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Moral dilemma over something ordered online/over phone


Janeway
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Moral dilemma over order mistake  

46 members have voted

  1. 1. Wrong car seat received, on an order that had been cancelled

    • Call them and arrange to send back
      40
    • Put it up and see if they give you a refund, if they do, then use it. Otherwise, do option one
      1
    • other
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I had a coupon to Buy Buy Baby. So two weeks ago, I ordered a new car seat. Well, I tried anyway. I did it online and it would not apply the coupon. So I called on the phone and they did it that way. They assured me it would be delivered by the following Monday, which was more than a week ago. But when the confirmation email came, it was empty. I called them back and they assured me the order went through and would send me another and that it would be here by Monday last week. I told them that I was planning to go to a town that had a Buy Buy Baby the following weekend so I do not wish to order online if it was not going to arrive before then. They confirmed that it would indeed be there by Monday. Then Monday came and went with no delivery and no additional email. Finally, on Wednesday, I called them back and told them what happened and they apologized and offered me a 20% off coupon for my next order (whoopie, I get those in the mail constantly, and email). I told them if I did not have it before the weekend, I do not want it. The lady assured me it should be here any day now.

 

On Thursday, I got an email saying that my order was being prepared to ship and they would send another email when it ships. Ummm...not ok! I went on their website and emailed the company and included the order number and everything and explained what had happened and how upset I was and this order should have been cancelled when it was not going to arrive by the weekend, and I never should have been told it was going to be here by the previous Monday. This Monday, I get an answer from Buy Buy Baby apologizing for all that happened and informing they had cancelled the order and I would see a refund on my credit card in the next 7-10 days. OK..fine!

 

Get home just now and find the car seat on my door step, and in pink. I did not order it in pink. It is a seat for my son. <deep sigh>

 

Now what would you do?

 

-call them again and try to arrange to ship it back

-don't open the car seat and leave in garage. If they give me the refund, then figure it is a free car seat, don't tell son it is pink, maybe he won't notice or complain. 

 

Obviously, option one is the most morally correct. But option two seems like it fits the situation more. It is a Chicco Key Fit booster.

 

edited to add: I think I will do option one and just call them and arrange to send it back. But it is frustrating that they have messed this up so much. And now I am worried they will charge me for the shipping.

Edited by Janeway
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Something similar happened to me with a stroller/car seat combo I ordered. The tracking said it was in transit. Never showed up when it said it would be here. Called and they sent another one that I received in three days. The next day, the first one showed up. I called them up and told them both came and they told me to keep it. So I did. 

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Call them and explain the mistake, and that it is merely the last in a series of mistakes -- tell them you will send the seat back (of course) but they'll have to pay for shipping. (As in send the label and a UPS truck, and you'll have it ready on the porch.)

 

Hold out for that refund.

Edited by Tibbie Dunbar
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Maybe I'm a horrible person but I'd keep it and watch for the refund. My time has value (she says as she plays on her phone) and you have already spent enough time calling and emailing. Imagine how long it will take to explain the situation to yet another CS rep?!? What if they ask you to drive it to the UPS store? No, I'd keep the seat and the refund and not shop there again.

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once dh ordered a new computer but I had seen a plane from that shipping carrier had caught fire the same week we expected it.  Sure enough they send a new computer so we guessed the other one had burned up in the fire.  Instead it showed up a few weeks later.  DH wanted to keep it but it felt wrong.  He waited a few weeks to see if they asked about it.  Finally he called and they wanted it back.  He was pissed they didn't offer some discount on other products or something b/c they didn't know we had this other computer!   

But still, call and get it returned.  What a mess it's been.  Ask for a better coupon that what they give everyone ;-)

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Once I did not receive a pair of winter boots I ordered from Lands End.  It showed it was delivered, but I never got it.  They sent another pair.  Something like 6 months later the original pair was given to us by a neighbor who had it delivered to her on accident.  I kept meaning to call and ask what I should do, but got really busy.  Eventually we were moving and time got away from me, then it was about year later.  I gave them them to a friend.  But I still think about them and feel guilty that I did not call and return them.  So call!

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I'd probably try to return it, so that's what I voted, but honestly, I don't think you're in the wrong morally to keep it. They really screwed up multiple times in multiple ways and cost you a bunch of time. If you think he won't mind the pink (neither of my ds would have minded - one would have actually preferred it during the carseat age years, though now he's like, what, I hate pink!), I might keep it just to avoid having to deal with them any more, especially if the refund comes through.

