I Got Screwed Over by the Seller - No Refund on My Bonus and No Apology

Hello everyone.

I don't use the Children's World store often, but I do visit their Zoovar stores since they're part of the same chain. I prefer using the Children's World app to order products I need, even though I'll have to download the separate Zoovar app later.

I downloaded the app by accident, but it wasn't complicated. Here's what the app looks like.

The app has a search bar that makes it easy to find the product you need. There's a Zoovar tab right away, and the price is listed immediately.

If you go to the product page, you might see additional discounts listed with promo codes. You need to activate them, and the app is pretty straightforward.

I've also noticed that you earn bonus points with each order, which you can redeem for future purchases. Just be aware that these points expire, so it's a good idea to use them up with each purchase rather than saving them for later.

The customer support chat is available, but the responses are often generic and don't really help with more complex issues. I've tried asking for assistance, but it's been tough to get any real help. Of course, they might be able to provide some clarification on simpler matters, but for anything more complicated, don't expect much.

There are also various discounts and promotions available, but I've never taken advantage of them personally. If you're looking to save some money, they might be worth checking out.

I had a bunch of bonus points on my card, so I figured it was the perfect opportunity to use them up and get some cat litter. Plus, there was a discount on it. I decided to treat my dog too, so I ordered some wet food as well. I made the purchase through the T-bank app because Detsky Mir is one of their partners, and you get extra points from the bank. I had a task from a game to make a purchase through the app in partner stores, so I was browsing around to see how it worked. Detsky Mir was a convenient option since I needed cat litter anyway. I made the order, paid with my card, and requested that they hold the items for pickup at 8 PM that day so I could grab them in person. The app said the items were in stock at the store I chose. I got a notification around 3 PM that the order was ready for pickup, but since I'd ordered a lot of cat litter, I waited for my husband to take it home for me. As you can see from the photo, they'd cancelled part of the order.

I was stoked to get my hands on the product, and when I received the notification that it was ready for pickup, I was even more excited. What could possibly go wrong, right? Well, it turns out that something can. I called the store and gave them my order number, and the sales associate starts gathering my stuff. She grabs the wet food, and I'm thinking, 'Great, all set.' But then I ask her about the litter. She's like, 'Uh, where's the litter?' And I'm like, 'You know, the six bags of wet food can't possibly cost $3,000.' At first, she insists that the order is complete, but then she notices that there's something else. And yeah, there was the litter, but she didn't give it to me. To reiterate, the order was fully paid for. I ask her why she's not giving it to me, and she says it's because she's already closed out the order. So, she's not giving me anything.

I started demanding my money back, and she told me to take part of the order instead. I wasn't having it, since the main item I ordered was the filler she provided. I said she should cancel my order and refund my money and bonuses, and I'd reorder. She said she couldn't do it and would call her director. Since pet food is non-returnable, and if I came back tomorrow they'd deny my refund, we waited for the director to arrive. And that wasted my time. I immediately told the seller I'd be writing a complaint about her, and she agreed. But there were no apologies, no attempt to make things right like other stores do. No solutions were offered – just wait for the director, cancel the order, and then reorder once the money and bonuses arrived. The director came, processed the return, and said my refund would be sent within three hours. I figured I'd head home, reorder, and then pick it up. Yeah, I spent gas and time, but I thought, 'who doesn't make mistakes?' It wasn't a big deal. As you can see, this filler is still sitting on the shelf. I came, I paid, but in the end, I left without it.

But things didn't quite go as planned. I got home, but the money still hadn't been deposited into my account. I decided to write a complaint in the store's chat, hoping they'd be able to help me out. I've attached some screenshots.

Let's talk about the money.

Here's the store's response. They claim I received the order, but how could I have received it if I didn't have the money? It's like they're saying I got the order, but I'm left with nothing.

And to make matters worse, they only gave me a refund for part of the order - the wet food, but not the litter. They promised to look into it and I've been waiting.

I'm still trying to process the whole ordeal with the customer support team. They finally admitted that the seller was at fault and promised to look into it.

The next day, I checked my account and the money was still missing. They offered me a new order, but I needed the money from the old one to make it happen. It all went down on a Friday evening, and I figured there might be some bank issues. I contacted my bank to initiate a refund, but they told me it would take until Monday to resolve the issue. I decided to wait until then, even though banks are usually open on weekends.

On Monday, I finally received the money back, but when I checked the app, my bonus points were gone – they had somehow vanished overnight.

I'm writing in support to get my refund back. They told me it's my fault for not being able to place a new order, and that they won't return my bonus points. I had to find more money somewhere to place a new order.

PS. The amount was actually pretty small. I could have placed a new order and kept the 6,000 rubles. But why should I have done that? It was their mistake. If the amount was 600,000 rubles, where would I have gotten the money from? They returned my bonus points, but only the ones that had expired. I wanted to wait for the refund first and then place a new order. They also didn't offer to reissue the order, even though they could have. I paid for the order, after all. They left me in a tight spot without money, a product, or a promo code. And they refused to compensate for the promo code, which had expired by a few hours. Usually, other stores would be more understanding in such cases, but not Detsky Mir.

My Experience with Detsky Mir Was a Disaster

I'd strongly advise against shopping at Detsky Mir, their online store for kids' products. At least be prepared to pay upfront. I was expecting to receive my order on Friday, use my rewards. But the outcome was far from it. It's now Monday, and I still haven't received my order. My rewards have expired. Thanks for refunding my money, but that's about it. The store is completely uncooperative with customers. They could have easily returned my rewards, but they chose not to. It seems they wanted to prevent me from using them in the morning. I've never encountered such a lackadaisical attitude from a major retailer before. It's clear the store is on the side of the seller, not the customer. The customer is left to suffer, and the store gets away with it. 'Oh, another customer will come along, no big deal.' Honestly, I didn't expect such a dismissive attitude from a well-known chain like Detsky Mir.