Customer’s $134 NETS vCashCard refund delayed nearly 3 months, all because name exceeded character limit
What Stomper Ravindran Nair thought would be a simple refund request for his NETS Virtual CashCard (vCashCard) turned into a whirlwind of back-and-forth emails and calls that lasted more than two months.
His ordeal began on June 8, when he submitted a termination and refund request for his vCashCard via the NETS app.
The next day, Ravindran received confirmation that the refund was approved. However, he had to first deactivate the account for his two vehicles.
He did so promptly, but claimed he did not hear anything from NETS for over two weeks.
NETS cites ‘complexities’ when reviewing account particulars
On June 24, Ravindran decided to email NETS to ask for an update.
In an email reply the following day, he said that NETS requested his account particulars and instructed him to wait for five working days for a “review”.
More than three weeks later, on July 25, the service provider reportedly sent an apology citing “complexities involved”.
NETS subsequently explained on July 28 that the refund failed due to “invalid account details”, advising Ravindran to restart the entire process.
Ravindran resubmitted the same details, but claimed he received conflicting automated notices — one said he would get an update in three days while another mentioned seven working days.
On July 31, NETS emailed again, requesting “information” without specifying what exactly it needed.
Unsure of what to do, Ravindran resubmitted his request all over again, receiving yet another reply telling him to wait five working days.
Customer threatens to escalate matter to authorities
By Aug 14, at which point more than two months had passed since he first requested the termination, Ravindran decided to call NETS’ hotline to demand that a supervisor contact him within 48 hours to explain the delay.
When the callback never came, he resorted to sending an email to the support team, issuing a “final notice”.
He gave NETS 48 hours to process the refund by Aug 21, or he would escalate the matter by filing formal complaints to the Consumers Association of Singapore and the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
That same day, Ravindran received a call from a NETS employee, who explained the reason for the delay.
Ravindran shared: “Apparently, the reason for the long delay was that when I applied for the refund, I had indicated my full name, which has 38 letters. Their system only allows for 35 letters.
“A simple problem that could have been settled if someone had written to me or called me. I have since re-submitted my refund application and shortened my name.”
Three days later on Aug 24, he received an email from NETS saying that his case had been “attended to”.
Ravindran finally received his refund about a week later, on Aug 31.
His exasperation was evident when he said: “It is appalling that it took a regulatory threat just to get a single person to speak with me and close this matter. This is definitely not the standard of service you expect in a first-world country!”
Despite his anger, Ravindran was deeply appreciative of the employee who called him, referring to it as “somewhat a saving grace for NETS”.
Refund delayed due to technical glitch: NETS
In response to Stomp’s queries, a NETS spokesperson confirmed that the refund has been processed.
“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience and frustration experienced by the customer in obtaining his refund for the NETS vCashCard,” the representative said.
She added that the refund was due to a “technical glitch which required further investigation to identify the root cause”.
NETS will be implementing a system enhancement by the end of this month to rectify the issue.
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