elsa r.

I am writing about an email I received today from Vitacost.com.

I am on the Vitacost mailing list, and I received a notice that claimed "BOGO 75%" with the remark, "Limited time only. Exclusions may apply. While supplies last."

There was no indication of the time limit (an hour? Til midnight? 24 hours?).

I read the email when it was only 16 hours old.

When I clicked to view the offer, it was already null, with the message, "We're sorry! This sale has ended but you can still buy one get one 50% off".

This email notification seems like a classic bait and switch. It was misleading and dishonest.

I do not want to do business with a company that employs duplicitous practices.

I have sent this same message via the Vitacost service portal.

I also want to cancel my address from the Vitacost mailing list, but this option is not available on the site or within the emails.

This is also a very negative practice - most mailing lists allow a member to directly cancel at any time.

With Vitacost I have to write a personal request!

UPDATE:
Today I received a response from a representative of Vitacost.

First there was an apology for any inconvenience. Regarding my complaint about bait and switch, I received this:

"As disappointed as we were to hear that we didn't exactly hit a home run with you, we really are grateful for your feedback, because it helps us better understand how to meet the needs of the people who matter the most to us—our customers. Thanks so much for taking the time to share your comments."

The representative further explained that there *is* a link to request removal from the mailing list on the promo emails, and said that it had been removed as requested

Well, on *that* point I am satisfied.

Stats: at 90 reviews, almost 1/3 (27) have been rated at 1 star.

I have bought many products from Carmakoma.com, and I generally like them. I have had two occasions where quality was an issue, but the company promptly and cheerfully replaced the items.

HOWEVER if you must return merchandise, it's at your expense and it's horrendously costly to ship or mail to Denmark from the USA.

In January I needed to return 3 pieces of clothing valued at $150.00. The cheapest method was $37.00 using the US Post (UPS quoted me more than double that price).

In March the package was returned to me. According to the return labels marking the package, it arrived at the Danish Post in February but was never picked up by the business, so it was returned to me.

I contacted Carmakoma by email, explaining that the package had arrived in Denmark but the Danish Post claimed it had never been picked up by them. Carmakoma expressed surprise, and suggested that I contact the carrier.

I contacted the Danish Post, who couldn't confirm whether the business had failed to pick up the package, or if the Post had failed to deliver the notification to Carmakoma.

Moral of the story: neither Carmakoma.com nor Danish Post accepted responsibility for the situation.

Through no fault of my own, I am $187.00 out-of-pocket ($37.00 for postage, and $150.00 of merchandise that was never received and therefore impossible to refund).

And I am stuck with 3 items of new clothing that I can't use.

For this reason I would not recommend buying from this site.

I would suggest that Carmakoma.com offer a more economical and reliable solution for returns (prepaid return labels?) for its US customers.

UPDATE:

Within a day or two, a company representative contacted me about my review. She was very nice, and sincerely interested in finding a satisfactory solution. She put me in touch with another representative who also was genuinely interested in solving the problem, and proposed refunding the price of the clothing. I said I would be happy to modify my review once the situation was put right.

I did indeed receive a refund but it was partial, not for the total amount of the clothing. I wrote an email asking about it but I haven't received a reply yet.

My impression is that Carmakoma is a small company and its staff is probably busily multi-tasking (I know that they have just introduced a new website, and are preparing for the introduction of the A/W line), so the partial refund and lack of response may well be due to human error and oversight.

If there is any other info, I will keep Site Jabber posted.

If you ever have a problem with refunds or missing shipments, God help you because Customer Service won't. It simply doesn't exist:

- Emails addressed to *******@asos.com bounce back

- There is no telephone contact listed anywhere

- The so-called Help portal on site addresses only the most typical problems: if your problem isn't listed, you have no way to communicate with Asos.

OCT 2014:
- I am still vainly trying to receive a refund for €138... for an order made in May.
- I haven't received another order but cannot learn why, or where it is.
- I have just discovered a Paypal payment to Asos for an amount that doesn't correspond to any order.

Ottimo sito sia per i prodotti e i prezzi che per le consegne e i rimborsi. Molto corretto e affidabile. Buonissimo il servizio clienti.