Houzz

HOUZZ sold me a USED Security Camera as new. After weeks of communication, HOUZZ was not helpful. How would you know if your HOUZZ product was "USED" not new?

Let's start from the beginning.
I ordered a NEW Maximus Floodlight Camera Motion-Activated HD Security Cam Two-Way Talk and Siren from HOUZZ. The HOUZZ vendor was Mooseled. Great buy!

The delivery service sent an email that my Security Camera was delivered but I had not received it. Calling the delivery service, I got the address to which "my camera" was delivered--- the county Jail! That has never been my residence! They refused to deliver the camera to my home. I had to retrieve the pristine unopened package from the Sheriff's Office!

Next step was to have the camera installed. But, the mounting bracket was not in the new-box package. My installer spent considerable time setting up a makeshift bracket and getting it hooked to power. Then the big surprise! Once powered, we called KUNE to activate the camera but were informed that this was a used camera. It was already registered to someone else. It was locked and could not be activated.

We spent weeks asking HOUZZ for a remedy. HOUZZ only wanted the camera back before any exchange. But, returning the camera before receiving a new (really new) one, would need 2 service calls --- one to take the USED camera down, deal with open wires and another to install the NEW camera.

I tried every kind of bargain for weeks. Finally, I offered my credit card as guarantee to receive the new camera and then return the old. No good. I offered to buy a second "new" camera so they could send it and I could replace my old with one service call. Then I would return the USED Camera and install the second new camera somewhere else. Not even a response.

I have talked to other people who have had problems with HOUZZ. Mine was with HOUZZ vendor Mooseled. I ask you, "How would you know if your HOUZZ product was new or used--- unless you discovered it was already registered to someone else"? Would you receive a used product in a factory box and presume it was new?

I am very disappointed and share my experience for your judgment and your information. Make an informed decision when purchasing from this company

Quick and easy. The hardest part was finding what I wanted because I am such a picky shopper

LegitimacyReceived Tuesday, Jan 24th as a text message from *******358
Hi, I'm Mrs. Mahonne, I'm currently in Florida and in the process of relocating to your area. I got your contact on Houzz and I'll be needing an interior decorator to do styling (staging) of items we have just in our new house we are moving to next month. Kindly email me at *******@gmail.com so I can email you with details. Thank you.

Next email was:

I really appreciate your response and I'm glad to read from you am moving to 5244 Cangas Dr, Agoura Hills, CA *******.
Once again my name is Brittany Mahonne, I attended Texas School for the Deaf where i achieved my highest qualification. I have my own business (Self Employed). I attend the catholic 36yrs and i am hard of hearing. I work based on the development and counseling of the deaf people in the community, I'm married and I have a two boys 7 months baby and 3yrs, Mark. My husband is a Software Developer and System Engineer, We are in the process of relocating to your area with my husband who based in London, UK he just secured a good job here and he's to resume first-week in (Feb 18th, 2017).
Do you take certified check... ***Huge RED flags folks, just researched and this is widespread and they usually say very similar things with different names. Do not cash any checks, but call the bank it was issued from to confirm legitimacy before doing so. OR, ONLY ACCEPT PAYPAL, Venmo, Western Union or Cash.

Just a heads up!

I love that I can count on Houzz to have competitive pricing and offer lots of options.

I was initially earnestly skeptical and for good reason. The reviews here, there.,.everywhere are cut throat, so I hesitated, Let me be clear, I can't review this service in it's entirety yet as I've not been fully immersed or The experience to this point, so far, is off the charts. What immediately struck me was how natural the split interface felt color coded blue & green. Had a slow start trying to figure how to navigate between personal and professional accounts. I maybe slow sometimes but that was a kill joy. I couldn't exactly find where to login for Pros because with some of the accessible PRO's features available while logged off which shares profile data/information with the personal account made me think 'it's the way'. Houzz has a massive stack of features with a split personality. My thinking at the time was someone forgot to flip the switch, but that didn't sit right. I still had more avenues to explore, then at last...the login. While waiting for my brain to catch up, and not so much time, I watched most of the videos, rendered my house in 3D furnishing it with decadence. Once in the know how it got real quick which happened coincidently just 20 before the onboarding. The original zoom meet with support was a week from today. Hoping someone would cancel, I was put on standby. The following day they scheduled me 5 days later putting that person after hours. They made it happen, good for me. The 1 on 1 Webinar took me from a newbie to proficiently functional +\-1/hr.

Waiting for the paint to dry, with no more to report at this time. Seems premature for Houzz to solicit reviews, however Houzz software as a service is some kind of special. But there's room for improvement. 1) When searching for services, include local area estimates based on market data. 2) The clip feature is limited to Pros...why? Clients will spend more time...Houzz Shopping. 3) Integrate clients purchases/cart in items with clients build plan rendering a 3D model.