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A year after we got married, a box showed up filled with very nice things from our registry at Bed, Bath and Beyond. I had not had a wedding shower and we hadn't gotten much off of the registry, and these were things we could use, so it was a pleasant surprise. After looking at the packing slip, though, I realized it was a mistake. Someone had ordered off of our registry thinking it was someone else's. I did the right thing(I was sad, though, we didn't have much money and these really were items I truly needed) and called the company. They figured out the problem, contacted the sender and told me to set the package out on our porch and UPS would pick it up within 48 hours. They never showed up, so I got to keep it after all.

 

But at least I tried to do the right thing. Call the company; whatever they want to do is the moral and ethical thing to do.

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Bank error in your favor. Collect $200.

 

I mean, I see that you are going to call, that's fine. But it's a little absurd to me that they can mess up that many times in a row , waste your time over and over and over again, send you something you didn't want, and the  moral thing to do is to call them to ask if they can waste more of your time with return shipping nonsense.

 

 

Edited by poppy
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Bank error in your favor. Collect $200.

 

I mean, I see that you are going to call, that's fine. But it's a little absurd to me that they can mess up that many times in a row , waste your time over and over and over again, send you something you didn't want, and the moral thing to do is to call them to ask if they can waste more of your time with return shipping nonsense.

It was actually just the booster, and with a coupon. So after taxes and all, $85,

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Do what Jean in Newcastle said, upthread.

 

If they let you keep it, rather than storing it in your garage, give it to someone in need of a pink carseat.  

 

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once dh ordered a new computer but I had seen a plane from that shipping carrier had caught fire the same week we expected it.  Sure enough they send a new computer so we guessed the other one had burned up in the fire.  Instead it showed up a few weeks later.  DH wanted to keep it but it felt wrong.  He waited a few weeks to see if they asked about it.  Finally he called and they wanted it back.  He was pissed they didn't offer some discount on other products or something b/c they didn't know we had this other computer!   

 

But still, call and get it returned.  What a mess it's been.  Ask for a better coupon that what they give everyone ;-)

 

I'm surprised they asked for it back. We ordered a laptop years ago and they sent us one. Then a week or so later another showed up exactly like it. I have no idea why or how we got another one because there'd been no order confusion. We called to arrange for it to be sent back and they told us to keep it. They said that legally if a company sends something unsolicited to a customer that they can't demand payment or return. 

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Bank error in your favor. Collect $200.

 

 

 

that doesn't work in real life - when the bank figures out their error -they come looking for the money.  legal precedent in court rulings has been on their side.  (some of these incidents have ended up in court - the person who spent the money the bank mistakenly put in their account - is legally obligated to pay it back.)

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that doesn't work in real life - when the bank figures out their error -they come looking for the money. legal precedent in court rulings has been on their side. (some of these incidents have ended up in court - the person who spent the money the bank mistakenly put in their account - is legally obligated to pay it back.)

It was a metaphor / monopoly quote.

 

I have read that if a company sends you a product you didn't ask for , you are not obligated to pay for it or return it. Basically companies can't force you to buy stuff by sending it you you. That's not precisely what happened here , but it's good info to have in general (like the bank error info) .

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I would absolutely refuse to pay shipping on it for sure.  I'd call them and I would be very angry and ask to speak with a manager about it.  Then I'd go from there.  Unless a courier showed up at my door to take it, it would not be going back. 

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It was a metaphor / monopoly quote.

 

I have read that if a company sends you a product you didn't ask for , you are not obligated to pay for it or return it. Basically companies can't force you to buy stuff by sending it you you. That's not precisely what happened here , but it's good info to have in general (like the bank error info) .

 

I'm well aware of where the quote came from.

 

she ordered a car seat - so the company didn't sent her something she didn't originally order. (except the color was wrong. - frequently happens because the person pulling the order grabs the wrong one.)

 

she attempted to cancel the order. it didn't register in the system as cancelled,  and  . . . she got a seat she tried to cancel because she wouldn't get it in time.

 

I'm saddened there are people who think she should just keep it without saying anything.

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I'm well aware of where the quote came from.

 

she ordered a car seat - so the company didn't sent her something she didn't originally order. (except the color was wrong. - frequently happens because the person pulling the order grabs the wrong one.)

 

she attempted to cancel the order. it didn't register in the system as cancelled, and . . . she got a seat she tried to cancel because she wouldn't get it in time.

 

I'm saddened there are people who think she should just keep it without saying anything.

