ComplaintsforSouthern Charm Daytona

• Initial Complaint

  12/21/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On 3/17/22 I received an order from the company which included a Christmas Wreath. *************************************************************************************) I turned on the lights to confirm that they work. The description of the item indicates the following "these lights have 8-Functions. They will automatically come back on after 18 hrs have passed. No need to turn them on each day." I used the wreath for the first time overnight in late November and realized that the lights never turned off. My sister ordered an identical wreath in November and her's worked. I reached out to the company who verified that my I had the wrong timer attached to the wreath. I was then told that she was out of the timers and only had enough for existing orders. When I followed up (several times) to find out when I could get a replacement, I was told the owner went into the *** (within several hours of my first request for a replacement. After several very replies on the website indicating I would be contacted when the owner was well, I had my daughter message the company through Etsy. The owner replied to her saying she was sorry for the delay, but she was in ******* I have attached the reply from the owner who clearly states she won't resolve the problem. I was delivered a defective product and was never given an option for replacement or reimbursement. In fact, I was told that she won't replace them because I didn't show enough concern for her being in the hospital. I told her this was a business transaction and I was ignored when I asked for a replacement yet she was able to reply to a new business inquiry on **** and said she was in ******* She told me she has a 24 hour policy for defective items however, I would have had no reason to leave a Christmas Wreath on for 24 hours to confirm the timer was working. I tested it to ensure the lights came on. I was sent a defective product.

  Business response

  12/21/2022

  The customer ordered this product from my online store on March 7, 2022. I have listed on every product on my online store that all of my items are MADE TO ORD** and I DO NOT accept returns or exchanged but if there is an issue when you receive the product, the customer needs to contact me within 24 hours or I will STRICTLY adhere to my no return on exchange policy. She contacted me on December 2, 2022 almost 9 months after the purchase of this item. At the time she contacted me I wasn't feeling well and didn't look to see when she purchased it or I would have reiterated at that time about my no exchange or return policy. I subsequently was rushed to the ** and was placed in ICU for almost two weeks. During this time she kept messaging my daughters. They told her that they were handling customer questions, but did not have anything to do with my business and could not answer her questions. Once I was released, I was told about the situation and how upset my daughters were because she kept messaging them. This is why I didn't respond to her when I was released. Due to me almost losing my life, we decided to take a last minute trip to ****** as this is something we do as a family quite a few times a year. As a family we had gone through a lot in a short period of time and just wanted to get away. During our trip, the customer had someone message me on Etsy, not my website to ask a question about the item she purchased. As I always do, I responded. In my response I mentioned that I was sorry for the delay but that I was at ******. Then the next day, I received a message from this customer accusing me of lying and not responding to her as soon as I was released from the hospital. I then explained that I didn't respond and went to ****** because of the affect she had on my daughters when they didn't even know if I was going to live through my medical issues. I also explained to her that she bought the item almost 9 months ago and that my policy for returns and exchanges are clearly stated on my website for the item.
  
  As far as her problem with the item, she stated to me in her first message that the battery box doesn't have a timer meaning the lights don't automatically turn off each night as stated in the description. At the time of her purchase, the lights that I used to make these wreaths did not have a timer. If you look at my listing now, it does state they have a timer, but at the time she purchased, again almost 9 months ago, I did not use the same lights and they did not have a timer. The reason she wanted the updated lights is because her sister purchased the same item from me on November 25, 2022, and that item used the new lights which did include a timer and she wanted the same lights as her sister had. When she contacted me and before I noticed when she purchased the wreath, I explained to her that I didn't have any extra lights as I only have a limited number left and they would be used on the orders I still had to fulfill this year. I also explained, the vendor I used didn't have any in stock as this is a Christmas item and not something that can be purchased year round, and I would be ordering more but didn't know when they would have them in stock but again this was before I figured out that she ordered this in March, 2022. I also asked her to send me a photo with the lights on. She never sent me the photo I requested.
  
  Due to her not contacting me with an issue for almost 9 months is why I don't believe I owe her a refund. She tried to get a refund through pay pal before filing this complaint and they denied her request because her complaint did not fall in their time frame for a disputed payments.
  
  I have attached a photo of the item purchased before I shipped it out to her.
  See Attachment/File: IMG_2293.JPG

  Customer response

  12/22/2022

  (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
  The item description I purchased indicated timed lights. When did the website change since that's specifically what was ordered. First I'm hearing of a product change!! You never once provided a resolution

  Business response

  12/31/2022

  The consumer knew that when she purchased the product that it did NOT include a timer. She had this item for 9 months before complaining about the timer and only complained about it after her sister received this year's upgraded version. She stated in her initial correspondence to me that the item works and that the timer was the only issue and she has to turn it off every morning.
  
  I have sold this product for 3 years and my average review is a 4.9. During those three years, I have upgraded the product each year. The first year I sold this product, I sold it with only a small bow, 50 lights and no ornaments. The second year, I upgraded to 100 lights. bow options and included ornaments. This year I upgraded the lights to add a timer. She was well aware that it did not include a timer and this is why it took her 9 months to complain about it. When she purchased this item she paid $139.99. This year with the upgraded lights, the price increased to $169.99.
  
  She also believes that she can bully me into giving her something she did not pay for. If you look at my reviews on Etsy, I have a rating of a 4.8/5 stars and have been consistently a Star Seller. My website rating is a 5/5 stars. As you can see from my BBB listing this is the only complaint I have had in my 4 years in business.
  
  Again, since her item works, she used it this year and she just has to physically walk over to turn it off, I will not be issuing her a refund. I have sold out of my stock for the year, she did not pay for the upgraded lights and I can not get any new stock until next year I will not be able to issue a replacement. If she wants the upgraded lights, she can contact me in October '23 and can purchase the new lights from me.

  Customer response

  01/03/2023

  (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
  This company is a total fraud. I had attached the description on the website at the time of purchase proving that it was advertised that the lights were timers. She's just trying to get out of refunding or replacing.

*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. ↩