Temu's Deceptive "Free" Prizes, Hidden Costs, and Missing Credits

This is a complaint outlining the difficulties that future Temu shoppers might face. When you open the app, don’t fall for the spinning wheel that constantly claims you’ve won the top prize — most of the time, it doesn’t work and only allows you to buy specific items in order to be eligible for the prizes. To work around this, keep the products you actually want in your cart and note their prices, but be aware that Temu rarely includes those items in the eligible prize selections. On the positive side, delivery is fast — none of my orders have taken more than two weeks. However, the clothes and shoes are of very low quality. In a recent order, Temu made one of the items in my cart free and promised ₺510 in credit. I was planning to buy three of the same item, and since one became free, I placed the order for all three. But I noticed that the taxes were higher than what I saw in my cart beforehand — they definitely make up for the discount somewhere else. The ₺510 credit never arrived after the order. I thought it might appear once the items were delivered, but it didn’t. I contacted customer service and they gave me only ₺130 in credit. Today, I tried to use that ₺130 credit and was offered two free products — high-priced items I had previously viewed. I placed the order immediately, but then noticed the free items weren’t actually included. Apparently, I have to return to the app tomorrow at 11:30 AM to try again and “catch” them. I canceled the order. While checking if my refund had been processed, I realized they refunded ₺40 less than what I paid. Customer service claimed it was an international transaction fee, which seemed plausible, though I had considered whether it was due to currency exchange — but the rate hadn’t shifted that much. They promised to refund the difference as credit, but didn’t. At this point, I no longer trust the credits. I now double-check the taxes every time and always compare Temu prices with AliExpress before purchasing. I would also like to remind Temu once again that they still owe me ₺410 in credit.