Given the long list of mistakes listed, I think it's weird to think the only possibility for getting the wrong color is HER error. She has a pink seat she didn't want. Now she has to call, print a label , find the packing tape , and drag it off at a UPS store.... I hate going there if I'm dragging kiddos. It doesn't make me particularly sad to think of not bothering to take those steps .

 

I don't know what I'd do, honestly. She already said she's calling.

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Don't forget the fact that I said in the first place that if I couldn't get it by a certain date, I didn't want it as I would be traveling to a town with their store and would pick it up myself. They seemingly didn't even ship it for an entire week after. It is not like I made only one call or tried to cancel after it shipped. I made three calls to them before it ever shipped. And the confirmation email was blank. I never even got a tracking number at any point or actual order confirmation even.

Edited by Janeway
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It was a metaphor / monopoly quote.

 

I have read that if a company sends you a product you didn't ask for , you are not obligated to pay for it or return it. Basically companies can't force you to buy stuff by sending it you you. That's not precisely what happened here , but it's good info to have in general (like the bank error info) .

 

That is true if the items are sent through the USPS. I don't know if it's true if other carriers are used, though.

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They said that legally if a company sends something unsolicited to a customer that they can't demand payment or return.

I did have that happen to me years ago... a company has tried to sell me something over the phone -books I think-tank and I had said no. Books arrived, and I ignored the payment request. Well at some point they called... I told them that I had not ordered the books, that I had said that I did not want them and that legally I do not have to pay for them, and thanks for the gift.

 

Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk

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Don't forget the fact that I said in the first place that if I couldn't get it by a certain date, I didn't want it as I would be traveling to a town with their store and would pick it up myself. They seemingly didn't even ship it for an entire week after. It is not like I made only one call or tried to cancel after it shipped. I made three calls to them before it ever shipped. And the confirmation email was blank. I never even got a tracking number at any point or actual order confirmation even.

 

That would mean for me never to do business with this company again.

It would not mean keeping the merchandise, unless the company told me to because they did not find getting it shipped back worth the cost.

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I would contact them and ask to speak to a supervisor. I'd get the supervisor's name and tell them I was calling simply as a courtesy to let them know of their latest mistake. I'd be sure to outline the whole miserable process and highlight how many times I'd contacted them previously about the order so they'd know what a mess it's all been. They can have the booster/carseat back but I wouldn't be doing squat to help them other than put it on the front porch. They have XX days to pick it up. (Not going to clutter my porch indefinitely.) Then I'd send a scathing letter to the company CEO explaining what happened and how they wouldn't be seeing me as a customer again. I'd name names if I had them, too. Somebody there needs retraining.

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Don't forget the fact that I said in the first place that if I couldn't get it by a certain date, I didn't want it as I would be traveling to a town with their store and would pick it up myself. They seemingly didn't even ship it for an entire week after. It is not like I made only one call or tried to cancel after it shipped. I made three calls to them before it ever shipped. And the confirmation email was blank. I never even got a tracking number at any point or actual order confirmation even.

 

It sounds like you are looking for confirmation that it's ok to keep it.  

 

Legally, you are probably in the clear.  

 

Whether or not legality determines morality is for you to decide.  Do what feels right.  

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I would not communicate with them by phone. I would send them an email or chat with them, so it is in Black and White. Easier to understand and better documented.  I would try to summarize what has happened. I would tell them to have the Shipping Carrier come to my house and pick it up and that they pay for it.  I would explain to the bank that issued the credit card that there is an issue and ask the bank to remove any charges related to this.  I would probably not order from a company like that again.  

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The company is at fault and needs to send a shipping label pre paid. You need to contact your credit card company. I had something similar happen and customer service were impossible until the cc customer service called them. Realizing they might not get paid made them suddenly decide to shape up.

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I have already emailed and still waiting for an answer. I do not want to call because of the problems with that. I am now thinking I will make a special trip and return it directly to the store so they can issue me the refund on the spot.

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I have already emailed and still waiting for an answer. I do not want to call because of the problems with that. I am now thinking I will make a special trip and return it directly to the store so they can issue me the refund on the spot.

 

The store is likely to only be able to do a credit card refund to the credit card you originally used. Do you at least have a receipt? And check your credit card online, as they may have already processed the refund.

Edited by QueenCat
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Since it didn't arrive when you thought it should, did you buy the car seat at the store in person? You mentioned you'd be going to that store soon so if it couldn't be delivered in time you'd just buy it there. 

 

If you haven't bought it, why not just exchange it at the store for the right color? 

 

If you return it and get your money back and then they process the return they promised a day or two ago, what will you do?

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