ComplaintsforShopify Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  12/04/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  4/1/24 I was locked out of access to my Shopify store. My username and password was correct, however my authentication app was not generating the second-step code to access my store. Shopify DOES NOT have customer support if you can't log in. You must "Select a Store" to begin chatting with a rep. ** they additionally do not have a phone number or email.I had to open an entirely new profile JUST to chat to a rep about the account in question experiencing this issue. This is not a good business practice.The lack of customer care availability is abhorrent.Upon opening up an entirely new account, I opened a ticket for my problem with a rep who assured my it was being escalated 4/1/24.A week happened without anything, so I reached out to Shopify 4/7/24 to find my original ticket closed, and never escalated. I then had to speak with two more reps **** 2+ hours of chatting and waiting in chat with reps) to open a ticket again.The ticket is still open without any remorse or help from Shopify.They have not accepted any responsibility, and have said that their security team will review but this can "take time". While I am paying for a service I physically cannot use. I am unhappy. I have spent time effort and shed tears over this situation. I will NEVER do business with Shopify again.

  

  Business response

  20/04/2024

  Hello *******,
  
  My name is ****, I am an Operations Lead here at Shopify.
  
  I will be supporting you through this request. I can see that you are looking for support with your store. Due to the sensitive nature of this request, I will be sending you a private email through our support system in order for us to discuss a plan to reach a resolution. The ticket number is: ********
  
  I look forward to hearing from you and moving forward with this request.
  
  Sincerely,
  **** | Shopify Operations Lead

• Initial Complaint

  08/04/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  My partner's and my domain was purchased and paid through Shopify. We are still paying the domain through May and intend on renewing it before it expires. However, the domain was hijacked and now redirects to someone else's store. We have tried to contact Shopify to no avail. This is negatively impacting our business. ************************

  

  Business response

  10/04/2024

  Hi *********,
  
  My name is **** and I’m a Senior Support Lead at Shopify.
  
  Thank you for reaching out in regards to your concern. In order to review your domain as well as the previous support provided in regards to the status of the domain, I will need to receive some further information to continue look into this on your behalf. 
  
  Due to the public nature of the *** I am unable to discuss account specific details. I shall email you at the email provided on this complaint with further information to continue our investigation on your account. 
  
  
  Warm Regards
  **** | Shopify, Senior Support Lead 

  Customer response

  10/04/2024

  
  ****** ******** *******
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 21546152. A resolution has no been given. However, the business said they'd reach out to rectify the issue via email. I'd rather not close out the case until the issue is resolved. If you could please contact me via email, is appreciate it.

  Sincerely,
  
  ********* *****

• Initial Complaint

  04/04/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Billed on February 18 and March 18, 2024 Taxes and Duties was switched automatically in January from Basic Tax (default) to Shopify Tax, which is a pay per transaction service. Basic Tax was not fee based. I was charged $116.03 in February and $262.03 in March. Apparently I will be charged on April 18 for another $172.73. I reached out to customer service and they informed me that this was an automatic switch in January and you had to Opt-out of the switch to a paid service. This was not made clear at all. Also, sounds like a lazy way for the marketing department to avoid selling this new feature and just start charging people for it until they find excess charges on their credit card bill and cancel it. And Shopify NEVER gives refunds. I was overcharged November 18, 2023, reached out to customer service, and they simply closed my ticket without any further explanation. That was for $89. I would like to make everyone aware of the deceitful practices employed by Shopify to continually bilk hard-working business owners out of their money so Shopify can advertise how great they are and con more time-strapped business owners into using, or more accurately, being subjected to, their "services".

  

  Business response

  09/04/2024

  Hello ****, 
  

  I am *****, a Support Lead here with Shopify. I am sorry to hear that you feel your journey with the taxing system has been difficult. 
  

  As our Support Advisor *** has spoken with you about on Ticket number ********, when Shopify changes a process or a system, Merchants are advised of this change on numerous different streams of communication. This was advised through email, banners in Merchants Admin, Social Media platforms, Blogs and also with various Help Documents explaining the changes. 
  

  I have spoken with our Tax Specialists and they have advised that you are no longer opted into the Shopify Tax system and will no longer be seeing any charges on your account for tax services. 
  

