ComplaintsforCigars International

• Initial Complaint

  08/23/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I like others here have fallen victim to their billing and customer services issues. Received cigars that they shipped and payment info was provided for . Approx. a year after receiving they froze my account stating they shipped but did not get paid, Their customer service over the phone after many requests would not send invoice just put onus of proving I paid on us , after some time and multiple requests we were sent to a collection agency, At this time we paid as it was way more hassle then this was worth and we received no actual help from customer service besides letting us know how to pay over the phone. Now that payment was made they have resumed sending flyer/advertising so I wrongfully assumed my account has been unfrozen so I figured I'd give them another chance as Ive had way more good orders than bad and as veteran/first responder they have a very appealing discount. This being said order was placed on 8/21 and cancelled at some point thereafter without notifying me the purchaser and no cancellation notice sent to PayPal . As of now I'd either like my account cancelled , credit report corrected, and no further trees put to death and filling my mailbox or fix my credit once again and re-instate my account and finish order.

  Business response

  09/15/2023

  We sincerely apologize for the recent experience the customer has has with our business. 

  We have a member our leadership team reach out to the customer to resolve this matter. Their account is in good standing and no impact has been made to their credit score. 

  Please let us know if the re is anything else we can do to assist in this matter. 

  Sincerely, 

  The Cigars International Customer Care Team

  Customer response

  09/18/2023

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ***************************
  

• Initial Complaint

  08/18/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I never signed up for a $14.99 Puro Perks, they have taken this out of my banking account numerous times (we are probably in the 200-300 dollar range by now), and I have tried to call and reach out using their website about this. This was not authorized and is not the first time someone has complained about the deceptive policy.

  Business response

  08/23/2023

  We sincerely apologize for the unwanted enrollment into our Puro Perks rewards program.

  We had a member of our leadership team research this matter and confirm that the subscription was cancelled on 8/18/23 and a total of $59.80 was refunded that same day. The remainder of the charges, totaling $104.65, were refunded on 8/22/23. Please allow up to 7 business days for the funds to be credited back onto the credit card used. 

  Once again, we are terribly sorry for the inconvenience this has caused. 

  Please let us know if there is anything else we can do to assist in this matter. 

  Sincerely, 

  The Cigars International Customer Care Team

• Initial Complaint

  08/10/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Hi. I've ordered from Cigars International before with no problems. But this time I've not received my shipment after over a month, and I've emailed 5-6 times and never even gotten a response. Order Confirmation # ***********

  Business response

  08/23/2023

  We sincerely apologize for the recent experience the customer has with our company, and for not receiving the order he had placed. 

  We had a member of our leadership team research this matter and they have made multiple attempts to reach the customer, but we have not heard back from them to date. 

  We would like to apologize for this order, ***********, was cancelled. The reason for the cancellation was that this order was placed under a new account under a different email address, and a different first name then the one on the other account that was already age verified. Due to this, we were not able to age verify the new account and order. 
  
  Cigars International does not sell to anyone under the age of 21. Using a non-affiliated third-party company, *************************, we can verify that you are who you say you are and confirm that you are of legal age to purchase tobacco products. Using a proprietary privacy tool called ********,multiple trusted data sources scan billions of public records to return an age validation based on the personal information you submit. This service is specifically designed to confirm and protect your identity while maintaining the highest-level privacy when processing online transactions. A small percentage of shoppers may not be verifiable due to limited availability of publicly available information within the trusted databases. In an event that we cannot authenticate your account by this process, we will attempt to contact you via phone and email to request a copy of your valid drivers license or another form of government-issued ID which provides your date of birth.
  
  On July 14th we sent an email to the customer advising that we needed to verify their age, and we never received a reply. After 2 weeks we cancelled the order, and the money was returned to the original payment method. We only collect payment when orders ship and any pending authorizations will drop. We have provided the customer a direct point of contact, should they wish to have us fulfill the original order.
  
  We do apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Please let us know if there is anything else we can do to assist in this matter, 

  Sincerely, 

  The Cigars International Customer Care Team 

  Customer response

  09/06/2023

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ***************************
  

• Initial Complaint

  08/10/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I just realized that I have been getting charged $14.95 per month for a Puro Perks Membership. However, I never agreed to this, and I was not notified that this was being charged. I looked through all my records in email and no notification was received. Also, there was no indication on the website of these ongoing charges or memberships, just a monthly invoice. It has been going on since 6/16/22.

  Business response

  08/21/2023

  We sincerely apologize for the unwanted subscription into our rewards program. 

  We had a member of our leadership team research this matter further and follow up with the customer to ensure it has been resolved. We were able to confirm that the subscription was cancelled on 8/10/23 and a refund for $59.80 was processed that day. A refund for the remaining billings ($164.45) has been processed today, 8/021/2023. Please allow up to 7 business days for the funds to appear back on the account. 

  Please let us know if there is anything else we can do to assist in this matter. 

  Sincerely, 

  The Cigars International Customer Care Team 

   

• Initial Complaint

  08/02/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Order Confirmation # *********** You placed this order on June 21, 2023. I have contacted CI twice through their online contact form with number and Email provided for them to reach out. I also sent personal email. Weeks have gone by and nothing. I received every cigar stale and unsmokable. I purchase around $100 every month. Would like my money back. $86.41. You can have the cigars back, I dont want them and they are so bad they arent going into my humidor, although I did attempt to unstale them by putting some in humidor. Please contact back as this is now the fourth time in less than 2 weeks I am reaching out.

