Desert Seed Store

Greetings Revdex.com, After our initial response to this complaint, we received the package in question, returned to usWe have no reason to be dishonest, the screen shots from PayPal showing the verified address (which must be used in order to provide us with Seller Protection) at the time the order was placed cannot be disputed.The customer has clearly updated her (verified) PayPal address in the image provided to you, as it was not the address provided to us by PayPal.Had the customer checked what address was on file with PayPal at the time she placed her order, she'd have seen the same information we were given, and should have updated itWe are honest people, and strive to provide excellent customer service We changed our policy in December, 2016, to ship to PayPal verified addresses onlyPrior to that, we shipped to whatever address a customer provided It makes sense that this customer has received a package from us in the past, at an address she resides at now, because our shipping policy was different at that time We changed our policy to protect ourselves, and our customersAs of December 1, 2016-ALL orders are now processed solely via PayPal, the verified shipping addresses provided to us is the only address we will use, due to claims of missing packages, packages being ordered by fraudulent people and having them shipped to vacant residences, and credit card fraud This policy change has completely stopped problems with fraud, and provides us with Seller Protection under PayPal policy, as well as providing buyers with equal protection If we do not use a PayPal verified address, we are NOT protected from fraud, and we will not ship This policy change was a sound business decision not only for us, but our customers, and will not change In the event a package is lost or damaged in transit, it is replaced, free of charge The information regarding the previous order placed by the customer and submitted to the Revdex.com by the customer was placed on September 26, 2016, two months prior to our policy change of shipping to PayPal verified addresses only Please note the date on the submitted internal order form There is no possible way we could obtain a customer's prior/previous address.The only information provided to us at the time an order is placed---is what is provided to us via PayPal Again, I am attaching a screen shot of what was provided to us, by PayPal, at the time the order in question was placed Please see the circled address, as well as the confirmation from PayPal that we are covered by Seller Protection if we ship to the address provided We did not pull this address out of thin air.We do not have the ability to edit a PayPal provided addreone does, except for the holder of the account placing the order We shipped to the address we MUST use in order to be covered under Seller Protection If this customer was to file this same complaint with PayPal, and we shipped to the address that was given to us as the verified address (which we did), the complaint would be closed in our favor, and I would invite her to do so There will always be someone unhappy, no matter what protections we put in placeWe make it crystal clear that we ship to PayPal verified addresses only during checkout, and that is a flag to all customers We have had one complaint filed with PayPal in early 2017, regarding this very issue That complaint was was immediately resolved in our favor, due to failure on the part of the customer to update and verify a current shipping address with PayPal More than 99% of our customers appreciate the extra time we take to make sure no one is acting fraudulently using their name, or personal details, and that their financial information remains secure and safe while visiting our web site, but obviously, we cannot please everyone As internet fraud increases, businesses must be ready to address such issues to protect themselves, and their customers from identity theft and fraud I would invite this consumer to file a non-receipt complaint with PayPal Should PayPal decide in the customer's favor, we will provide a full refund If PayPal does not decide in the customer's favor, we will provide a refund of the cost of items only, minus shipping fees Thank you Revdex.com for giving us the opportunity to respond to this issue This is unfortunate, but as small business owners, we have created whatever policies are necessary to protect ourselves, and our customers, have made those policies crystal clear on our web site, and will defend the policies small businesses like ours put into place

