Forum Discussion

Winsomniac's avatar
Winsomniac
Explorer
18 days ago

RMA woes

I want to be transparent, Meta are aware of this issue and are "investigating" but I wanted to post here for visibility.

I'd also like to state this might not all be Meta's fault.

Also, long post, sorry...

6 days ago, after the v85 update, I plugged my Q3 headset in to charge, original adapter, original cable in the wall socket. No charging light, so I popped the headset on to see if the battery icon was showing the symbol for charging, it wasn't. I grabbed the end of the usb cable to unplug it and it burnt my finger and thumb. On further investigation, the usb socket on the headset (middle rectangle with pins) was melted. I'm just lucky I noticed it wasn't charging in the moment and was able to remove the cable so quickly.

Got in touch with Meta, started a return, got my labels, all good, smooth sailing. Printed them and arranged for collection 3 days later, took the day off work to make sure it was collected and DHL picked up my parcel. 

Next day the parcel comes back to me because there in no hazardous label on the box? 

Talked to meta and DHL for a few hours sharing screenshots between each company (I just wanted to get to the root cause of the return) DHL said it's because meta have stated on the waybill that meta produced there contains lithium-ion batteries inside, which would then require a hazard label. 

After advising DHL there is only 1 battery for the headset in the parcel, a hazard label won't be required, but the waybill will require editing. 

Advised Meta of this and got another return label - with the exact same wording on it which was the reason it was returned to me initially... 

Forwarded this to DHL who said it shouldn't be an issue, they copied in the depot who would receive it and advised it will be fine, they edited the waybill on their system, and when they receive it, just print the new waybill and process it.

So, I arranged another collection, for yesterday (another day off work to make sure the headset is collected)... 

I get a notification, same night that it's being returned to sender again due to, yet again, no hazard label. 

Contacted Meta, advised them and now their team is looking into it with currently no ETA on a response. 

I feel like I'm going to be perpetually stuck with a dead headset and it just going on a nice day trip a few times a week. 

I find it hard to believe that this is the first headset in the UK that's been returned. So how is it other headsets have made it back the the quest 3 graveyard? Or why is it mine is the exception? 

Maybe I'm not, anyone else out there with nightmare return stories?

Just noticed a similar post here -

 https://communityforums.atmeta.com/discussions/OtherTroubleshooting/uk-return-customer-service-nightmare-due-to-conflicting-advice-on-dhl-labelling/1366681

Does Meta need to change their policy here? Just either change their waybill description or supply a hazard label? Or does DHL require more training? Both?

Thanks for reading & keep your fingers crossed for a quick(ish) resolution.

EDIT - I HAVE A RESOLUTION - BUT META WON'T HELP! 

I contacted DHL and they advised if I provided them the returns label and waybill from Meta, they would edit it so it was fit for shipping and send it back for me to attach to the parcel. 

Told Meta this and they will not print me another waybill and shipping label because the case was escalated, now I've been told to wait for the team who has the escalation to contact me, and there is no ETA! Even though, I have an immediate resolution. 

QUOTE FROM DHL - In that instance we don’t need the “Lithium Ion Batteries in compliance with Section II of PI967” be declared, it’s moot given it’s moving by road & only contains the 1 battery powered device.

META - if you read this, stop adding the above to your parcels, it's not required and only causing issues! 

I'm so frustrated by all of this! 

 

42 Replies

    • steve_40's avatar
      steve_40
      Visionary

      I might just note that MetaStoreHelp hasn't responded to any user posts for the past 2 months. Before then they were extremely active. Since then, they have only made 3 official announcements.

      • Choleni's avatar
        Choleni
        MVP

        No replies to user posts and they also don't reoply to PMs..... they are absent.

    • Choleni's avatar
      Choleni
      MVP

      Winsomniac​  seems you are having a lot of "fun" with support.🤪

      Be careful not just banging your head against the next wall...... that's really frustrating.

      I would buy a Quest 3 on Amazon and send your broken one back to Amazon within the 30 send-back window.  😇

      Otherwise , you might stuck in that support loop for weeks.

      • Winsomniac's avatar
        Winsomniac
        Explorer

        I dunno if I would consider it fun, tiring maybe! 

        And that's a no go as much as I'd like to, the SN is tied to my account! That would cause some major issues if found out! 

        (but I like your way of thinking) 

  • Thanks Choleni​ - the only way to sort this and not lose my mind is to buy a new quest 😉it arrives in 2 days. Thought it's a 512gb not a 128gb as before... soooooo 🤣

    • Choleni's avatar
      Choleni
      MVP

      Lol.... even though I think Amazon is really generous with devices that were sent back...... they won't probably not accept a 128GB for a 512GB😂😂

  • Another day, another lovely interaction with Meta Support! 

    And still no closer to getting my headset sent back ( I know, the shock and horror!)

    Another Chase 

      • Winsomniac's avatar
        Winsomniac
        Explorer

        🤣

        But at least I have an assurance this time that it'll not take another 5 days! We all believe that, don't we? 

    • Maccyb123's avatar
      Maccyb123
      Consultant

      Winsomniac So, the world record of getting your headset back in a week didn't work out. Such a pity. I had the Dom Perignon cooling in the fridge ready for the celebration🥂🥂😂😂 I admire your good humor my friend, we need more people like you here. Keep us posted! 😁

      • Winsomniac's avatar
        Winsomniac
        Explorer

        I know, such a shame right? I feel like you should pop that bottle anyway! 

