supplier caution

[Guest OldGlory]

I would hope that someone would warn me if a supplier is behaving unethically - and so I will offer this information:

 

On 6/12 I ordered 3 small items from a supplier. The business was closed but said it would reopen on 6/15. On 6/15 I got an email from the supplier saying my order had been processed.

 

On 6/22 I went back to their website to check the status of my order ( a link from their previous email ), and there was only the page saying my order had been processed. Nothing about shipping. On the home page of the website there was a note stating they hoped to get all the backorders out by 6/22. So I was hoping mine had gone out.

 

On 6/22 I called the website. No answer. Called again no answer. I emailed the website, asking only if they could tell me when my small order would be shipped. No response until the next day at 11:58 pm. The email offered several excuses about why they were delayed and said they had no idea when my order would be shipped.

 

On 6/28 I emailed the website, telling them if they couldn't get my order out on Monday 6/29 and provide me with tracking information for 6/29 that I needed them to cancel my order and refund my $74. No response.

 

On 6/29, yesterday, I emailed them again and stated that my order should have been cancelled and that I would be waiting for a refund.

 

NO RESPONSE.

 

I am really fed up with this supplier, and I have a hunch I will never see that $74 - which is theft.

Please, please be careful when dealing with Oregon Trails.

[Belinda]

Oh wow. I've never ordered from them but am sure thankful to get the info. I really hope you get your money back!

[8-GRAN-ONES]

old glory...if you paid thru paypal...you can contact them..for non shipment..

i would say you would get your refund that way..

[kandlekrazy]

Wow, they used to be reputable.  I haven't used them in over 5 years.

[Guest OldGlory]

old glory...if you paid thru paypal...you can contact them..for non shipment..

i would say you would get your refund that way..

I don't use paypal. I promise to update if this is resolved. Just makes me ill.

[8-GRAN-ONES]

Old glory. .were you aware that they were moving from Oregon to idaho?

Hopefully they will get it all going right away. .sometimes a move takes longer than planned. .

[Guest OldGlory]

Yes I was fully aware they were moving. See above, "The business was closed but said they would reopen on 6/15." 

 

I knew it was going to take a week or so to get shipped. I had no problem with that. If they had shipped it on 6/29 it would have been fine. That's 2 full weeks after they took my payment. And, it would be fine if they just refunded my money so I can buy it elsewhere.

 

The problems are 1) they can't tell me when my product was shipped or if it will be shipped, 2) they took the money for the product on 6/15, 3) they stopped communicating with me completely.

[justajesuschick]

I had never ordered from them and happened to have them come up in a scent search so I went out and placed an order on 6/7. I saw the mention then of them being closed. The week of 6/15 I went to see if there was an update to my order and saw the note (see attachment) on the website. I knew that meant they were just beginning to ship order several days after expected. I got my order on Monday of this week. I was also credited (through PayPal) as I chose a more expensive shipping method and they were able to ship in a small flat rate box as I ordered just 4, 2 ounce bottles. The oil will have to blow me away once in wax as I am not impressed OOB for me to order again.

Hopefully your order will arrive or you will see a credit come through quickly. I got the idea that they have been around for some time as they come up often when I search here. 

[Guest OldGlory]

Yes, that's the same spot they posted the first notification that said they would reopen on 6/15.

I emailed them thru their website on 6/24, saying that I had emailed and called but  hadn't received tracking info yet, and could someone tell me when my package would ship?

 

This is the response I got (6/26 11:58 pm):

 

"We just got email set up so I can understand that.   Where we are now, my phone service did not work so I
Had to switch to Verizon.  (NOT what I wanted).  My daughter just came in no more than 2-3 minutes ago to
Let us know she found two part time people to help us with the 170+ orders we have at the moment.  I
Honestly can't tell you when we will get it completed but we are shooting for the end of the week.  We all
Feel it's do-able.  I wish I could say more but moving a business was far more extensive than I anticipated.

