Complain about a product or service

Candy Direct

magdalena of rosedale, NY October 19, 2009

i bought two bags of the 200 count mini haribo gold bears. this was the second time i placed this order. the first time i had no problem with the order. the second time, i recieved candy that was hard. i called the company and i was informed that the candy is hard sometimes. i told the female in customer service that i didn't want the hard candy. i was told that i would receive a call back and i gave her my information. i have not received a call back. i would have gladly exchanged the two bags of candy for bags that were not hard. now i have 400 packs of hard gummi bears. i will not be purchasing anything else from this company because i don't know what i will be getting. i tried to access the website and it is not working.

Mimi of New Orleans, LA March 6, 2006

I ordered 48 packets of 3.5 oz Jelly Belly Sours for my wedding guest bags. I received 24 packets of 2.25 oz Jelly Belly Sours and 10 packets of 3.5 oz Jelly Belly Sours with no invoice and a note saying that the rest of my order was on backorder. After trying several times by phone to resolve a replacement for my beans that would end with minimal effort on my end, I finally kept the incorrect shipment with the agreement that they would credit my card for what was not received.

Alsace of Orange, VA January 15, 2006

I spoke with one rep first about the tubs and price she hung up on me. I called back got a helpful rep who gave me info and explained that she can not approve this but will transfere me up to the owner. So I ordered 2 tubs of the 144ct count Kitts. I found them on a Candy Direct site that they were currently updating. The price was 16.95 per tub so I ordered two. When I called they told me the tubs were 23.95, I explained the site I am on and gave the link they said I need to speak with the owner who they stated is pregnant and do to go out on maternity leave at any time. I spoke with owner and said she would honor the price and I will see the full amout billed and then a credit for the difference of $14.00 this was never done.

When I received the one tub and a letter stating they were out of stock for the second tub they issued me a credit for only 23.95 one tub I am still waiting to receive my credit for the $7.00 on the one tub. I am appauled at the service and I will not recommend this company to anyone. Yes they have people who answer the phone but they are just order takers and that is probadly only what they get paid for not the service.

Misty of Portland, OR December 21, 2005

On December 7th, I placed an order with Candy Direct on the internet and requested 3 day shipping because I needed the items for a project I was doing that I had a short deadline in getting it out. One week later on December 14th, I recieved only half of my order (which is not 3 day shipping). I first emailed Candy Direct on the 14th and received no response.

On the 15th I called them and spoke with Sylvia. Sylvia told me that just because I ordered 3 day shipping, it doesnt mean I will recieve the product in three days (HUH?). She also said that sometimes the distributor might not have the items in stock, so it could take awhile before the items are actually shipped out. I brought to her attention that there is not a disclaimer anywhere on the website or on the confirmation that I received after placing my order that items could take up to 1-2 weeks to be shipped out. She then told me that she would need to contact the distributor and had ensured me that she will call me by the end of the day (which she never did).

December 16th, late afternoon, I called Sylvia back reminding her that she was suppose to call me and asked again what was going on with my order. I also mentioned to her that the 16th was my deadline to get my project done and sent out and am now needing the order to shipped over night to me. Again she told me that she would need to contact the distributor. I reminded her that she told me she was going to do that yesterday and call me back by the end of the day. THEN she tells me that she has them there in her possession, but because it was almost 5pm that she would not be able to ship them over night to me until Monday; and that she would put them on her supervisors (Cynthia) desk. I instructed her to have her supervisor call me Monday morning, which she said she would do first thing.

At noon on December 19th, I called Cynthia (as you can see, she never called me). She said she has the order and that she will have to get authorization to have the order sent over night (which Syliva has already promised to do). At this time I had also asked to have the $10.22 shipping cost reimbursed since I didnt receive any of my order in the 3 days that I paid for. Cynthia put me on hold for over 5 minutes. When she finally returned, she said, "GREAT news, I can overnight these to you at no extra cost." Like I had won a prize. She also told me that I cannot get my shipping cost reimbursed. I asked her who authorized that; she said her supervisor (Judy) and asked to speak with her. So, now I am talking to Judy; told her the whole story and told her that I needed the rest of my order right away. She PROMISED me that she would over night it to me and that I would have it by morning of December 20th. I asked her about having the $10.22 reimbursed and she said that because they will be losing on money on overnighting my order, she could not reimburse me the $10.22 (like thats MY fault!); but she did say she would look into it and call me back. She actually did call me back and left me a message indicating that indeed she would NOT reimburse my $10.22 shipping cost because it was going to cost her about $40 to ship the rest of my order (again, not my fault here).

It is now noon on December 20th and guess what?? I have not received the rest of my order. I called Judy and left her a message letting her know that I havent received my order yet. Two hours go by and she never calls me back. So, I call Judy back. She tells me that she didnt send my order out because I never called her back. I told her that there was no reason for me to call her back; i had already been promised (three times by now I believe) that they would be sent over night. So, once again I was promised that it was going to be shipped overnight and that I would have my product by the morning of December 21st.

At 11am today (December 21st) I called Judy letting her know that I havent received my items yet. She proceeded to tell me that she did not ship them and they were now out of the items. I asked her what happened to my items she told me that she had in her hands and had promised me now for four days that they would over night to me and she just said that they were gone.

