The Consumer Complaints Blog

Sparkle Home Spa Inc. sold me a SG2000 SPA AT HOME spa device that emits ozone. I was not aware of this because the salespeople were telling me everything in Chinese and during the demo, the ozone smell was hidden with strong fragrance. After opening the box at home, we realized the machine didn’t fit our bathtub, and my parents complained about a strong odour. I called Sparkle Home Spa numerous times, leaving numerous phone calls, and Ms. Ng finally got back to me (nearly one week later). I asked for a full refund of about $2100. She declined, informing me that there are no refunds when nowhere in her store or receipt indicated anything about no refunds. If I had known about not being able to refund something over $2000, I wouldn’t have purchased it. She then insisted that the machine would be good for my health. What I found disturbing was the way they use aggresive persuading techniques (i.e. if you really love your parents, you will let them keep the device).

I then contacted Health Canada, the authority to all the Health related issues in Canada, and they informed me that ozone-emitting devices have been banned in Canada and should not be sold. If they are being sold here, it is likely they submitted false information about the product’s specifications to obtain approval certificates. I then left this issue for Health Canada and the CSA to deal with.

I called Ms. Ng (the general manager) again asking for my refund, letting her know that it was unfair to consumers if she does not inform us about her return policies. She then
tells me that there is a policy written on the box. I checked the box thoroughly, and didn’t notice anything too suspicious except for a small paragraph of Chinese characters. It was NOT surprising to see that everything else was written in BIG BOLD english except for the refund policy.

I then examined the refund policy. In Chinese, it informs that the machine may be refunded within 14 days with a restocking fee. I related this to Ms. Ng. She did not acknowledge it. She then told me her headoffice in Hong Kong would not authorize the refund. After spending a couple of days researching the headoffice contact, I called their headoffice in Hong Kong.

They told me they will refund it, providing I ship the Home Spa to Taiwan from Canada — REDICULOUS!

In addition, I have found during the time that I took to make my complaints, that this company operates as a pyrimid scheme, which would explain why they refuse to offer me my refund. They mislead customers, telling them that ozone would improve their health. Nowhere during their salespitch do they say ozone-emitting devices are banned in Canada, that ozone harms the lungs and that ozone is classified as an environmental pollutant.

This company has many names to hide themselves including Sparkle Home Spa Inc., Shianje International, Shianji International and Grandsun.

Damage Resulting = Resulted in $2100 of economic damage plus the time I spent calling them and their headoffice.

Sincerely,

Kevin Kou

Editor’s Note
Call me old fashioned but shouldn’t businesses in a country be forced to do business in one of the two official languages?

As a Canadian citizen I really don’t appreciate it when businesses are allowed to do business exclusively in a foreign language. It’s not right and the government is too spineless to do anything about it due to fears of people playing the racism card. It’s not about racism and it’s not right. Say what you want about Quebec but at least they have the balls to force people to use the official language on their business signs.

It’s fine to do business in one’s native tongue. There are numerous business advantages since most people are comfortable speaking in their original language. But it is not okay to do business in Canada exclusively in a foreign language. It’s not fair to Canadians and down right insulting to Canada. The fact that the return policy is written on the box only in Chinese is offensive to say the least and should not be honoured in any way even if the people buying the product can read Chinese.

Update December 2007
We just heard back from Kevin. Sparkle Home Spa has apologized and finally gave him a refund. He’s satisfied that the issue was resolved and he is now happy. Good work for finally deciding to do the right thing Sparkle Home Spa.

Disclaimer
This article was submitted by one of our readers. Penciltrick cannot make any claims as to its authenticity but the article was accepted on a good faith belief that it is an accurate and truthful account of the events listed.

Richard Brown, a disabled Hep-C victim scraping by on the pennies we call “California Disability Pay,” secured a last minute appointment and dying hope for a liver transplant at Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona only to be refused boarding by Southwest Airlines because of his weight. Richard is suffering from the final stages of Hep-C, which includes grossly excessive water retention due to a failing liver. With an impending death sentence, Richard’s only hope is a liver transplant.

Richard Brown and his caretaker, Paul, boarded a Southwest flight in Sacramento to Phoenix on Sunday, January 21, 2007, with the hopes of receiving a life-saving liver transplant from Mayo Clinic.

Booking his flight and accommodations were no ordinary travel arrangement. The liver transplant appointment was granted at the last minute, and Richard, living on State Disability, could not afford the last minute flight fares and Scottsdale hotel accommodations. Richard’s mother, Lessie Diffey who is 70 years old and recovering from a recent heart operation, likewise could not afford to save her son’s life. Richard’s only hope was his daughter Ms. Brown who is currently residing in Japan. Ms. Brown, fighting international time zones and time constraints, arranged for accommodations and airplane fare.

Ms. Brown telephoned Southwest from Japan, informing them of her father’s condition. Ms. Brown was reassured that a note had been entered into the computer, notifying the gate agent of Richard’s condition. The bookings were made (note without any discount, which is normally afforded to medical emergency passengers), and Richard and his caretaker boarded the flight in Sacramento without occurrence.