My apologies,
Suzy"

 

No problem, I can sympathize. I have physically opened and closed at least a dozen businesses (for companies where I was employed). At this point she should simply refund my money since she can't get the product to me. I can buy what I need elsewhere. And there should be a few attempts at communication. There is no excuse for this.

[Guest OldGlory]

I said I would follow up if there was a resolution.

 

As I stated earlier, I asked twice for a refund since nobody knew when my stuff would be shipped out. That way I could order what I needed from a different supplier. I called Oregon Trails, no answer. I emailed Oregon Trails, no response.

 

So, I spent another $86 this afternoon around 3 pm buying the same products from another supplier. Then I called my bank to see if they had issued a refund, and they had not. I learned something though - the bank teller told me to come in and they would refund my money and follow up with Oregon Trails. She could see that they took the money out of my account on 6/15 and she said if they hadn't sent it by now I could go in any time and they would put the money in my account. Nice to know

 

And then at 7pm tonight, Oregon Trails sent me an email stating that they shipped my stuff. They completely ignored my requests to cancel the order.

 

Have you heard the saying "If you can't set a good example, you will at least serve as a horrible warning" ?

[not_ally]

Glory, your experience pretty much duplicates mine.  Ordered on the 7th (I think the second day of the sale) and despite repeated emails and phone calls/messages (no one has ever answered and the last time I couldn't leave one, just got a message that the vmail box was non-functional) zero response, not even the "sorry, here's the excuse" one that you did.  Just TOTAL radio silence.  

 

I guess if I don't hear from them tomorrow that the order has been mailed I'll cancel it, request an immediate refund, and -  if it does not show up - stop payment w/the bank, and have them deal with it, as you did.  This is really frustrating, especially since it seems to be a common practice.  I just checked the Vendor Reviews forum on Soap Scent Review Board and they are very mixed.  Some folks like them, many complain of extremely inconsistent service and terrible communication/lack of it of the type that we experienced.

 

I am a regular on Soapmaking Forum and posted this over there a couple of days ago (before I saw your post), pretty much summarizes my experience:

 

"Has anyone who ordered during the sale received their stuff from OT yet? I ordered on the 7th (I think the day after the sale started), got an email saying that it was processed. Called an emailed a couple of times w/in the next couple of weeks to see if I could add to the order, no answer to either.

Got an automated email on the 15th saying the order was complete, but never one saying it has been mailed, and my account info still shows it just as processed, but no mailing info. Just tried calling again - I have been waiting for IPM and Germall to make lotion/body butter but no one is answering and the voice mail box is not set up to take messages. No response to the emails either. Kind of frustrating, I wish I had known it would take so long, I would have used Lotion Crafter for that stuff instead."

Edited July 2, 2015 by not_ally

[not_ally]

Tried to edit the above, couldn't, sorry.  Wanted to add that I was billed through Paypal on the 7th as well.  So they've now had my money for 4 weeks; why would they not take 5 ms to return an email or make a call?  I'm going to email them now and ask them to refund immediately if they can't get the order out by close of business tomorrow.  Of course even if they do that I probably won't get it until the end of next week b/c of the 4th.  I'll update here to let you guys know what transpires so that you can follow up/know what to expect if you are also waiting.

Edited July 2, 2015 by not_ally

[Guest OldGlory]

I am sorry to hear that, but certain that I wasn't alone in this. Another member here on the board called them and got the same thing. 170 orders were delayed in fact. Let us know when you get a resolution.

 

They ignored my emails asking for a refund which I copied and pasted and sent to my own email. (see below)

 

I am sure there is a place online to report bad business practices. I'm going to find it, post my experience and my opinion, and be done with the whole situation. It's hard to believe the little amount of profit (maybe $30) they made on my order would be worth alienating a return customer.

 

First email asking for a refund - Saturday 6/27 ** copied and pasted from my correspondence to Oregon Trails website
on 6/27/15 at 9;30 pm est**
If you can't ship my order Monday 6/29, and provide me with a tracking
number Monday, 6/29, just cancel my order and refund my $74.69. Do not
bother shipping on Tuesday, 6/30, or after that. I will have to order
the ingredients from another place and will not be able to use the
products I ordered from you.
I am sorry that you are having trouble getting back on your feet but I
can't keep my customers waiting.
 

