Refund Issues, Rivian Guide non responsive

[pehalvan]

I changed the configuration of my R1S after the payment and before the delivery. The wheels were changed from 22" sports dark to 22" sports bright(2000$ difference at the time) and the PPF(1500$) was removed. After this change Rivian owed me 3500$. The guide said the refund check will be mailed to me in 4-6 weeks. I took the delivery of my R1S in April. After waiting for two months I reached out to my guide who was absolutely non responsive. I emailed Rivian support and then my guide told me that check was mailed to me but somehow got lost. So now a new check will be mailed to me which again may take 4-6 weeks. After waiting for 6 weeks again I reached out to my guide but as usual she is absolutely non responsive after my 5 attempts to reach her. It's been six months since I took the delivery and still not refund. Any advice would be much appreciated.

****Update****
Refund check received on 09/25/2023. Thank you everyone for your help and advice.

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[COdogman]

I would be frustrated with that just like you, but unfortunately it sounds like you have done just about everything possible to follow up.

Assuming they sent the first check and it did get lost, that may not be their fault, but I'm also not surprised any large company takes that long to issue checks.

You could try tweeting at them, or directly emailing higher ups, but I doubt that will make a check show up any sooner. I would definitely ask CS every couple days if you can get confirmation of its status though. 4 months is a long time.

 

[pehalvan]

I would be frustrated with that just like you, but unfortunately it sounds like you have done just about everything possible to follow up.

Assuming they sent the first check and it did get lost, that may not be their fault, but I'm also not surprised any large company takes that long to issue checks.

You could try tweeting at them, or directly emailing higher ups, but I doubt that will make a check show up any sooner. I would definitely ask CS every couple days if you can get confirmation of its status though. 4 months is a long time.

Where do I get contact information of any higher ups?

 

[Donald Stanfield]

This is an unacceptable amount of time and I would try to escalate this outside of your guide at this point. I would try to do so within the company first, and if not maybe it's time to take it to social media. I hate to be that guy but if someone was keeping my 3500 dollars and wasn't much in a rush to give it back for half a year I wouldn't be super happy about it either.

 

[pehalvan]

This is an unacceptable amount of time and I would try to escalate this outside of your guide at this point. I would try to do so within the company first, and if not maybe it's time to take it to social media. I hate to be that guy but if someone was keeping my 3500 dollars and wasn't much in a rush to give it back for half a year I wouldn't be super happy about it either.

How do you suggest I may escalate this? I was thinking of visiting my local service center and talking to someone there but not sure if they would be able to help in this.

 

[COdogman]

Where do I get contact information of any higher ups?

There are some folks around here who have posted the actual addresses of executives, but Rivian seems to stick to the first initial/lastname@Rivian.com concept. I'm also not sure who exactly you should target with that email to get your best results. That's why I would probably professionally and persistently request an escalation from CS because your guide has stopped responding. They should be able to immediately get you to someone in the department that can check on your specific refund. . . They have kept your money long enough and you deserve answers for sure.

 

[ORFynder]

I would set up a meeting with your guide via calendy to speak directly. I had a similar situation when Rivian had to refund me some money for my registration. It was mishandled by US regs for 2 months but my guide took care of it. Given it’s their qtr end, I think this week and next week they are pretty slammed so would recco u set up a calendy mtg the 1st week of OCT

 

[SoCal Rob]

@pehalvan

Also, assuming that you’re told that another check is lost in the mail… politely but firmly suggest that with 2 missing checks the next should be sent by a traceable carrier with a signature required. This way you can track the shipment and Rivian can have assurance that it didn’t go missing.

Better yet, they could always wire the funds directly to you to make up for your inconvenience and lost time.

 

[madgrey]

What about the 888/855 Rivian numbers for customer service/support? I've used these a few times, including once for a last minute delivery issue when my Guide was unresponsive.

 

[pehalvan]

What about the 888/855 Rivian numbers for customer service/support? I've used these a few times, including once for a last minute delivery issue when my Guide was unresponsive.

Most of the times these numbers are extremely busy. Couple of times I called and was on hold for more than half an hour so I just gave up. Once recently I called at 5am and was able to talk to a support person. They said they will open a ticket for this and will followup with me but I never received any followup.

 

[Aag12]

I went through the same thing you're going through. Probably 8 months of 'accounting department will refund you', 'check is in the mail', 'let me get back to you'. I ended up emailing rj, making a report on bbb, and cfpb (since I was getting charged interest on the lack of refund).

I actually think it was the bbb complaint that got them working with me. But it's amazing how quickly I got a check in the mail. I actually got 2 checks, one for the accessory I returned, and another for the sales tax. Both over nighted to me.

Try those routes as otherwise they'll ignore you

 

[AlanP]

You can always try and send an email to RJ. Only takes a minute. I had a similarly frustrating issue with Cadillac trying to get my deposit back on the Lyric. It was only 100 bucks but after months of emails and calling with nobody responding I sent an email to Mary Barra and the next day I was contacted by someone in the corporate office, and it was resolved in about three days.
Sad but true.
filing a complaint with the BBB also seems to work pretty well. They don’t want a lot of unresolved online complaints for people to see.

 

[Gee Bee]

Funny how you must overnight a deposit check and they don’t treat you the same .

it’s the people the hire based on salary, not knowledge

 

[pehalvan]

I went through the same thing you're going through. Probably 8 months of 'accounting department will refund you', 'check is in the mail', 'let me get back to you'. I ended up emailing rj, making a report on bbb, and cfpb (since I was getting charged interest on the lack of refund).

I actually think it was the bbb complaint that got them working with me. But it's amazing how quickly I got a check in the mail. I actually got 2 checks, one for the accessory I returned, and another for the sales tax. Both over nighted to me.

Try those routes as otherwise they'll ignore you

Thank you for sharing your experience. This is terrible behavior. Would a consumer be able to get away with delaying payment for this long? Absolutely not! Think of all the time that has been already wasted on this matter. I have filed a BBB complaint. Let's see if that helps. My next step would be to file a complaint with consumer protection agency.

 

[shrink]

You can always try and send an email to RJ. Only takes a minute. I had a similarly frustrating issue with Cadillac trying to get my deposit back on the Lyric. It was only 100 bucks but after months of emails and calling with nobody responding I sent an email to Mary Barra and the next day I was contacted by someone in the corporate office, and it was resolved in about three days.
Sad but true.
filing a complaint with the BBB also seems to work pretty well. They don’t want a lot of unresolved online complaints for people to see.

I'm having trouble getting my $100 deposit back for the GMC Hummer SUV EV as well. I canceled on 7/10/2023 and I keep getting the run around from the dealer.

With Rivian, I ordered some Gear Shop towels on 7/25/2023. I got an email on 8/29/2023 that I should have never been able to order the towels because they are out of stock and that a refund would be issued in 5-10 business days. I still haven't received the refund and I've sent 3 follow-up emails, contacted my Guide, and did an online chat. No one seems to know what's going on, but they did send me a return label for the towels I never received.

These are small amounts, but I'm not just going to give them the money. It's irritating to work so hard for simple small refunds.

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