Upon arrival in Scottsdale, Mayo Clinic denied Richard the liver, and referred him to the University of San Francisco. Richard changed his return flight to the next available flight from Phoenix to Sacramento in order to get in immediate contact with the University of San Francisco. Again, a race against his death’s clock.

Upon arrival at Southwest’s gate, the boarding agent refused to allow Richard to fly unless he purchased another ticket, citing Richard’s weight as the reason. The flight was not sold out, so an empty seat next to Richard was available and no passengers would be inconvenienced by Richard’s size. But seeing an opportunity to make an extra fare, Southwest’s agent, having been informed of Richard’s flailing medical condition and shown supporting medical documentation, refused to allow Richard to board, stating “each airport has their own rules and these are ours, no extra seat, no boarding.” Richard, not having access to readily available funds, could not afford to purchase another seat. Indeed, various family members contributed the only spare change they had to give Richard a mere $300 for meals and incidentals. Again, the plea for help fell on deaf Southwest ears.

Richard contacted his mother via a collect call, who in turn immediately called Southwest’s customer service, which turned out to be a myriad of transfers and wrong numbers. Customer service agent after customer service agent, each Southwest agent transferred Mrs. Diffey to a wrong number and refused to help, even once to the baggage department in Texas. Until finally, an agent in Dallas named Becky offered to pay for the ticket herself. All the while, Richard sat freezing wrapped in several blankets at the gate. The Southwest agent content to let him die in the boarding area.

Once an airline accepts the responsibility of allowing a passenger to travel, it is their responsibility to get the passenger home. Southwest appears not to care whether the passenger be alive or dead during his transit home.

Disclaimer
This article was submitted by one of our readers. Penciltrick cannot make any claims as to its authenticity but the article was accepted on a good faith belief that it is an accurate and truthful account of the events listed.

Hi Penciltrick,

I have a complaint I would like to submit for your post. This is concerning a christmas cake company in Texas (specifically Collin Street Bakery, Corsicana, Texas). I wanted to vent my frustration on their mishandling of my customer account.

Different members of my family have been ordering from them in the last 20 years or so. Somewhere along the line, someone apparently (I have no idea who) has a payment dispute with them. This has nothing really to do with me, or so I thought. However, when I decided to order from them (online) they delayed my order and did not even process it. It was not until I inquired about the delay that they told me about a payment that I still owe them. It was the first time I made a purchase with them so I could not have possibly owed them anything. After investigating with one of the customer service people, it was found to be a case of mistaken identity. This person in question apparently has the same last name and the same address, however the first name is different (obviously).

To add insult to the injury, I ended up paying extra postage for express to amend the delayed shipment.

So after that, everything seems fine for the last four years, until last week. I decided that since I have been ordering to give them out as gifts, I will order one for myself. Lo and behold, my order was again delayed and a letter from one of the management concerning a payment that I owe them. I thought maybe my Visa information was wrong, however, I have received my statements and Collin Street has charged my Visa already for the orders I have made. I also manage to go through all the orders in the past (yes I still have all my Visa statements with me, thank gods). Every payment was accounted for and paid in full.

I looked through my old emails (yes I have those too), and found out that it was the same mistake again like four years ago. They thought I was someone else. I have written them but so far no response. And to think that in the last four years, they have been charging my card without question….I think they have to learn to check their records a bit more carefully.

I can forgive the first time it happened and dismiss that as misunderstanding (I mean mistakes do happen). However, this is the second time it happened and all it tells me is that they are pretty sloppy to be mixing up my account with someone else’s. So far I have not recieved an appology. I have, however, filed a report with the Better Business Bureau. I will just have to wait and see what happens.

Thanks for listening.

Lawrence

Disclaimer
This article was submitted by one of our readers. Penciltrick cannot make any claims as to its authenticity but the article was accepted on a good faith belief that it is an accurate and truthful account of the events listed.

The letters below say it all – in response to my first letter, I was basically told “too bad, we had an ad – but thanks for your input”… If a company like Best Buy doesn’t control the representations of their employees, I have no idea what I, as a consumer, can do besides bluster. I suppose I need to get the name of every employee of whom I might ask a question… I’ve spent a lot of money at BB over the years, but unlike a neighborhood mom’n’pop, there is no way they can truly appreciate these things. I doubt there’s much that can be done, but I am hoping… thanks

W Gregory Stewart
248 N. Saltair Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90049

Best Buy
Corporate Customer Care
P.O. Box 949
Minneapolis, MN 55440

Oct. 28, 2006

To whom it may concern:

This is a complaint about deceptive practices and failure to address customer concerns.

On September 6 of this year, while shopping at a local Best Buy (11301 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA), my son saw a “Pre-Order” package for a game, 2142 Battlefield. Since it had a $10 price tag, he approached a sales associate and inquired if this was a full price or a deposit. He was told it was the full price. I stepped in to make sure – “so once we pay the $10, that’s going to be it? There’s nothing else we’d have to pay? It’s really the full price?”

The associate looked at the box carefully and told us, “No, that’s the full price.”