  I hope this helps and if you have any further questions you can reply to the ticket you have with our Support Advisors and they will help you to the best of their ability. 
  Regards
  *****
  

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  04/04/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Hello, My name is ********, I am a current paying customer at Shopify, I own my furniture and mattress shop ****** * ******, my email is associated with my account listed below. I do not know who to reach out to at this point and I am beyond frustrated with the way Shopify has been handling my business. I currently have a hold on my account for the total of $8,000+ that has yet to be paid to me. I never received an email, a notification or a simple message. I happened to log in to view some sales and there it was, a “standard review” and my payments on “hold” mthat has taken now over 4 days. I’m a small woman owned business, I’m 34 and currently battling stage 4 colon cancer. I have a brick and mortar with just two employees at the moment and I work at home thanks to Shopify, because of my chemo and treatments, but this is despicable. I need this money to keep my doors open and to keep running my businesses operations. I’ve had customers call me a *******, a fraud and threatening to report me to the *** and others to court because they have not received their items. I trust Shopify and tell my customers 2-4 days. They’re waiting, I am waiting. My reputation is on the line. I’m at my wits end and I need my money immediately, as a cancer patient this is my income, this is what pays for me to stay alive. Please, at this point I am pleading to release my funds to me. I cannot lose my business and reputation. I need to pay for my own meds and personal things too. I will end up in legal trouble if Shopify does not pay me. My customers do not deserve this. I know this is of no concern to Shopify, and I know most could not care less, but please for good Karma help me out here. I just want my funds, that I work hard for. Please help me, these are some of the ticket numbers: ********** ******* ******** ****** ********* ******* ********   Sincerely, ******** ******* ***** ************* **************************

  

  Business response

  09/04/2024

  Hello ********, 
  

  I am *****, a Support Lead here with Shopify. I am sorry to hear that you are frustrated with your store’s review. 
  

  Shopify offers all Merchants the opportunity to use Shopify Payments on their store. To make Shopify Payments work we use Banking Partners to oversee all aspects of the governance and compliance of this financial product to protect all interested parties. As part of this governance all Shopify Stores using Shopify Payments are subject to reviews at any stage of a store's lifetime, and often at multiple stages. These reviews are standard. They do not stop a store’s ability to sell, they only restrict a payout briefly and are completed as quickly as they can be, to minimise any impact on our Merchants. 
  

  Following up on the ticket number you have mentioned I see that the review is now complete and the payout has been released to you. If you need any further assistance with this you can reply directly to the ticket number you have and we will help you to the best of our ability. 
  

  Regards
  *****
  

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  04/04/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I’m been billed for an online store that was never officially opened and i have requested on several occasions for it to be deactivated and stop the billing. They have reiterated via email the store is closed, but they have continued billing me.

  

  Business response

  08/04/2024

  Hi, ********.
  
  This is ****** and I am a Support Lead here at Shopify. It sounds like you’ve run into some issues around unwanted charges for a store you intended to be closed, is that correct?
  
  It isn’t possible for a store to continue to bill if it’s fully closed, so the first thing to try would be to try logging in, and make sure it’s properly closed. If you determine it is still open, close it using the instructions on this page:
  ***************************************************************************************
  Then, once you're closed up, you can contact our Support and request a refund. Shopify doesn't generally offer refunds, but once the store is closed, you can ask a Support Advisor to send to our Billing specialists and ask if they can make an exception.
  
  If you’re not able to log in and close it up yourself, or if you discover the store is closed, indicating that the charges are coming from somewhere else, we have processes in place to assist people with unwanted charges from Shopify. The best way to resolve this is for you to reach out to our Support Advisors to get help on this. To reach Support where they can help you, head over to our Help Center page using the link below:
  ************************************************************************* 
  
  You can contact support for help, even if you can’t log in to your store. Once you’re in the chat, you can let our staff know you’re unable to log in to cancel and aren’t sure where the charges are coming from.
  
  At that point, our Support will ask you for some information about the payment method and how the charges appear on your statement. When someone is unable to log in and prove they own the store that charges are coming from, we’ll ask for some information that shows they own the payment method used for billing instead. The owner of a payment method will always have the right to request we stop charging it, so proving you own the card being charged will give us the needed authorization to remove that method of payment from our system. Once the Support Advisor has that information, it then gets passed to our Billing specialists, who can use it to track down where the charges are coming from.
  
