Q: What are my options to cancel the payment through Affirm for an undelivered online purchase?

A: Sorry to hear you are apparently being taken advantage of by Affirm and/or this merchant. A professional legal analysis would require more facts and a review of Affirm and the merchant's terms of service. However, it seems patently unfair that a failure to respond by the merchant triggers an assignment of responsibility to you. To take an analogy from a different area of law, Affirm's policy as you state it here essentially holds you "guilty until proven innocent" and fails to require any action by the prosecutor. This seems a violation of California's unfair business practices act among other wrongdoing. You should know that statutes of limitations apply which could limit the amount of time you have to act and bar potential claims. There are potentially other risks here of nonpayment which could include adverse credit reporting or collections actions. You should speak with experienced consumer protection counsel.

A: I’m sorry you’ve been stuck in limbo with this order. When a merchant doesn’t ship and can’t show proof, you’re still entitled to push back on the loan.

First, reach out to Affirm’s claims team again and reference their Purchase Assurance policy—insist they pause your payment until they’ve secured tracking or a refund. If that doesn’t budge them, ask to escalate to a supervisor or file an internal appeal; sometimes a higher-level review can reverse the charge.

If Affirm still holds you responsible, you can lodge a formal complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and with California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. These agencies can prod both the lender and merchant to resolve delivery failures.

As a last resort, you could take the merchant to small-claims court for breach of contract and ask Affirm to join you in mediation. That path can force a settlement or refund before your loan term ends.