

If this works, great!

BUT, I am not sure I would trust a company or individual that will only respond to me at the threat of a dispute.

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