Schiehallion
New Member
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2002
- Messages
- 3
I thought that the time was right to tell you about a disappointing experience that I had at http://www.humidordiscount.com/ i.e. my credit card has now been re-funded.
I will make a point of cutting and pasting from e-mails to ensure that the story is totally accurate.
I went on holiday to Cuba, mid September to the start of October. I came back with something approaching 150 cigars between myself and my wife. We went through the red channel at Gatwick, and were waved through by the nice man for our honesty (I wish I had brought more!).
Previously, I had bought quite a bit of stuff from http://www.humidordiscount.com including a 75 cigar size ‘Venezia’ humidor. I was delighted with everything that I bought, and gave recommendations for the company on this and other cigar forums.
I realised before we returned from Cuba that I would have to buy a bigger humidor, so on my return I logged on to http://www.humidordiscount.com and ordered a
Humidor Venezia (grande) "Special Edition" at 140 Euro, a couple of cutters and a digital hygrometer.
The package duly arrived care of Parcel Force, and was very well packaged. After unpacking I went throught the procedure to set up the humidor i.e. wiping it down with distilled water, filling the humidifiers with glycol and sitting a glass of distilled water inside for three days.
The day before my cigars were due to go in, I was sitting on a chair that was at eye level with the humidor, and I noticed that the lid had a gap of almost 2 mm at the back due to the hinges not being recessed enough.
I sent an e-mail to http://www.humidordiscount.com/ raising my concerns, and asking that they give me a replacement by return, which would let me set it up, put my Cubans in, and send back the faulty one. Two days later, I received a reply from Marco Ferrauti which read:
“We are very sorry that the humidor you have received does not close correctly. You can either send it back and we will send you a replacement or we could send you an accessories which can cost up to € 14, 00. Another possibility is giving you a discount of 10% for the humidor. Please inform us about your decision. If you have any further questions do not hesitate to contact us.”
I found this offer very strange, and my reply that day was:
“I think I would sooner have a humidor with a lid that closes perfectly. I am prepared to send it back to you for replacement. Could you please let me know which postal method you would like me to use, and confirm that you will refund the postal charges in full.
Obviously this is something of an inconvenience, since I have just returned from Cuba and have four boxes of cigars which should have been going into the humidor tomorrow. It would appear to me that a proper quality control check was not done on this item. I feel that if I am to continue giving your company good reports to others on internet cigar forums, then I must receive quality goods and service. I find your offer of either replacement or compensation a bit strange. I think that you should be replacing the humidor by express post, and compensating me for the shoddy workmanship and my inconvenience.
I should again advise that I have fitted the Velcro for the two rectangular humidifiers and the round, self adhesive magnet for the digital hygrometer. Can I assume that when you send the new humidor, it will come with two pieces of Velcro and a new magnet?“
I received a reply four days later which read:
We would like to apologize again for the inconveniences. You do not need to use any special postal methods when you send back the parcel. When you bring the parcel to your post office you could ask for a confirmation of the act of dispatching. You can fax us the confirmation. As soon as we have received it we will send you the replacement. Concerning the digital hygrometer please send it back with the humidor and we will replace it as well.
The following day I sent off the humidor using parcel force, and sent Mr Ferruti the following e-mail:
As requested, I sent off the faulty humidor by parcel post this morning. I have attached a scan of the proof of posting and the cash receipt. The cost of postage is £32.95, and I would be pleased if could inform me when you have refunded this amount to my credit card.
I would ask that you send the new humidor, including two humidifiers and a new digital hygrometer on receipt of this e-mail. I should point out that the humidifiers had been filled with Humifit glycol, and so I would appreciate a new bottle from you, to allow me to fill the new ones when it arrives.
Later that day, I received the following humorous e-mail:
Unfortunately we can not refund you the total amount of £32.95 as this price is too high. We did not even pay the half of the price for sending the items to the UK. We will refund you € 20, 00.