BASED ON THAT, we decide to purchase the item; we were told it would be available on October 17. It was not, which led to a fruitless trip to pick it up, but 2 days later, the item was in, and we went to pick it up.

Imagine our surprise to be told that what we had previously paid had indeed been just a deposit. If this had been an item I was purchasing for myself, I would have asked for my money back – but it was pointed out that we were past the refund period anyway, as incredible as that seems. Choosing not to disappoint my son – who had been eagerly awaiting the release of the game, and who was pleased with himself for having made such a seemingly good buy – I purchased the item, determining then to write this letter of complaint. (Since I was not able to speak with the manager, having received only his card – and not even his card, since his name (Rick Palese) was handwritten on it – this seems to be my only recourse.)

WHEN A CUSTOMER ASKS A POINT BLANK QUESTION about the nature of a purchase and receives such misinformation, one can only believe that there is fraud afoot, or incompetence – or both. Regardless, if BestBuy does not train OR stand behind their employees, they should post signs saying “Notice, question-askers – we may not tell you the truth, and we don’t care!”

This is not an appropriate way to do business. I have been informed that the sales associate responsible for the deception can be identified by the number 0374930 – when I asked if that was the person at the cash register, or the person who gave us the bad information, I was told the latter, but of course I have no way of knowing what’s true at Best Buy anymore.

An ironic side note – as I stood in line waiting to not talk to the manager, someone beside me was complaining to an employee that someone had sold her a $100 worth of software she didn’t need, since it was already on the computer.

A pattern begins to emerge….

PLEASE NOTE that after originally writing this letter, I decided to fax a synopsis to Mr Palese (using the fax before mailing it out, just in case he remained ignorant of what was going on, with an invitation to call us to put things right. Nearly a week has gone by and no contact has been made – I can only assume that he has no interest in how his customers feel.

Angrily,

W Gregory Stewart

Cc:

Rick Palese
11301 W. Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90064

Best Buy Co., Inc. Attorney General’s Office
Corporate Headquarters California Department of Justice
P.O. Box 9312 Attn: Public Inquiry Unit
Minneapolis, MN 55440-9312 P.O. Box 944255
Sacramento, CA 94244-2550

Better Business Bureau of the Southland Consumer Protection Division
315 North La Cadena Drive Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office
Colton, CA 92324 201 North Figueroa St., Suite 1600
Los Angeles, CA 90012

November 11, 2006

Steve Taylor
Best Buy Customer Care
POBox 9312
Minneapolis MN 55440-9312

Steve Taylor,

So let me see if I have this straight.

A father and son come in to look at CDs (in this case). Wandering through the store, the son sees an item with a price that seems like a VERY good deal and asks a question of a sales associate to see if in fact it is what it sounds like.

From your response, it seems that I am now to understand there is no point in asking questions and that it is incumbent upon any potential Best Buy customer to go out, obtain a copy every local paper in a three-city area, and look exhaustively through each for Best Buy ads before making any decision to purchase any item, just in case there is information about that item in any of those ads – AND THAT IT IS NOT NECESSARY FOR YOUR SALES ASSOCIATES to already be familiar with the specific of any such ads, and that additionally those associates cannot be trusted to provide accurate answers?

Such a policy really needs to be made clear to anyone entering your store, don’t you think? Possibly a sign that says “Best Buy takes no responsibility for anything their employees might tell you. No responsibility at all.” And then establish a policy that sales associates should be required to inform the customer that any answer given may not be reliable…

It is the height of arrogance to “thank [me] for making [you] aware of [my] concerns” when in fact you have provided neither real sincerity nor true recourse to an angered customer.

Specific questions asked, specific and incorrect answers given – and Corporate out the door, ignoring it all.

Angrily,

W Gregory Stewart

Disclaimer
This article was submitted by one of our readers. Penciltrick cannot make any claims as to its authenticity but the article was accepted on a good faith belief that it is an accurate and truthful account of the events listed.

What is wrong with Papa John’s Pizza?
Let’s review:

This began on November 6, 2006…

I “plan ahead” ordered two pizzas, four hours early, yet received two cold pizzas an hour late and no offer of compensation when calling the location to complain.

In a gesture of “good will”, the delivery person showed up to our dimly lighted house at 830pm two hours after the pizzas finally arrived, to drop off 4 Cokes (btw, we only drink Diet Coke), in the process woke up my kids and dogs.

I send an email to Papa John’s to complain and get a format email in response suggesting I take it up on a local level.

I explain that I have done that already with no satisfactory resolution.

Shane Little, a franchisee in Tallahassee, Florida calls me three days later and we exchange several voice mails. When we finally speak on the phone, he explains that he is actually in Florida and was forwarded my complaint in error but understands my frustration, assuring me someone will get in touch with me who can help.

Still waiting. Welcome to my country. This is turning in to “service” economy–good luck! Good news is this is only a $24 meal, nothing more.

Thanks?

Mike Gelman
Silver Spring MD

Disclaimer
This article was submitted by one of our readers. Penciltrick cannot make any claims as to its authenticity but the article was accepted on a good faith belief that it is an accurate and truthful account of the events listed.