Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/05/2024

  Type:Delivery Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I had a very bad experience with Techpayout trading site. I recently sold my device, an Apple iPhone 14 Pro **** through Techpayout. Upon submitting my quote, they sent me a prepaid *** label. Following their instructions, I securely shipped the device back to **********************. According to the *** tracking information, the package was delivered on December 18th. After that, I contacted Techpayout to get an update regarding my submission. Initially, they informed me that they were on holiday vacations but promised to provide an update soon. However, after a few days, Techpayout informed me that they had not received the package, despite *** tracking indicating successful delivery.They asked me to contact them via phone, stating that they couldnt reach me because my phone number was inactive, which was not true as my phone number was active and functioning properly. When I attempted to call Techpayout, I couldnt get through as no one answered after the tone. I even tried contacting them using another number, but we couldnt connect. They accused me of fraud, which is a false accusation, stating cases where customers shipped items with the same zip code and city. This was confusing as I used their prepaid label, not my own. Their poor service, rough communication, and accusations disappointed me as a customer.Now, theyre asking for the **** of my device, which I already provided. Im unsure of their intentions and what actions they will take regarding my package. They had previously assured me that their labels are insured, and if the package was genuinely lost during transit, they are obligated to issue compensation. Otherwise, I will consider filing a complaint against Techpayout for violating their terms of use through legal channels. I hope we can resolve this problem soon.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/05/2024

  We want to state that we have every intention of paying the customer in full once we have done our due diligence to confirm that the package was mis-delivered. Part of the due diligence though is normally speaking to the customer on the phone. In this scenario, the customer's phone number never rings and never goes through. We tried to call multiple times. The customer responded that they tried to call us as well, although our call history has no record from the number they have supplied. We do get phone calls from all our customers and to our knowledge there are no issues with our main line.
  
  We flagged this order as possibly "fraudulent". The reason for this is that there are scams where the shipper of the package uses our *** barcode but then changes the ship to address on the package to another address in the same zip code, thus showing it delivered. *** unfortunately doesn't catch this every time (and especially during the busy holiday season). On top of that, a few months ago we had an extremely similar situation with a customer that was selling the same exact phone model, who lived in ********** and also would not get on the phone with us. So unfortunately in your case, this raised red flags and we simply wanted to alleviate them by chatting with you on the phone, which thus far we have been unable to do.
  
  All this said, we opened an investigation with *** for the package on 1/2/24. Ideally we would have opened this up earlier to have this further along but the holiday/new year pushed us back a few days. They stated it can take up to 8 business days for a response but it "should" take less. Normally all our tracking shows that it is signed for by a representative with their name. In your case, the tracking said "met with customer" which obviously was another red flag that something was wrong. One other thing to note is that the customer's address is *****, ** but the origin scan was ************* which is over 6 hours away. Assuming that *** confirms the package was simply mis-delivered/lost we will issue payment to the customer and not make them wait longer for the insurance payment to go through on our end. If though, *** states that there may be fraud involved, we will need to re-evaluate the situation.
  
  We hope you can understand that from our side, we are simply trying to protect our company from the ever growing fraud & scams that are out there. Unfortunately we are a target because we deal with e-commerce and highly sought after electronics. On the flip side, we can totally understand your perspective of the situation and do sympathize. We appreciate your continued patience while we sort this out with ***. Ideally, *** gets back to us by early next week with good news and we can issue payment. We can then both go our separate ways with hopefully no further feelings hurt.
  
  Respectfully yours,
  
  *****************
  TechPayout

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/05/2024

  
  Complaint: 21101448
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  You keep sending me the same messages, accusing me of committing fraud, which is entirely incorrect! Im baffled as to why youre comparing me to another customer who was involved in a scam and also from **********, as you mentioned. Another bizarre aspect is your assumption that I sold you the same iPhone 14 Pro **** Its quite amusing, considering the release of the iPhone 15 Pro **** Its a normal upgrade, and please dont link me to another customer who engaged in fraudulent activity with you. As for changing the zip code on the *** barcode, Im clueless about how that could happen, especially since *** has its own system in place. I dont possess any information regarding this activity. Moreover, if a *** agent made an error while scanning the package and delivered it to the wrong person, is it my fault? - No.
  Regarding phone calls, yes, I attempted to reach you using a different phone number, but you claim not to have any records, which I believe is another misunderstanding. While I understand your position if indeed the package wasnt received, your approach has been harsh. I believe there should be more accountability towards customers and refraining from baseless accusations of fraud because its a terrible feeling!
  
  Regards,
  
  *******************

  Business Response

  Date: 01/22/2024

  ****,

  You are 100% correct that we should not be tying any other fraudulent customers to you and we are sorry if that offended you. They have nothing to do with you but we need to be able to recognize when our company may be possibly taken advantage of and have the opportunity to do our due diligence. We certainly did not mean to imply you were fraudulent, but the absolute simplest way is to have a 1 minute conversation on the phone. For one reason or another, we haven't been able to accomplish this with you yet. The original phone number you supplied still has a busy signal every single time we call (we just tried again now). This will be the last step from us and then we are good to issue the payment. 

  We are open 9am-5pm EST Monday through Friday. You can call ************ and we will be very cordial on the phone about the situation. Or as requested before, please send back an alternate phone number where we can reach you.

  We are ready to resolve this. Thank you.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/27/2024

  
  Complaint: 21101448
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Hello! You are repeating the same issue that my phone doesnt work, and you could not connect with me via phone. Once again, I am confirming that from my side, there is no issue with my number. Now, I want to inform you that I am not going to waste my time with you as you are stretching out the process and not going to issue my payment. Once again, I contacted *** regarding your claim, and they confirmed that the package was lost during transit, which is their fault. *** advised me to contact TechPayout for reimbursement as the label was insured by you, but you are rejecting me and mentioning the reason is my phone number, and you want to talk to me via phone, but unfortunately, we couldnt connect. We have nothing more to discuss regarding this as we have already communicated via email and also through BBB. I have been in communication with you since December 2023. Also, *** claim status indicates that the courier did not locate my package, and they marked it as lost. Now, as you are responsible for issuing me a payout as I shipped it with your option (Insurance), you refused it. This is a violation of your rules. Finally, this is my last communication with you, and I am not going to waste more time with you! I confirm that your company is very irresponsible, and for your company, your customers dont mean anything. I regret that I sold my device with you. I had a very good experience with Backmarket when I sold my previous model device, but unfortunately, now I decided to sell it with you! You have a horrible service, and I will report you accordingly on Trustpilot. Moreover, as we cannot reach a solution together, I will prepare a demand letter and will report it through legal channels against TechPayout, a company which violates its rules. It may take some time, but I want to assure you that I will follow up with this process.
  
  Thank you, TechPayout. You are amazing!!!!!
  
  
  Regards,
  
  *******************