I am rejecting this response because:
Desert Seed Store appears to be changing its’ story
depending on the evidence presentedPreviously Desert Seed Store claimed that
“Our policy is, and has been to ship to PayPal verified addresses ONLY for
years, due to problems with identity theft and fraud, and also, to protect
ourselves.” Now they are claiming “We changed our policy in December, 2016, to
ship to PayPal verified addresses only”Note that this new date is actually
less than one year later and conveniently after my last order was shipped in
September Either they were lying before or they are lying nowRegardless,
my current address IS and WAS a PayPal verified address and once again, Desert
Seed Store is falsely accusing the customer in order to justify their shipping
errorI have lived at my current address *** *** *** ***, *** *** **) since July and have received numerous packages at this address,
including orders through PayPal and Desert Seed Store itselfShipping errors
happen all the time and it is entirely plausible that Desert Seed Store made a
mistake and shipped to the wrong address inadvertentlyWhat is unbelievable is
their insistence that this is somehow the customers faultIn this case, the customer
entered the correct address on the order form, had the correct address on file
with PayPal and was completely removed from any communications between Desert
Seed Store and their shipping agent (PayPal), and the evidence supports thisThere
was absolutely nothing more the customer could have done to ensure they
received the items they paid forDesert Seed Store appears to have an
outrageously flawed shipping system and a practice of insulting customers by
blaming them for their own shipping mistakesAt a minimum, one would expect a
phone call or e-mail when a company attempts to ship to a completely different
address than the one used by a customer to place the orderWhy even provide space
on your order form for a billing and mailing address if it truly doesn’t
matter? Furthermore, if Desert Seed Store is actually serious about protecting
customers from fraud (as they claim) then they should definitely be contacting
customers when there is any sort of address discrepancy!
I did not place my order with PayPalMy order was placed
with Desert Seed Store, an order which I have paid for in full and have not
received because it was delivered to the wrong address through no fault of my
ownit is not fair to expect the customer to now spend even more time filing
an additional complaint with PayPal, in order to correct Desert Seed Store’s
shipping mistakeAt this point, Desert Seed Store acknowledges that they
received payment for my order and they also acknowledge that they have my order
in their possession, as they admit the package was sent back to them
Continuing to charge a customer for items that they clearly know the customer
never received is the definition of fraudulent business behaviorIf Desert
Seed Store is truly concerned about providing excellent customer service and
acting with honesty and integrity, then they should provide a full refund to
the customer

Greetings Revdex.com, Thank you for the opportunity to respond to this complaint. This customer placed an order with us on September 15, 2017. The order was shipped on September 16, and was delivered to
*** *** *** on September 19, 2017Our
policy is, and has been to ship to PayPal verified addresses ONLY for years, due to problems with identity theft and fraud, and also, to protect ourselves.The customer went through the entire checkout process, and agreed to our Terms and Conditions, which were obviously not read before physically checking off the box. We are not covered by PayPal Buyer Protection if we ship to an address that is not PayPal Verified, and this was explained to the customer via email when she finally contacted us about her order on October 2nd, 2017, more than two weeks later. We offered, as a courtesy, to ship to her at her correct address if she paid for shipping, although our Terms of Service clearly state that we bear no liability for incorrect delivery address information. We did not hear back from the customer after offering to re-ship her package should she want to re-pay the shipping fees. Please see the following attachments: Attachment #1: PayPal information, as provided to us. This is information given to PayPal by the customer, and we have no control over what a person enters as a shipping address for their PayPal account. As you can see, the customer has had PayPal verify that this is her correct shipping address. Attachment #1a ALL customers going through secure checkout must read, and answer each of these questions. This is a screenshot of the actual checkout process. We cannot control if a person chooses not read the "Terms and Conditions" link before checking the boxnor takes a moment to see if their PayPal verified address is correct. Final checkout will not go through until all of these questions have been physically answered. What else can we do to make this policy any clearer than it already is? Attachment #2 Customer's actual order, showing that she did indeed answer and did agree to Terms and Conditions. Attachment #Screen shot of email sent to customer after she notified us (more than weeks later) that she hadn't received her order, and stated it had gone to an old address. Here, we clearly explained that we shipped to her Verified PayPal address.Attachment #Second part of email screen shot explaining why her package was not shipped to an address she entered-because it is NOT a Verified PayPal shipping address. We also offered a one time courtesy, to reship her package if she wanted to re-pay for postage. Attachment #5 Screen shot of our Terms and Conditions pagePlease see where we CLEARLY ask the customer to agree to before continuing with final checkout. We have no control over the information given to PayPal by a customer, nor do we have any control over the information that PayPal provides to us. Had the customer taken a moment to check her PayPal account (something we cannot do) to be certain her correct address was displayed after moving, she'd have seen that she needed to update her address, should have done so, and her package would have been delivered to her current address. If she did initiate a change of address with PayPal and there was an error on PayPal's part, the error is PayPal's responsibility, and not ours. The customer needs to rescind this complaint, and file a claim for a refund from PayPalWe fulfilled all of our obligations for this order. The dollar amount of the order isn't what matters to us, but the principle of complaints like this one, when we did everything we were obligated to do, does matter, not only to us, but to small merchants everywhere. Thank you

