What would you do?

[Saeleofu]

So, there's this crazy weighted blanket ordeal thing I've been going through. Here's the long version (copy and pasted from Reddit because lazy):

On September 28, 2013 I place an order for a 30lb full-size weighted blanket for myself in hopes it would help with decreasing intensity and duration of sensory shutdown and improve my length and quality of sleep. My service dog currently provides some deep pressure tasks for me, so I know this sort of thing helps me. I had to save up for several years to be able to afford this blanket.

When I placed my order, I was told it would take 3-4 weeks to get my blanket. Awesome, that's not too bad.

At the 4-week mark, I emailed the company and asked when they thought my blanket would ship out. I know stuff happens, but I wanted to make sure they hadn't forgotten about my order. I was told it would be made that week and shipped out by the end of the week. Okay, what's another week, I'll wait.

At the end of the week, my blanket had still not shipped. I contacted them again and asked when it would be shipped. By this point I was getting a little irritated. I was told my blanket was made, but they would give it a "final cleaning" on Monday, and ship it out on Tuesday. At this point, I'm starting to get concerned about whether my blanket will actually be shipped, or if my blanket even exists. I paid for my blanket via PayPal, and Paypal has a 45 day limit to opening a dispute. I decided that if my blanket was not shipped by Tuesday (40 days), I would open a dispute to protect myself in the event the blanket never got shipped.

Tuesday came and went, and my blanket had still not shipped. I opened a Paypal dispute (if you're not familiar with disputes, it's basically a monitored line of communication that is supposed to be used to settle a concern) stating I needed my blanket shipped as soon as possible.
Wednesday, I checked and found I had a full refund, and the message from the seller said that I had requested the order be cancelled and I get refunded. That is absolutely not true - I NEVER requested a refund. All I wanted was my blanket. If I didn't want the blanket, I wouldn't have ordered it in the first place. Since the money was refunded, the Paypal dispute was permanently closed.

The message left for me in Paypal said to call them if I wanted to order the blanket again. I attempted to call with IP-Relay (voice calls are exceedingly difficult for me), but got no answer. So I emailed instead and told them that I did in fact want my blanket, and I did not request the refund. The reply said they automatically refund the money if that's what the customer wanted. THAT IS NOT WHAT I WANTED. She said I could pay the money again, and she'd send out the blanket. Guess what? The refund of course hasn't been processed yet, and is sitting in limbo somewhere between Paypal and my bank. I don't have an extra $260 laying around, so I can't pay for the blanket until my refund is processed. That means it will be AT LEAST another week, if not two, before I can pay. Which delays my blanket even more.

To top if off, the company censors posts to their page by customers, and does not allow Facebook reviews. This means everything you see on their page is going to be positive, because they block the negative from showing up. I have a page for my hobby-business, and I NEVER censor it. I find it incredibly shady that they treat their page and their customers this way. Prior to ordering my blanket, I had only heard good things about this company - and now I know why. I still don't have the weighted blanket I desperately need.

My last message to them last night said "I do still want the blanket. I can't pay today because the money is still in limbo - it's not credited back to my bank account yet because it takes time to process. So that means I have to wait even LONGER to get my blanket. This is ridiculous." After I sent that email, I started looking for other places to get a blanket, since I'm really not in the mood to pay this shitty company $260 for a blanket I should have received 2-3 weeks ago.

So, now I got an email saying they've shipped my blanket (and a shipping notice from FedEx), and to send them the $260 when it's processed. The exact email says "Yes I understand that the funds may not have gone back in your account right away. I will ship the blanket today and will trust you will re-submit payment when it becomes available." and the shipping notice went out before I could respond and say something along the lines of "keep your ****ing blanket I'll get one elsewhere."

I'm NOT happy with this company. I don't want to give them my money. But the blanket's on its way now. I know I won't be able to afford to ship it back to them. What would you do? Would you go ahead and tell them you planned to get one elsewhere after the way you were treated and ask for a discount? Pay the full price for a blanket that's 3 weeks late and was even LATER because they refunded me instead of just shipping the ****ing blanket?

Ugh. I'm pissed and I'm not even happy my blanket is coming. The whole ordeal has just made me angry. I almost feel like just looking at the blanket every night will make me angry.


Edit: I posted the above review on r/autism on Reddit and on an old, nearly abandoned autism forum I moderate. And I emailed The Consumerist. All prior to getting that last email.

 

[SizzleDog]

Honestly, when it arrives I would send it back to them. I know the feeling of not even wanting to look at something from a seller you're unhappy with...

