Bought a $750 e-bike, seller intercepted shipment without permission and is blaming me—what should I do?
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I’m dealing with a pretty frustrating situation and wanted to see if anyone else has dealt with something like this or has advice.
I ordered an e-bike for about $750 from a company called TST Bike. They advertised very fast shipping (1–3 days), but after ordering, the tracking showed the item was still across the country and clearly not arriving on time.
I emailed them asking about the delay and also asked what their return policy was in case it didn’t arrive in time (it was meant to be a gift). I never told them to cancel the order or return it—I was just asking for information.
They responded saying they could try to “intercept” the shipment but that there could be a $150 fee. I didn’t want to risk that, so I replied clearly saying I would just wait for it and accept the delivery.
Despite that, they went ahead and intercepted the shipment anyway.
Now they’re claiming that my original email “clearly stated” I wanted the item returned, which is not true. They’ve stopped the shipment, I don’t have the bike, and they’re saying they’ll only refund me after they receive it back at their warehouse.
So right now:
I don’t have the product
I don’t have my $750
The delay is now even longer
And they’re blaming me for the whole thing
They also told me I can just place a new order with a discount code, which is ridiculous because I don’t have another $700+ to spend while waiting on a refund.
I’ve kept all emails and screenshots. I’m planning to dispute the charge with my bank, but I wanted to ask:
Has anyone dealt with something like this before?
Does this sound like incompetence or something more shady?
Is there anything else I should be doing besides a chargeback?
Appreciate any advice. This was supposed to be a gift for my nephew and now it’s turned into a mess.