Second email asking for a refund - Monday 6/29 emailed to Oregon Trails 9:50 pm est
In light of the facts:
I did not receive tracking information today, (in fact I did not
receive an acknowledgement of my email at all) as requested in my
previous correspondence, so consider my order cancelled. I will expect
a full refund.
 

[not_ally]

Glory, emailed them last night asking them to assure of shipment or refund (text of the email is below), no answer.  I am going to follow your lead and turn this over to Paypal and the bank.  I have posted on the soapmaking forum and the soap scent review board to give people the heads up on OT service, I hope they take heed.  If I don't get refunded on Monday, I am going to contact the relevant Idaho Better Business Bureau, the Idaho Sec. of State Consumer complaint office, and anyone else I can think of to lodge my opinion.  If you have any contact info for relevant organizations, would  you let me know?

 

Thanks.

-------------------

I have tried to call and email you several times regarding my order, which was made and paid for via Paypal on June 7th.  The last time I called I could not even leave a message, as your voicemail was not working.  I have received no response whatsoever to any of my attempts to reach you. 

Your record notes/automated "history of changes" indicate that the order was initiated at 10:47 pm on 6/7, queued (presumably for processing) at 10:49 pm 6/7, and the status was changed from "queued to processed" at 8:54 pm, 6/13.    My order information is cut and pasted below.

If you cannot get my order out by the end of the day tomorrow (Thursday, July 3rd), would you please cancel it and refund my Paypal account immediately?  If I do not hear from you I will assume that you will not be responding and will follow up with Paypal and my bank to request that they immediately take steps to ensure reversal of the funds and deal with you directly to recover them if necessary.

This has been an extremely frustrating experience.

[/sig]

[Guest OldGlory]

I will let you know if I learn of anything else.

Again, sorry you are experiencing the same thing.

[Guest OldGlory]

Now I know why my order at Oregon Trails was put off as long as it was. She is out of some ingredients.

 

I finally rec'd the products I ordered. One of them is the essential oil blend used to repel mosquitos. It bears no similarity to the product that I ordered in May. What they sent me is mostly lemongrass and isn't even remotely like the first bottle I bought from them. (I'm very aware of the variability of essential oils from batch to batch. That is not the issue.) I am really stunned and disgusted by this turn of events.

 

Not only was their customer service regrettable, but there is no consistency in the product they sell. How dare they waste my time and my money.

[Candybee]

OG I would refuse the order when it comes and go to your bank to get your money back. If Oregon Trails does contact you about the return order then you can explain why. I would be madder than a hornet if this happened to me! We all have a biz to run and customers waiting.

[Guest OldGlory]

Candybee, I couldn't be angrier. I have never received 1) product that I didn't order/the wrong product, 2) lack of response from an internet company.

After they sent the mostly lemongrass EO blend I emailed them and explained that they sent the wrong product. In spite of the service to date, I hoped it was just a moving issue. Wrong. They never emailed me or called to fix the problem.

I saw that this was going nowhere and that I could be left hanging, no product, no money, no response for months. Well, the market won't wait. If I don't have the product now, the mosquito season will end and I will have hundreds of $$ worth of supplies and no way to sell it. It's a seasonal product! So after cancelling the order for more EOs when I get tracking info that the blend from Oregon Trails, I had to turn around and reorder all the ingredients I knew it would take to correct the blend. Another $120 and I finally have the right blend.

I will not recoup the money I have spent, but my integrity is intact with the customer base I started with the first batch from Oregon Trails and with the people running the farmer's market.

This has been a ridiculous experience and apparently there are dozens of people on other message boards who are experiencing the same thing. I can't caution anyone strongly enough to use extreme caution when dealing with Oregon Trails. They have NO integrity.

[Candybee]

Sorry you went through this. That's rough. Now I am glad I didn't order from them to try out their bug repellent EO blend. I decided to make it on my own and just got through ordering the packaging. Once everything arrives I can start making it.