8 replies to this topic

[Luminosity]

I've been ordered from them for about five or six months. They double-charge my cards for seven days each time. They don't keep the extra money. They place duplicate holds, one of which drops off within seven days. I've tried repeatedly to get them to stop this without results.

Anyone else had this problem?

[niner]

I've not had the problem that I know of, but my god, that is really unacceptable behavior. What do they tell you about it? Do they say it's not really happening, or it's your fault, or that "everyone does it"? It's basically theft, and seems like it would be illegal, or should be.

[nameless]

It does sound illegal.

I've heard of companies putting holds on credit cards before shipping an item. Or a token amount for activation for some subscription, or things like that (paypal comes to mind). But I never heard of a company double-charging before.

You could contact the credit card company directly, report them, and use a different place to order from next time. I'd recommend either Swanson's or iHerb.

For iHerb people, I do notice they now are offering 2-day shipping free and their VIP discounts are somewhat better now (10% for over $100 purchases).

Edit: Or I think it's 2-day shipping. They advertise it as 2-day shipping on their main page. Yet under the order section they now call it 1-3 day shipping. And under that they state: Delivers in 1-4 business days, Mon-Fri... so who knows really...

Edited by nameless, 07 October 2011 - 02:06 AM.

[niner]

For iHerb people, I do notice they now are offering 2-day shipping free and their VIP discounts are somewhat better now (10% for over $100 purchases).

That's interesting. I wonder if people left in droves and they wised up? I was a loyal iherb customer, but trashing the vip discount was the last straw. I don't know if I'll go back or not; they'll have to beat swanson on price.

[nameless]

For iHerb people, I do notice they now are offering 2-day shipping free and their VIP discounts are somewhat better now (10% for over $100 purchases).

That's interesting. I wonder if people left in droves and they wised up? I was a loyal iherb customer, but trashing the vip discount was the last straw. I don't know if I'll go back or not; they'll have to beat swanson on price.

Yeah, I'm pretty much the same. But they do have one item that I order that Swanson's doesn't carry, so I never left them completely. I just ordered less from them.

One thing about Swanson's, which i believe iHerb stopped doing.... Swanson's will price match, and I think offer back double the difference in price too. They also have a great return policy. They even take back opened supplements, which comes in handy when trying something new. No fun to buy something, find out it kills your stomach, then are stuck with a nearly full bottle.

Edited by nameless, 07 October 2011 - 02:23 AM.

[Luminosity]

Vitacost told me that they were "preauthorizing" the card, and that that hold would drop off within 24 hours. They said the second hold was when they shipped the orders, typically the next day. They said that my bank would look for and find duplicate charges and eliminate the second one. They said that their belief was that their customers might have duplicate holds but only for twenty four hours [which is still illegal].

My bank said that they do not understand the term "pre-authorization" and that Vitacost was indeed placing two holds on the funds. My bank said they do not and they cannot look for duplicate holds. They said that after seven days if a draft (transferring the funds to the merchant) hasn't come through on a hold, that that hold drops off automatically. My bank said that no one other than Vitacost does what they do. That is my experience also. At least three times I've had charges declined because of duplicate holds placed by Vitacost.

I tried the other companies, but they want to use bad shipping options to where I live. They don't even really tell you what carrier or method they use to ship. It could take two weeks, or even six to eight weeks for the stuff to get here. USPS Priority Mail would take three to five days and might cost only a quarter more, so that's hard to take. One of those companies didn't have that much of what I needed.

VIP discounts? Tell me more.

Another thing that annoys me about Vitacost is that they don't seem to realize that I am a high-spending customer. When my last order was declined, because of THEIR duplicate hold, they didn't contact me to let me know and ask for another credit card number. I found out when the order didn't arrive. Once half-way through a two hundred dollar order, their system disconnected us, which they told me happens, sometimes, and I had to call them back to complete the order. Because of stuff like this, I get exhausted and I missed the thirty-day deadline to return some merchandise, which was unopened. I asked them if they would extend the deadline but they just said no. I spend at least a hundred dollars a month with them. I didn't get the feeling they knew or cared. I am looking for a company with a great selection, who will ship USPS Priority Mail, accepts phone orders, and is well-run. And yes, I would like them to care a little more than Vitacost seems to, especially if you are one of their highest spending customers.

Edited by Luminosity, 07 October 2011 - 03:14 AM.

[nameless]

VIP discounts? Tell me more.

iHerb gives repeat customers who spend a certain amount VIP status, so they can get (currently) 5% off any order, up to 10% off if the order is over $100. It used to be a bit more for larger orders, but it's not so terrible now.

They lowered the rates a short while ago, sort of annoying their most loyal customers here, many of whom switched to Swanson's instead. Perhaps they raised the rates due to lost customers, or it's coincidence.

As for shipping, not sure where you live, nor know what the best way to ship to you. iHerb usually uses UPS for the free orders (in the US). Swanson's sometimes uses USPS or UPS.

[Luminosity]

Thanks. Yeah, I felt that Vitacost should do more for me. I didn't even get the free shipping they gave to people in the continental U.S. We had to pay the whole cost of the shipping, instead of the difference in price from the continental U.S. I got nothing for spending that much, and they can't even process an order properly, and they can't extend a deadline for returns. There's just something wrong there.

[pamojja]

I've been ordered from them for about five or six months. They double-charge my cards for seven days each time.

Anyone else had this problem?

That's strange. I order from them since almost 2 years without any such problems (same amount like yours). In my case double charging wouldn't even work, because I only use pre-paid credit cards with a value of 150,-€ each, which I use with each order to its full amount. Never any problems.