what would you do?
4we ordered a bed frame and headboard/pillowboard from a company that is known for 1-2 month shipping times, but 1/3rd the price ($600) of a similar frame from another, well marketed company ($1800). fine, we understood that it would take a bit for delivery. ordered in june, and estimated delivery of mid-august.
as mid-august approached, i checked the order and the estimate was now mid-september. decided to cancel the order and buy from somewhere else. chatted with a customer rep and was told i could not cancel because it was a pre-order and those are not cancellable. rep then send a screenshot that is supposedly my confirmation email and shows “pre-order”. looked on the product page and there is ZERO indication the frame is pre-order. went back and looked through my order screenshots and email. again, zero indication of pre-order. relayed this info to them along with my screenshots. they say they still can’t cancel and offer me a $100 credit instead.
considered doing a chargeback on my credit card, but talked to the wife and we decided to wait until mid-september. we finally get tracking around sept 7 and frame shows up a week later.
now, here’s the kicker. they sent us TWO frames and TWO headboards, all under the same tracking number. so, i go to their site and look at my order. it now shows we ordered 2 frames and 2 headboards, at a cost of $1200… incredibly suspicious. i go back and check my credit card statement and it only shows the original $600 payment in june.
so, what would you do?
- call the company and tell them to come pick up the extras
OR
B. sell the extra frame and headboard
eta: we’ve already done one of the above choices. just curious as to what my fellow mehricans would have done.
- 11 comments, 10 replies
- Comment
What would Jesus do?
He was a carpenter, so he’d probably make his own bed.
That said, perhaps the more honest thing to do would be to inform the company… however, the company itself seems pretty dishonest, there’s a danger that by YOU being honest the company might screw you over and make your life tough by charging you for the second bed… then there is hassle of Credit Card dispute. So in this case, doing the right thing might be the wrong thing.
Whatever you decide, I would wait some time before trying to sell the extra frame and headboard, if that’s what you decide. Give them time to realize their mistake and see if they contact you offering to pay the shipping to have it shipped back to them.
I would call them and ask if they want it back. Most of the time, even for something of this size, they are not going to want to pay for the cost of having residential pickup for an oversize item return. My understanding of the rules here is that you are under absolutely no obligation to do anything at all.
A number of years back I had a similar thing happen with a 150$ ladder I bought from Walmart. Ordered one but 2 showed up. I sent an email to support asking if they wanted the extra one back but they responded with that since it was drop shipped from the manufacturer and not an item they carry in store I would have to pay for return shipping. I choose not to return it.
Ask if they want it back?
It is decidedly so
/8ball
If they don’t, resell the second one for $$?
It is decidedly so
/8ball
@narfcake 8ball is very unhelpful
No matter the path you take, keep everything, including any packing slips, emails, etc. Don’t call anyone. Do it in writing with read receipts, or even requiring them to sign for anything mailed. print copies of email and have both electronic and paper copies of record.
@xobzoo good one
It seems like a shady company. I have a feeling they are going to do an “internal audit” and discover that you only paid for one frame. They will then claim that you owe for the second one at their new higher price, but they’ll give you a “discount” for your troubles.
If it were me, I would call them and them to come pick up their stuff. It’s their error, so it’s their bill. You have the original orders and emails, so you should be able to win in court if they try to screw you. However, as @cerridwyn said, get everything in writing. An email followed up with a certified letter with the same content.
@Willijs3 @cerridwyn
yep… keeping all the emails, CS chats, and CS texts i’ve gotten.
i got two UPS tracking numbers - one for base, one for headboard. both numbers only show 1 package each on UPS’s site. i’ve taken screenshots of those in case UPS eventually recycles those tracking numbers. their own shipping email they sent shows only 1 bedframe and 1 headboard was sent.
@carl669 @Cerridwyn @Willijs3 record phone conversations too if you have had any. If your’s is not a one permission state you need to tell them you are recording the conversation if you want to be able to use it later.
@Cerridwyn @Kidsandliz @Willijs3 no phone conversations yet. all previous communication has been via email, text, or CS chat on their page.
I’d say Fuck a lot while I figured out what to do.
Interesting situation, if it’s that company that starts w a “W” and has “just what you need” they will figure it out and they will try to bill you. They will absolutely hound you for extra money.
I may have had an awful experience w them where in the end they refunded all my money. So nice until they then sent me an invoice stating the refund was a clerical error and threatened to send me to collections. I ended up having to pay a second time with a slight 10% discount because it was easier than dealing with them.
Never, ever ordering from them again.
I agree w Cerridwyn and make sure everything is in writing.
@tinamarie1974 nah… it’s not the W company.
Based on the few times I’ve had accidental shipments from the 'zon, it would probably cost them more to deal with getting the product back and reselling it as used than the production cost.
For my own conscience I would likely let them know it happened, and if they care enough to deal with it, they can pick it up when it’s convenient for me. But I’m an excessively honest person, I see nothing wrong with just offloading it on someone for a few bucks to get it out of the garage.
I’d probably contact the company and let them know to pick it up. Not only is that the “right” thing to do but because I hate the hassle of trying to sell something.
From the Federal Trade Commission it looks like it is yours to keep but the ethical thing to do would be to let them know and tell them if they want it back they can pay to have it picked up from your house and shipped back. Also tells you the law disputing credit card bills too in case you need that if you get a double charge.
https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-do-if-youre-billed-things-you-never-got-or-you-get-unordered-products
@Kidsandliz yeah, if they hadn’t pulled done this, i wouldn’t have even considered selling it:
@carl669 Battles like this can be so frustrating. I’ve had a few and it seems like they take forever to sort out so that the “right” thing is done. In the past I have found it helpful to talk with supervisors. That can get you hung up on but then I just call back, ask for a supervisor, report the person who hung up and then get back to the problem at hand. Good luck and I hope your credit card remains being charged with just one and not two. With your paper trail though your credit card, if you have to contest a change, ought to be an easier task.
@carl669 As a precaution, if you have not already done so, you might alert your credit card issuer that any new charges from that merchant should be autodeclined. Some issuers will do that, others aren’t set up for it. If they can, it will head off any attempts at that specific shenanigan.