  Once we’re sure the store is closed, our Support can move to helping you with your refund request.
  
  If you run into difficulty with any of that, feel free to reply and let me know. If you’ve already spoken with Support but not had a resolution, you should have received a ticket number in your email inbox. If you share that ticket number with me, I can follow up on it and ensure it’s in the right hands to help you out.
  
  Best,
  ****** * | Support Lead 
  

• Initial Complaint

  01/04/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I launched my Shopify store on 1st of March 2024, * ** ** **** ************ ** * **** ** *** ****** ***** I have invested time and money to build my store and paid designer to make a good design. All in all the store was ready in about a week, I have learnt about Shopify payments and created it since my business based in UK so I have the ability to do so. Unfortunately, few hours later I got an email from Shopify that my account has been closed, there is no access to the store nor the admin page, and there is no reason why this happened! I have contacted their support and after few days I got an email from Shopify which states that if I want my store back I need to reply with further infos and some documents. I have provided all the infos needed there and uploaded all the documents. This was on March 11. Until now I have no other email or communication with them. I have sent several emails after that to know about my situation but no response. I have talked with their customer support but the only thing they told me is I need to wait and they have no contact with the risk team as well! This behaviour is so non professional from a company like Shopify! At least reply back or give us reason why you closed the store! Or re-open it and let us get our design and domain back and choose if we want to stay on your plateform or change to an other one! My Shopify store url: *********************** my Email: ****************************

  

  Business response

  04/04/2024

  Hi ***, 
  

  My name is ****, I am a Support Lead here at Shopify. 
  
  Thank you for taking the time to provide us feedback on your recent experience setting up a Shopify store. I can appreciate that this Payment gateway set-up has been less than ideal for you and your business. Due to the public nature of BBB and the personal account details discussed in the complaint, I have sent you a seperate email to follow up where we can discuss this further. For additional context, Payment Gateway partners can request proof of identity throughout set-up and may take additional time to review the details to ensure it meets all banking requirements, this is for the safety of merchants and consumers. However, I can see that you mentioned a delay in communications and Id like us to look into this further for you. 
  
  Speak soon, 
  **** | Shopify 

  Customer response

  06/04/2024

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *** ******

• Initial Complaint

  31/03/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My store has been frozen, which is fine as we will open in soon. But I need to update my domain information as our contact info has changed, but Shopify is telling me I cannot do that until the balance on my store is paid. These are two separate services and one is fully pre-paid (the domain) so why my ability to update my contact information for my domain is suspect and feels like extortion as I cannot comply with the domain requirements until I pay my balance on another service? Feels like a shakedown.

  

  Business response

  05/04/2024

  Hi ******, 
  

  I am *****, a Support Lead here with Shopify. I am sorry to hear of the issue you are having with your account. 
  

  All Shopify stores are billed every 30 days for the plan that they are subscribed to. If a store is unable or does not pay that invoice the store is frozen and all data is frozen. To reinstate a store any outstanding balance must be paid before the store is reopened and able to trade again. Our Support Advisor has explained this on ticket #********. The store will be fully restored when the outstanding balance has been received. 
  

  If you need any more information or have any other questions, you can contact our Support Advisors at any time day or night through our Help Centre. 
  

  Regards 
  *****
  

  
  

  Customer response

  05/04/2024

  
  Complaint: 21510531
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I don't need access to my store, but I do need to update my domain contact info. I would suggest shopify read the complaint before responding.

  The domain service is separate from the shop service and has been prepaid, but their interface does not separate the two for account management.

  My next email is to the Attorney General for the State of California to get this resolved as it is a service that is already paid for.

   

  

  Business response

  09/04/2024

  Hello ******, 
  

  ***** here again from Shopify. Thank you for your reply, it will allow me to clarify a few details about domains and how they are linked to plans. 
  

  When you open a Shopify store and choose a plan, you have the ability to purchase domain names. A domain name then needs to be “hosted” on a platform. Shopify offer hosting for this domain as part of your plan. This hosting allows you to have unlimited bandwidth, instant SSL certificates, unlimited email forwarding and the unlimited access to super fast servers. So as it is correct to say that you own your domain name, all details of the domain itself are “hosted” within your plan so without a Shopify Plan you do not have access to any details relating to the domain. 
  

