Grrrrrrrr... need to vent- halloweenexpress.com (long)

[Starshine]

I am absolutely furious right now, and since customer service at halloweenexpress.com doesn't open until 10am I need to do some venting!

So here's the scoop... On Monday I ordered 2 Ghostbusters costumes from them for my husband and I to wear to a party on Halloween. They have "guaranteed Halloween delivery" which was stated during the checkout process. I got a tracking number the same day which listed my order as shipped and due to arrive yesterday. Last night I got home, opened the package, and I only received ONE costume. The packing slip says I ordered 2, and handwritten on the slip it says they shipped 2. The package was a plastic envelope and it had never been opened or tampered with. I called Halloween Express right away, and was told I need to send an email to customer service they can't do anything over the phone. I live in the middle of nowhere and only have reliable internet access here at work (20 minute drive from home), so I explained this to the rep and she said she would make a note on my order but it was really best to send an email. I went ahead and sent them an email from my cell phone (I'll have to pay the messaging fee but I figured 30 cents is well worth it). About an hour later I got a message back (another 30 cents LOL) stating that the costume was now out of stock and they were issuing a refund for 1 costume which would appear on my credit card in 1-2 months.

Great, now we are going to have to scramble at the last minute to get costumes, but oh well, we'll cope. However, the one costume I have isn't going to do me a bit of good so I called customer service back again to ask for a return label. The rep puts me on hold about 5 minutes and comes back to say that they will waive the restocking fee if I ship the costume back at MY expense. WHAT??!?!?!? I explained that it was their mistake causing me to have to return the costume and I did not feel I should be responsible for return shipping. She responded that she spoke with her manager and was told that there is nothing they can do. I asked to speak with the manager myself, and she said "Well fine but it'll be at LEAST 30 minutes before she can talk to you". I stayed on the phone for 45 minutes before I got disconnected. I called back again and got a different rep this time. He said there was nothing they could do there and I needed to email customer service again. I was so angry at this point that I emailed them again right away (30 cents again ) with the following (this was in reply to their email stating they were giving me a credit for the missing costume):

Hi, Unfortunately, because I need a pair of the costumes, one is not sufficient. Please send me a return label so that I can return the first costume and issue me a credit for that one as well.

Almost right away I get this reply:

Hello. We received your email. Here's a link to information on how to initiate a return for an item: http://www.halloweenexpress.com/returns-how-to.php. Just follow the instructions on how to return this item. You should, however, immediately order the other items, so they will ship as quickly as possible. We will refund the cost of the item (exclusive of shipping) once we receive the item back in accordance with our refund and return policy. You will receive further instructions on this process once you initiate the return. Thank you for shopping at http://www.halloweenexpress.com/ .

Aaaagggggggh!!! So I reply with this:

Thanks so much for the quick reply. I can certainly follow the instructions in the link, however, because it was your error in sending me the incorrect quantity, I am requesting that you pay the return shipping. Should I still use the link? Thanks again.

According to their website, customer service hours are 10am to 10pm EST, and this was about 8pm EST. I replied to the same email address I had been corresponding with all evening, and this time I get THIS reply:

AUTOMATED RESPONSE - DO NOT REPLY We received your email communication. If you are writing to us about an order you placed (or a problem related to an order), it is VERY IMPORTANT you use the form on our website. Sending an email to this general catch-all email address will delay our response time. Use the below link and select the most appropriate reason for your email from the drop down box. Here's the link for order related issues:http://www.halloweenexpress.com/contact_us-email.php For all other inquires, we will respond to your question or concern as quickly as possible. In the mean time, we urge you to read our FAQs online. Our experience has been that most all questions can be answered quickly by simply reading the Frequently Asked Questions we have posted online. Here is a link to assist you: http://www.HalloweenExpress.com/faq.php. www.HalloweenExpress.com

Now all of a sudden it's an automated reply and I'm not supposed to email them but fill out a form instead??? And of course I can't fill out the form from home so I was stuck. At this point I was so furious from getting the runaround all night (I called them the first time around 5pm) that I was almost in tears. (Totally off the subject, but when I get really really angry I cry and I HATE it that I do that but I can never seem to stop myself ).

Anyway, I filled out the form first thing this morning and now I can do nothing but wait. Except vent here to make myself feel better

I haven't even gotten an automated message saying they received my form submission so I'm not sure that will get me anywhere either. If I don't hear anything I'll call them again and see if they will actually talk to me. I'm trying very hard to be nice, since I know yelling at them will make it worse. I guess I'm so used to Disney customer service that I'm in shock at the way they are acting with me.

