Complaint Review: floristexpress.com

What a total ripoff FloristExpress is.  I have used many online florists and have never had a problem like this except once, not coincidentally with ProFlowers, the company who does the billing for FloristExpress, who were completely unable or unwilling to fix this problem. If I had known ProFlowers was behind FloristExpress, I never would have used them.

To give the short version, I responded to an online FloristExpress ad offering a seemingly nice special that day. The flowers were $52.95 for a simple but pretty mixed bouquet with a balloon, and I upgraded to the next level (more flowers) for another $10 and added a small stuffed animal -- that was supposed to be affixed somehow to the balloon, vase or flowers -- for $9.99. I thought the delivery charge of $17.99 was a little high, but not unheard of, and approved the transaction. I had chosen the bouquet from a small list of products available for same day delivery since the birthday was that day. There was NO MENTION of TWO ADDITIONAL CHARGES -- a $4.99 "WEEKEND CHARGE" and another $4.99 "SAME DAY CHARGE".  I shop online frequently and review final order screens carefully.

When I didn't receive a confirmation email right away, I didn't think much of it, figured it would show up later. It didn't, but the flowers were being delivered that day, so I didn't worry about it. The flowers were delivered without the bear and the driver came back 10 minutes later and handed a loose bear to her. Not quite as effective as a single presentation of flowers, balloon and bear, but it was fine -- everyone makes mistakes.

A few days later I saw the AMEX charge and noticed the two extra $4.99 fees. I called ProFlowers, the name on the bill, and was put on hold while they checked with FloristExpress. She told me essentially that there was nothing they could do. I had no recourse because I had not printed the order screen -- reputable companies send confirmation emails, but I had not received one.

I considered disputing the charge with AMEX but decided it wasn't worth them spending the time processing it for $9.98. I am not pursuing this, but I will never do business with either of those companies again. My last experience with ProFlowers was even worse -- the product they sent was pitiful -- nothing at all like the pictures.