ComplaintsforBlack Forest Gifts

• Initial Complaint

  12/01/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Order 7337 placed on Nov 24, 2021 for 2 items. The german smoker was shipped and arrived with multiple pieces broken off. When the company was contacted, Ken the owner said to glue the pieces back on. I was not comfortable with this as I should not have to repair an item due to poor shipping. I was told that it happens all the time and lots of people glue them on. Verbatim from an email: "the items come unglued all the time on shipping, we check all items and reglue what we find." This bothered me since I do not feel a company should be repairing items and selling them to customers without their knowledge. After multiple back and forths i was sent a return shipping label. However, there was not a replacement available to send and I cannot find the item located elsewhere so I preferred to keep it. However i asked if the item that had yet to ship could be canceled since i am wary of the company's practices and their obvious inability to handle issues. I was told that the item was canceled but i wasnt receiving the full refund because i then went under the threshold for free shipping. I was told that Ken would not do business with me and my account was marked. I called because I do not think the refund should be reduced without my approval and i asked if the item could be shipped out still. I was told no and that Ken "was not going to deal with my any longer." I really wish I had recorded the conversation. I have never been treated so poorly by a business owner in my life. He kept yelling, did not give me an opportunity to talk and said that all I was doing was "********, ********, ********." He refuses to either give me a full refund or ship the item.

  Business response

  05/05/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2021/12/02) */ Contact Name and Title: Ken ****** P****** Contact Phone: XXXXXXXXXX Contact Email: ***@blackforestgifts.com I have attached all emails and return shipping label sent to the customer that should explain everything and it is no reason to repeat it here. First is ***** did not purchase the item, we were advised that some items came off the arch and I responded that they should be in the box and can be glued back on just like they are during manufacturer, that did not satisfy her so we sent a return label at no cost to the customer and she will not send it back. I told her we preferred she send it back. There is only two options send it back or keep it but she wanted a discount. I said no either return it with the free label or keep it, it was her decision so then she canceled the other item on order which lowered her order to less than $100.00 which means the order no longer qualifies for free shipping and her refund was issued for the item canceled less shipping charges for the item she had. I also told her all funds would be refunded if she returned the item with the free shipping label. She then pointed out that we had to pay for the return label and I should use the money to give her a discount. I personally feel this person tried to intimidate and badger for a discount, I told her she obviously was not happy with the item and should return it, what else can we do? All correspondence is included. Consumer Response /* (3000, 8, 2021/12/06) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) I will be sending additional documents including a pic of the damaged item and a screengrab showing the other item that was damaged is no longer available. As the owner stated I did not place the order my husband did as a birthday gift for me. I was not aware of a threshold for free shipping as the email just showed $0.00 for shipping. I was copying my husband in all emails I sent but in every response from the store they removed him. As was stated, my husband ordered the items so nothing should have even been canceled without checking with him, especially if a full refund was not going to be given. All emails were from me and not from my husbands email account the order was purchased under. I requested the remaining item be canceled because I was not happy with the business practices employed by the company and these were both birthday gifts that were listed as in stock when purchased but were still not available to ship 10 days later. In fact the website shows out of stock and this item could not be shipped if a cancellation request wasn't made. If an item has not shipped within several weeks of purchasing and it is needed for a special occasion the item should be able to be canceled without penalty. In addition when I called after receiving an email saying the item was canceled and a full refund would not be given and they would no longer communicate with me, I requested that if money was going to be kept i wanted the item shipped to me they said they would not do business with me. Probably a way to cover that they don't actually have the item to ship. If the owner was planning on not issuing a full refund he should have made that clear before cancelling the order and again he should have checked with my husband as well. If the other item cant even be shipped it really does not make sense to not receive a full refund. The website has no terms and conditions detailing any refunds at all by the way. Business Response /* (4000, 11, 2021/12/07) */ Best option is for the customer to use the free shipping label we sent her and return the item and all his/her money will be refunded but time is running out, we cannot accept returns forever. The item he order the Cheshire Cat had a limited amount available, we have 52 on the way, when she requested it to be canceled that opened the item up and available to another customer and now the item is sold out and none are available. We do not offer free shipping on discounted items and orders that are less than $100.00. We followed her request to cancel the order and have sent her a free return label to return the item she is not satisfied with. We have fulfilled our requirements to this person. She should just send the item back, but we need to receive it back no later than 14 days from which she received it. Consumer Response /* (3000, 16, 2021/12/07) */ I have never tried to extort the seller and i take offensive to that. Upon hearing the item was damaged (FYI the item was not wrapped in bubble wrap and merely had larger bubble wrap in between the item and the box) the seller basically said so what, it happens all the time, fix it yourself. No sorry we know it is disappointing to receive something that is broken just images of items that he has mailed that were more damaged than what we received. I asked for a partial refund to cover the 30 mins of my time that i spent repairing the item and when he took offense to that i didnt bring it up again. The point of the matter is we wanted to cancel the other item due to rudeness from the seller, the fact that he admitted he repairs items, poor packing, and also the fact that it was a birthday gift that would not arrive in time. If he was planning on not refunding the full amount he should have let us know because i would have kept the order open. The item was also not in stock when i called the owner and technically the owner should have confirmed with my husband before canceling. I do not want to return the other item since i cant find it anywhere else and i spent time repairing it per the owners suggestion. At this point I also believe the seller would find some reason to not refund me the full amount if i returned the item. I think potential customers should be aware the seller kept money yet refused to sell me the other item and was incredibly verbally nasty to me on the phone yelling at me, continually talking over me, saying at least 6 times that all i wanted to do was "*****, *****, *****" and saying multiple times that i didnt understand how things work (also see how he condescendingly keeps referring to me as "this lady" in these messages too)

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