My reply by return was:
I must insist upon a full postal refund. I asked you which method you would like me to use to post this back to you, and followed your instruction to the letter. If postal costs are higher in the UK than in Germany, it is no fault of mine. You did not ask me to get an estimate of the postal cost. The humidor was delivered to me by Parcel Force and it was sent back by exactly the same company. If I do not receive a new humidor, hygrometer, fluid and a full refund of the postage, I will pass my experience of your company onto my credit card company, and also whatever organisation you have in your country for trading standards.
May I also remind you that this item is being returned to you as it is faulty i.e.. unfit for the purpose that it was intended. Why should I be penalised for problems within your company? I should be charging you for my time and the expense of driving to the post office.
The following day, I checked the small print on their site, which said that they would be responsible for the return postage on any faulty item. It also said that they would send a replacement on receipt of the faulty item. So I sent him this e-mail:
I am somewhat disappointed that I have not received a reply from you today, although looking back at your previous replies, they seem to be a bit sporadic.
I have looked at your website, and it appears to me that you are breaking your own terms and conditions.
I should point out to you that I have in excess of 100 Cubans drying out at present. I have made some groundwork with enquiries to Trading Standards, and it would appear that if I contact them in this country, they will pass it on to their counterparts in Germany. My creditcard company will be no problem as they will refund me in total and take up the matter with you. However, essentially all I want is a humidor suitable for the purpose, humidifiers, replacement fluid and a new digital hygrometer.
I realise that you may have thought the postal costs expensive, but that is out of my control. It may be that you have to accept a loss on this sale. At the moment, I have held back from posting adverse publicity about your customer service on the internet, however if I have no reply by tomorrow evening (you promised to post the humidor on receipt of the proof of posting), I will contact the credit card company, Trading Standards and all the cigar forums that I am aware of on Friday.
The following day, I received the following reply:
We will send you the new humidor, a new digital hygrometer and a bottle of humidification solution. Besides we will refund you the total cost of return. We hope that you will be pleased with the new humidor. Moreover we would like to apologize again for the inconveniences.
Seven days later, the replacement humidor arrived with all the bits and pieces. There is still a very small gap at the back of the lid on this one, which I have not informed them of, as I don’t think it is worth the hassle.
My tip to all Stogie smokers would be to steer clear of this company. Two phrases spring to mind “Buy cheap, buy twice” and “Buyer beware!”
Regards
Michael Campbell
I will make a point of cutting and pasting from e-mails to ensure that the story is totally accurate.
I went on holiday to Cuba, mid September to the start of October. I came back with something approaching 150 cigars between myself and my wife. We went through the red channel at Gatwick, and were waved through by the nice man for our honesty (I wish I had brought more!).
Previously, I had bought quite a bit of stuff from http://www.humidordiscount.com including a 75 cigar size ‘Venezia’ humidor. I was delighted with everything that I bought, and gave recommendations for the company on this and other cigar forums.
I realised before we returned from Cuba that I would have to buy a bigger humidor, so on my return I logged on to http://www.humidordiscount.com and ordered a
Humidor Venezia (grande) "Special Edition" at 140 Euro, a couple of cutters and a digital hygrometer.
The package duly arrived care of Parcel Force, and was very well packaged. After unpacking I went throught the procedure to set up the humidor i.e. wiping it down with distilled water, filling the humidifiers with glycol and sitting a glass of distilled water inside for three days.
The day before my cigars were due to go in, I was sitting on a chair that was at eye level with the humidor, and I noticed that the lid had a gap of almost 2 mm at the back due to the hinges not being recessed enough.
I sent an e-mail to http://www.humidordiscount.com/ raising my concerns, and asking that they give me a replacement by return, which would let me set it up, put my Cubans in, and send back the faulty one. Two days later, I received a reply from Marco Ferrauti which read:
“We are very sorry that the humidor you have received does not close correctly. You can either send it back and we will send you a replacement or we could send you an accessories which can cost up to € 14, 00. Another possibility is giving you a discount of 10% for the humidor. Please inform us about your decision. If you have any further questions do not hesitate to contact us.”
I found this offer very strange, and my reply that day was:
“I think I would sooner have a humidor with a lid that closes perfectly. I am prepared to send it back to you for replacement. Could you please let me know which postal method you would like me to use, and confirm that you will refund the postal charges in full.
