Disappointing customer service and deluvery

[Jason12345]

I have been an Arlo customer since purchasing an #Arlo Pro3 base station with three cameras kit in November 2020

After the free trial period ended, I have been a loyal Arlo subscriber.

With our neighbour's house recently being burgled, my wife and decided it was time to purchase additional Arlo Pro3 cameras to ensure our home was protected.

Only days after the neighbour's burglary, I received an email from Arlo advertising a sale of its products.

I proceeded to place an order on 22 June 2023 at 06.40am AWST and the payment was processed instantly.

When placing the order, I chose and paid for express delivery, which I was informed meant the package would take two to three business days to be delivered.

The reason for choosing @Express delivery is that my family and I will be travelling internationally on July 7. 

This means our property will be unoccupied for several weeks from that time and after the recent burglary, we wanted the assurance of extra home security.

On June 24, I checked into my Arlo account to discover that my order had not yet been dispatched.

Concerned, I phoned Arlo support  on June 24 at 07.43am and was told that the order had not yet been dispatched.

After explaining the issue and that I had paid for express delivery and needed the camera soon, I was assured the matter would be elevated to Arlo's "next level team" and would likely be resolved soon.

I explained that I was going abroad and needed the cameras to arrive soon.  I also asked for a refund on the express delivery charge as it was clear the package would not arrive on time.  I was told that a refund was not possible.

On June 26 at 12.15pm I phoned Arlo customer support to chase up as I noted my package had still not been dispatched from the warehouse.

Despite explaining my predicament and expressing my frustration, I was again told not to worry and that the matter was being elevated to the "next level team".  

I was told to wait for 24 hours for a development.  No explanation for the delay was offered and I was told I could not cancel the order as it had already been placed.  I was also told I could not receive a refund for the express delivery, until the delivery arrived.

I said I could not wait 24 hours and needed an answer so I could determine if I should wait for the order to arrive or go to a local store and just buy the cameras instead so I had them in time before I left for abroad.

On June 27 I again phoned the Arlo team.  Again I explained all of the above, and again I was told the same thing.  I was also told that I would definitely receive an update on the order's status within 24 hours.

I said that was not good enough and asked to speak to a supervisor, but was told that was not possible and that I would receive a call from a supervisor within 24 hours.

At 12.50pm AWST on June 27 I contacted online support and explained my predicament.  I was told the same things as customer support had told me over the phone.

I went on to ask the agent if there was a method of me lodging an official complaint.  I was told: "We do not have information on that".

I asked again several times and the agent did not answer my question.

Eventually I told them to answer the question and said 'Answer the question, do you have a procedure for me to dodge an official complaint, yes or no?''.

The agent left the chat - without another word and without answering a very simple question.

I have screenshots of the entire online conversation with the agent.

On June 28 at 7.07am AWST I missed a call from a California number.  I phoned Arlo customer support and they told me it was the supervisor who would phone me back soon.

On June 28 at 07.20am AWST I received a call from the supervisor.  The supervisor went on to assure me that it was all under control and I should not worry.

He went on to explain that it had not yet been five business days since I placed the order.  The supervisor did not even know, after everything I had said, that I had paid for express delivery.

I remonstrated with him, again explaining my predicament, my longstanding loyalty to Arlo and my frustrations.

The supervisor promised me that I would receive an update on my order within 10 to 15 hours.

A credit on my express delivery was issued not long after.  I do not want a credit.  I am entitled to a refund to my bank account. 

Of course more than 15 hours has lapsed since my conversation with the supervisor and my order status has not changed.

Overall, this has been an appalling experience and as a longstanding and loyal customer, I deserve an explanation and a thorough investigation into Arlo's processes as to everything that has gone wrong.

I will likely return the cameras at Arlo's cost when they do finally arrive and demand a full refund.  I will then cancel my subscription with Arlo. 

It begs the question:

1. What is Arlo's official complaints procedure?

2. What caused the delay in my order being dispatched?

3. Why has it taken so long to follow up on my issue?

4. Why can no one at Arlo tell me what has happened to my order?

Overall, appalling customer service. 

[JamesC]

I've reviewed your open support ticket and it appears the status of the ticket has been updated with new information. I encourage you to continue working with the support team to resolve this issue.

JamesC