Complaint Review: ecig4free

Unfortunately (for me) a friend sent me a link to Ecig Consumer News.  The free trial offer for Prado E-Cigarettes was for $9.95 to cover shipping & handling. This fee is NON refundable.  

I received an email order confirmation on 4-22-10 at 4:53pm CST which indicated it is an international transaction & "your bank may charge you a fee accordingly".  It also included a customer service phone number.  The confirmation also indicated the charge would appear as SOLUTION TO NET and AIRIENSCE on my bank statement.  I attempted to contact them shortly after receiving the email only to discover they closed at 4:30pm MST.  I then sent an email to cancel my order in its entirety.  I have never received a response to my email.  When I checked my bank account, it appeared as a pending charge @$39.04. I contacted my bank & was informed it couldn't be cancelled because it was pending.  When it "posts" the vendor will need to issue a credit OR I will need to dispute the charge.  The credit was posted & the total charges were$9.73.

I called again 4-23-10 at 11:00am CST to cancel & to report the pending charge in the amount of $39.04.  I was informed this is a pre-authorization amount in case I wanted to upgrade my order.  This amount will revert to $9.85.  I was also informed that my order had already been shipped which I found very surprising.  Shipped in less than 24 hours???  I was given an RMA#  & an extra 4 days to return the product.  At NO time during this conversation was I informed of the 30% restocking free NOR was I informed or reminded I would be charged $89.95 + $59.95 + $9.95 S&H approximately 10 days after the initial shipment of the trial offer.

I called again on 4-26-10  & was informed the pkg shipped 4-23-10 via USPS & that the pkg was in Austin TX.  I received the pkg on 4-27-10 at approximately 3:30pm.  I returned the item (unopened) 4-28-10 via Priority Mail. 

On 5-3-10, I checked my bank account.  OMG a pending charge appeared in the amount of $150.26.  I called again & was advised a credit in the amount of $104.93 would be issued but I was subject to a 30% restocking fee @$45.33.  I asked to speak to a supervisor but that didn't happen, nor did the supervisor return my call as promised.  Page 3 of the terms also provided an address for consumer complaints at 21001 North Tatum Blvd Suite 1630-136 Phoenix, AZ. At the bottom of the page it lists governing law as "The laws of the State of Arizona, without regard to its conflict of law principles, will govern these terms."   

I plan to follow the Editor's suggestions as well as other reports concerning filing a complaint with the Arizona Attorney General & Texas Attorney General.  I wish I had known about RipOffReport.com (thanks to a different friend) before I got into this mess.  NOTHING IS EVER FREE!