Smarthome.com

Hello, I have already responded to this complaint and our decision is complete. There is not a refund due. Everything on this order was followed and completed as promised. Thank you.

Hello,A pre-paid return label was sent to this customer, Tracking # [redacted]. This return label was not used and the customer sent the product back, paying for his own shipping. As a courtesy, we have since issued a refund in the amount of $9.33.  Thank you.

We apologize the customer had this experience from our website. This customer did call in several times. And each time was offered a return with a full refund, as well as being directed to the terms and conditions page of the price match policy.The link is...

here: http://www.smarthome.com/returnpolicy.htmlWhere the policy clearly states :If within 30 days of shipped date of your order you find an identical new product in any national print advertisement for a lower price, send us the printed ad and we'll promptly refund the difference. Your 100% satisfaction is our goal. Click here for full details on our lowest price guarantee.

Once again, we do apologize to [redacted] for not having the tracking information available when he contacted us. As we told him over the phone, as well as stated on our site, the item that he ordered is a direct ship item, meaning that it ships directly from the vendor. Since these ship from the vendor,...

and not from our warehouse, we do not receive readily available tracking information on them and need to go through the proper channels to obtain the information from the vendor. The vendor has responded to our request for tracking information and the item was shipped with UPS tracking number: [redacted], which is expected to be delivered to him on 9/16.

Hello,
I am sorry to hear that our submission was rejected, however
this will be our final response. As provided in my prior response (with
attached invoice) the cost is correct and is the amount that was charged. To close this submission and for customer satisfaction, I have mailed you one penny as that is what this complaint is in regards to. I have mailed this to:[redacted]PO Box [redacted]This matter has been closed on our end.
Thank you,
[redacted]

Attached are the two pieces of information needed to return the order # [redacted] per request.  A secondary refund will be processed for the original shipping charge, as well.  We have confirmed that he has been removed from all Smarthome correspondence since the initial emailed request...

on January 23rd.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Regards,
[redacted] I am attaching the USPS confirmation of the returned item (using the postage paid label SmartHome provided me) delivered to SmartHome's PO on May 27, that they have neglected to pick up.  This item is only a small portion of what I am due for a refund.  There was another part on that same order (order#[redacted]) that was never shipped and a subsequent order (order #[redacted]) that was cancelled (email confirmation from SmartHome dated May 27 of cancellation of both orders attached).  I have made numerous phone calls and emails to SmartHome with no satisfactory response other than 7 days ago receiving the vague response that the "refund is currently being processed", and no indication of when my credit cards will actually be credited, other than it could take 2-6 weeks, which is unacceptable, considering the circumstances.In summary, I have returned any item I did receive from SmartHome, using their label, and they have not picked it up from their Post Officethe balance of items on the first order were NEVER shipped and the order cancelledthe second order was cancelled before any shipment was madeThey have charged my credit cards for items not shipped.  Any other on line company I have ever dealt with will NOT charge a customer's credit card until the items are shipped.I would like a refund to my [redacted] account ASAP from a charge placed on April 27 for the item returned and the item that was never shipped and ultimately cancelled in the amount of $387.00.I would like a refund to my [redacted] account ASAP from a charge placed on May 21 for the order that was cancelled, and therefore never shipped, in the amount of $426.44To date my credit cards have been charged a total of $813.44 and I either returned any item I have received from SmartHome or cancelled the items ordered, so therefore do not possess anything from SmartHome.  I do not see any reason why my credit cards have not received any refund from SmartHome.  I have contacted them numerous times with no success and continue to get the "run around" from their customer service department.Thank you for assisting me with this issue.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
They offered me a refund if I ship back and pay shipping back to them, I also would need to order from another vendor.I would like the Revdex.com to look at my claim with attached links and sees info their advertising is deceptive,
Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that their response is inadequate and does not resolve my complaint.  Here is the details:(1)SmartHome stated in their response: "... refund was completed and given before his chargeback date, but many credit card companies will not post them to the account immediately. Which is the reason he did not see it on his statement. A fact beyond our control, and could be confirmed with a call to the credit card company."My purchase was made with DiscoverCard, not PayPal.  Yes, I did confirm with DiscoverCard per my original complaint.  I stated in my original complaint that I did show DiscoverCard statement screenshot to the company representative ([redacted]) to prove that the refund was not received until 11/21.   In an email dated 12/4 7:24am, [redacted] stated 'We are waiting on the bank and credit card to do their process. That can take weeks or months."  In a later email, [redacted] admitted that the company was using PayPal, a third-party processor, to handle the transaction.  [redacted]' statement shows such extraordinary delay ("weeks or months") from their third-party processor is not unexpected by the company.  As a result, the company should be held accountable for the delay on their part.(2)Most companies do not have this delay/problem.  For example, I have another refund from a different company on 12/1, and the refund was received by my credit card company on 12/2 (proof could be provided if requested).  In response to my Revdex.com complaint, SmartHome stated "... a fact beyond our control."   SmartHome chose to employ PayPal, a business decision theirs to make, but the consequence also theirs to bear.  SmartHome should not blame the customer if they know PayPal suffers from extraordinary delays.As outlined in my original complaint, when I followed up on 11/13 about the refund delay (RMA was received on 10/28), the company replied (in an email dated 11/14 8:31am) with an apology and a promise that the refund was issued "today" (i.e. 11/14).  The company should have shared the fact that the refund was not issued to the credit card directly but via their slow processor (PayPal) so the customer could expect delay.(3)SmartHome should recognize, and respect, that the customer has every right to ask his credit card company to investigate not receiving the refund on time.  In fact, the customer showed extraordinary good faith by contacting the company first on 11/13 and also waiting for a full week until 11/20 to request his credit card company for an investigation.   On the contrary, SmartHome conveniently ignored the facts.  in an email dated 12/3 6:57am, [redacted] questioned the customer why he did not first contact SmartHome.  This is immediately refuted when the customer sent him a copy of the 11/13 email.  The first allegation of fraud, and subsequent allegations, which are refuted, show the company is not fair in handling the customer's complaint and could not want to handle the matter in an objective manner.(4)SmartHome should be honest in honoring their advertised promotion.  During Thanksgiving weekend, the company solicited for my purchase with numerous emails offering a 22% promotion, only to subsequently refuse to honor it when they cancelled my 12/2 order for reason that is not the fault of the customer.   They can blame PayPal, but certainly not the customer as explained in (3) above.  The Revdex.com response by SmartHome does not address my request in my Revdex.com complaint: the company should admit their problem and provide a 22% coupon to the customer to be used in a future purchase.
Regards,
[redacted]