  If you do not wish for the domain to be hosted by Shopify you do have the option as the owner of the domain to transfer it to another hosting provider. If you would like to initiate the transfer of your domain, our Support Advisors are available to help with this request directly in our Help Centre. 
  

  I hope this clarifies domain ownership for you. 
  Regards 
  *****
  

  
  

  Customer response

  09/04/2024

  
  Complaint: 21510531
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I am not actually looking for access to my shopify plan or account, I just want the address updated as requested in an email I received from shopify.

  

  Business response

  16/04/2024

  Hello ******, 
  

  ***** here again from Shopify. 
  

  If you have received an email specifically requesting a change then this is a different situation. Due to the public nature of the *** and the sensitive identifying information we will be discussing I have sent you a separate email so we can get the issue resolved for you. Please respond to that email directly from the account owner email address you are using on the store so we can continue. 
  

  Regards
  *****
  

  
  

  Customer response

  16/04/2024

  
  Complaint: 21510531
  
  I am rejecting this response because the shopify rep obviously did not read the original complaint or the requested resolution and just copy and pasted the rote response.
  

  

  Business response

  23/04/2024

  Hello ******, 
  

  ***** here again from Shopify. I am sorry you feel the response was not directly related to your account.
  As we have advised, all data on a store relates to the legal status of a stores information. Any changes to this must be done in correlation to the account itself. This has been explained in your open ticket #********. Please respond to that ticket so we can find a resolution to your issue. 
  

  Regards
  *****
  

  
  

  Customer response

  23/04/2024

  
  Complaint: 21510531
  
  I am rejecting this response because it seems odd that they can't just update an address.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** ********

• Initial Complaint

  28/03/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We had a customer who was marked as high risk of fraud in Shopify. We did what Shopify suggested and canceled and refunded the order. A few days later we received a chargeback on this order. I contacted customer support and they said that it was an error and we had done everything correctly and they would help us to win the chargeback. I submitted all the documents they requested and waited for a response. Shopify did not file the chargeback immediately; they waited until the last day possible to file the chargeback. (Months later). The merchant sided with the customer, even though we provided proof that we refunded the order within 4 hours of it being placed. Shopify if said there is nothing left to be done and will not file an appeal on our behalf. I have asked to speak to a supervisor multiple times, and every time, it is refused. The agent I am dealing with "****" said there is nothing left for her to do, and even though we did everything correctly Shopify refuses to help us. I know writing this complaint Shopify will not do anything to rectify the situation, but I am hoping if you are on the fence with choosing Shopify to know there is no longer support. A few years ago Shopify had live agetns who were very helpful, they no longer have that and everything is done though email, and they are not helpful at all.

  

  Business response

  05/04/2024

  Hi ***,
  
  My name is *****, an Operations Lead at Shopify.
  
  I would like to look into this situation further. Can you please share with me the ticket number(s) for your interaction with Support? Specifically, the interaction where our team advised there was an error and that we could help you win a chargeback.
  
  Please note that Shopify's role in a chargeback is to provide supporting documentation to help you dispute it. However, the final decision is made by the cardholder's bank, not Shopify. While Shopify provides tools and support to help you dispute a chargeback, it can't guarantee a win. The final decision lies with the cardholder's bank. It's important to provide as much evidence as possible to support your case. More details can be found in this Chargebacks and inquiries guide.
  
  When you are using Shopify Payments, Shopify will submit evidence for a chargeback on your behalf. Shopify collects evidence and sends it to the credit card company on the chargeback due date. You can add more evidence before this date. The issue is usually resolved within 120 days after submission. For more details, check out our help document for managing chargebacks at the following link: *********************************************************************************.
  
  I look forward to hearing back from you soon and please let me know if you have any questions. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** | Shopify Operations Lead

  Customer response

  05/04/2024

  
  Complaint: 21498931
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

   

  Hi *****,

  The support ticket number is ********  And I do understand that this is not a normal circumstance, the customer was refunded, and THEN filed a charge back.  At which point I gathered all the screenshots and information I needed to show that this customer was refunded and that there should have never been a charge back.  I did this a day after the charge back. Shopify did not file this information for almost 3 months! And which point the bank sided with the customer.  And when this was escalated it was found that the Shopifys processor did not do the refund, and that is why the customer was allowed to do a charge back.  This is out of our control, and frankly is not something we should be held accountable for. 

