Purchase refunds are taking longer – 04/17/2023 – Market

Less delay in delivery and more difficulty getting money back when the purchase is cancelled. Survey made for Sheet by Reclame Aqui, a channel for consumer complaints against companies, regarding the biggest complaints in the last five years, pointed out an important change in the profile of the problems faced by buyers.

At first –in the years 2018, 2019 and 2020–, the main complaint was the delay in delivery, followed by the reversal of the payment (the customer did not receive the goods and ended up canceling the purchase).

In 2021, 2022 and now, in early 2023, payment reversal has become the top complaint. According to the president of Reclame Aqui, Edu Neves, in 2021, the chargeback was closely related to the delivery service. “It was the second year of the pandemic, even with expansion of food deliveries that, if they didn’t happen, were cancelled”, says Neves.

Since last year, however, the problem went beyond delivery and reached retail as a whole. “Retailers, in general, are taking longer to reimburse consumers who have given up buying online”, says Neves, recalling that, according to the CDC (Consumer Law Code), the buyer has seven days to give up on the item purchased over the internet, from receipt of the product.

The delay in reimbursement, according to the president of Reclame Aqui, stems from the lack of credit available to retailers, who are tight on cash. The withdrawn risk operation – the same one that gave rise to the Americanas crisis, when the retailer makes an agreement with the bank so that it pays the supplier in its place, in exchange for the payment of interest– is at the heart of the matter.

“If the sale goes back, the bank forces the retailer to settle the advance transaction and make a new one, at a higher interest rate. Or else the bank forces the retailer to exchange that receivable for another, which can be a difficulty when sales are down”, says Edu Neves. Hence the delay in returning the money to the consumer, he says.

According to Neves, the customer makes the complaint when more than a month has passed and the amount has not been refunded. “Many times he ends up waiting 60 days for the reversal on the card”, he says. If payment was made via Pix, the delay is even worse for the consumer. “This modality has grown, as it involves discounts of up to 15% but, in case of return, it is worse for the consumer, because his money has already left the account and it will take time to return.”

The number of complaints on Reclame Aqui jumped 88% last year, to 6.4 million. According to Neves, the advance is due to the more aware and connected consumer, in search of their rights. The most complained categories last year were: means of payment, telephony, retail, delivery, marketplace and social networks.

For Izis Ferreira, economist at CNC (National Confederation of Commerce), the timing of the chargeback can impact the retailer’s cash flow to a greater or lesser extent. “Since last year, inflation for several segments squeezed cash and more expensive credit contributed to this squeeze”, he says. “And more recently we are seeing a slowdown in retail sales. This set of factors may explain the increase in reversal periods”, she says.

For the specialist, the consumer is in need of money more quickly, because he also suffers from a tight budget. “The perception of this consumer about delay in repayment worsened in the context of high interest rates”, she says.

In the opinion of consultant Alberto Serrentino, a partner at Varese Retail, from the point of view of the retailer, companies are looking for sustainable growth in electronic commerce. “That era of selling at any price is behind us,” he says. “With the current interest rate at 13.75%, any forced sale, in which retail subsidizes the transaction, has become unfeasible, the effect on cash is very perverse”, he says.

Hence the less accelerated sales, especially in the online environment, where retailers have become more discerning in offering conditions such as interest-free installments or free shipping.

“The companies all slowed down, in search of profitability”, he says, recalling that until recently the watchword in electronic commerce was to grow. “But now only profitable growth is worth it.”