Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy the holidays. While I keep in mind the true reasons for the season, I do get caught up in the hubbub of trying to buy the perfect gifts for my family and friends. I plan ahead, make lists, stock up on coupons and take advantage of offers on free shipping whenever I can. This year however, I experienced two shipping scams with two different companies.
#1 - HARRY AND DAVID
Every year I place orders for tasty gift packages to send to my long standing clients as a way of saying "Thank You" for their business. This year, I chose to send gifts from Harry and David. As emails flooded my inbox telling me to type in the code PRANCER at checkout to receive free shipping on any order over $100, I decided to get on the ball and place my order. I was planning to send gifts to 10 different addresses across the US. I selected my items and spent about an hour filling out personalized greeting cards for each order and entering in specific information for each of the 10 shipping destinations. Once I was ready to submit my order, a message came up saying that my order would be shipped on JANUARY 8th! Being that these are Christmas gifts, that would not do. I tried selecting an earlier shipping date, but a message came up saying that the items were not available before Jan. 8th. Frustrated, I called the company. After being on hold forever, I was told that my items were available, but only if I selected PRIORITY shipping which would cost an additional $13.75 PER ORDDER! Having no desire to pay an extra $137.50 I cancelled the whole thing and made my purchase elsewhere. I think it is complete crap that they tried to lure me in with their daily emails containing free shipping promises but then refused to deliver my product unless I paid priority shipping. I will not be using Harry & David ever again.
#2 - The Entertainment Book
I have an Entertainment Book and I love it. With thousands of coupons for restaurants, golfing, retail shopping and discounts on hotels and travel, it is well worth it's price and then some! I decided to order a few of these babies for gifts. On Dec 10th, I called into the company to place my order. I spoke with a nice guy from CT who was very thorough in looking information up for me and placing my order. He explained that all of my books would be shipped for $2.50 with standard delivery and I should receive them in a week. He also said that I would receive a confirmation email when the items shipped. As of today, Dec 18th, I have not received the books and I have not received an email. I called the company again this morning and they told me that they could see my order pending but that they had the wrong expiration date for my credit card and the order declined on Dec. 11th. I asked why no one called me to fix this problem and they had no answer except to say that that is not their policy. SO, to make a long story short, I had to resubmit my entire order along with my credit card number. However, this time around the standard shipping would not get the gifts to me on time. My only other choice was overnight shipping for $10. I complained and complained but they would not offer me free shipping or even the original $2.50 shipping. Not only that, but "overnight" shipping should really be called "over a few nights" shipping. The customer service rep told me that if I don't receive my books by the 22nd, I should give them a call! Unbelievable! Another shipping scam.
While I tried to plan ahead, I still got screwed. Now I am down to the wire. If these books don't show up on Monday I will be hitting the malls to find last minute gifts...just what I want to do. I was hoping to stay in and bake some freaking cookies! Oh well. At least I still have my blog where I can bitch about such nonsense and lure potential customers from falling for the scams of these loser companies and their little schemes with UPS. I bet they are getting a kickback on this Priority / Overnight Shipping BS....jerks!
1 comment:
I ran across your story while googling my issue. My friend and I both ordered the same coat from the North Face on the same day. She decided to do the standard shipping on hers and I wanted overnight, since I needed the coat by a certain date.
This was on a Sunday, so I knew my coat wouldn't come on Monday but rather Tuesday, since it usually takes one whole business day.
Well Monday comes, Tuesday comes, Wednesday comes, Thursday comes...I still haven't gotten my package. I call the company and they say, "It's overnight from when the item ships, the item didn't ship until today (Thursday)."
I told them I wanted my $30 overnight fee to be credited, and they said that's not possible. EVERYONE knows it's overnight from once the shipment is sent, she said.
So I get the package on Friday, and guess what? My friend, who didn't pay overnight shipping ALSO got her package that Friday. Her order shipped on Monday...mine didn't ship til Thursday. We live on the same street. WTF?
Such a scam. And no, I never got my money back.
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