... of course, I'm sure sending it back will cost $$$ since it's a weighted blanket. Sucky situation.

 

[SevenSins]

I would wait for the package to arrive and refuse the delivery from Fedex.

 

[Fran101]

Honestly? I would keep the blanket (I've heard of the company and the quality is kind of worth it). plus it would cost MORE to send it back and then waiting LONGER to get a new one from another place (and find another business that's worth it)

I would send them a message with the money about how unhappy you are with the service. Give them a negative review on etsy and honestly, send them an angry message.
Let them know WHY you are upset, the whole experience in detail, and what you intend to tell people who ask your experience.

On top of everything else them expecting you to pay full price after all this is pretty gross.

before everything else your blanket was already REALLY late. That already merited an apology and a discount IMO

 

[sparks19]

I would wait for the package to arrive and refuse the delivery from Fedex.

This is what I would do if possible. Otherwise, maybe email them and tell them they won't be getting your money and you want to send the blanket back but not until they send you a return shipping label.

 

[Xandra]

If you trust the quality, I would just pay and try to enjoy it. It's not the blanket's fault the people who made it suck. This is something you've been saving and waiting for for a long time and if I were you'd I'd personally be way more concerned about what I was getting than who was getting my money. And you're WELL within your rights to ask for a discount if that's what you want.

If you really don't want the blanket, refuse the package.

 

[JessLough]

Refuse it when it gets delivered or ship it back. You emailed saying you still wanted it from them, but couldn't send the money right away. So IMO it wasn't really wrong of them to ship it for you.

Refusing the package would be the simplest/cheapest(for you) way.

I'm sorry it didn't work. I hope you can find one elsewhere.

 

[AllieMackie]

I've been watching this ordeal for awhile, because these guys were on my radar for weighted blankets (helping my autistic cousin with research).

I agree with others on just refusing delivery. Send them an email reply stating that you are refusing the delivery and why - that their communication needs to be clarified.

All that said, I know what it really means is that you're out a quality weighted blanket for even longer and I can imagine how much that sucks. Sorry you're going through all of this. I've told my cousin to red flag this website in her search.

 

[frostfell]

wait til you get the blanket. if its gorgeous, super well made, amazing, lovely, dreamy, everything youve ever hoped for, well worth the wait, cant wait to use it? then pay for it.

if the quality is subpar and its a pile of ****, send it back on their dime (payment on arrival or some such)

 

[Saeleofu]

wait til you get the blanket. if its gorgeous, super well made, amazing, lovely, dreamy, everything youve ever hoped for, well worth the wait, cant wait to use it? then pay for it.

if the quality is subpar and its a pile of ****, send it back on their dime (payment on arrival or some such)

Hmmmm, I might do this.

Refusing delivery is hard, because usually Fedex just drops it and leaves.

I do want a weighted blanket, I'm just tired of getting jerked around. I haven't even received an apology for the trouble

 

[frostfell]

Hmmmm, I might do this.

Refusing delivery is hard, because usually Fedex just drops it and leaves.

I do want a weighted blanket, I'm just tired of getting jerked around. I haven't even received an apology for the trouble

yah. maybe since im sure it will be in a box, open it from the bottom very carefully, and then retape it, and write "return to sender" on the top and drop it off at a fedex location and be like "your guy didnt wait around for me to refuse this"

ETA: is this link of vendors helpful, if you need to place another order somewhere else? http://www.friendshipcircle.org/blog/2012/02/13/weighted-blankets-13-stores-to-choose-from/

 

[crazedACD]

Well, I'm not very confrontational... honestly, if it was me, I would probably keep it, pay for it, write a bad review for the company somewhere, and move on.

 

[Beanie]

You can take it back to a FedEx location and tell them you're refusing it even after it's been dropped off. I did this with a FedEx package once.

 

[joce]

I would keep I and send them the money.

I see why you opened a dispute because time was running out but they also said four weeks. It's not that much passed. Honestly when I order special order I expect it later. Never gotten a tag or collar or signs I have had done when expected.

Maybe I missing something but you ordered end sept? It's the beginning of nov. Not THAT late. Maybe I read my dates wrong.

Last tag I ordered was something like five or six months. They offered to refund. I wanted the tag.

 

[Dizzy]

Well, I'm not very confrontational... honestly, if it was me, I would probably keep it, pay for it, write a bad review for the company somewhere, and move on.

