Doug Russell, Inc.

This business has a customer service rep that lied to me about a product and won't do what he said he would do to correct the original issue. I made an order on dougrussell.com for a steering wheel for my boat. The product in question was a Uflex [redacted] Wheel in black and silver. The wheel was pictured and described in detail on the page I ordered it from. Price was $32.99. The payment was accepted. When I received the package on Feb 5, there was no wheel but actually a hub that the wheel attaches to. I thought there was a mistake so I contacted [redacted] with the customer service for the company. I had received an e-mail from him prior when I inquired about shipping dates. When I informed [redacted] of the mistake, he stated that the listing was an error that it actually was for the hub only. He apologized and told me that I could send it back at no charge. I replied via e-mail that I thought they should honor the price that was advertised. At this point I had no knowledge of the correct price and [redacted] did not tell me. He said that he understood and agreed but that they did not even carry the steering wheel. In a quote from his e-mail he stated "if I had that steering wheel available, I would certainly honor that advertised price."I accepted his response and began researching a new wheel. In my search, I find the same model steering wheel on their site but it was a different color. It was advertised for $259.99. At that point it became clear that they do have access to that steering wheel. In fact, I was also able to find the exact steering wheel that [redacted] claimed they did not carry available for purchase on their site. When I contacted [redacted] and told him that I now realized that the real issue was it was a $200 mistake, he changed his story from we don't carry it to "it is a special order" at that point he offered a $50 discount on the wheel that they "did not carry" 24 hours earlier. I asked for his boss' contact info because I intended to call him on Monday. I received an e-mail from him this morning Feb, 7 2105. His name is [redacted], he basically repeated what [redacted] had said explaining it was a listing error etc. I replied and explained that I understood the error but my real issue was that [redacted] had purposely misrepresented the fact that they could indeed get that steering wheel but they did not want to for financial reasons I must assume. Well [redacted] told me that if he could get it he would honor the price and it turns out that he can get it. I have replied to [redacted] that I intended to ensure that I contacted the Revdex.com and any other agency to let them know of his company's shady practices and that I feel that he as a manager should make this right. Again he sent a response that indicates that they don't accept any accountability for their dishonesty. They seem to think that because they have to order the wheel from their supplier when someone buys it from them that they "don't carry it" I think anyone who has no stake in the situation would agree that if it can be bought on their site, they carry it. In fact, on the page for the wheel in question, it does not mention that it is a special order and will take more days or anything of that sort. For all I know the hub that they sent me had to be ordered also.Desired SettlementI want the steering wheel for the price I paid for it. As it was advertised on their website and how it was presented to me by [redacted]. Sometimes mistakes are more expensive than others but when a company lies to consumers to avoid accountability that is just unacceptable in my mind.Business Response This message is in response to case # XXXXXX. Customer purchased a product on our company website. After customer received what he believed was the incorrect product, he notified us of the issue. After reviewing the situation, it came to our attention the product was incorrectly advertised online in the form of an error in the price, picture, and/or product description. The customer was offered a resolution in terms of a full refund including a shipping label to return the product. The actual item the customer intended to purchase was significantly more expensive. It is not our policy to honor misprints or typographical errors. In leu of the error and to help remedy the issue, we offered the customer a discount on the correct item. The customer was not satisfied with our offer and requested the incorrect price to be honored. Although we are sympathetic to the situation, we stand by our decision to reimburse the customer full price for the merchandise. The special discount offer still applies if the customer is interested.Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)Again, the business owner is repeating what they consider the issue to be. The fact that the prices were mixed up is not the issue. The issue is that when the mistake was made, the representative told me that he would honor that price if the wheel was available. He also noted that they "did not carry the item." Later I found that they do in fact carry the wheel and it is available on their website at any time. While they claim that it is an item that is not kept in inventory it does not mention that on their website. The business first said they would honor the price if it was available. When I pointed out that it is available, they said they don't honor pricing on items that that are not held in inventory. Now, based on their response above they say that they don't honor misprints. Which one is it? I have e-mails from both [redacted], the customer service rep and [redacted] that state that they do in fact honor pricing but not for my circumstances. Their policy must fluctuate depending on the situation and who is outlining it. I truly believe that this company does not police their pricing on their website and will say or do whatever it takes to ensure that their is no accountability for their inaccurate pricing. Their customer service rep said they would honor the price if the wheel was available. Maybe he isn't familiar with what they carry or didn't know the price or maybe (likely) he just lied to me so I would not push the issue and ask them to honor the price. I am very sure that if the difference in price was $5.00 their policy would be different and they would gladly honor the price. All I have ever asked for is for what they promised in the first place. The wheel is available and they can honor the price if they choose to. Final Business Response This message is in response to case # XXXXXX.We are offended by the accusations against our employee and our reputation. This was not a bait and switch tactic as the customer claims, but instead a typographical error. The customer was offered full refund plus shipping reimbursement for the error (with no out of pocket expense). Furthermore, the correct product SKU ordered (# [redacted] was in fact shipped to the customer. Upon clicking on the "Additional Information" tab, the customer would have noticed the additional information stating "Steering wheel hub." We strive to monitor over 100,000 products on our website, however some inaccuracies may exists. It is not our policy to honor these misprints or typographical errors. Such situations are handled on a case by case basis, and our staff was correct in offering to match the misprinted price if the item was in our inventory. However, this product was not in our inventory and would need to be special ordered. As a courtesy for the inconvenience, a 20% discount was offered if the customer wished to place an order for the correct item. Since we consider this a special customer, we will be happy to offer him the [redacted] steering wheel for $32.99 plus $5.95 shipping. This is non-stocked item and special order handling times may be incurred. If he wishes to accept this resolution, he may contact us by phone.