BarkBox

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

I recently entered into a "subscription" based service with Bark Box.
After receiving the first box from them, I was a little disappointed in the product(s) we received.
They "ask" questions trying to get to know our dog to "personalize" the box, but they questions are so vague that they aren't personalized at all. What I mean by that is that if they really wanted to know our dog and send personalized gifts, they wouldn't send stuffed animals for a 90 lb. lab though would destroy them in 2 days.
This evening I tried to go onto their website and cancel. The only option I was given was to cancel my subscription. I went to their contact us option and the only option I was given was to start a chart or email them. I entered into the chat and was given an automated response that someone would be with more shortly. After approximately 5 minutes of trying to locate a number, I started a new chat and was told the they were gone for they day. I understand the businesses have closing hours but don't understand why they don't list phone numbers on their website to be contacted at.
To summarize my whole interaction with Bark Box, I would not allow them to be an accredited business with the Revdex.com. I believe that all subscription based businesses should be held to higher standards than what they are to today and shouldn't be allowed to sign customers up without giving them the following
1) Option to cancel at anytime
2) Direct number to call and cancel
3) Option to receive a pro-rated refund
4) Easy to navigated website along with proper T&C's
5) They can't charge the full "subscription" amount upfront when it's a "cancel at any time" subscription
Do what you see fit with this complaint. I'm only writing this to warn other potential "buyers" of what they might get into. I wouldn't recommend this "subscription" based company to my worse enemy. The products they provide could easily be purchased elsewhere.
Unfortunately companies like this have a tendency to not take complaints of this nature seriously, so I'm anxious to see if they contact me.

I saw an advert on FB and showed my son. We thought it would be fun to try a BarkBox for our chiweenie dog. It was $5 trial and we thought, why not try? It looked like a good idea at the time. The ad said we could cancel our subscription anytime.

We were excited for the first box to arrive. When we opened it it was a toy beer can attached to a empty six pack packaging. The beer can says "fart activated". Then it also included a backpack way too big for our designated 9 pound dog's mouth. In the box was print that said "I never forget a butthole." Not exactly things I want my son to see. It was inappropriate and trashy.

I cancelled the subscription and told them why. I sent in feedback on the items. I thought that the subject was closed.

Today I received notice that I was billed for March payment and they are sending another box. I do not want another box...

BEWARE because this is very misleading and I plan to fight to get my money back and have my subscription cancelled permanently! This should be against the law. Saying you can cancel a subscription when you can't is false advertising!

I have been happy with the Barkbox items and my dog likes the toys and treats and I found them to be of good quality. My problem with Barkbox is their shipping. I didn’t have any problems until recently but lately the tracking stops after DHL hands it off to USPS in Phoenix. Normally I will have delivery the day after anything arrives in Phoenix as it is a short distance to my location. The Barkbox ends up sitting in Phoenix for an average of two weeks. The last time it was still very hot so the products with animal fats were rancid by the time I got them. The company had sent a replacement box so I didn’t complain. This month it is happening again, shipping has stopped in Phoenix for 9 days as of today. Barkbox customer service is telling me it isn’t late until 8 days after the 15th despite the fact it was shipped on the 7th and today is the 19th. The excuse that USPS often forgets to scan the box is ludicrous as when the tracking stops obviously so does the shipping since it hasn’t arrived. I do a lot of online purchases and none of them have the shipping problems or take as long to arrive as the Barkbox. I will have to cancel before the hot weather returns and everything gets rancid sitting in a hot warehouse in Phoenix for 2 weeks each month.

This company has has so many problems with trying to deceive customers. They have on the website that you can cancel subscription at anytime. I have several monthly services that also state you can cancel at anytime AND YOU CAN actually cancel at anytime. I tried to cancel barkbox after not liking the products and they said you have to keep paying for the 6 months. What they mean by cancel anytime is that they wont automatically renew after you get your 6-12 mths you signed up for..doesnt matter if you like it or not! All they are doing is forcing people to change their form of billing to something that cant be billed, lying that their dog died or blocking them from their bank just to get out of the subscription. You must not be very confident in your company if you have to force people to keep your service. And the response from them is the same every time! They apologize for any confusion but dont offer a solution.

