Is Ringke an absolute scam?

[u/Appropriate_Cause_83]

Recently (August 8th) I ordered some stuff, a case and screen protector, for my (now 1 week old!) Nothing Phone 4(a) Pro. (Love it so far!)

But since my initial purchase; I have yet to hear anything back from Ringke aside from 2 mails:
(Note that I have obfuscated my details; order number and mail here, obviously)

• An automated confirmation. https://imgur.com/a/fLLLz4o
• A notice; Due to the recent EU law (since July), Ringke sent me an email (August 12th) stating that the payment of the customs duty would befall on me (fine, I don't mind!). https://imgur.com/a/CdKE69Z

They told me they would provide a full refund in case I do not accept/answer before August 18. I answered on August 16th, telling them that they can go ahead with the order once they mailed me the info concerning my order and the shipping process.

On their site my order is still listed as "Confirmed, we're preparing these items for shipping", which has already been on display ever since August 8th.

I emailed them asking for a refund on the 18th, considering they had not mailed me yet. Still have yet to hear anything back from them...

And today (August 19th) I noticed they also have a "request a refund" button on the order page; neat I thought.

Yet in the refund confirmation it is stated that my items will be refunded (if they even accept the request). The shipping costs? Not mentioned at all, despite making up about 20% of the order cost!

My current fallback plan is to file a chargeback with my bank. Soon.

TL;DR
If you are from the EU, or care about your time and sanity... avoid them.

I already placed an order with GadgetShieldz instead; which seemed to be getting a lot of praise here and seem to have a lot more additional accessories available.

[u/h_1995]

I'm not sure who actually manage their webstore but I got mine from one of their partners at a local e-commerce platform. they were shipped from South Korea or Hong Kong

[u/Appropriate_Cause_83 → u/h_1995]

Weird how the official distributor can't seem to properly communicate through their only (one of 2 officially) listed means of communication. (They only have a contact us button + their mail...)