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/10/03) */
Greetings,
We have just returned from a three-week seed collection trip. Normally, orders do ship within 7 to 10 days, however during busy collection months, orders are delayed. We make every effort to ensure that customers know this may...

happen, and during checkout, the customer must indicate that they understand this. Please see the attached PDF copy of this order, and the highlighted-area-where the customer clearly read, and agreed (a box MUST be checked or the order will not process) that this statement was understood. This order was taken to the USPS in Lucerne Valley, CA on October 2nd, 2015. Tracking number is: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. We have no control as to where this package will first be scanned. It may be Apple Valley, San Bernardino, or Moreno Valley. Thank you for the opportunity to respond to this complaint.

Greetings Revdex.com, After our initial response to this complaint, we received the package in question, returned to us. We have no reason to be dishonest, the screen shots from PayPal showing the verified address (which must be used in order to provide us with Seller Protection) at the time the order was placed cannot be disputed.The customer has clearly updated her (verified) PayPal address in the image provided to you, as it was not the address provided to us by PayPal.Had the customer checked what address was on file with PayPal at the time she placed her order, she'd have seen the same information we were given, and should have updated it. We are honest people, and strive to provide excellent customer service.  We changed our policy in December, 2016, to ship to PayPal verified addresses only. Prior to that, we shipped to whatever address a customer provided.  It makes sense that this customer has received a package from us in the past, at an address she resides at now, because our shipping policy was different at that time.  We changed our policy to protect ourselves, and our customers. As of December 1, 2016-ALL orders are now processed solely via PayPal, the verified shipping addresses provided to us is the only address we will use, due to claims of missing packages, packages being ordered by fraudulent people and having them shipped to vacant residences, and credit card fraud.  This policy change has completely stopped problems with fraud, and provides us with Seller Protection under PayPal policy, as well as providing buyers with equal protection.   If we do not use a PayPal verified address, we are NOT protected from fraud, and we will not ship.  This policy change was a sound business decision not only for us, but our customers, and will not change.   In the event a package is lost or damaged in transit, it is replaced, free of charge.    The information regarding the previous order placed by the customer and submitted to the Revdex.com by the customer was placed on September 26, 2016, two months prior to our policy change of shipping to PayPal verified addresses only.   Please note the date on the submitted internal order form.    There is no possible way we could obtain a customer's prior/previous address.The only information provided to us at the time an order is placed---is what is provided to us via PayPal.  Again, I am attaching a screen shot of what was provided to us, by PayPal, at the time the order in question was placed.  Please see the circled address, as well as the confirmation from PayPal that we are covered by Seller Protection if we ship to the address provided.  We did not pull this address out of thin air.We do not have the ability to edit a PayPal provided address-no one does, except for the holder of the account placing the order.    We shipped to the address we MUST use in order to be covered under Seller Protection.  If this customer was to file this same complaint with PayPal, and we shipped to the address that was given to us as the verified address (which we did), the complaint would be closed in our favor, and I would invite her to do so.   There will always be someone unhappy, no matter what protections we put in place. We make it crystal clear that we ship to PayPal verified addresses only during checkout, and that is a flag to all customers.  We have had one complaint filed with PayPal in early 2017, regarding this very issue.  That complaint was was immediately resolved in our favor, due to failure on the part of the customer to update and verify a current shipping address with PayPal.  More than 99% of our customers appreciate the extra time we take to make sure no one is acting fraudulently using their name, or personal details, and that their financial information remains secure and safe while visiting our web site, but obviously, we cannot please everyone.  As internet fraud increases, businesses must be ready to address such issues to protect themselves, and their customers from identity theft and fraud.  I would invite this consumer to file a non-receipt complaint with PayPal.  Should PayPal decide in the customer's favor, we will provide a full refund.  If PayPal does not decide in the customer's favor, we will provide a refund of the cost of items only, minus shipping fees.  Thank you Revdex.com for giving us the opportunity to respond to this issue.   This is unfortunate, but as small business owners, we have created whatever policies are necessary to protect ourselves, and our customers, have made those policies crystal clear on our web site, and will defend the policies small businesses like ours put into place.