This. Especially if I wanted the blanket.... If you WANT the product and you get the product, and you like the product, keep it.

Then slag them off to high heaven whenever anyone asks for a review.

Something like, "product is great if you can bear to deal with the crap customer service, this was my ordeal....."

 

[Dizzy]

I would keep I and send them the money.

I see why you opened a dispute because time was running out but they also said four weeks. It's not that much passed. Honestly when I order special order I expect it later. Never gotten a tag or collar or signs I have had done when expected.

Maybe I missing something but you ordered end sept? It's the beginning of nov. Not THAT late. Maybe I read my dates wrong.

Last tag I ordered was something like five or six months. They offered to refund. I wanted the tag.

We ordered a bed once that took about 10 months to arrive!!!! OMG, so annoying, especially as we had a superking mattress just sat in a room waiting for the frame!!!!!!!

But we wanted the bed.... So we waited.

 

[sparks19]

I would keep I and send them the money.

I see why you opened a dispute because time was running out but they also said four weeks. It's not that much passed. Honestly when I order special order I expect it later. Never gotten a tag or collar or signs I have had done when expected.

Maybe I missing something but you ordered end sept? It's the beginning of nov. Not THAT late. Maybe I read my dates wrong.

Last tag I ordered was something like five or six months. They offered to refund. I wanted the tag.

It's one thing to expect an item to be later than originally stated but as a person with a small online business... You don't just leave a customer sitting and wondering when their product will ative. If it's goig to be late, you have a responsibility to let the customer know and if you promise a shipping date... You stick to it or contact the customer and explain the situation. It's not right to not leave the customer wondering especially when they have tried to contact the business.

 

[Saeleofu]

It's one thing to expect an item to be later than originally stated but as a person with a small online business... You don't just leave a customer sitting and wondering when their product will ative. If it's goig to be late, you have a responsibility to let the customer know and if you promise a shipping date... You stick to it or contact the customer and explain the situation. It's not right to not leave the customer wondering especially when they have tried to contact the business.

This. If they had contacted me and said hey, there was a problem so your blanket's going to be delayed a bit, I would have been 100% fine with it. But they kept saying "next week" "later this week" "next Tuesday" and pushing it back each time, and I was never informed of it until I contacted them. They should have been the ones contacting me.

I understand things can be late. I've had harnesses go out late. But I tell them it's going to be late, and then I either don't charge for it or I discount it. Tango got a free harness because it was a complicated harness and I didn't get to it as early as I liked. Indy got a free harness resizing, collar conversion, and a vest because I was late getting to them because I had a million things going on.

For those interested, I'm now blocked from posting comments on any of their Facebook posts. Keep in mind I haven't posted anything bad on their Facebook. All I ever tried to post was a question asking something like "When do you expect my blanket will be shipped?" but those didn't even get through. I've asked other sellers the same questions, and instead of getting blocked from their Facebook I got a polite answer, and if necessary, an explanation. It's so lovely this company that claims to help autistic people actually censors autistic people instead. I would never dream of blocking people from my harness page because they asked me a question.

 

[Saeleofu]

So, I sent them this email a couple minutes ago. Yeah, it's snarky:

I had actually decided after that last email to look elsewhere for a blanket, somewhere that would value me as a customer and treat me with respect. Since it's shipped, though, I guess I'm obligated to pay for it if it ever shows up. This has been the absolute worst customer service experience I've ever had. I hope nobody who purchases a product from me ever feels this way. Last time I had to delay an order, I didn't charge the customer and I gave them a free item as a token of my apologies.

At the very least you should have contacted me when you realized there were problems with the blanket and told me that it would be a bit delayed. Had I been informed of this fact ahead of time, I would have expected the delay, and I wouldn't have been sitting here wondering if my blanket ever exists.

Thanks for the meltdowns and sensory shutdowns I have experienced as a result of the way I've been treated by your company. I hope you're happy. I will be sure to post reviews about my experience.

And then I got this email back:

I agree with you 100% Shannon, you should keep the blanket at no charge and we hope very much it provides you with comfort.

So, I get to keep the blanket AND my money. I'm still not thrilled with them, but at least there's that. It shouldn't have taken that last email for them to decide to do the right thing.

 

[Saeleofu]

According to their Facebook, the blanket is a queen size. I ordered a full size. 30 lbs in full size is more weight per square inch than 30 lbs in queen size, and I have a full size bed and it's not supposed to hang off the edges and a queen size blanket will hang off the edges of a full size bed. Ugh. We'll see what it is when it gets here >.<