ComplaintsforDecksDirect.com

• Initial Complaint

  10/01/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I placed an Order with DecksDirect.com (Order No. *********) on August 8, 2023 for the following items:(2) Hurricane Installation Brackets for AFCO Post Wraps and Kits in the amount of $119.98 (2) Craftsman ******************** Kits by AFCO in the amount of $533.98 (4) Load Bearing Plates for AFCO Column in the amount of $127.96 The amount of the order was $781.92, plus shipping and handling in the amount of $199.99, bringing the total cost to $981.91.The order was supposedly shipped to me on Tuesday, September 12, 2023. However, when the delivery truck arrived, there was no paperwork (e.g., bill of lading, shipping invoice), associated with the order. Therefore, I was unable to confirm that the product I ordered was correct. At that time, I reached out to DecksDirect to alert them of the issue with the order. I was on the phone with the DecksDirect support person, *****************************, and the driver of the truck to see if the issue could be resolved. Unfortunately, the delivery company was unable to confirm that it was the correct order (the boxes were marked with an address that was not mine), and as mentioned, had no paperwork to provide to indicate what was in the boxes. Because of this, I did not accept the order and returned it, requesting that the order be cancelled, and my credit card refunded. During a phone conversation with ******************** about a week after I returned the shipment, I was given a Return Authorization No. ******. To date, I have had several back-and-forth emails with ********************, with no resolution. We have no product, I have not received a refund, and ******************** is unable to provide the status of the return. I am being told I will also owe shipping and restocking fees for an order that had no tracking number and came with no documentation to show what was in the shipment sent to me.

  Business response

  10/03/2023

  8-8 7:29 p.m.  on-line order placed by *******************;
  These are not "solid" columns the item description states: 
  Package Contents Craftsman ******************** Kit by AFCO (4) Staves, (1) cap, and (1) base    3-5 week ship time.  
  8-9 order was Processed and a Purchase Order was placed with the vendor.  
  8-30 items shipped directly from vendor to customer. 
  9-12 products arrived to the customer.  ************** called stating he wanted to reject the order.  ****** assured them to keep the product and if it was something other than what they ordered, we would correct the error.   ************** thought these should be solid columns.   ***************** response was that she has had other companies say that and then they basically get cheated.  ****** reassures her this is not how we do business and they should accept freight.  At this time ****** discussed reshipping the purchase or refund minus restocking/ reconsignment fees.  The customer chooses to reject it.  
  9-14 ****** confirms with the vendor that this has been "refused", and is being returned to them.  The vendor confirms the 25% restocking and return shipping fees.  ****** issues a Return Materials Authorization and sends it to the customer.  
  ****** has this case open to follow through to the completion.  She has continually connected with the vendor to validate when they expect the product to be returned to them.  
  Steps to be completed:  
  1) The vendor awaiting the return of the product, currently in shipping companies hands to be returned.  
  2) The vendor will receive and verify the correct product was sent.  If the product is different than what the customer ordered no additional fees will be charged as the vendor will then assume fault of a miss- ship.
  3) Vendor upon receipt will send us the credit associated with the refused shipment 
  4) Decks Direct will issue the refund to the customer minus the fees. 
  5) ****** can close the case. 
  
  

  Customer response

  10/03/2023

   I am rejecting this response because:
  There was no documentation (e.g., shipping invoice, bill of lading) associated with the shipment; therefore, I could not verify if the product being delivered was what I ordered.  There also were no markings/labeling on the boxes identifying what they contained.  Decks Direct is also unable to identify where the returned shipment is in transit.  The only thing I am being told is I have to wait for a refund (less shipping and restocking fees which I will dispute) until the shipment is returned to the vendor.    
  
  

  Business response

  10/04/2023

  I have reached out to the vendor again to validate where the return is at.  It was advised that you accept the shipment and this would have already been resolved with either a refund or correct product.  We work really hard to get customers the product they ordered.   If I have not heard from the vendor by the end of today I will process the refund minus the restocking and shipping charges.   If the vendor does acknowledge they made an error in shipping, upon product return, by shipping the wrong product we will then refund any additional amounts to the customer.    We would prefer to do a one time refund, with confirmed details of what went wrong in the process.  Did the vendor actually ship wrong or did the customer just change their mind.   To help resolve this I will authorize this,  without actual return of product, this is not standard practice as the product has not yet been returned to us or vendor.  

*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. ↩