Balsam Hill
reviews and complaints

Have had the same trouble as other reviewers. My wife and I spent $700 on a nice tree to be enjoyed supposedly for Years to come.

When the tree arrived we set it up. It had a significant lean to the side that I could not fix. I took the tree apart and put it back together again at least 4 times and still the lean was there.

We also noticed a smashed electrical plug that looked unsafe.

We called Balsam Hill NUMEROUS times. Each time I held the line for around 35 to 45 minutes just to speak with someone. When someone finally answered they told me I would have to wait for warranty help to call me back. They never did. We did a credit card back dispute, BBB complaint, and our situation still remains unsolved.

Please don't make the same mistake as we did and find another supplier for your tree. You do not want to deal with these people, they are ripoff artists.

This is a nightmare of a company to deal with. I have personal experience of buying a 12' tree from Balsam Hill at a cost of around $2000. The biggest mistake I made last year. Once you have bought your Christmas tree from them it all goes downhill from then on. Lights burn out and whole sections stop working. They have very little technical support and customer service is there just to blow you out. That's if you are lucky enough to speak to anyone. They always seem to have some kind of excuse and are happy to tell you that you will get a call-back. You never do. The light bulbs on their trees are unique to them so when you get a problem you have to try (and 'try' is the key word) to get replacements. That doesn't happen. If you attempt a credit card chargeback they place your file on an internal blacklist because they moke note about everything. They have the nerve to say their customer's are rude, when that is not true. Balsam Hill is a shady outfit. The internet is full of negative reviews about this company. Just go Google the words "Balsam Hill Complaint" and you will see dozens of complaints. The Better Business Bureau has them listed with over 50 recent complaints. Even the Facebook page of Balsam Hill is full of unhappy customers (until they delete the comments). My advice is to stay away from Balsam Hill and their web site www.balsamhill.com because their products are nothing but trouble. One of their customers has even built a web site about them warning others to stay away. It is www.balsamhillsucks.com

Balsam Hill is a complete Rip-Off...if you are even thinking about buying a tree from this company, please do yourself a favor. DON'T DO IT. IF YOU CHECK BBB.ORG AND READ THE COMPLAINTS, YOU DEFINITELY WON'T ORDER FROM THEM. ALSO, GOOGLE: BALSAM HILL COMPLAINTS AND YOU WON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT TWICE. IT'S THE WORST EXPERIENCE I'VE EVER HAD. SAVE YOURSELF THE AGGRAVATION. DON'T ORDER FROM THEM.

This is one of the worst e-commerce retailers out there. They just don't care about their products or their customers. I spent $2000 on a 12' tree from Balsam Hill. It arrived defective and has continuous lighting problems. This year more than 2000 out of the 4000 light bulbs do not work. Balsam Hill just says, oh well, you have to do maitenence now and again. The tree was bought at the end of 2009. Its in its second season this year. Balsam Hill is full of excuses and promises to call you back or send spare parts. Its all false promises. Once they have your money they just don't care. The Better Business Bureau shows dozens of complaints about Balsam Hill. Actually, all you have to do is Google the words "Balsam Hill Complaint" or "Balsam Hill Reviews" and you will find hundreds of unhappy customers. One customer has a dedicated web site called www.balsamhillsucks.com ! Please, do not but a Christmas tree from Balsam Hill. It will be the worst experience you have. Its a shame the recession didn't wipe-out this shady outfit!

I bought the tree in the middle of the year the picture of the tree was this full amazing full tree beautiful - a 600.00 plus tree on sale for 50% - mid year sale - and of course Oprah (i knew then I should have been weary) endorses the company. Well Christmas has come - in the middle of decorating my mother in law passes away - this tree is the skinnies thing you will ever see - the middle pole is like rainbow in color - I spent a total of 12 hrs "fluffy" this tree and nothing can make this "Charlie Brown" tree come alive - it is so skinny it is sad - well all they can say is tough - sorry - to bad - a %349.50 investment and mind you this is an investment gone BAD - I am not asking for a refund mind you - I am asking for another tree - BUT NO way - you got this lousy tree lady to bad. What kind of service is that - ROTTEN - I say - stay away from Balsam Hill or if you are Buying - IMMEDIATELY open up the package and get the tree out and look it over carefully - you most probably WILL be disappointed.

I purchased a wreath from Balsam Hill Christmas Tree Company and expected to get something to be proud of. Unfortunately the 48" artificial wreath was hinged, which was not disclosed anywhere on their website where a normal person could fine it. After calling Kathy at customer service, she spent around 20 seconds trying to locate this ...having to go a few clicks to locate (while all along saying that all but one of their 48" wreaths was hinged). Wouldn't you think that it might be a good idea to state this on the main page where the wreaths are presented so as to avoid the surprise of finding this out once you receive delivery? And yes, she said she would speak with the web design department...should I hold my breath?

In addition to this fact, the wreath came with several of the ornaments lying at the bottom of the box.

Lastly and most importantly, the wreath required more than a reasonable amount of time to "fluff" in order to make it look anything close to being realistic.

Needless to say, it is being returned. Their return policy calls for a full refund but I will have to pay for the shipping cost.

Thank God for AMEX. As long as I change the shipping cost on my AMEX card, they will reimburse me for the cost.