Review: Barkbox automatically renews subscription services. I purchased a 3 month subscription during a black friday deal, and only wanted 3 months worth. If I wanted six months or a year, there were significant price breaks with that promo. I chatted with customer service about the box I had already received and did not want for a 4th month. Nothing was opened and it was in good shape. They credited two months worth of that subscription to my account, but not the month I have received. The representative told me that If I couldn't use it, that I could donate it. Obviously, I never consented to the purchase, even though they say info on renewals is everywhere on the website. I legitimately did not know about the renewals, and for promos, like the one I got- it seems like they shouldn't even do that with them. I looked at their terms of service too, and I know they do returns, and they say they have a return policy in their FAQS page, but I could not find it. I want them to take back this box and credit the full amount back on my card.Desired Settlement: Let me return the box and give me a refund.

Business

Response:

Hi [redacted],

I’m so sorry if anything caught you off-guard about our renewal process – certainly not our intent at all! All our subscriptions auto-renew based on the appropriate 1, 3, or 6 months marker, we’re a subscription service and the majority of our pup-scribers prefer this so that there is never a lapse in deliveries. Folks are welcome to cancel at any time so that we know to stop sending your pup goodies! We indicate this on our website, in the email we send you when you sign up, and in our FAQs – but again, I apologize if this info was missed!

I would be happy to issue a refund for the remaining $24 of the 3 month subscription ($72) if you'd like to mail the BarkBox back to us. If you would like to do that here is our address:

Thank you,

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.

Sincerely,

Review: I have not received goods for which I have already paid I moved from Texas to Florida. First to Tampa, then to my permanent home in Riverview, Florida. I submitted a forwarding address for for both locations and have received all mail, packages magazines etc....except Bark Box. I even contacted them prior to the box shipping to me and let them know but was told I miss the cutoff time. I have been in contact wit a customer service representative ad was told to wait - they could see that [redacted] was working the [redacted] to get it to me. I have been waiting almost a month and haven't received anything. I purchased the large premium subscription and paid $99/3 months Tee latest email communication from them stated the box is on its way but then when asked if it was re-shopped they indicated no and that's why when using the tracking # they provided it shows going to various cities around Florida. .Desired Settlement: I would like delivery of my order or a prorated refund.

Consumer

Response:

At this time, I have been contacted directly by Bark & Co. regarding complaint ID [redacted], however my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

They have not sent me my last box to my correct address. Of the 6 b ox subscription I purchased, I only received 5. They keep sending it to an old address which no longer forwards my mail. I have provided the new address which they send one of the two boxes I was missing.

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Consumer

Response:

At this time, I have not been contacted by Bark & Co. regarding complaint ID [redacted].Sincerely,[redacted]

Review: I cancelled my subscription with Barkbox and without my knowledge or consent, post cancellation they charged me $99 for a 3 month subscription for their services. I contacted them to received a refund and they partially refunded me, while refusing to refund the remainder of my money because "the product was already being sent out". This has caused undesired charges from my credit card company and I am very unhappy with Barkbox for renewing my subscription post cancellation without my consent, and then refusing to fully refund me for services I did not want.Desired Settlement: A full refund of the charges.

Business

Response:

Hi [redacted],

I’m so sorry if anything caught you off-guard about our renewal process – certainly not our intent at all! All our subscriptions auto-renew based on the appropriate 1, 3, or 6 months marker. We’re a subscription service and the majority of our pup-scribers prefer this so that there is never a lapse in deliveries. Folks are welcome to cancel at any time so that we know to stop sending your pup goodies! We indicate this on our website, in the email we send you when you sign up, and in our FAQs – but again, I apologize if this info was missed!

