Complain about a product or service

Copa Responds

Copa Hair Products • Doesn't work • Not received • No refund • Unauthorized charges • Copa responds --- • Copa Settles Federal Charges

Copa has responded to the complaints on our site. The text of their letter follows:

Dear Consumer Affairs.com,

I would like to a moment to introduce myself. My name is Jim Dalton. I am customer service manager for the new ownership of Copa Hair Products. After reviewing the postings about our company on your Web site, Consumer Affairs.com, I want to offer some information regarding Copa under its new ownership. I also want to propose an exchange of information that will be of assistance to our current and future customers and all those who choose to visit your Web site.

A New Copa?
The new ownership of Copa has no relationship whatsoever with the previous ownership. The entire management team is new and our business philosophy is quite different. We come to this new business with years of direct marketing experience and a desire to provide excellent products and services to a loyal customer base. We are determined to rebuild this business and regain the trust of customers who have been loyal to the product but who have not gotten the best service in the past.

Where is Copa Located?
To clarify our physical location, our corporate offices are located in New York City at 16 E.40th Street in New York City. Our warehouse is located in Jersey City, New Jersey and our call center is located in Hicksville, New York. This information can and should be given to any consumer who is looking to get in touch with us. Our product return address is clearly printed on our packing slips and is posted on our Web site.

The new management of Copa is committed to providing its customers with the best possible products and services. Nothing would please us more than to be able to satisfy our current customers and customers who did business with the former ownership of Copa.

In order to better inform and assist our customers, I would ask that you post a summary of this information on your Web site so that our present and future customers have a clearer understanding of the company that they are doing business with today. I also ask that you forward to me directly any information you may have regarding the postings on your Web site so that I may address them promptly. With specific names, addresses, and phone numbers we can follow up on our commitment to working with you and other consumer protection groups to resolving any and all customer concerns.

How are we addressing the issue raised on your Web site?

Customers Unable to Reach Copa
As we became aware that customers were having a hard time contacting us, we added more phone lines and trained operators in order to make ourselves more accessible to customers calling for information or assistance with customer service issues. We will continue to add phone lines and operators if our call volume increases.

No Refund
Since we took over the business in February of 2000, we have been faced with the challenge of dealing with a series of customer service problems that we uncovered as we began to hear from customers. We decided to honor returns made on sales that took place before we owned the company. In response to our customers' concerns, we have issued over 500 refund checks to date for product purchased from the previous owners of the company. It is quite possible that some of the customers who complained that they had yet to be refunded were part of this group and have since been refunded. Processing these requests has been difficult because we did not receive complete and accurate records during the transfer of ownership.

In addition, product returned to the old Copa address in California has been lost in the mail because there was no one at the old address to receive it and forward it to us. These problems have not prevented us from issuing refunds to customers. We continue to issue refunds to these customers on a regular basis. I will personally research, contact and issue refunds to all of the consumers on your site who have yet to receive refunds. Please forward to me their names, addresses, and any other pertinent information that you may have.

Delays in Shipping
As for customers who claim that they have experienced delays in receiving their merchandise, we have been aware of this situation and have corrected it by taking a series of operational measures that will allow us to keep up with present and future demand for the products. We are now up to date with all orders and they are shipped out as soon as they are received. Our previous backorder situation was the result of this year's phenomenal and unanticipated success. I will be glad to research the complaints on your site to see that each customer's concerns are addressed.

Unauthorized Charges
As to the issue of customers who claim they did not order items for which they were charged, we do our best to get customers' orders right and we do so most of the time. Sometimes we fall short and operators make mistakes. We are willing to fix them. If overdraft or overlimit fees are involved, we are willing to work with our customers to see that any problems that are the result of a misunderstanding or operator error are addressed fairly. We always give our customers the benefit of the doubt and are glad to refund their money in these cases. No customer will ever be forced to pay for merchandise that he/she did not order. This is not how we do business at Copa. This type of claim is not uncommon in the direct marketing industry as there can be misunderstandings as to what customers are really ordering or errors made on the part of the telephone representative who took the order.

We take such claims seriously. Neither we as a company nor the outsourcers whom we employ instruct, condone or encourage anyone to add merchandise to customers' orders. We have controls in place to prevent this. We work with our outsourcers to insure that when errors do occur, they are followed up on and reviewed with the employee involved. Our only goal is make sure that our customers are happy. We want to see that they get what they ordered and only what they ordered. I will be glad to research and resolve the complaints on your site. I can assure you that in these cases, full refunds will be issued whenever customers have requested them.

Product Does Not Work As Advertised
To address the final issue of Copa not working for everyone, the new ownership of Copa has never claimed or guaranteed that the product would work for or was suited for everyone. We even include test packets and clear test instructions to allow consumers to determine if the product will really work for them. If customers are unhappy with the product, they may return it to us for a full refund with no questions asked. We will be glad to issue refunds to customers who are unhappy with the results of using Copa. I will research any claims made on your Web site and can assure you that in these cases, full refunds will be issued whenever customers have requested them.

We value highly the close working relationships that we have with consumer protection groups and state regulatory agencies. Your partnership with us has been important in helping us understand the scope of the problems that we have inherited and how they have affected our customers.

Sincerely,

Jim Dalton
Customer Service Manager, Copa Hair Care Products

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