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zxl12
New Participant
October 8, 2026
Question

Approved refund ($39.99) trapped in wallet by unsupported regional ID check

  • October 8, 2026
  • 2 replies
  • 40 views

I am writing this post out of deep frustration and after hitting a complete dead-end with the standard email support. I desperately need a Community Manager or an internal supervisor to step in and review my case, because your front-line email agents repeatedly state they have "no manual tools" to resolve a system conflict created entirely by Meta.

Here is the exact situation:

1. How the money got trapped:

I purchased a game with my own money. Meta Support officially reviewed and APPROVED my refund request. Meta then deposited that refund directly into my account wallet as a store credit balance of $39.99.

2. The automated lockout:

Immediately after Meta placed my approved $39.99 into my wallet, the automated system placed a security hold on my account and demanded government ID verification via an on-screen appeal interface before I could spend my balance.

3. The impossible contradiction:

When I contacted support, the email agents explicitly confirmed that Saudi Arabia is NOT supported for Meta Store identity verification. At the same time, they continue sending boilerplate responses insisting that completing the on-screen appeal is the "only path" to unlock the funds.

How can a customer be instructed to complete an ID verification process through a gateway that Meta itself does not support in their country?

- You accepted my payment from Saudi Arabia.

- You approved the refund for the game.

- You placed the refund into store credit instead of returning it to my bank card.

- Your automated system locked the balance.

- Your platform does not support ID verification in my region.

This means my legitimate $39.99 refund is permanently confiscated by an automated loop, through no fault or violation of my own. As a minor residing in Saudi Arabia, I do not have independent civil documents to bypass a broken system, and the regional verification infrastructure simply doesn't exist here.

Front-line email support cannot override the automated system, which is why I am turning to the Community Forum.

    2 replies

    Choleni
    Choleni
    Honored Contributor
    October 8, 2026

    Hi zxl12​ 🙂 

    I look forward to a moderator reaching out to help me resolve this deadlock.

    Unfortunately, here in the forum are only users trying to help each other. 

    The moderators are employees of Khoros (the forum software provider), no Meta staff. They can't help you.

    MetaStoreHelp​ used to be here, but they are absent from the forum since December 2025, they don't reply in threads and they don't reply to PMs anymore.

    So, you have to deal with Meta support.

    Maybe try the chat or WhatsApp option to get your case escalated to someone who actually can help you.

    Meta support via email, chat or WhatsApp

    Open the support link in an incognito window, otherwise you just get the help page and the support options won't be displayed.

    Good luck!

      Maccyb123
      Honored Contributor
      October 8, 2026

       Choleni has the best advice for contacting them about the issue. As she said, there are no Meta staff here.

      However, I noticed you mentioned that you are a minor. Support will not deal directly with you unfortunately.. You will need to have a parent or guardian to handle this issue anyway. 

      Get one of them to contact support on your behalf. 

      Just one point. It is the customer who chooses whether the payment goes as a refund or as credit. If you didn't specifically choose the refund option, it automatically goes into store credit. Meta cannot choose where it goes so either you did it accidentally or just hit continue which sent it to store credit automatically.

      Meta's terms state that store credit is non-refundable and cannot be exchanged for cash once issued.

      ​However, you can try contacting Meta Quest Support directly to ask for an exception:

      • ​Contact Support: Submit a ticket or open a live chat via Meta's Help Center.
      • ​Explain the Misclick: Clearly state that you intended to select the original payment method, but mistakenly tapped store credit during the automated prompt.

      ​While there is no self-serve option to reverse it and agents cannot guarantee a manual payout, Meta Support has occasionally accommodated user errors on a case-by-case basis.

      So, you can try, but it's unlikely. Good luck. And again, get a legal guardian to do it. 

       

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