In the spirit of customer service we have issued a one time exception refund for one of the Hub Pros. Please allow 5-7 business days for it to process to your Visa card.

We do greatly apologize for your experience with this order.Unfortunately in the case of this order, we are not the manufacturer of this product.The website stated the item was out of stock, and displayed the expected in stock date regarding our PO from them.The manufacturer has failed to supply the...

merchandise habitually now, and the credit card authorization from the order has expired, so we had no choice but to cancel the order.There was an auto generated email sent to the email addressed to this order to inform the customer, and he was never charged.Additionally, before this complaint the customer was contacted via phone and offered a large discount on his next order.

The Credit Card Verification form is standard practice for any customer with no history with us placing a large first time order.It is a fraud measure for the customers protection.The customer is not obligated to do this, they may also use Paypal, a nationally recognized secure purchasing system.Again, this is for the consumers protection, and we are fully compliant with all security regulations with this data.The customer was notified both over the phone and via email that the manufacturer of this product has ceased all shipment of it.It is unfortunate, and we have, and do again issue our full apology in this matter.Additionally the customer was refunded immediately of the full amount of this product on the day we spoke with him, and have record of the refund available at the request of the Revdex.com at any time.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to
complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not
resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed
appear below.
I have already been over with this with this company.  They have doctored
the invoice they attached after the sale was complete.  A simple search on
their site shows that the amount of the transaction was $246.38.  The
company has been provided the attached files showing the amount at the time of
the sale several times and have already agreed to refund the overcharged amount
twice.  Which they have failed to do.  The attached copies of the
real invoice and order summary clearly show the correct amount of $246.38 and
their forged and fraudulent document has been altered after the fact.  I
find it disgusting this company is steal from it customer is a way in which
most people would not bother to object.  Then when it is brought to their
attention they do nothing to rectify the problem but continue to commit fraudulent
charges to customer’s credit cards.
Regards,
[redacted]

This customer called in to our customer service department, and it was explained that 2 Hub Pro's were shipped. We have done an inventory count in our warehouse, as well as verified our shipping weight with FedEx.Each Hub Pro weighs 0.75 lbs. We show a ship weight of the package at 2.2 lbs from...

our warehouse. Which is confirmed by [redacted] weight. (see attached).2 Hub Pros were shipped to the customer.What happened once the package was in the customers possession, we cannot say.