You were on a 3 month subscription plan that renewed at the rate of $72 (plus $5 shipping per BarkBox for Canadian subscribers). We canceled your subscription as requested and refunded you for the unshipped BarkBoxes and the associated shipping costs. If you would like to ship back the March BarkBox, we would be happy to issue a refund for the remainder of the subscription when we receive it. Here is our address if you'd like to do that:

BarkBox

Thank you,

Review: BarkBox refused to honor a gift subscription purchased by a friend. When that was finally, FINALLY sorted out, we requested a cancellation of our account due to unscrupulous practices by the company. When I was on the phone to complain/cancel the portion of our account that shows how many referral customers we have earned for BarkBox (and referral boxes for ourselves) changed form 7 boxes earned (of which I have every email as backup/proof) to 1 box earned. I repeatedly contacted BarkBox about this fact, and was largely ignored. I severed my relationship with BarkBox on August [redacted], 2013 with [redacted] and confirmed the last and FINAL three boxes to be delivered for September, October, and November. [redacted] contacted me a week later completely unsolicited and was very rude. She further tried to bribe me into removing a bad review of BarkBox with a "thank you" gift(?) completely unrequested as well as a YEAR of free BarkBox also unrequested. When I asked for only, and ONLY, what we paid for explicitly, I was rebuffed. Eventually she requested we talk over the phone, but seeing as how she was very stalkerish in her first approach — so much as to even stalk our blog — I declined. I called and spoke to [redacted] to re-verify our account status. On Sept. **, 2013 I received an e-mail for a referral (with a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT REFERRAL LINK) addressed to [redacted]. This is a violation of personally identifiable customer information. I called BarkBox and requested my credit card information be removed from their site. Initially I was rebuffed, but persisted and upon September [redacted], 2013, I was able to confirm this removal. I received a voice mail from [redacted] @ BarkBox asking for a woman named [redacted]. I am not named [redacted]. I tried to call repeatedly to rectify this. No answer. It must be noted that BarkBox customer service is REPEATEDLY and CONTINUALLY unavailable. I contacted BarkBox via chat today (9/**/13) and spoke to someone named "[redacted]." He was pretty rude. He refused to acknowledge the issues with the computer system and client/customer records or to confirm the last two boxes that we should receive. He was attempting to issue a refund for an account that no longer exists and claiming that BarkBox can refund money to a card they no longer have access to. Our account still says we have 2 referrals earned, except the increase came as a result of the e-mail meant for [redacted]. Honestly, I am so exhausted about this company, they are the most wretched, vile, awful of companies. Seriously, their customer service is the worst. Also, they are using a picture in their twitter profile and their advertisements of a customer's dog without permission. I still cannot get confirmation that our October and November products are arriving as scheduled. Frequently, e-mails to [redacted] go unanswered.Desired Settlement: 1. Apologize for being so rude and unprofessional 2. Fix our account profile to reflect accurate number of referrals earned (7) 3. Stop sending us unsolicited e-mails and phone calls

Business

Response:

The situation with [redacted] initially began when her friend, the gift purchaser, requested we delay the start of the gift he had bought for her until he contacted us to start it down the road. This is not part of our policy but we made an exception to accommodate [redacted] so she would not receive two of our monthly boxes at once, as her friend had indicated that was not her wish to receive two at once. Over the year, she accumulated a number of referral boxes of which she set up through her own account, was properly tracked for in her within her online account, and also, has been receiving these referral boxes. When her friend contacted us to restart the subscription and add on the gift boxes, that was done. We are a multi-person support team that includes team members who work remotely from across the United States, and when [redacted] inquired about some confusion she had within her account, rather then trusting we would work with her to make sure she was happy, it was come to the conclusion we were trying to be unfair or misleading in some way. Due to the fact that both [redacted] and her friend communicated different things to different team members over several months, we thought it was best to simply apologize for any miscommunication whatsoever, which we did promptly, and to make up for any miscommunication, confusion, or frustration that took place, we offered to add on a free year of monthly deliveries for [redacted]. It was clear through the number of referrals she earned that her dog/s enjoyed our boxes, and a company that exists to help make dogs happy and healthy, we thought the gesture of a free year of boxes not only made up for any inconvenience, but went above and beyond to help make the dogs in her life happy. We have apologized several times for what seems like simply some crossed wires, and feel we have tried to make [redacted] happy and pleased from the very beginning of our relationship with her. We apologize if she has had an unhappy experience, and we are confident the majority of our subscribers are happy and satisfied, as well as are their dogs.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

