Total Sham of a company.
I purchased a sauna pod via Decathlon, trusting their claim that marketplace sellers are “verified and reliable.” Unfortunately, my experience with Alaska Recover has been extremely disappointing and has significantly damaged my trust in Decathlon as a whole.
After deciding to return the product within the legal withdrawal period, I was told by Decathlon support over the phone that Alaska would contact me within 48 hours to provide a return label. Instead of receiving proper return instructions, I received an unsolicited iMessage from someone claiming to be from Alaska’s sales team, attempting to upsell me to a “higher-end” sauna that hasn’t even officially launched.
Being contacted on my personal messaging service for sales purposes is completely inappropriate and unprofessional, especially when I am trying to process a return.
On top of that, Alaska is now refusing to process the return unless I provide an “exact reason” and photos/videos of the product. This is not required under EU consumer protection law. As stated in Directive 2011/83/EU on Consumer Rights, consumers have the right to withdraw from a purchase within 14 days without giving any reason. Creating unnecessary barriers like this gives the clear impression that they are trying to delay or avoid issuing refunds.
What is even more concerning is that Alaska Recover has consistently poor reviews on Trustpilot, with many customers reporting similar issues. This raises serious questions about how Decathlon vets and monitors its marketplace partners.
Overall, this has been a frustrating and exhausting experience. I expected far better from a company like Decathlon. If they continue to partner with sellers like this, it undermines their credibility as a trusted retailer.