There are numerous responses, so we will address them one at a time.Company policy (as is in most companies) is that if a customer initiates a chargeback that disputes our records (no delivery, unauthorized payment, etc), there is an investigation done. If our records indicate that the...

chargeback is incorrect (tracking and shipping company confirm item was delivered, or other evidence) the account is placed on order hold, until a resolution, in either direction, is come to.Upon review, the customer was issued the refund to his account on the promised day.Refunds take 3-5 business days to transfer accounts.When the customer spoke to [redacted], he was advised that the refund was completed and given before his chargeback date, but many credit card companies will not post them to the account immediately. Which is the reason he did not see it on his statement. A fact beyond our control, and could be confirmed with a call to the credit card company.Smarthome at no point ever withheld a refund, and is always happy to do so if a customer is not satisfied with their product.The customer was also advised via email that as soon as the chargeback was either closed by him, or the credit agency came to a resolution, his account would be reinstated.As of business open Monday (12/8/2014)  we were notified by Paypal that the chargeback the customer initiated has been closed.Accounting has already reinstated his account in good standing, and the customer will face no further problems placing an order.

There has been an unprecedented influx of custom etched orders this holiday season and we are moving your order along as fast as possible.We would be happy to overnight these to you along with our apologies for the delay.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and though this proposed action would be acceptable toward resolution of my complaint, the refund has not appeared on the credit card even though several business days have passed.
 
I have waited several days to confirm the refund, but it does not appear online. 
 
I cannot accept their resolution until their proposed credit for the defective item purchase actually appears on my credit card online statement.
Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
First off, sending a tracking slip with a weight on it does not prove that the box weighed that amount.  We use [redacted] at my business to ship aerospace parts and there is no requirement in FEDEX's program to use a scale.  A weight can simply be manually entered into the [redacted] shipping program or the box can be weighed prior to closing it for shipping.  Your argument is weak at best.  Secondly, asking us to contact [redacted] when you are their customer is laughable.  Have you ever called Amazon and they told you to contact their shipping provider?  This is passing the blame in the hopes that it will go away.In addition, please see attached for 8 pictures of the package you shipped.  As you can see there was no removal and re-application of tape meaning it wasn't opened until I received it.  There isn't even enough room in the box for two Insteon Hub Pros as you can see from IMG_3217 with the unit turned sideways.  On top of that ample air packaging was added which also does not leave enough room for another Insteon Hub Pro box.  It is apparent that this box is in its original configuration.  I wouldn't have called the day I received it to wait on the phone for 45 minutes with no answer or estimated wait time if the box had a second unit within it.  I wouldn't have then sent an email and called again on a Saturday to waste more of my time if a second unit was within it.  My wife wouldn't have called yet again to waste some of her time if a second unit was within it.I would like to point out that there is obviously a reason Smarthome has 1.5 stars on Yelp, 1.8 stars on Glassdoor, various posts on Ripoff Report and over 1,400 1 star ratings on Reseller Ratings.  I am sure that if I wanted to waste even more of my time looking for reviews of your business I could list those as well.  It may be that you really believe you aren't at fault, but it takes time to look into a customer service issue and having a constant near hour wait time on your phones and a 2 business day turnaround time on your customer service email shows that customer service is simply not important for you.  Maybe check your cameras in your shipping department and see where the second unit disappeared because the box sure wasn't shipped with two (two wouldn't even FIT!).  Hypothetically let's say that it was shipped with two ignoring all known physics, maybe you should contact [redacted] and file a complaint because my order wasn't fulfilled if I did not get a box with the correct quantity of items.  It is your job as the distributor to make sure that I receive what I ordered which I DID NOT!The sad thing about all of this is that we planned on installing full Insteon systems in our home, our lake house and our business.  With this experience I have no choice, but to move onto another manufacturer.  Possibly one with a more customer conscious main distributor.
Regards,
[redacted]

Hello,Thank you for contacting Smarthome. In reviewing your order, the total amount of your order was $246.39. Your credit card was initially charged $246.38, but our system could not process the order being that it was short one cent. The additional charge was so your order...

could close and ship out. I have attached a copy of your invoice for you.Best Regards,
[redacted]
Customer Solution Center Manager

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
[Smarthome.com never pro-actively followed up or communicated order status. Why would I give them any more of my business? 25% off next order, go take a hike.  I will inform all my friends, neighbors, relatives and internet followers of this negative experience with smarthome.com]
Regards,
[redacted]