I think I am out of $600 and counting for who knows how long… (Beware rant within.)

Updated on 5/5/17: After such a long time, they have finally issued my refund.

I originally ordered the $599 Nintendo Switch bundle from GameStop to be delivered to my apartment. Supposedly the postman attempted to deliver it 3 times. It was odd that it didn’t go to my front office when all packages at my apartment complex go to the front office, and I’ve never had issues. When I checked the final order status it was attempted at nearly 9 PM, but I never heard any knocks at the door and only got 3 little notices attached to my door. After the 3rd notice it said it was the final delivery attempt and would be kept at the shipping center nearby.

I called the facility the next morning (note that I didn’t even see this notice until the morning) to make sure it was there before I would leave my apartment, and they informed me that I couldn’t stop the shipment and it was already on its way back to the sender.

…What?

I called GameStop to ask what was going on and they said that they could not cancel the shipping back. I said okay that I’d pay for the shipping to send it again since I still wanted the product. After being on hold for 10 minutes they told me that I would be getting a refund for the product instead.

…What?

After an extensive questioning, I eventually found out the reason they couldn’t send it back to me was because they had already released it to another person on the wait list for the console. So then they said I would be given a refund and then hung up on me when I protested again.

So I was like okay, fine, I’ll just take the refund and buy the Switch from another source. I go out and buy the Switch from 5miles and wait patiently for my refund to go through.

2 weeks later, still no refund. But I do have a $32 restocking fee added to my credit card for a refund I did not request.

So I call customer service again and, after being put on hold for 15 minutes, speak to another customer service representative. He tells me he needs to check the status of my refund and puts me on hold for another 5 minutes. Then he comes back to explain to me that they cannot refund my money until all components of the bundle have been sent back.

I said that all components have been sent back. I received two order shipping confirmations and both had already been sent back. The memory card had been shipped separately and was similarly sent back after a single delivery attempt (supposedly there was an issue with my apartment number, so they total 3 delivery attempts on the website, but there was only one note at my door). The representative asked me to hold on while he figured out what was going on.

Apparently one more piece has not yet been shipped to me–the charging dock. He said that it would be shipped out on April 6th and should arrive in 5-10 business days from then. That means roughly April 17-20th. In the meantime, they cannot process my refund. I asked if they could just not ship it and process me the full refund right now. They said they have to attempt all parts since they are part of a bundle. That means that I am A) out of $600 for the cost of the bundle until at least April 20th (I originally ordered on March 6th) and B) am going to be charged restocking fees for all shipments, including this one that I do not even want to be attempted, because I was forced into a refund that I did not request.

I mean, I feel like everything about this experience was shady. The odd hour deliveries that nearly guaranteed I wouldn’t be there to open the door and receive my product. The long wait to ship different pieces so that they can’t process a refund until months later. The restocking fees for a refund I didn’t request. I don’t have any issues with deliveries for anything else I order. GameStop told me it was my fault for not being able to accept the delivery and that they did their due diligence.

So I guess GameStop gets to keep my $600 indefinitely depending on when they’d like to send me the rest of my bundle and charge me restocking fees for all the parts that they have to ship to me. On top of that, I never received their product. Also, who knows what will happen if a piece mysteriously disappears in the mail? Do I not get a refund at all because the bundle has to be complete?

When I asked the customer service representative to be connected to a manager, I was promptly hung up on.

I mean, I’m civil when I dispute and I don’t ever cuss at a representative. Nor do I believe its the representative’s fault. He’s just following directions. But I don’t know what else I can do at this point :(.