Waiting for Refund/Did you get your refund?

[1e98]

This might be a long shot, but if anyone who has applied to have their deposit refunded recently is still reading this forum, I would like to know how they got their refund and how long it took.

I emailed Aptera on Wednesday before work at sales@aptera.com with a request.

I emailed them again on Friday afternoon at cancelres@aptera.com, which was an address I saw in another post.

No response so far.

I will keep this post updated with my progress.

[esmith]

I suspect that they are swamped with correspondence, they are processing it on first-come first-serve basis, and they don't have more than one or two people on email duty. A cancellation request would take longer than usual to process because of financial implications.

Personally, I'm waiting till after Jan 16 to cancel. The email flood will be over and I might have a better idea what exactly I'm canceling.

[1e98]

What is the significance of the 16th?

[2258]

that's when the first car is scheduled to be delivered. I also hope to learn more next week when the evcast is supposed to have an interview with aptera execs lined up.

[1e98]

Despite our well-intentioned efforts, we were unable to complete that vehicle before the close of the year, so it's now slated for January 16. However, unlike prior plans, this vehicle will not be delivered to a retail customer. We will continue our builds but at a much slower rate starting with a small test fleet of the enhanced vehicles, then moving to our volume production launch on October 1, 2009.

January 16 is of no significance to customers. Nobody will get the car. If October 1 is now the date for the start of production (A year late), then in reality people will not be seeing their cars until some time after that, at least 2010. I cannot see any reason why this would not be true.

[KarenRei]

It's of significance because it's the official unveiling.

[1e98]

Fair enough. Yes, we'd all like to see what the car is actually going to be.

I am weighing up the company's likelihood of survival. An additional year without revenue is a long time for a capital intensive business to last.

[IamIan]

The 16th is also significant because that is when the production models first are coming off the line... and when the final technical details can be determined... if we can squeeze them out of the test drivers... anybody know any of them ?

That it is not being delivered to a consumer does not change any of that.

I know a ton of people are seeing red about the 17 day delay... especially combined with the first model going to a test fleet instead of a normal consumer.... It is a powerful one two combo... but , over all I think it is a good thing... and I think it is perfectly understandable changes from a new car company with its very first product... test fleets will allow the consumers to see the real world test results and the final technical details before they get locked in to spending the full sticker price.

Maybe I'm just a bit more forgiving... but 17 days is nothing... go see how many people have gone past 17 days getting a house built... which is far simpler than what Aptera is doing.

[johnvall]

I requested my refund and it took about 3 weeks, take or give. It was a check, in an account from Wells Fargo. I am satisfied with the service provided, I cancelled my order due to several inconsistece that I see, and I don feel good about it.

[KarenRei]

Wells Fargo is where someone on the forum earlier had verified that Aptera had an escrow account registered.

[1e98]

I received an email today from Aptera stating that they would refund my deposit by mail within 10 days. So the email response came in 3 working days. That is reasonable. I'll let everyone know when the deposit comes through.

[Appy2475]

Got a reply back from Todd from Aptera today. He said they would send the check out to my new address in 7-10 days.

I'll let you know when I get it.

Cheers,
Allen

[pk-sd]

Got a reply back from Todd from Aptera today. He said they would send the check out to my new address in 7-10 days.

I'll let you know when I get it.

Cheers,
Allen

Why would they send you the check? The money is in the escrow held by the credit card company.

[aptera1213]

Escrow acct is held at Wells Fargo Bank

at least according to people who have gotten their deposits back

[Appy2475]

Why would they send you the check? The money is in the escrow held by the credit card company.

I asked if they could apply back to my credit card and they said it had been too long ago for that. I'm taking it on faith that they will have a check sent out.

cheers,
allen

[normwell]

After 3 emails and a phone call I got a reply saying a check coming in 7-10 days. Patience is a virtue;)

[Concerned]

Has anyone had any problems getting Aptera to refund your deposit? I cancelled my reservation using cancelres@aptera.com (as instructed on the site). There was no acknowledgement of my request. I figured I would use the contact link on their website but I didn’t receive a response with that either. I just finished sending my third request to all departments in hope that someone will respond. It's been a little over a week since my first request to Aptera and I am starting to feel uneasy with the deafening silence.:scared0011:

[KarenRei]

There are several threads on the subject here. Nobody has ultimately come back claiming either that

A) They were never able to get in touch with Aptera, or
B) That once they were told they were going to receive their money, they did.

We have, however, had about a dozen different people over the course of the forum's history come back and state otherwise.

Right now, the first step is to get a response. If it takes several emails, so be it. Phone calls are probably a more reliable way; for some reason, Aptera seems to have trouble with email, both sending and receiving. Once they initiate it, unless you just ordered, they'll send you a check from the escrow account, which is at Wells-Fargo; it'll take 7-10 days to arrive.

Feel free to keep us informed as to your status if you so choose.

[mmalc]

There are several threads on the subject here.
Which is in and of itself tiresome enough.

Nobody has ultimately come back claiming either that
A) They were never able to get in touch with Aptera, or
B) That once they were told they were going to receive their money, they did.]
or:
C) Having received their money back, apologised for having raised a hue and cry about this and calling the escrow system into question.

Has no-one ever tried to get money back from any other company? All companies are quick enough to take money from you. If you can't go back to the shop and get it put straight back on your credit card, it typically seems to take about as long to get a refund as it's taking Aptera. For my latest returns to Amazon, it took about 10 days from their likely receipt of my purchase to my receiving the money back. Perhaps I should have contacted CNN on day 1 asking if Bezo's company was going out of business or if it was just a scam...

[normwell]

Received refund check today 26th. requested refund on the 16th. Good luck to all.

[evmavin]

Any older cc transactions usually get refunded by check, they request process takes some time plus fulfillment and mail. I would expect 10-20 days total. I can't comment on why they are so slow on responding to confirm refunds and other more pressing issues. One would think they would utilize some e-mail filters or processes to help expedite customer service matters and lessen their sorting burden.

[Apt3448]

He evmavin, congrats on your new status on the forum! Going to be a responsible super moderator now? Or will fame and fortune not change you? (Rats, there goes our last hope...) :character0029:

[1e98]

My Aptera refund check arrived yesterday.

I sent my first refund request on Jan 7. My second on Jan 9 (To a different email address). I got a response on Jan 12 and the cheque arrived on Jan 26.

So that is 10 business days from the time of the response.

I was initially very excited about the Aptera, but so much has changed. I wish every one else the best of luck and hope your expectations are fulfilled.

1e98