HOUZZ REVIEW I AM FORCED HERE TO GIVE ONE STAR - THEY DESERVE NONE. YOU CANNOT POST A REVIEW WITHOUT ADDING A STAR - A RIDICULOUS POLICY. AND AN OPTION TO GIVE THEM A MINUS TEN STAR OPTION IS NOT GIVEN.

MY BADLY PACKAGED ITEM ARRIVED WITH GLASS BROKEN AND THEN I GOT LECTURED BY HOUZZ CUSTOMER SERVICE AGENT AS WELL!

NOT ONLY WILL MY FIVE YEAR OLD GRANDSON NOW BE UPSET AFTER BEING EXCITED ABOUT GETTING HIS BIRTHDAY GIFT TOMORROW, TO MAKE IT WORSE CUSTOMER AGENT PREFERRED TO LECTURE ME RATHER THAN APOLOGIZE IMMEDIATELY AND MAKE A CUSTOMER WHO HAS BEEN SENT (AND DISAPPOINTED BY) BROKEN GOODS FEEL BETTER.

DON'T ORDER THIS ITEM OR ANYTHING ELSE FROM THIS COMPANY IF YOU WANT IT UNBROKEN OR DECENT OR DECENT, POLITE SERVICE. BELIEVE ME - YOU ARE RISKING YOUR TIME AND MONEY AND LIKELY TO BE SPOKEN TO UNPLEASANTLY IF YOU CALL TO SAY ANYTHING AT ALL ABOUT BROKEN GOODS.

I AM TELLING YOU SHOPPING ELSEWHERE IS A BETTER CHOICE.

IT IS BAD ENOUGH TO GET BROKEN ITEMS TO START WITH, BUT I WAS ALSO TREATED TO IGNORANTLY AND RUDELY STATED, REPETITIONS ALONG WITH A LECTURING VOICE AFTER HOUZZ LET ME DOWN. I ONLY NEEDED TO ORDER ONCE TO KNOW I WILL NEVER EVER PURCHASE FROM HOUZZ AGAIN.

PLEASE DON"T EXPECT ANYTHING LESS IF YOU CALL THEM AS YOU TOO WILL LIKELY GET ATTITUDE IF YOU CALL.

THERE IS A 'DUH" FACTOR INVOLVED HERE WITH SUCH EMPLOYEES: IF THEY WERE CAPABLE OF WORKING OUT THAT REPEAT BUSINESS MEANS THEY GET A SALARY AND THEREFORE THEY HAVE EVERY OBLIGATION TO BE NICE - AND SHOW GRATITUDE TOO - TO CUSTOMERS, IT MIGHT MEAN FEWER OF THEM HAVE THE NERVE TO BE CONDESCENDING RATHER THAN GRACIOUSLY HELPFUL.

PR PROBLEM HERE OBVIOUSLY ALONG WITH THE ILL TREATMENT.

AND DESPITE TELLING THE AGENT EACH TIME IN RESPONSE TO THOSE RUDELY STATED CONDESCENDING REPETITIONS THAT I AM NOT STUPID AND HAD ALREADY HEARD WHAT SHE SAID WITH TO BEGIN WITH, SHE KEPT IT UP AND DID IT A TOTAL OF 5 TIMES. OMG! I MEAN WOW! SERIOUSLY? SO I TOLD HER AGAIN TO STOP BUT SHE WOULD NOT LET UP.

IF YOU WANT GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE YOU WILL NOT GET IT HERE.

Initially contact was good but when I ran into a major problem things were not handled properly. I ordered Anne's for my daughter and the company houzz uses for delivery informed me that I would have to have multiple people there to pull it off the truck myself and carry it in, it weighs over 300lbs! They told me they could give me no information as to what time of day it would delivered which gave me a 8 hour window that I had to have people at my house, waiting for a delivery, that I was supposed to unload myself? To make matters worse, when the pieces arrived, all the boxes were majorly damaged and you could see the damaged pieces through the beat up boxes. Why would any company bring these boxes to someone's home in that condition. I called Houzz and explained the situation, initially they were very concerned and "seemed" eager to help stating they would definitely be offering me a discount for all the trouble and asked that I send them pictures of the damaged boxes. Once I sent them the photos and inquired about the delivery of a new bed, communication became very poor. Every time I asked about the discount I was never given a straight answer on that, a new delivery time and other questions I inquired about. At one point, the customer service stated that "they" wouldn't be charging "me" any extra for rejecting the piece and supplying me with a non damaged one, huh? That was just crazy, of course you aren't going to charge me for something that I had to refuse because it was damaged. When I told them that, and that they offered me something for all the trouble which I felt was very appropriate and pushed the subject over a couple of emails because it was clear they weren't going to follow through, they offered me a 5% discount, resulting in $65, really?