  Business response

  08/18/2023

  We sincerely apologize for the quality concern the customer had with their recent order with our company and for the delayed response from our customer care team. We have been receiving higher than normal volume which has been increasing our response times and we are in the midst of hiring and training more team members to better serve our customers. 

  We have refunded the customer in full for the product and had a member or our leadership team follow up with the customer to ensure their satisfaction. 

  Once again, we are terribly sorry for the inconvenience this has caused. 

  Plese let us know if there is anything else we can do to assist in this matter. 

  The Cigars International Customer Care Team 

  Customer response

  08/26/2023

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************************
  

• Initial Complaint

  08/01/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I ordered 5 cigars on 3/15/23 (****** ******* **********). 3 of the cigars were OK. 2 could not be smoked and did not stay lit, as they were defectively rolled much too tight. During the time span of July 17-31, I called the company twice (left VM) and emailed them twice. There has been no reply. Their mission states on their website, "We’re nuts about cigars, and work like crazy to deliver the very best in quality, price, variety, service, and overall experience to our valued consumers." These are premium, relatively expensive cigars that should possess better quality than what I rec'd. I still have the 2 defective cigars and would like a refund of $22.79 or 2 replacement cigars.

  Business response

  08/21/2023

  We sincerely apologize that the customer's recent order did not meet their expectations.

  We had a member of our leadership team to work with the customer to resolve this matter. We will be sending a no cost replacement order to the customer and have requested that the product is inspected by a Lead, prior to the order being shipped. 

  Please let us know if there is anything else we can do to assist in this matter.

  Sincerely,

  The Cigars International Customer Care Team 

  Customer response

  08/25/2023

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************
  

• Initial Complaint

  07/26/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Cigars International-Confirmation#*********** I placed order 7-14-23. I followed the processing, then saw the order canceled, except billing me taxes for $11.61 for no product.I'd like the $11.61 returned. The customer service is lacking as I'd preferred to work directly with the party concerned.

  Business response

  07/31/2023

  We sincerely apologize for the recent experience the customer had with our company. 

  We had a member of our leadership team reach out to the customer to resolve this matter. We were able to identify there was an outstanding balance on the customer's account that held up his most recent order. We have cleared the balance and placed a new order, provided a $30 discount, and free shipping. 

  Please let us know if there is anything else we can do to assist in this matter. 

  Sincerely, 

  The Cigars International Customer Care Team 

  Customer response

  08/02/2023

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 

  I was contacted shortly after I had filed the complaint.   The gentleman was very polite, explained that there was an old balance that I was not aware of, but they had cleared it and sent me my order with a discount. 

  I'm very satisfied with the resolution. 

  Regards,
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  07/24/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  confirmation number# ***********. I sent them a money order in the amount of $18.99 for cigars and a lighter. I sent that to them on 07/11/2023 and I still have not received my order. I called the business and they stated that they are waiting for the money order to clear. Since they have not shipped my order I would like for them to refund me in the amount of $18.99

  Business response

  08/16/2023

  We sincerely apologize for the delay in shipping the customer's order to them. 

  Unfortunately, we did not received the check until 7/25/23, but we ensure that it shipped that same day. The order was delivered on 7/28/23 at 1:08pm. Due to the inconvenience this has caused the customer, we have issued them a $20 coupon, code ******, that can be used on their next order with us. We had a member of our leadership team email the customer to outline this information as well. 

  Please let us know if there is anything else we can do to assist in this matter. 

  Sincerely, 

  The Cigars International Customer Care Team

• Initial Complaint

  07/23/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I made an order for $52.65 on June 20th, 2023 : Order Confirmation # ***********.I chose regular shipping which in their website they say 8-12 days.. It’s been more then a month and the order is still “processing” I have sent atleast 3 emails and called twice with no answer. i also called on a Saturday but the message said their office was closed however their website says their customer service is open on the weekends.

  Business response

  07/31/2023

  We sincerely apologize for the recent experience the customer has with our company. 

  We had a member of our leadership team reach out to the customer to resolve this matter. The order went on hold due to us having to verify the buyer's age prior to us being able to ship the order. Unfortunately, there was a systematic issue that did not release the order once it was verified. We have confirmed that the original credit card authorization has dropped off and the customer was never charged. We have processed the order, and will be shipping it express, free of charge. 

  Once again, we are truly sorry for the inconvenience this has caused. 

  Please let us know if there is anything else we can do to assist in this matter. 

  Sincerely, 

  The Cigars International Customer Care Team

  Customer response

  08/02/2023

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  Regards,

  *********************

• Initial Complaint

  07/20/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Realized the referenced company has been charging me $14.95 for months for a subscription I wasnt made aware of or agreed to when I made my original purchase for cigars.

  Business response

  08/04/2023

  We sincerely apologize for the unwanted enrollment into our rewards program. 

  We had a member of our leadership team research this matter further and we were able to locate the subscription, cancel it and refund the customer in full for all charges. 

  Please let us know if there is anything else we can do to assist in this matter. 

  Sincerely, 

  The Thompson Cigar Customer Cate Team

*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. ↩