Buyer Beware! Great Prices but hidden excessive deceptive return policy for defective merchandise.
I found the company thru Bizrate and ordered an Electrolux vacuum cleaner. I received the vacuum cleaner and it ran literally for 10 seconds and stopped working. The box contained no return shipping information so I emailed Allergy Be Gone about returning the defective vacuum.
They responded with a return authorization number and informed me that there would be a 10% re-stocking charge. I called the Allergy Be Gone customer service number and spoke to Francine. I told her I would not pay a 10% re-stocking fee to return defective merchandise. This was on February 13. She arranged pick up by FedEx.
On March 17 I received my credit card statement and discovered that Allergy Be Gone not only charged me a 10% re-stocking fee of $46.39 but $8.95 shipping as well.
I called Allergy Be Gone on March 18 and again spoke to Francine. She told me that the return policy is prominently displayed during the on line ordering process. This is simply not true. I went back and reviewed every step of the on line purchase thru Bizrate and Allergy Be Gone and there is no link to the companies return policy.
I emailed Allergy Be Gone again and restated my position that the first time I was informed of the 10% re-stocking fee was when I contacted the company to return defective merchandise.
The email response I received from Allergy Be Gone's customer Service Representative follows: (quote) "Probably, you misunderstood what Francine was saying - return policy is not shown during the ordering process, but this information was available under Company Info link." (unquote)
Well, on the ordering page there are thirteen (13) links under the heading "Company Information". Not one of them is for returns or return policy. Thirteen links but not one that takes you to return policy.
The fact is that the first time I was informed of a 10% re-stocking fee was when I emailed Allergy Be Gone for instructions on how to return the defective vacuum cleaner. I feel this company, Allergy Be Gone, has a hidden and excessive return policy and engages in deceptive consumer sales practices.
A couple final thoughts. If Allergy Be Gone charges a 10% re-stocking fee for the return of defective products, does Allergy Be Gone actually re-stock the defective product?
If Allergy Be Gone does re-stock defective products. Does Allergy Be Gone actually sell the defective products again and again?
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