Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/27/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  ActiveHerb has a Return Policy for their raw bulk herbs of no refunds. They have stolen money from their customers by selling them the raw herbs they have used in their formulas for granules that have been processed to extract the essential oils and nutrients. The pound of Astragalus (***************) they shipped me tasted almost like plain water when I made a strong decoction for tea.I called ActiveHerb customer service a few hours after they sent their emailed response to my request for a refund. The person I spoke with was very rude and refused to acknowledge the possibility that there could be a quality problem with any of their bulk herbs.They have effectively stolen $27 from me and who knows how much else from other customers.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/07/2022

  Dear BBB,
  
  Thank you for forwarding the customer's complaint concerning the quality of a bulk herb she ordered from us. Sorry, we just got the chance to read it now after we received help from BBB in a separate matter of gaining access on the site.
  
  The product with the reported issue is the bulk Astragalus Root (https://www.activeherb.com/chineseherbs/huangqi.shtml ), a popular ******* herb. The herb we sell is a high quality product and is well received by our customers as evidenced from customer reviews. The product is currently sourced from our reputable US suppliers. The product has nothing to do with our extract of the same herb (https://www.activeherb.com/extract/huangqi.shtml ) which she mentioned. Our extracts represent a completely different product line that we import directly from *****. Her allegation that we sell the root after extraction is serious but completely groundless and irresponsible.
  
  After the customer contacted us, our customer service patiently addressed her concern over the phone. As a good will gesture we even offered her $5 in rewards (500 reward points) (see her attachment of email communication). Unfortunately the customer seemed to be obsessed with her conspiracy theory.
  
  The taste of herbal tea is affected by many factors such as the nature of the herb, herb quality, the amount of herbs used (the suggested daily dosage of 9 g to 30 g for the product as viewed from the product page), the cooking temperature (should be boiling) and its duration. The customer by her own admission said the second brew is even
  stronger than the first one. This claim could not be possible if the root has been extracted before. This is a direct contradiction of her allegation.
  
  We are a company that is very highly regarded in the ******* herb market place and we firmly stand by the quality of our products.
  
  Thank you so much for your attention.
  
  Regards,
  
  Chairman

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/14/2022

  Dear BBB,
  
  Thank you for forwarding the customer's complaint concerning the
  quality of a bulk herb she ordered from us. Sorry, we just got the
  chance to read it now after we received help from BBB in a separate
  matter of gaining access on the site.
  
  The product with the reported issue is the bulk Astragalus Root
  (https://www.activeherb.com/chineseherbs/huangqi.shtml ), a popular
  ******* herb. The herb we sell is a high quality product and is well
  received by our customers as evidenced from customer reviews. The
  product is currently sourced from our reputable US suppliers. The
  product has nothing to do with our extract of the same herb
  (https://www.activeherb.com/extract/huangqi.shtml ) which she
  mentioned. Our extracts represent a completely different product line
  that we import directly from *****. Her allegation that we sell the
  root after extraction is serious but completely groundless and
  irresponsible.
  
  After the customer contacted us, our customer service patiently
  addressed her concern over the phone. As a good will gesture we even
  offered her $5 in rewards (500 reward points) (see her attachment of
  email communication). Unfortunately the customer seemed to be obsessed
  with her conspiracy theory.
  
  The taste of herbal tea is affected by many factors such as the nature
  of the herb, herb quality, the amount of herbs used (the suggested
  daily dosage of 9 g to 30 g for the product as viewed from the product
  page), the cooking temperature (should be boiling) and its duration.
  The customer by her own admission said the second brew is even
  stronger than the first one. This claim could not be possible if the
  root has been extracted before. This is a direct contradiction of her
  allegation.
  
  We are a company that is very highly regarded in the ******* herb
  market place and we firmly stand by the quality of our products.
  
  Thank you so much for your attention.
  
  Regards,
  
  *******************, Ph. D.
  Chairman
  --

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/15/2022

   "The customer by her own admission said the second brew is evenstronger than the first one. This claim could not be possible if the root has been extracted before. This is a direct contradiction of her allegation."
  
  
  My email to them stated:  "The tea I brewed today after soaking this *************** for an hour then simmering it for 50 minutes tasted weaker than a second brew, and empty of nutrients."  This means that the herb they sold me decocted for the first brew made tea that tasted like a third brew.
  
  
  It is obvious they are guilty of scamming customers by selling bulk herbs without medicine in them, because their response was to attack the customer instead of attempting to work towards a resolution.  Why would I spend more money buying herbs from them to use a $5 off coupon after what they sent me was not as described?  
  
  
  They called my allegation "groundless and irresponsible," and disparaged me with "the customer seems to be obsessed with her conspiracy theory."  What other reasonable, grounded, logical conclusion would a customer familiar with Chinese bulk herbs come to when they decoct the herb tea properly and drink it to taste there is no medicine in it, that the tea is almost like water?  Obviously the medicine was extracted, and with its financial value, the extraction was sold in another product.  Where else would the medicine have gone to?  I was probably wrong about ActiveHerb using the extractions of bulk herbs they sell for their other products, but the point is they are selling bulk herbs that have been already extracted, if not by them, then by the business who sold it to them.
  
  
  If the business stood firmly behind the quality of their products, they would not have a problem with their bulk herbs being returned for a refund when the product is defective.
  
  Chelsea

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/26/2022

  Dear BBB, 
  
  
  We certainly strive to put customer satisfaction as a top priority. That is why we earn outstanding respect from our customers over the years. This particular customer continues to make outrageous and groundless allegations on our business integrity in her communications, which leaves us no option but to defend ourselves. Also we do not see any other interpretation than what we offered in our earlier reply from her own sentence of  "The tea I brewed today after soaking this *************** for an hour then simmering it for 50 minutes tasted weaker than a second brew..." Now she talked about tasting like a third brew?
  
  
  I believe everyone's time is valuable. She may return the bulk herb for a refund. The return policy is at https://www.activeherb.com/order/orderfaq.shtml#** . We wish her good luck in finding a supplier that she feels is more trustful.
  
  
  Thank you for your attention.
  
  
  *******************, Ph. D.
  Chairman

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/04/2022

   This response is unacceptable to me because the business has continued to slander me after I refused to tolerate their theft of my money by selling me a product that had no medicine in it.  This was a crime of deliberate theft, and the full amount of the money I paid including shipping needs to be refunded to me.  I should be provided with a prepaid shipping label so that after all is said and done, I have not wasted any money as a result of attempting to buy medicine online.  It's bad enough that I wasn't sent the medicine I ordered, I shouldn't be losing $12 on top of that for something worthless being mailed to me and then me mailing it back.