Two big issues-
1) Mistakenly ordered something with an expired card on file at Houzz. 10 seconds later tried to cancel the order - Houzz has no "cancel order" option. Had to hit "replace or return" option, which sent the order into a death spiral 1) "We'll contact you w/in 24 hrs" - never happened - black hole with no communications for three days. 2) Called on third day and was assured by CSR she would get right back to me - never happened. 3)Finally got a cancellation email three days late, but nothing on their website said the order was cancelled. It just disappeared (did it ship? Was I charged? Was it cancelled? Who knows!)

2) Ordered the same product within a minute of the first order for $899.00 because the shipping timeline said it would arrive three days faster than another online vendor. 1) Checked order status for three days - hadn't shipped. 2) Third day it was supposed to arrive - called and it hadn't shipped. CSR said they would find out why and get right back to me. He also committed to asking the vendor if they would send the order 2-day air since they were already past the advertised arrival date and it hadn't even shipped. You guessed it - no response. Got a Fedex email today saying it would arrive seven days after the first advertised arrival date. Nothing from Houzz. 3) Called again today - turns out Houzz stalled the order for four days just to verify my address!

Backstory - since the early 1980s the post office sent out address verifications every 30 days that allow a retailer to verify an address and the occupant in less than 1 second - all software systems have run on that for 35+ years, except apparently Houzz, which must be using a donkey and grinding wheel. And I had already ordered a high ticket item two weeks earlier - no need to take three days to reconfirm our address.

But why did the CSR commit to trying to get the vendor to eat the faster shipping? They had nothing to do with the order being late. It was all on the back of Houzz's donkey.

Sadly, back to Amazon, where mistaken orders get cancelled in seconds and software, not a donkey and a grinding wheel, verifies addresses.

On Nov. 6,2015 I purchased a lamp (item #SKU: AD -4173-*******) from HOUZZ. I had been looking for a wireless, operated lamp for a space in my home that needs light but has no receptacle. This lamp was advertised on all the sites showing the type of lamp I needed. First I got no confirmation of the sale and as it didn't come in a timely manner I tried to find a customer service telephone #. I wrote up a negative review and then received a receipt giving an order # of 1517-1556-9696-2268 and an arrival time window. When the lamp arrived it was a plug-in type which I couldn't use. Since HOUZZ provides no customer service number anywhere I went back to that receipt and there was a number on it and I left a voice mail. In return I got a call telling me they would notify the vendor to whom I would have to send it back. I contacted HOUZZ to tell them I needed a return label with the weight, and address. They had provided me with an address and a telephone number for the vendor – Arcadia Lighting which when called we are told that they don't answer calls. I cannot get out as I am coming down from chemotherapy and am too weak and exhausted to go out to a post office. I gave up purchased a postal scale, and prepared a label on my own which included the demanded insurance, the postage and restocking fee the vendor requires the total:$71.24. When I typed up the label it came back that the vendor's address was "undeliverable." It appears that the entire exercise is designed so that the customer will simply give up as no return is possible and they have made their profit and the customer is stuck with an unusable item.

After contacting the BBB of Chino, CA (location of HOUZZ) and the IL Sec. Of State they finally responded but only to tell me over and over again that I had missed the window for a return. I explained for the umpteenth time that I had not been given a valid address or telephone # to enable me to return the lamp. They finally sent me a label and I sent the lamp back. They emailed me that I was to receive a refund of $62 for the $98 it had cost me and the refund is still not showing in my account.

We have had a Houzz Pro account for about 2 years. I just started managing the account in July 2019 and we got a new account manager with houzz at that time Mark Baria! At the beginning I was in contact with Mark and requested information about our billing so that I can keep track of our marketing budget. In that email he included our contract, but never went over the account with me in detail. Which I feel he should have done knowing that I was a new manager here. He also mentioned that he would be in contact with me within 6-8 weeks and update our account with photos. He never contacted me unless I reached out first and there was always a long delay to hear back from him. Our profile page was not updated with information and photos as promised until just recently when I expressed concerns about canceling our account.

I have been keeping track of all our sales and haven't seen very many results with Houzz. So I contacted Mark on October 1,2019 because I wanted to discuss our account about canceling. At this time he never once mentioned our contract that we had a deadline to cancel and that our account would be renewed. Instead he deceivingly hid that information from me and offered to expand our geographical reach to customers.

After about a month of this we still have not seen any result. So I emailed him again around October 28,2019 to cancel our account. It just wasn't working for us as a small business.

Again he NEVER mentions the contract and that it was already too late to cancel. He just says lets set up a meeting to discuss further.

Finally we speak today Novermber 5,2019 and he again tries to convince me about the the account and what it has to offer but after his Speech I still wanted to CANCEL So then he finally says, " well actually it's in the contract that you had to cancel on October 8,2019 and you're locked into a contract for another year of paying $580/month." RIDICULOUS!

Hopefully I am getting the promo price of $425.60. Otherwise all is well. Right price…