1 month, 10+ agents, 3 case numbers, my Replacement Meta Glasses is still stuck on "Processing"
Posting this because I want other people considering "Advance Replacement" to know what it can actually look like, and because I can't find another thread specifically covering this same situation.
The short version: I paid €399 upfront for an Advance Replacement on August 26th. It is now September 24th — a full month later — and I have no glasses, no refund, and no real explanation. Here's the actual timeline with details pulled directly from my support chats and emails.
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Aug 26 — Contacted support about a hardware issue with my Meta Adventurer (Merlot, Clear-to-Ruby Transitions). Agent confirmed I qualified for Advance Replacement: pay the full €399 upfront as a temporary hold, ship a replacement immediately (their words: "if in stock"), and the hold drops once my returned unit is scanned. I agreed, paid, and dropped off my return at DHL the same day.
Aug 27 — Checked the tracking for my replacement shipment and noticed it's "processing", then said the delay was simply because "it takes some time for advance replacement to be processed."
Sep 1 — Case escalated to ticket, after more follow-ups. Agent said "we can ship a replacement right away (if in stock)" — when I asked directly "so it means it's not in stock?" I didn't get a clear answer.
Sep 5 — Told the case was "under review" by an internal team, with an update promised in 1-3 days.
Sep 7 — I mentioned I'd personally checked the Meta website and saw my model listed as out of stock. The agent (Conor) confirmed: "it's not a stock issue, just a system error which they're in the process of fixing," and promised a shipping update "before the end of the week."
Sep 11 — No update came. When I pushed back and asked why I was being misled, a "different" agent told me: "the issue could be in regards to the stock inventory" — directly contradicting what I'd been told on Sep 7. This agent also promised to flag my case as "utmost priority."
Sep 14 — Case closed and merged into the original ticket again, with the agent stating they had "no option to work" my concern.
Sep 19 — Sent a written final notice by email: 48 hours to provide either a confirmed ship date with tracking, or a full refund. Included my full case history and asked plainly why this was taking so long when their own warehouse-to-my place delivery times are normally 3-4 days (confirmed by my two previous orders, which shipped directly).
Sep 22 — No response of any kind for 3 days.
Sep 24 — Finally got a reply: yet another new case had been opened and merged back into the original case, with an assurance that "our team is closely checking this matter." No ship date. No refund. No explanation. My order status is still frozen on "Processing," with a delivery estimate that expired over 3 weeks ago.
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Why this doesn't add up: I checked the Meta Store website directly — the exact same model (Adventurer, Merlot, Clear-to-Ruby Transitions) is in stock right now, purchasable, with a normal ~4-day delivery estimate. So whatever the actual holdup is, it isn't inventory. My best guess at this point is my case has simply been buried, and every "priority" and "escalation" I've been promised was just a script.
What I've asked for, repeatedly, in writing:
- A confirmed ship date with tracking, OR
- A full refund of the €399 I already paid.
I've been given neither, across more than 10 separate conversations and 3 different case numbers.
Sharing this publicly so others know what "Advance Replacement" can turn into, and to see if anyone else has run into the same runaround.
Thanks for reading this far.