Media contact: Janet C. Hart, APR, CFEE (704) 927-8617 office
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – It’s not even Halloween yet, but the
online ordering season has already begun.
If you are planning to buy gifts online or from Infomercials on
television, the Better Business Bureau has a warning for you about the ways
retailers make money on your orders by charging separate shipping and
handling fees.
Shipping and handling fees are certainly not new, but
retailers are finding ways to make extra money with special promotions such as
“order now and we’ll double your order,” or “buy now and we’ll include a free
gift” – it may sound like a good deal at first, until you realize that you will
be charged separate shipping and handling fees on each item, including
the “free” gifts and the “bonus” products.
All of these shipping and handling fees can actually add up to more than
the total cost of the products you’re ordering.
Charlotte-based Eco-Canteen (BBB Grade F) sells reusable
water canteens via the Internet at www.ecocanteen.com.
These canteens cost $9.99 each, plus
shipping and handling of $5.95, and, you get a free tote for a total of $15.94,
right? Wrong. Your total will be $20.89, because the “free” tote isn’t free –
you have to pay $4.95 in shipping and handling fees on it. If you order two canteens that come with two
“free” totes, you will pay a total of $41.78, which includes $21.80 in shipping
and handling fees for the four products, all of which will be shipped together in one
box at a cost that is far less than $21.80. What if you don’t want the free
tote so that you don’t have to pay the extra frees? Sorry, the tote comes with the canteen, you cannot
opt out of getting it. Including bonus products is one of the ways that the
seller is making extra money.
In the past six months, 62 consumers from 28 states have
filed complaints against Eco-Canteen with the Better Business Bureau. Complainants allege that the total cost,
including shipping and handling fees, was not disclosed prior to the consumer’s
credit card being charged for the order. By that point, the consumers could not
cancel the transaction or stop their credit cards from being charged. Consumers filed complaints after they had
difficulty getting Eco-Canteen to cancel their orders and refund their credit
cards.
After receiving a large volume of complaints in a short
period of time, the BBB investigated Eco-Canteen and consumer allegations of
deceptive advertising and sales practices which included failing to disclose
shipping and handling fees prior to purchase, and charging fees for products
advertised as “free.”
Eco-Canteen has worked to resolve the complaints and has made
some changes to its website to prevent future complaints. Shipping and handling fees are now disclosed
with each product and the “free” tote is now advertised as a “bonus” tote, but you
still cannot opt out of getting it to avoid the additional shipping and
handling fees. However, Eco-Canteen has
yet to change its checkout procedure so that consumers can see the itemized total
cost and agree to the transaction before their credit card is charged.
Eco-Canteen’s phone number is (704) 644-4488 or 1-888-229-9543.
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