Rivian refuses to reinstate my preorder...

[Ravenron]

Also interesting that in a post from 16 Nov 21 regarding the IPO, @disneydad stated:

“Yes I'm subscribed and have other email communication from them already.” Referencing Rivian…

This would indicate successful email correspondence with Rivian prior to the price adjustment and order changes under discussion. This seems to be the crux of your argument - that you did not receive any emails from Rivian after you cancelled post 1 March and were unable to know you had a deadline of 20 March. As result, you believe you deserve to have your order re-instated.

Why would you “have other email communication with them…” in November 2021 but not capable in March, April, May, etc 2022? Did you change your email address with Rivian between 1 November and 1 March? It seems as though you failed to exercise your due diligence soon enough after cancelling and now want Rivian to make an exception. I’m not convinced Rivian is as much the “bad guy” here as we’ve been led to believe.

For anyone interested, here’s the link to the IPO thread I reference above:
https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/...er-share-77-billion-valuation.2702/post-76511

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[paariv]

Rivan is not acting unreasonable. What OP didn't share is he canceled his order over a year ago, changed his mind, then called Riavan taking up resources trying to reinstate his order and get back in line. Fast forward a year and he is doing it again. Rivan sees this history and is probably taking the opportunity to keep ties cut this time. I wouldn't be surprised if there is even more to this story...

Very interesting. I sure was curious how he could have gotten the communication saying they’d be emailing instructions on reinstatement, but not the later reinstatement instructions themselves. Guess taking OP at his word wasn’t the right assumption.

 

[GZR1S]

Did you cancel your pre-order twice?? OP - out of curiosity, i clicked your profile and saw you posted the below message April 2021 that you canceled your order, changed your mind, then called and tried to get your place back in line. If you've done this twice it kind of feels like you are jerking Rivian around. Sorry, but maybe just leave the poor CS at Rivan alone at this point and buy something else...

OP 6/2021 - "I put my deposit down 06/19. After the announcement further production delays and covid uncertainties I had to cancel my order. I emailed Rivian asking if it were possible to get back my spot and they made me go to the back of the line. Placed my new deposit last week..." link to post

Wow nice detective work!! Someone higher up in the CS must’ve black listed him. Sometimes it’s just not worth it to earn one’s business. Pretty impressive OP got his spot back after he canceled the first time, wonder what excuse he gave them.

 

[waitingforrivian]

Wow nice detective work!! Someone higher up in the CS must’ve black listed him. Sometimes it’s just not worth it to earn one’s business. Pretty impressive OP got his spot back after he canceled the first time, wonder what excuse he gave them.

He said they made him go to the back of the line, not his original spot.

 

[tobyringle]

I don’t recall them ever saying they would “reach out” to those who cancelled. I recall them saying they will reinstate if you want to, but you needed to contact them. Sorry if I’m wrong about this.

 

[Jac]

As the 97th comment about this case, let me just add that in my experience corporate legal departments typically work hard to avoid opening their company to claims of discriminatory behavior in making exceptions to established company policies. I’m sure OP is not the only March 2022 cancellation who missed the reinstatement deadline and subsequently asked Rivian to be reinstated. If you make an exception to your rule for one person, why not the others? Are the facts in this instance so different than the facts in others that the company can safely make an exception here but not in the others? Potentially even worse, might an exception here open the door to encourage more March 1 cancellations who never reinstated to come forward now and say, “me too?”

Exceptions to established policies can be made, but there usually have to be compelling unique facts in the case to overcome company concerns that making the exception could open a Pandora’s box.

 

[manitou202]

Taking OP at his word, Rivian's acting unreasonably. They said they'd email him about reinstating, and they admit that they didn't. Yet they're holding him to a deadline communicated by the email they didn't send him.

That's wrong. OP was entitled to wait for Rivian's email, and he did. The burden of their error shouldn't fall on him.

That is the key point I'd make to Rivian: You told me to wait for an email, and I did, and you didn't send it. I would keep escalating, assertively and politely, until I got results. You'd also better be ready to document *everything*, including screenshots of phone records showing prompt repeated outreach.

I said this before, and I am serious. If you don't get results from that tactic, file a complaint with the California AG. This will trigger an automatic letter sent to Rivian's legal department, who will then get involved so that they can respond to the AG's letter. It doesn't mean there'll be a big government investigation, but it does make companies take the issue seriously. In your complaint, make sure that you say that you relied on their statement that they'd send you an email: you would have reached out earlier if they hadn't told you you could wait for an email from them with further instructions.

Yes, OP could have done more. He could have documented more. He could have spoken up earlier. But, I'll take him at his word for this post (though I'm still not clear how he heard from Rivian that they planned to send email with instructions on reinstatement, but didn't get the reinstatement instructions). He was apparently polite, followed instructions, and acted reasonably. He's given Rivian time to make this right. But Rivian's error will result in a $15k+ penalty and potential multi-year delay, and that isn't OK.

The second he cancelled his order, he was no longer a customer of Rivian. There is no legally binding reason for Rivian to reinstate any of the cancelled orders, and/or honor the original pricing. He was no longer a customer. They had fine print covering their but in the case of price increases. This will go absolutely no where outside of trying to work with Rivian directly.

I don't know who he could contact at Rivian to change their mind. If he has already spoken to "managers" in customer service with no luck, that might be the end of the road. No guarantee he will get the attention of anyone higher up. This is the reality for any large company. Look at Ford and how many Lightning customers are getting screwed over by dealerships. Many price increases happening all over the place.

