ComplaintsforSchool Specialty, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  09/05/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  I ordered (3) school kits from SchoolSpecialty.com. These are back to school supplies the company puts together and then sends the items usually a minimum of two weeks before our kids start school. I had received emails from the company that the kits would be arriving late. We received the kits on friday August 18th, 2023. When we went through each of the (3) school kits, we discovered numerous items that were missing. Since there would be no way for the company to send us the missing supplies before August 21st, the first day of school, we decided we would have to then purchase the missing items. After purchasing missing items, I notified the company and spoke to ******************************* via email ****************************************************** I explained we were missing items and that I would need a refund for the items we had to purchase not included in the kits. She stated that she could not issue me a refund but ******************************************* or ************************************************** could authorize a refund. I reached out to both employees on three occasions and still have not received a response. I know of another family that is fighting to get a refund for their kits and the company is refusing to respond to her. I would like to be reimbursed by the company and will provide any receipts and email strings of my correspondence to School Specialty. Thank you for your time.

• Initial Complaint

  08/14/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I ordered **** for a time sensitive project from School Specialty (the company)on 8-1-23. I paid in full via credit card ($305.67 including tax and shipping). I received an invoice and receipt stating the order was in stock and would ship in 2-3 days. When i checked my order on 8-7-23 in was noted that the order was processing. I checked again on 8-8 and call customer ********************** to get an update and was told the order was processing and would ship in 24 hours and to call back to tomorrow to check for updates. I called back on 8-9-23 and was assigned a case number and again told the order was processing and would ship within ***** hours and that despite the the receipt stating that orders ship in 2-3 days the facility was running at 11 days to ship, making my time sensitive order untenable. I followed up the following day on 8-10-23 and once again was told there was nothing they could do and the order would ship by the weekend. On Monday, 8-14-23, I checked the status and it remained unchanged as processing. I again called and was told the order was processing and would ship in ***** hours. At this point I requested to cancel my order and be refunded. I was told that the company would not be able to do that as the order was processing and they are unable stop the processing and issue a refund. At this point School Specialty has BOTH my funds and the product and seems unable or or unwilling to get either one back to me. I also requested to personally pick up my order as the the distribution facility is 3 miles from my home. They refused this as well.

  Business response

  09/05/2023

  Good afternoon,

  Due to a delay on the School Specialty end, our customer's order did not ship in a timely manner.  We have since shipped the product, and show that they were delivered (tracking information provided below).  Due to our issues, we offered the customer free shipping on this order.  We will also return the remaining funds to their credit card and allow them to keep the product.

  Item: 351464
  Carrier: Fed Ex
  Tracking/Pro Number:
  703364565720
  703364565671
  703364565682
  703364565693
  703364565708
  703364565719
  Status: Delivered 8/22/2023

  Please let me know if any further investigation is needed.

  Thank you,

  Genuinely,
  
  **********************;(she/her/hers)
  MANAGER CUSTOMER CARE
  ____________________________________________________
  
  ................................................................................

  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

  08/03/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  The company advertises false shipping est. When placing an order, they advertise 2-4 weeks eta and when you wait out the 2 weeks and request tracking, they now tell you that it is up to the the manufacturer and shipping time is out of their hands. They provided a potential of ***** weeks once the order is received by manufacturer, and after 2 weeks, the manufacturer still has not received the order. Once you tell them that it is unacceptable, they apologize and offered to do a cancellation. Once you request a cancellation, they respond to you and say well the manufacturer may not want to give you a cancellation so youre stuck with it. This company takes advantage of the most vulnerable disabled community by offering false information, advertising false information and making promises that they can not keep. Status Request: PO# ********** / Order# ******** Order Summary Subtotal + Estimated Tax + Shipping Total:$725.00 $66.70 S108.75 $900.45 I have multiple time stamped emails from vendor corresponding their false promises.

  Customer response

  09/12/2023

  
  The business has responded directly to me in regard to the complaint and the issue was resolved. They canceled the order and and issued a cancellation Refund.
  

• Initial Complaint

  10/29/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I placed an order with this company through Amazon for classroom decorative paper. It was a small order. Amazon shows delivery was supposed June 3, 2022 through June 8, 2022. Amazon doesnt show a delivery date because delivery was neither attempted or made. I realized at the start of school (August 2022) that this product never came. I contact Amazon and found that delivery was never confirmed and it appears product was never shipped. Per Amazon instructions, I contacted the seller directly who told me that I had missed their cutoff for getting a refund or replacement. And offered no resolution. I have attempted to escalate this with Amazon but am unable to do so since this isnt fulfilled through Amazon. I would like a full refund or replacement to be shipped. I paid for a product that was NEVER delivered. School Specialty can confirm just like Amazon that the product was never delivered or attempted. I have zero fault other than not noticing sooner that school supplies o ordered for fall 2022 did not arrive. School specialty has stolen my money. The amount is small and the order is small - which is why its even more perplexing that they will not make this order right.

  Business response

  11/08/2022

  I am writing to you in regard to complaint ID ********.
  