        I forwarded the label to my DHL contact who has advised that it is now compliant, as - I don't need the hazard label that Zombaish​ created, because they edited the Waybill document by removed the Lithium-Ion part (which i advised them of 6 days ago 🤣) 

        I'll certainly keep you posted - and as for the humour, it was either that, or spiral downward into a cold bath tub full of tears! 

    • steve_40's avatar
      steve_40
      Visionary

      Tamil Or

      02/24/2026 07:31 PM GMT
      Tamil Let me create another one shipping label. A new shipping label.

      OMG that killed me 🤣🤣🤣

      That's truly a tragedy worthy of Shakespeare or Dickens:

      🎭 A Most Lamentable Farce of the House of Meta
      (Being an abridged account of three Acts of Utter Nonsense)

      ACT I - Enter Ray, the Polite Wall of Nothingness

      Behold! Winsomniac, noble sufferer of burnt fingertips and molten headset, entreats Sir Ray of Meta for but one humble parchment - a shipping label.

      Yet Ray, armed only with the sacred phrase "as soon as possible," parries every plea like a bureaucratic automaton wound too tight.

      Winsomniac: "Good sir, grant me a label, that I may return this cursed artefact!"

      Ray: "Nay, for the Internal Team - a mysterious cabal unseen by mortal eyes - must first convene."

      And thus begins the dance:

      • Winsomniac begs.
      • Ray repeats.
      • Time passes.
      • Nothing happens.
      • The label remains as mythical as Excalibur.

       

      ACT II - Daisy the Hopeful, Bearer of No Answers

      Enter Daisy, bright of tone, soft of heart, and tragically shackled to the same script as Ray.

      Winsomniac presents evidence, DHL scrolls, diagrams, and the wisdom of the ancients:

      "'Tis the waybill, Daisy! The cursed description! Remove it and the heavens shall part!"

      Daisy, squinting at the scrolls: "I see no waybill here, only lithium battery doom."

      Winsomniac: "But I have shown thee proof!"

      Daisy: "Alas, I cannot answer your question about SLA's, for such knowledge is forbidden."

      And so Daisy, too, raises "a flag" - presumably atop a mound of unresolved tickets - and assures that resolution shall come "not longer than what you've already endured."

      Which, by this point, is roughly the length of a Dickens novel.

       

      ACT III — Tamil the Unlikely Hero, Slayer of Internal Team Delay

      Enter Tamil, who at first repeats the sacred incantations:

      "The case is escalated."

      "The designated team is investigating."

      "We cannot create a label."

      "We are troubled by your details."

      But Winsomniac, now a battle‑hardened veteran of Meta's Labyrinth of Infinite Escalations, unleashes the final trump card:

      "Another forum user hath forged their own hazard label and succeeded!"

      Tamil, struck by revelation, whispers: "Perhaps… perhaps I could create a label."

      And lo - in a twist worthy of Shakespearean applause - Tamil does the impossible.

      A label appears.

      An email arrives.

      The heavens open.

      Winsomniac weeps tears of exhausted triumph.

      Tamil, now knighted in spirit: "I shall hold thy case. Should the curse return, reply to the same thread."

      Winsomniac: "Bless you, Tamil. You have made this ordeal 7.5% better."

       

      EPILOGUE — A Tale for the Ages

      Thus ends the chronicle of Winsomniac vs. Meta Support, a saga proving that:

      • The Internal Team is a cryptid.
      • Shipping labels are forged only under rare planetary alignments.
      • And sometimes, after days of torment, a single support agent named Tamil becomes the unexpected hero in a Dickensian hellscape of corporate absurdity.
      • Winsomniac's avatar
        Winsomniac
        Explorer

        It took 19 minutes of me saying the same thing i've said for 6 days and a "Fine, I honestly give up!" before I got that ..... OR

        I feel like a broken record 😆

        Zombaish​ - I still feel like you have a great business plan there, it's not like we're going to be the only ones! 


  • I've just realised that this has scuppered my plans for a new side hustle. I had a bright future laid out ahead of me selling black market UN3481 hazard labels to UK customers, profiteering from their desperation and riding off into the sunset with my ill-gotten gains... 

  • Guys - it's happened! 

    Now, How satisfied was I with my overall replacement experience? :P 

     

    • steve_40's avatar
      steve_40
      Visionary

      Muahahahaha 😈

      Anyway, glad you got your replacement and Meta didn't try to convince you that your home address does not exist, like what happened to another user recently (even after Meta had already returned a controller to the same address) 🙃.

    • Zombaish's avatar
      Zombaish
      Explorer

      Congratulations! You must be really deliberating on which number to choose... 

    • Choleni's avatar
      Choleni
      MVP

      Obviously a 10, because you had "fun" for days, met nice people in the forum and so on .... all because of the replacement procedure 😇🤣

       

      I'm really happy for you 👍

      • Winsomniac's avatar
        Winsomniac
        Explorer

        I mean, you're not wrong! It has been fun and I did meet some very nice people here.

        Thanks steve_40 & Zombaish.

        The funny thing is, on Meta shipping label the description shows "Electrical Equipment" so why don't they just use the same description when issuing a return label??