I placed an order on 4/13/06 with Rufflebottoms.com for my daughter's baptism gown. My sister being the godmother bought the dress on her credit card while visiting me (I live in FL she in NY). On 4/14/06 I receive an email from the company saying the items were shipped via 3day UPS to my FL address. On the night of 4/16/06 I tracked the package on UPS.com and noticed that the package was being shipped to NY and not FL. This posed a major problem since the baptism was on Saturday 4/22/06. With my sister in FL for the event she was not home to accept the package and there was no way I would receive the dress in time. I immediately emailed the company advising of the error and requesting a duplicate order be shipped to FL via expedited shipping and the original order would be returned once my sister returned to NY.
On 4/17/06 I called Rufflebottoms only to receive an answering machine saying to leave a message and someone will return your call within 1-2 business days. As you can see time was of the essence, I didn't have 1-2 business days to wait. However, I did leave a message and emailed again. No response. I called again. I finally received an email message apologizing for the error and letting me know a duplicate order would be shipped via 3day UPS. They did not offer me the expedited shipping I requested.
On 4/18/06 when I hadn't received a tracking number for my order I emailed again asking the status and again requesting expedited shipping. That evening I receive an email saying my items should ship today via 3day UPS. A few hours later I received an email with a tracking number. I was furious. They never shipped my items on 4/17/06 like they said they would. And now since it was Tuesday and my items were being shipped 3day the order should arrive on Friday the day before the baptism! I sent an email (because again you're unable to speak to a live person) expressing my frustration. I let them know that their constant errors would result in negative feedback with Yahoo (they are a Yahoo merchant) and I would advise other consumers on various message boards.
On 4/19/06 I was out all day running errands for the upcoming baptism but when I returned I had a message on my answering machine from Rufflebottoms. I guess it takes the threat of telling everyone what crappy service they have to get a live person on the phone! The woman apologized for the error and again told me my order shipped and a tracking number was emailed to me. There was little else I could do but wait for my package to arrive on Friday and hope that there wasn't a delay in shipping and that the dress fit perfectly.
On 4/21/06 I received the package when I got home from running more errands around 3:30pm. I open it and it was THE WRONG DRESS!!! I wanted to cry! After all this they send me the wrong dress the afternoon before the baptism. I had no backup and no time to find one. I called Rufflebottoms fuming. Their stupidity forced me to use a dress I did not order and did not like. I demanded a full refund. I also emailed them because as we are all now aware they only communicate through email.
On Saturday 4/22/06 at the baptism I found out from my sister that Rufflebottoms charged her credit card twice for the order. I checked my email on Saturday evening after the day's festivities were over and there was an email from a Rufflebottoms rep. This woman claims that the reason they sent the dress to NY and not FL was due to 'internet security' and not incompetence. And the fact that they even sent the dress to FL afterward was a courtesy because most internet retailers won't ship to a different address than the billing. How many of us shop on the internet? Don't pretty much 99% of companies offer the option to ship to a different address than the billing? And if they didn't offer that service then why have it as an option on their site and why send me an email confirming shipment to FL? Her is excuse was a bunch of bull. She claims that 3day UPS was upgraded shipping yet my original order, the one sent to the wrong address, was also sent 3day UPS. So how could that be considered upgraded? She claimed that a sales rep contacted me to let me know the dress I ordered was unavailable and a similar dress would be shipped and I never called them back to say this was a problem. No such message was ever left! If I had known my dress was unavailable I would have canceled my order and use the extra couple of days to find a different dress. She even went so far as to say the dress they sent me was more expensive and they gave me the courtesy of not charging the difference in price. I don't care if it was more expensive. I didn't order that dress because I obviously didn't like that dress as much as the one I ordered. She says a sales rep offered me free shipping as restitution. Again a bunch of bull. I was never offered free shipping at any point.in fact I wasn't even offered a return shipping label to ship back the items that were sent to NY. She said I received the dress with plenty of time to find an alternative if I hated the dress. How is receiving the dress the afternoon before the baptism plenty of time to find a replacement? She said that I could have just refused the package when it was delivered to the incorrect address. Did this idiot even read the history of emails? Who was supposed to refuse the delivery if no one was there because they were all in FL for the baptism!?!?!? The email also included some other false information about their shipping policies and ultimately ended by her saying they will not refund the money.
I've emailed them back disproving everything in her email. My sister has disputed both charges on her credit card and I've reported them to the BBB. I'm also making it my life's mission to tell everyone I can about this company. Please tell your friends and tell them to tell their friends. Even if you are not in the market for a baptism gown you can still be a victim of this company since they also sell pageant dresses and children's bedding. This company needs to be stopped! I was caused much so much stress and grief on what was supposed to be a joyous occasion. I want to save other people from the same heartache.
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