  I wanted to let you know that we have issued a full refund to the customer and that they should be receiving the funds back to their account in 2-3 business days.
  
  I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
  
  Please feel free to reach out with any questions.
  

• Initial Complaint

  10/24/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Here is the email which outlines my complaint. I sen this twice and have not heard from someone beyond an auto reply.Hello,Your company is misrepresenting this product. You clearly have the picture in your email, but when I look up the product number I see a picture with a tray. My teacher saw a picture with a tray. Therefore the product should come with a tray. Please take a look at the three exhibits below.1. Please see the circle around the tray (exhibit 1).2. Please also notice the item number. When I look up the product number from our order (exhibit 2), item 2.1, your companys website redirects to a picture of a desk with a tray (exhibit 1). I have a screen recording of this if needed.3. Then notice the date. I replicated this Tuesday morning (exhibit 1).4. The desk therefore is advertised as with a tray. The instructions that came with it show a tray (exhibit 3). Therefore please provide the trays or I will report your company to the Better Business Bureau.I provided the pictures mentioned in my bullet points. Exhibit two only partially showed in the email once sent. I also took a video showing my screen, navigating through their site showing how when looking up the item we purchased takes to a picture of a desk with a tray.I would like the trays they advertised in the picture. When you look up the product number it went to the picture with a tray. In the description it does not mention a tray but does not provide a statement "tray shown in picture does not come with the desk." I sent emails on October 6, 2022 and on October 14, 2022.

  Business response

  11/04/2022

  Thank you for contacting School Specialty regarding complaint ID ********, we appreciate you bringing this to our attention. 
  
  After reviewing our customer's order and reviewing the product information on our website we learned that the incorrect picture was posted for the item number that was ordered.  Our Merchandising team is in the process of updating the picture on the website to reflect the correct product. 
  
  November 1, 2022, the customer was contacted and we let them know we were working with our supplier to resolve the issue and we would follow up within 48 hours.  The same day our supplier let us know that we could order new frames that would have the book box included that the customer original wanted when the order was placed. 
  
  November 2, ****, a no charge replacement order was placed for the customer to send them the frames at no cost to them.  We also reached out to the customer and let them know that the order has been placed and we will follow up with any additional information needed. 
  
  Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this has caused.
  
  Let us know if we can be of further assistance.

  Customer response

  11/07/2022

  [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. 
  
  Thanks,
  
  ***********************
  

• Initial Complaint

  07/07/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We ordered the archery target on 5/17/2022. They said the vendor is not confirming the delivery date and we waited. Then we moved to ************** and requested to changed the delivery address more than a month before the ***** label was created on 7/5/2022. We called number of times to make sure when the delivery was going to take place and the confirmation of address change to **. They confirmed the address was changed numerous times. When the ***** delivery notice was received on 7/5/22, the package was shipped to old address. We called customer ********************** past three days and every time, they confirmed the address was changed and will be delivered to **. But there was no ***** delivery change notice. We called today again and was connected to *********************** the guy said he can't do much about the shipment already made. He never presented any action plan to re-direct the package or refund or any apology. These people blindly lie about the status and do not do any to correct the faults. I have no confidence that they will recover the package from the wrong address they shipped to and re-send to the right address.

  Business response

  07/15/2022

  Thank you for reaching out to School Specialty regarding complaint #********.
  
  The order was placed with School Specialty (SSL) on 5/17/22 to ship to **********, **.
  
  On 5/25/22 the customer requested the status and that the shipping address be updated to *********, **.
  The address update was confirmed by our supplier on 5/26/22.
  
  On 7/1/22 the customer requested another status update. 
  
  The shipping info was provided by our supplier on 7/6/22 and we passed the information to the customer that day. The customer emailed back the same day advising that the order was still shipped to the ** address. The customer requested that it reroute correctly to **.
  
  That same day on 7/6/22, an SSL agent offered to reroute at cost to customer of $19.99. The customer responded that they shouldn't have to pay as it was our error and advised another agent was taking care of it for them.
  Again on 7/6/22, the other SSL agent working with the customer confirmed that the supplier shipped again to the corrected address in **.
  
  On 7/7/22 the customer called for an updated status and was provided with the fed ex tracking. This was again found to be shipping to **.
  That same day the SSL agent offered the customer a no charge replacement to the correct address, as the carrier could not update the address for that shipment.
  The customer responded asking for "clear responses" and advising they are reaching out to the BBB and didn't respond if they wanted the replacement or not.
  Still on 7/7/22, the SSL agent again responded to the customer advising we can send the replacement order. 
  
  The customer had not responded to this at the time of the email to the BBB.
  
  As of the morning of 7/11/22, a couple of more emails between the customer and SSL were sent. The customer wanted the tracking for the replacement order which hasn't been shipped yet. The replacement order is in process and the customer was advised tracking would be available within approximately 1-2 weeks once it has shipped.
  
  Let us know if you have any other questions or concerns.
  
  *************************
  Resolution Manager
  School Specialty
  

*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. ↩