Needless to say, I am livid. Candy Direct's website has posted the following guarantee; "We treat all customers with care and respect. The Candy Direct staff strives to provide you with extraordinary service, fast delivery, and fresh product. Your satisfaction is guaranteed. Please tell us about your experience with us so that we may learn from our past successes and mistakes." This in no way shape or form occurred.

Heidi of Beverly, MA November 19, 2005

On September 19, I ordered a shipment of Altoids breath strips (something you can no longer find in the stores) to be sent to a friend. As it stood, he was out of state visiting his family when UPS attempted to deliver the package, and it was sent back to Candy Direct.

Also on September 19, I left for graduate school in Scotland. While checking the tracking number online at the beginning of October, I saw that the package had been returned, and emailed Candy Direct and asked them what my options would be. A week later, when I still did not hear, I called the company (keep in mind that I am in Scotland now and this was expensive), and spoke with an unpleasant representative. I was informed on the telephone that they would reship the order if I would be willing to repay the shipping charges. I agreed, and gave the woman I spoke with my credit card number again, as well as a different address for the package to be delivered to. She informed me that she would process the order as soon as possible. A few days later I finally received a very pleasant email from the company, asking me what I wanted to do. I emailed back and stated that the matter had already been taken care of and said that I would like the package reshipped.

Two weeks later, I checked my credit card statement and saw that nothing had been charged, and my friend informed me that he had not received the package. At this point, I wrote a lengthy email asking what was happening, and once again stated that I would like the package to be reshipped. Still no response.

A few days after that I once again checked my credit card statement and saw that I had been CREDITED the money for the package back. At this point I was extremely frustrated (still am), and sent yet another email stating my displeasure and restated all of the information. I asked to receive a response so that the package could be reshipped. Today is exactly 2 months from the initial order, and I have never heard from the company again. At this point I angry with the lack of response. Being in Scotland and trying to save my pounds for studying abroad for the year, I am remiss to have to call again.

Phyllis of Manakin Sabot ., VA August 4, 2005

on or about July 24 I ordered a box of candy to be sent to Julia , Richmond Va for her 95th birthday. The candy was never received by her, although I was billed for $31.54 from candy direct.Of course I was disappointed that she did not receive her gift.

Kristin of Omaha, NE January 18, 2003

I ordered choc hearts form candy direct for my wedding. Their web site states that chocolates by madelaine are 64pcs/lb and 5lbs are $32.80 so I ordered 25lbs for a total of 1600 pcs. When the order came it was only 40pcs/lb for a total of 1000 pcs in 25lbs. I have emailed them and they fail to see how it is false advertising even though I was shorted 600 pcs. The customer service representive Edna has been very rude and I have been unable to resolve anything

Kristin of Omaha (1/18/03):
I ordered chocolate hearts for my wedding. Their web site states that Chocolates by Madelaine are 64 pcs/lb and 5 lbs are $32.80 so I ordered 25 lbs for a total of 1600 pcs. When the order came it was only 40 pcs/lb for a total of 1000 pcs in 25 lbs. I have emailed them and they fail to see how it is false advertising even though I was shorted 600 pcs. The customer service representive Edna has been very rude and I have been unable to resolve anything.

I would now have to send another $130.00 to get the amount of chocolates that I thought I was ordering in the first place. I don't have enough chocolates to use at my wedding as it stands.

The company responds:

We never advertised what she is saying and offered her a refund. The customer was extremely rude to our employee by yelling and screaming at her. It's perfectly ok to get angry (especially as your wedding day approaches) but there is a point where constructive dialogue ends. We instruct all employees not to take verbal abuse. Our policy allows employees to work in safety rather than as robots without feelings. The job of a customer service representative is to deal with problems and complaints; however, they must be empowered to stand up for themselves in certain situations.

We answer the phone with live humans rather than asking customers to e-mail because we want to solve problems quickly. Everyone hired at Candy Direct is quite friendly and eager to help customers. Candy Direct is not in the business of losing customers. Customers pay our bills.

Stephen Traino
President/CEO
Candy Direct, Inc.

Greg of Custer MI (2/14/04):
I ordered and my credit card was charged for a candy basket for my terminaly ill wife for Valentines Day. I ordered it 2nd day air (Airborne Exp) on the 10th of Feb. I called them on the 12th. They said it was shipped on the 10th, but by US Postal service. They gave me a tracking number which I checked out to find it was never shipped.

On the 13th I called Candy Direct, A female put me on hold for awhile, later to come back online to tell me they need to call me back so I am not on hold. They never did call me back. Now it is the 14th, with no gift for my sick wife. They had no problem charging my credit card including 22.00 for Airborne Express. No phone call, no apology, nothing from them.

The company responds:

I did some research on this order and see that we shipped his candy on the 10th but it did not arrive until the 17th. The Valentine's Day holiday is one of the busiest times of the year for our business and we do our best to make sure all orders arrive correctly. The bouquet should have easily arrived before the 14th; however, sometimes delivery services can be slower than they advertise during major holidays.

It looks like we did not handle our customer's phone call correctly and I am analyzing his comments to improve our systems. Meanwhile, over the past several months we have hired additional customer service representatives to help handle call volume. It looks like our customer service people came through and did their job correctly when they refunded the customer's credit card in full on February 17th. The candy cost was refunded along with the delivery fee. Of course, this does not totally fix the problem that occurred and for this I am personally sorry.

Stephen Traino
President/CEO
Candy Direct, Inc.

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