  Here is what your first rep said.
  

  "We are confident that the dispute will be resolved in your favor given
  the clear evidence of the refund. We understand that this is a complex
  situation, and we appreciate your patience and understanding during this
  process."
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *** ********

  

  Business response

  09/04/2024

  Hello ***, 
  
  Thank you for getting back to me with the information I requested. Due to the public nature of the *** I am unable to discuss further details of this ticket for your privacy. In order to address your specific concerns, I will follow up with you via email through our secure channels so that we can discuss your account needs in further detail.
  
  All the best,
  
  ***** | Shopify Operations Lead

  Customer response

  09/04/2024

  
  Complaint: 21498931
  
  I am rejecting this response because: ***** I appreciate you wanting to keep my store private, but I would prefer we keep the non payment details public so others can make a educated choice and see how Shopify treats it's customers.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *** ********

  

  Business response

  18/04/2024

  Hi, ***.
  
  This is ****** and I am an Operations Lead at Shopify, I'm a colleague of *****’ and have sent you a response in ticket ********.
  
  In the interest of balancing your privacy of information with your desire to show other potential merchants and the *** what Shopify is doing for you, I’m going to give a brief recap of what that email covers while avoiding store-specific details.
  In that email, I’ve sent details on:
  
  * why we don’t appeal chargeback results
  * explained the chargeback response submission time
  * detailed why Shopify leadership isn’t the best fit to address your concerns around chargebacks
  * what my team’s role is in resolving escalated complaints
  
  I’ve also requested more information on what you’d hope to accomplish with an appeal in this case, and asked for your feedback on what you’d like to see us do to improve services.
  I'll keep an eye out for replies from you in the ticket, and we'll go from there.
  
  Thanks,
  ****** * | Operations Lead 
  
  

  Customer response

  18/04/2024

  
  Complaint: 21498931
  
  I am rejecting this response because: While ****** has explained Shopify's position on the issue we are having, and while she is correct she has explained Shopifys postion.

  What consumers should know is you are not allowed to escalate your case to a manager. You will deal with low level people reading from a script and who do not actual grasp what is going on.

  And Shopfiy will not help you with a chargeback, or provide any proof that they actually filed your chargeback information.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *** ********

• Initial Complaint

  27/03/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Since March 22nd 2024 my account has been under review with no prior warning or communication. The review has lead them to hold all payouts from orders with no way of contact to resolve the issue. I have no guidance as to how to fix this. There is roughly $3,000 in order payouts I have no access to therefore I am unable to fulfill orders at the moment. Shopify has not given me a solution, or answer as to why this is happening or how to fix it. I have received no emails regarding this action prior to it happening. They are simply holding all of my money with no explanation as to why, or how to get it free. The customer service has given me no answers as to how to fix this or even why it is happening.

  

  Business response

  28/03/2024

  Hi *****,
  
  My name is ****, I am an Operations Lead here at Shopify.
  
  I will be supporting you through this request. I can see that you are looking for support with your payouts on hold. Due to the sensitive nature of this request, I will be sending you a private email through our support system in order for us to discuss a plan to reach a resolution. The ticket number is: ********
  
  I look forward to hearing from you and moving forward with this request.
  
  Sincerely,
  **** M | Shopify Operations Lead

• Initial Complaint

  26/03/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I opened a new business on 2/3/24. I had subscriped to Shopify's 3 month trial at that time. I have had approx $2100 in sales that Shopify will not pay to me. I had talked with 8 different advisors who have all told me various things to do, which i have done, and to watch my personal e-mail for someone to contact me, in which they never do. I do not use Shopify anymore. I would like the money that is owed to me. They have a pending status on all my sales transactions since 2/3/24.

  

  Business response

  26/03/2024

  Hello *********,
  
  My name is **** and I’m a Senior Support Lead at Shopify.
  
  Thank you for reaching out in regards to your concern. In order to review your account as well as the previous support provided in regards to the payouts, I will need to receive some further information to continue look into this on your behalf. 
  
  Due to the public nature of the BBB I am unable to discuss account specific details. I shall email you at the email provided on this complaint with further information to continue our investigation on your account. 
  
  
  Warm Regards
  **** | Shopify, Senior Support Lead

*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. ↩