The fact that BarkBox does not maintain customer records, and cannot even look up account information is especially troublesome. When a company refuses to own up to the fact that they have royally screwed up, and also WILLFULLY gone in and mucked with client records, that is VERY TROUBLING. More people need to realize what a shady and deceptive company this is. A company that, CONTINUES, to use a stolen photo of a customer's dog for advertisements and twitter icons. That is not your dog, you do not have permission to use the photo of that dog for ads or for social media.

Included here and also attached you will find all SEVEN of the referrals I earned legitimately. Including proof of timestamps. I have ALL of these original e-mails and can forward them to BarkBox.

That means I purchased JANUARY. I earned a referral for FEBRUARY(1), MARCH(2), APRIL(3), MAY(4), JUNE(5), JULY(6), and AUGUST(7)...BarkBox claims to have no record yet sent me boxes for all these months, THAT I EARNED. There are no records of shipping spent to a customer? No account of product quantities or stock? That is pretty crappy for a business trying to pass itself off as legitimate.

And furthermore, still no acknowledgement of the referral e-mail I was sent with another customer's name?

That is a violation of personally identifiable information, and for a company that processes financial transactions that is a serious deal. Great to know that BarkBox does not care in the slightest about such regulations or security concerns.

So my complaint stands, and I do hope it becomes publicly available. BarkBox a.) does not care about customer privacy and information b.) does not keep records for customer accounts and c.) refuses to acknowledge when they make grievous errors of security.

Simply ignoring your wrongdoing as a company, figuratively shrugging your shoulders and saying 'well, we tried to buy off the customer but it didn't work, oh well!' is not good enough. Own up to your mistakes, ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU ARE IN THE WRONG, and be honest.

Also, apologize for all the blatant lying.

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

We do keep records, but because this customers friend also had a subscription that asked us to bend the rules and add their subscription to hers. So we had to manually keep track of this customers account.

I recently entered into a "subscription" based service with Bark Box.

After receiving the first box from them, I was a little disappointed in the product(s) we received.

They "ask" questions trying to get to know our dog to "personalize" the box, but they questions are so vague that they aren't personalized at all. What I mean by that is that if they really wanted to know our dog and send personalized gifts, they wouldn't send stuffed animals for a 90 lb. lab though would destroy them in 2 days.

This evening I tried to go onto their website and cancel. The only option I was given was to cancel my subscription. I went to their contact us option and the only option I was given was to start a chart or email them. I entered into the chat and was given an automated response that someone would be with more shortly. After approximately 5 minutes of trying to locate a number, I started a new chat and was told the they were gone for they day. I understand the businesses have closing hours but don't understand why they don't list phone numbers on their website to be contacted at.

To summarize my whole interaction with Bark Box, I would not allow them to be an accredited business with the Revdex.com. I believe that all subscription based businesses should be held to higher standards than what they are to today and shouldn't be allowed to sign customers up without giving them the following

1) Option to cancel at anytime

2) Direct number to call and cancel

3) Option to receive a pro-rated refund

4) Easy to navigated website along with proper T&C's

5) They can't charge the full "subscription" amount upfront when it's a "cancel at any time" subscription

Do what you see fit with this complaint. I'm only writing this to warn other potential "buyers" of what they might get into. I wouldn't recommend this "subscription" based company to my worse enemy. The products they provide could easily be purchased elsewhere.