I'm not out of line expecting them to pay the return shipping am I? If they had called me to say they only had one in stock I would have cancelled the order before it even shipped.

[ilovejack02]

Call your credit card company and see if they can help you and no I don't think you are out of line wanting the return shipping free.

[hrh_disney_queen]

You are not out of line. It was entirely their fault, and I think once you get a human being in charge you will get it straightened out.

Since you are now in a pinch, I was going to suggest that you start a thread asking for ideas about fast and easy couple costumes. I don't really have any suggestions right now, but maybe someone will come up with something that you can throw together quickly-they are a creative bunch here on the Dis!

[MaryAnnDVC]

I got agida just reading that. It is SO frustrating sometimes dealing with customer service. I had a situation a few weeks ago with my mother's mail order meds (they dropped her from their plan, and I spent days trying to find out why) and I finally got someone who felt so sorry for me because I was on the verge of tears and my voice was shakey, I thought she was going to come to my house and make me tea. And she finally got to the bottom of it. (Meanwhile, my mom was running out of one prescription, and I didn't want her to know anything that was going on because she's 86 and gets all nervous about these things!)

I don't think you're out of line at all. I didn't click on the link, and don't know anything about the company, but it would make sense that they'd inform you ASAP if there was a problem with the order, ie, an item out of stock. Especially for something like Halloween costumes, because of the very situation you're in...you want costumes that match. That's like ordering 3 sets of curtains, and they only send two because they're out of stock. What good is that?

I don't think you should have to pay the return shipping, and they should refund the original shipping charge. Unfortunately for you, I don't work for the company. Good luck tho. I'll keep checking back...I'd love to know how this turns out.

[anniemae]

I feel your pain. I had huge issues with Rachel Ray magazine. I was receiving two issues every month for some reason and the person I ordered a gift subscription for was not receiving any issues. Basically, I had a subscription for myself AND I gave a year's subscription to someone as a gift, but I was receiving BOTH issues.

It took forever to straighten out, first they did not have a phone # anywhere to call and said they preferred e-mail. So I e-mailed them and kept receiving strange responses, like whoever was e-mailing me back had no idea what the problem was. They just kept saying, "we will take care of it." But each month I would receive 2 issues, and my gift recipient would not receive any.
Every time I e-mailed they would assure me it was taken care of, or I would receive an automated response, but they never really "got' what the problem was, and I kept asking for reassurance that my gift recipent would receive the magazine, not to just delete one issue to me, but to delete one issue and re-issuing it to my friend. So frustrating!

So I don't have any advice, but I know how frustrating it is.

[Starshine]

Thanks everyone! It helps to know I'm not the only one that runs into stuff like this (misery loves company ) I got another email saying they are checking into it further, so I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt until lunch time.

hrh_disney_queen that's a good idea to ask for costume ideas, thanks! DH just wants to wear our Renaissance Faire costumes, but the thought of spending the evening playing party games in my corset is making me wince.

[hrh_disney_queen]

Originally Posted by Starshine

Thanks everyone! It helps to know I'm not the only one that runs into stuff like this (misery loves company ) I got another email saying they are checking into it further, so I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt until lunch time.

hrh_disney_queen that's a good idea to ask for costume ideas, thanks! DH just wants to wear our Renaissance Faire costumes, but the thought of spending the evening playing party games in my corset is making me wince.

You are welcome! Corset? I am crying just thinking about it!

[Starshine]

UPDATE- good news!!!!!

I just got the email that I should have gotten last night-

Hello. We are writing to inform you that as you requested we have emailed you a UPS Call Tag. The email will be from UPS and will have an attached label that you can print out and attach to your return package. The UPS Label will cover all return shipping cost. Once you have attached the label, you can drop off the package at any UPS store or with any driver. Please retain a copy of the return tracking number for your records. We apologize for this inconvenience. We appreciate your business and understanding in this matter. Thanks.

I have no earthly idea why they were so terrible about it yesterday unless someone was having a really bad day. Hopefully when I get the credit on my card it will be the full amount so I don't have to fight again.

[pixiewings71]

How lame!!! Yes, they messed up so they should pay your return shipping and not charge you a restocking fee!! How pathetic!!! I'm glad they finally sent you the return label and I'm sorry you had such trouble last night.