CageCo Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2016/06/30) */
As a repeat customer, the customer should have been fully aware of our cancellation policyThis policy is not only printed on all of our invoices, but is clearly posted on our website - which the customer used to place her order with usAs
the order was placed VOLUNTARILY on our website and paid in full, we have every right to process the order immediately upon receiving itAs there was a question as to the delivery time and charge, the customer's order was held until we could reach out to her by phoneAfter initially talking to the customer, we agreed to wait to hear back from her to process the orderWe received a phone call the very next day, where upon changes were made to the order - at the customer's requestIt is at that time, the order was put into productionIt was communicated to the customer that delivery could not be sooner due to the time to make the product and the time the transport service had available to make the deliveryThe customer's delivery location is outside of our delivery route - so transportation services were needed to finalize her order and the customer knew that
The customer waited a full days to call our office and request a cancellationAt that time, her order was already in production, material ear marked and cut, as well as labor time involved in all of thatAs is our policy, I informed the customer that she was subject to a 25% restocking fee (which reads "on items we NORMALLY stockSpecial order or custom items are not refundable.") The customer was very unhappy and only then said that she never authorized the order to be processedI advised her that she changed the order with me on the phone and it was my understanding that she wanted to proceed with the orderThe customer asked to speak to my manager, at that timeI advised her that it was our policy that correspondence with management was requested by emailShe refused, said she wanted to actually speak to the managerI advised that was not our policy and that I would take her information and pass it to him, but she would find better results if she would send an emailSeveral times she reiterated her request to speak to management by phone and I advised that the best I could do was to pass along her request and advise her to contact him by email
After the initial contact with the customer, I spoke to management and was allowed to reduce the restocking fee down from the 25% to 15%The customer asked me to process the cancellation and refund immediately and I didUnfortunately, our invoicing system does not allow a category specifically labeled "restocking fee" - so her credit was "discounted" by the percentage indicated(And yes, the state of CA requires that "fees" be subject to sales tax.)
While we are not happy that the customer is unsatisfied with our company, we have a cancellation/restocking fee in place for a reasonOur company incurred costs associated with this customer's orderCosts that cannot be recouped when a cancellation is processedBy placing the order online - unsolicited - the customer gave our company explicit permission to begin the order process immediately
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 10, 2016/06/30) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
There are several fundamental statements in the business's response (dated 6/30/16) This is fraud; they refuse to refund my money in fullThey did ZERO work on my behalf and use the ruse of a "restocking fee" to stealThe following statements demonstrate their lack of integrity :
"...the customer's order was held until we could reach out to her by phone" = UNTRUEI made the call the very next morning to discuss the delivery; the company never reached out me
"We received a phone call the very next day, where upon changes were made to the order - at the customer's requestIt is at that time, the order was put into production" = UNTRUEThis conversation never happenedI clearly asked that my order be put on hold the day after I placed the orderDuring my call to the company, I was told told that the company had NO INVENTORY and would need to custom make everythingThe lack of inventory created a lengthy delay in getting my order to me in time to meet my schedule requirementDuring that same conversation, the morning after my order was placed online, I told them NOT to process my order, but simply hold my order while I found another sourceI told them not to build my product
"I advised her that she changed the order with me on the phone and it was my understanding that she wanted to proceed with the order." = UNTRUE That is not what the clerk told me at any time, since I never 'changed the order" and since the clerk knew I had NOT authorized the company to proceed
The company did not incur any costs associated with my order, since they had no inventory in stock, and since I did not authorize them to begin production
The website did not WARN CUSTOMERS about an unusual delay caused by a company decision to draw down stock and therefore delay deliveryI only learned that SITUATION when I called the next morning during business hours
This action is predatory and outside every practice of good customer serviceAs a business woman, this practice is both offensive and a model of poor decision-makingThey compound that bullying with the bold-face lies in a response to the Revdex.com; this demonstrates a disturbing lack of ethics and goodwillWhat companies have the "right" to do, and good business practices are two vastly different things in the case of Cage CoTHIS IS THEFTThis is fraud, and this is wrongThey never built my product (or took inventory off a shelf), so to charge a restocking fee is stealing with an excuseNow that the company has lied to the Revdex.com, I plan to pursue this matter with the CEO of the company (Mr*** ***) as wellThe local manager is not serving the company interests and the owner will likely be interestedDesired Resolution: Return my money in full