Unfortunately companies like this have a tendency to not take complaints of this nature seriously, so I'm anxious to see if they contact me.

Review: Order number is [redacted]. I received an email from this company inviting me to use a 10$ coupon towards a purchase. As I do not have a subscription I went to the site, chose 2 products and hit next. The website had me login and then said thanks your order is complete. It never asked me for a card number or address. They automatically charged my last card on file and sent it to the last known address. When I contacted the company they said that I would have to call the post office myself. The website fraudulently charged my card. I did not give them permission.Desired Settlement: I would like my money back. I would also like them to fix the website issue so that it asks for an address and credit card.

Review: I signed up for their monthly service and paid $100 upfront for a 6 month subscription. I received an email from them dated 9/**/2013 with a USPS tracking number and shipment confirmation. It is now 9/**/2013 and I have NO delivery, the tracking # they gave me shows NO movement, and BarkBox has refused to reply to ANY of my numerous emails or social posts & comments. So what the hell am I supposed to do now? They just stole $100 of my money, they won't ship out what I paid for, and they are ignoring me. This is really great...thanks for nothing BarkBox, ss.Desired Settlement: Refund monies owed

Business

Response:

On September [redacted], [redacted] signed up for a monthly BarkBox subscription.

Upon completion of payment, on the order confirmation page BarkBox states that we are a monthly service and that all BarkBoxes are shipped once a month on the [redacted] of the month. This information is also found on our website and in our FAQs.

In addition, [redacted] was sent an invoice that reiterates this information:

"Invoice Date: 2013-08-**

First Shipment Date: 2013-09-**"

As promised, the first order was shipped by 09-** via DHL to USPS with a promise of 2-8 business day delivery. The details of this shipment are as follows:

Shipped at: 2013-09-** 12:13

USPS Tracking #: [redacted]

Tracking status: Delivered

Tracking status updated at: 2013-09-** 22:03

Our Customer Love representatives responded to [redacted]'s emails, Instagram mentions within 24 hours, explaining the details of this order to her.

I have cancelled [redacted]'s subscription and refunded for unshipped BarkBoxes. Invoice [redacted]

$95.00 original payment

$15.83 per month

$79.17 refunded

If [redacted] would like to return the first BarkBox unopened to us at

Alternatively, we may be contacted at [redacted], and we can provide the address of a nearby animal shelter to donate the BarkBox to and we will gladly refund the first month ($15.83).

Review: I have had a 'per month' subscription with the company and on the [redacted] of April, they charged me for a full year. When trying to call the company, their telephone line is unreachable. They have a voicemail that states you can leave your name and number, they do not allow you to wait on the line for an available representative. I have emailed and left and voicemail within the standard business hours but have not received a reply. I was charged $228 when it is normally $29- a HUGE difference!Desired Settlement: I would like to continue my monthly membership, but at my continued monthly rate.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.

Sincerely,

Review: After canceling I was charged $228 with out my authorization as soon as I saw the charge I tried to contact the company and they have not respondedDesired Settlement: I would like a refund of the money

Review: An unauthorized purchase was made on my [redacted] account with this company for 218.00.Now my bank account is overdrawn and I have been charged expensive fees,that I do not have the money to pay.I reported this to [redacted] and my bank and nothing is being done.The company was barkbox-contact was [redacted].Phone####-###-####.[redacted] transaction no#[redacted],[redacted] case no#[redacted]9.The bank put my account on hold ,but will not do anything about the charge or fees.The bank is td bank in [redacted].Desired Settlement: I want a refund and all the overdraft fees paid asap!!!

