Complaint Review: Allied Trade Group Inc.

On February 9, 2011, I placed an order with ATGstores.com for some Italuce Waterproof Flexible Strip LED light strips to install in a car wash. I had to call the online store because the length was not easily found on their page.  I was shown the link to click to get the length - 196.8" long by .5" wide.  I went ahead and placed the order for 20 units, 4 of each of the 5 colors.  I was told on the phone by the ATG representative that the order would probably not ship until Monday the 14th.  My boss wants these installed in the wash before our Grand Opening on March 5th, so I figure I have plenty of time for installation.

February 17, I called to check on the status of my order because I hadn't yet received my LED strips.  I was told that the manufacturer, Italuce, would be contacted and I would get a call back later in the day or the next day (Friday).  I also checked, and the credit card had already been charged for the order.

February 21, I called back after the weekend because I hadn't received a return call.  Again, was told that they would contact the manufacturer and get back with me.

February 23, I received a return call saying that there was a delay in shipping, and that the expected ship date had changed to March 2.  If the order can ship fast enough, I can still get them installed on time, even if it means some long hours one night.

March 3, Tina, a Fulfillment Associate at ATG, tried to call me but I was in the wash tunnel with our engineer and didn't hear the phone ring.  Shortly after, I received an email from Tina:

"A question has come up regarding your order. How many feet of each cable light
are you ordering? The price on our site is per foot and we want to make sure
that you understand that before the order is filled. The mfr is the one who
raised the question so your order has not been processed as of yet. Please get
back to me as soon as possible regarding this issue."

Now, I know that the length of the strips is supposed to be 196.8", which is just above 16 feet.  I even re-checked the website.  The length was still the same, but the price had changed to "Not for sale".  So I call the associate back and she told me that the manufacturer does not want to fill the order because "the price was incorrectly stated", but that they (ATG) would try to get everything figured out and get back to me.

March 5, Day of Grand Opening, I called and spoke with Scott, who basically told me he couldn't help me...  Nobody was there that could do anything about my order.

March 7, Today, I called ATG and spoke with someone who wasn't sure what was going on with my order...  Said it should ship in the next few days, until I filled her in on the situation.  I explained that my boss is upset that we placed an order for these lights over 3 weeks ago and I am not getting a good enough reason as to why we haven't gotten them yet.  Boss says he is going to call the BBB if he doesn't get some reasonable info about our order.

About an hour later, Tina calls and explains that she has 7 separate orders (mine included), and that she is canceling all the orders because even though the manufacturer misquoted the price, he refuses to fill the orders.

Now, I can understand if there is a mistyped number (single digit) in the price, or in this case length, on a webstore.  Mistakes happen.  But I was on the phone with an ATG rep when I placed the order who confirmed the length before the company credit card was charged.  I called repeatedly concerning the status of my order.  And it took over 3 weeks (well after the ship date) to tell me that there was a problem with the price...  the original price being reasonable and the new price being just retarded.  (No offense to anyone)

This sale was a done-deal.  Everything was finished except that I hadn't received my product.  If this had been a simple mistype, I believe it would have been found a lot earlier.  Italuce just decided that they did not want to honor their sale WELL AFTER the product should have shipped.

It is my opinion that the manufacturer should honor it's agreement and fill the order...  even if the price was misquoted.  Or, the "middle man" ATG should cover the difference since they are the ones that made the sale to begin with.  These 2 companies, though completely separate, have agreed to work together...  one to make/import a product and the other to sell/distribute it.

I do not recommend ordering anything from Italuce over the internet...  prices are subject to change even after the sale.