Honestly his best bet is to post all of the details on the forum so maybe someone at Rivian will see the details and escalate. Otherwise it's all hearsay and won't get anywhere.

 

[disneydad]

Also interesting that in a post from 16 Nov 21 regarding the IPO, @disneydad stated:

“Yes I'm subscribed and have other email communication from them already.” Referencing Rivian…

This would indicate successful email correspondence with Rivian prior to the price adjustment and order changes under discussion. This seems to be the crux of your argument - that you did not receive any emails from Rivian after you cancelled post 1 March and were unable to know you had a deadline of 20 March. As result, you believe you deserve to have your order re-instated.

Why would you “have other email communication with them…” in November 2021 but not capable in March, April, May, etc 2022? Did you change your email address with Rivian between 1 November and 1 March? It seems as though you failed to exercise your due diligence soon enough after cancelling and now want Rivian to make an exception. I’m not convinced Rivian is as much the “bad guy” here as we’ve been led to believe.

For anyone interested, here’s the link to the IPO thread I reference above:
https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/...er-share-77-billion-valuation.2702/post-76511

I got the initial order email confirming my pre-order, they mailed me the paperwork with the image of the R1-T, and I received the cancellation email. What I didnt get was any other emails, period. Rivian admits this openly as in their email denial I posted earlier. There are no tricks or gotchas here. Are you implying I actually received the emails Rivian says they didnt send me?

 

[Dark-Fx]

That's wrong. OP was entitled to wait for Rivian's email, and he did. The burden of their error shouldn't fall on him.

I mean, did he or did he not cancel his preorder? They are under no obligation to actually reverse the decision because the pre-order agreement has never changed in regards to this. They could actually choose to reinstate him and then cancel on him months later. The agreement would allow that. They could entirely refuse to accept an order from him as well.

 

[AdamsFan1983]

Dudes boned anyways at this point. Something not yet discussed is even if he successfully pressures Rivian into restoring his reservation, which I doubt they will, he probably will not be eligible for the tax credit, with no binding agreement in place.

Face it, you missed the boat buddy.

 

[AsianPersuasian]

Dudes boned anyways at this point. Something not yet discussed is even if he successfully pressures Rivian into restoring his reservation, which I doubt they will, he probably will not be eligible for the tax credit, with no binding agreement in place.

Face it, you missed the boat buddy.

 

[disneydad]

Reading some of these posts just really drives home how awful some people are. Its really remarkable how quickly the mob mentality sets in and how fast those are to jump on the "this guy did something wrong" bandwagon. Even sherlock holmes who took the time to look up my post history, but didnt bother to read this actual thread where I had already stated I had received emails from Rivian when placing the order and cancelling the order. All in an effort to discredit me. Rivian admits they didnt contact me, that is not even in dispute. I have accepted the results and dont have some big hang up about it. After all, its a car so I'm gonna be ok. I didn't expect a 7 page thread on people bashing me and coming up with increasingly creative ways to back Rivian.

 

[Dark-Fx]

I have accepted the results and dont have some big hang up about it.

This post shows that's a lie.

 

[Ravenron]

I got the initial order email confirming my pre-order, they mailed me the paperwork with the image of the R1-T, and I received the cancellation email. What I didnt get was any other emails, period. Rivian admits this openly as in their email denial I posted earlier. There are no tricks or gotchas here. Are you implying I actually received the emails Rivian says they didnt send me?

Man, I get it...you made some decisions you regret and want to get back in. However, what I'm seeing here is that you brought your issue to a public forum and, so far, it appears as though you're not sharing all the details. Some unanswered questions:

• You haven't disclosed how many times you had a pre-order - once, twice, more?
• With any of these pre-orders (or only the one), when you cancelled, did you get your deposit returned? That establishes timing.
• If you did have multiple instances of pre-order, what were the circumstances (i.e. Pre-order, cancel, refund, re-instate, cancel, refund, etc.)? What was that timing (date deposit made, date cancelled, date of refund, date re-instated, etc.)?
• How did you communicate successfully with Rivian in previous instances (you must have in order to cancel and re-instate)?
• Why were these communication methods unsuccessful when you last attempted re-instatement?
• Are you currently a customer? Without a current deposit, I'm not sure you are. If you do still want the truck, seems like Rivian would be more inclined to negotiate with a current rather than former customer. Currently you have no business relationship.

Overall, it appears that you're sharing the details advantageous to your argument but possibly omitting those not so complimentary? If I'm wrong and you only had one order/cancel instance then clarify that. Your lack of detail has left the door open for supposition.

If you're going to bring your case forward for public opinion be sure to share the whole story - the good and the bad - anything less brings your credibility into question. Despite my skepticism above, I do hope you are successful and, if you are, just let it ride this time until delivery.

 

[manitou202]

This statement in Rivian's reply to your request is the problem:

"There were two ways to be reinstated, either through a follow-up email we sent a handful of days after reinstatement was announced or by reaching out to us in Customer Service to express interest in reinstatement."

In their view you needed to either follow the link in the email, or reach out to their customer service before March 20th. Unfortunately you didn't do either. Not receiving the email from Rivian probably won't be considered a legitimate reason for making an exception. They obviously expected you to be more proactive in reaching out to the for reinstatement.

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