Obviously this is something of an inconvenience, since I have just returned from Cuba and have four boxes of cigars which should have been going into the humidor tomorrow. It would appear to me that a proper quality control check was not done on this item. I feel that if I am to continue giving your company good reports to others on internet cigar forums, then I must receive quality goods and service. I find your offer of either replacement or compensation a bit strange. I think that you should be replacing the humidor by express post, and compensating me for the shoddy workmanship and my inconvenience.
I should again advise that I have fitted the Velcro for the two rectangular humidifiers and the round, self adhesive magnet for the digital hygrometer. Can I assume that when you send the new humidor, it will come with two pieces of Velcro and a new magnet?“
I received a reply four days later which read:
We would like to apologize again for the inconveniences. You do not need to use any special postal methods when you send back the parcel. When you bring the parcel to your post office you could ask for a confirmation of the act of dispatching. You can fax us the confirmation. As soon as we have received it we will send you the replacement. Concerning the digital hygrometer please send it back with the humidor and we will replace it as well.
The following day I sent off the humidor using parcel force, and sent Mr Ferruti the following e-mail:
As requested, I sent off the faulty humidor by parcel post this morning. I have attached a scan of the proof of posting and the cash receipt. The cost of postage is £32.95, and I would be pleased if could inform me when you have refunded this amount to my credit card.
I would ask that you send the new humidor, including two humidifiers and a new digital hygrometer on receipt of this e-mail. I should point out that the humidifiers had been filled with Humifit glycol, and so I would appreciate a new bottle from you, to allow me to fill the new ones when it arrives.
Later that day, I received the following humorous e-mail:
Unfortunately we can not refund you the total amount of £32.95 as this price is too high. We did not even pay the half of the price for sending the items to the UK. We will refund you € 20, 00.
My reply by return was:
I must insist upon a full postal refund. I asked you which method you would like me to use to post this back to you, and followed your instruction to the letter. If postal costs are higher in the UK than in Germany, it is no fault of mine. You did not ask me to get an estimate of the postal cost. The humidor was delivered to me by Parcel Force and it was sent back by exactly the same company. If I do not receive a new humidor, hygrometer, fluid and a full refund of the postage, I will pass my experience of your company onto my credit card company, and also whatever organisation you have in your country for trading standards.
May I also remind you that this item is being returned to you as it is faulty i.e.. unfit for the purpose that it was intended. Why should I be penalised for problems within your company? I should be charging you for my time and the expense of driving to the post office.
The following day, I checked the small print on their site, which said that they would be responsible for the return postage on any faulty item. It also said that they would send a replacement on receipt of the faulty item. So I sent him this e-mail:
I am somewhat disappointed that I have not received a reply from you today, although looking back at your previous replies, they seem to be a bit sporadic.
I have looked at your website, and it appears to me that you are breaking your own terms and conditions.
I should point out to you that I have in excess of 100 Cubans drying out at present. I have made some groundwork with enquiries to Trading Standards, and it would appear that if I contact them in this country, they will pass it on to their counterparts in Germany. My creditcard company will be no problem as they will refund me in total and take up the matter with you. However, essentially all I want is a humidor suitable for the purpose, humidifiers, replacement fluid and a new digital hygrometer.
I realise that you may have thought the postal costs expensive, but that is out of my control. It may be that you have to accept a loss on this sale. At the moment, I have held back from posting adverse publicity about your customer service on the internet, however if I have no reply by tomorrow evening (you promised to post the humidor on receipt of the proof of posting), I will contact the credit card company, Trading Standards and all the cigar forums that I am aware of on Friday.
The following day, I received the following reply:
We will send you the new humidor, a new digital hygrometer and a bottle of humidification solution. Besides we will refund you the total cost of return. We hope that you will be pleased with the new humidor. Moreover we would like to apologize again for the inconveniences.
Seven days later, the replacement humidor arrived with all the bits and pieces. There is still a very small gap at the back of the lid on this one, which I have not informed them of, as I don’t think it is worth the hassle.
My tip to all Stogie smokers would be to steer clear of this company. Two phrases spring to mind “Buy cheap, buy twice” and “Buyer beware!”
Regards
Michael Campbell