Business

Response:

[redacted] purchased a one year subscription with us on 2014-11-**. She contacted us via email on NOV [redacted], 2014 AT 1:43PM and was responded to within the hour, on NOV [redacted], 2014 AT 2:15PM by [redacted], a member of the BarkHappy (customer service team.) As [redacted] indicated she was not meaning to pay for a full year's subscription, [redacted] immediately refunded her in full. All our subscriptions are billed in full at time of purchase, which is indicated on every confirmation and checkout screen. Customers must complete this checkout flow, agreeing to amount about to be billed, before completion. Seeing as [redacted] was not wanting to complete this purchase after the fact, she has since been refunded in full and will see the funds back on her card within 48 hours. Please let me know if there is anything else I can help with.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.

Sincerely,

Review: I placed an order for a gift on BarkBox website. Within a minute of my purchase, I realized it was not what I was expecting. I was trying to place an order for a gift card so I immediately emailed the company at their contact email address so that I can cancel the order and replace it. I hadn't heard back so I sent a second email - no reply. I sent a third email and still haven't heard. There is no costumer service when they said there would be. I am now paying for an item I did not want for the person I am purchasing a gift for. I now want my $29 back and will not be purchasing the gift card that I wanted to switch for. Terrible costumer service. It does not state that the mailbox is not always monitored.Desired Settlement: I would like my $29 back so that I can actually purchase something I want to gift to my friend.

Consumer

Response:

At this time, my complaint, ID [redacted] regarding BarkBox has been resolved.

(By clicking "OK", your complaint will be closed as Resolved.)

Sincerely,

Review: I saw this advertised on television and wanted to check the cost and the company does not give a good explanation on their website as to cost and I accidentally hit the payment key and since I used [redacted] I did not have to enter Credit Card info but I figured okay I would tolerate the monthly fee. What they neglect to tell you is that they take the entire year up front to the tune of $327.00. I quickly cancelled but the entire year went through and was paid and I have called this company twice, left a message and they refuse to contact me back either by phone or email. I have filed a complaint with [redacted] and waiting to get money back. I want other people to know that this companies website is very misleading and easily to sucker people in. It has a monthly total versus you are paying for a time period up front.Desired Settlement: Total refund on [redacted] and this companies website to be not so misleading.

Business

Response:

[redacted] contacted the BarkBox support team via email and phone on October [redacted] at 6:01pm. She had purchased a one-year subscription to BarkBox and completed the online checkout without error. All BarkBox plans are billed upfront in full, and this is indicated multiple times during the checkout screen as well as indicated next to the submit button. The total about to be charged is fully displayed at all times while on the BarkBox site and checkout flow. [redacted] contacted us to let us know she was unaware of the upfront billing and wanted a refund.

Our phone hours close at 5pm, but [redacted], member of the BarkHappy (BarkBox support team) stayed after hours to adjust [redacted]'s account immediately and 30 minutes later, at 6:30 pm on 10/**, he responded he had fully refunded her as requested and terminated her subscription. He also informed [redacted] that she would see the full refund back in her account within 1-2 business days.

Please let me know if there is any further information I can provide, more then happy to.

Review: I bought a 6 month subscription to barkbox, my first box was stuck. After telling the company about this, Jenny from customer service sent me a sarcastic email, infuriating me even more, since I spent a lot of money on this. I want my money refunded for all 6 months. I was told by the customer service director that her hands are tied and she will not refund my money and cancel this membership.Desired Settlement: I want the entire 6 month subscription credited back and the subscription cancelled since apparently I won't get what I paid for anyways!

Business

Response:

We are happy to refund any customer for unshipped BarkBoxes in a subscription.

Review: I made a single purchase of a BarkBox in April and was specific that this was for 1 month, not a long subscription. I received an email indicating another BarkBox was to be shipped so I contacted them. I told them on May * that I did not subscribe to monthly delivery and to cancel my subscription. They has subsequently billed my credit card on May * as it turns out. I received another Barkbox on May **.Desired Settlement: Refund my purchase price of $46.42.