Bottom line - this Company has a fantastic website...very attractive. Unfortunately, they should spend a little more time with having their product come from the factory in a more presentable manner so as to avoid the level of customer satisfaction!

My recommendation - keep away from them. Expensive and the product is very disappointing!

I bought a tree from this company. I spent $1500. The tree arrived on time but they sent it with the wrong stand. I was unable to set the tree up. I tried calling them 20 times and was disconnected each and every time. I sent emails and created tickets and never received a response. My family was in from out of state and we were unable to set the tree up. The kids were obviously disappointed. I had to dispute this charge. They never responded. The parts to the tree still sit in my garage.

DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY.

I purchased a prelite tree from balsam hill after one year had trouble with a section of the tree having shortage.I at the time i bought the tree was told there was 10 year warranty come to find out warranty on lights 3yr only tree branchs 5yr.spent way to much money on this tree will never buy from balsam hill.

Received a Christmas Tree that was nothing like the photo and did not measure out to the 7.5 height Full 60" width 1, 000 lights that it said I would be getting. When I pulled out branches as far out as I could one branch and only one branch reached to 55 1/2" width advertised. Only one branch which was at least 1 inch long reached the 7.5 height and only a few more branches reached almost the 6.5" height. I tried to count the so called 1, 000 lights and came to about 800 lights (not that accurate hard to count). A few of the tree branches were worn and the photo of the tree I thought I was buying did not come even close to looking like the one I received. I was so convinced they sent me the model below the one I paid for that I took the chance of sending it back and not getting $50.00 back for return shipping. They said to return it and they would check it out to see if I got what I ordered, if I did I would get back a credit minus $50.00 return fee. Well now I am out $50.00 and went to Harrows to buy another tree. A tree that said it was the same 7.5" height and 60"width that actually is what it says it is. The height is not just the one branch (the one longer branch makes the height higher than the 7.5". The few branches width wise are actually wider than the 60". I was deceived by Balsam and warn everyone not to buy a tree from them.

Shopped online for an artificial prelit christmas tree that would be easy to set up and enjoy. I am a single parent with several young children and need to do things by myself. The website for Balsam Hill showed videos/pictures of beaufiful life like trees. I decided to purchase a tree/on sale for $569. The tree arrived, delivered by fed ex, and left in my hallway. The boxes were alittle banged up but I figured it would be packaged properly. When I decided to set up the tree several days after delivery, I was overwhelmed with the difficulty of the assembly and also the weight of the pieces. It was advertised as simply to assembly. Not true...false advertisement. After much frustration the tree did not assemble properly. Broken lights, pins releasing branches of sections, crushed remote control from being taped to an inside flap of the box. The tree was a disgrace for the amount of money I was charged. Contacted customer service, was told they would replace the remote and transfer me to technical assistance to see what could be done. I was not interested because I had already invested a good part of the day on a tree that looked nothing like the pictures shown on the website. Spent another hour packaging the tree for return. Was charged $122. to return a tree that was not what I thought I purchased. Although I was aware of the return policy, I don't think you should have to pay for a defective tree that looks as though it was already returned by someone else. This was a costly learning experience for me. I will never invest that kind of money on something without doing more homework. I wish I had researched the complaint board before my purchase. I plan on continuing to work with this company to try to receive my proper refund. I will hire a attorney if needed. Companies like this one should not be allowed to rob hard working consumers. I believe a company that doesn't stand by their product and try to satisfy their customers should be shut down.

I wish I had found this website before ordering two artificial Christmas trees from this company. These people are criminals and they know it. The photographs they show on their website do not come close to representing the actual appearance of their products. I wouldn't be surprised if this equates to "bait and switch". Website photos are beautiful. Trees are full and dense. You cannot see the "trunk", or through the tree at any point. Actual trees are thin. "Trunk" is totally visible. You can see through every portion of the tree.

Unfortunately, I found out to late. I going to cost me $100-$150 to return the low quality trees they sent me. They advertise having the most luxurious trees, crafted to exceed expectations. Their trees come from China! I did not find this out till after they arrived. They also lead you to believe the entire trees are fully hinged, they are not.

That's my sorry story about my online tree shopping experience. Save yourself a lot of pain. Find a tree locally you can see in person.

Rich W. - Apex, NC

My Christmas Tree Nightmare With Balsam Hill, a terrible company.

Lesson Learned: Do your homework and check reviews and opinions before you make an expensive purchase online.

About 3 weeks ago I was bragging that I had ordered a fake tree that was on clearance from Balsam Hill. I've never had a fake tree in my life, but I just wanted to try something different. I ordered an $800 tree on clearance for $429 (the is just supposed to be a discontinued item, not defective in any way). I know...it seems like a lot of money, but I thought of it as an investment for the next several years. Oh boy...was I wrong...

I couldn't make this up...I swear. Let me see how to summarize my horrific experience with Balsam Hill...

Ordered tree online on Nov. 23

Received box 1 of 2 on Nov. 28

Received box 2 of 2 on Dec. 2

I opened the boxes on Dec. 2 to find out that they had shipped 2 section B's of the tree and no section C. They had also not packed any instructions, gloves or extra lights and fuses. All of these things should have been included in my shipment. Essentially, I had 2 boxes of junk. I did not have the right parts to assemble a tree.

Here's where the nightmare begins...after daily phone calls and emails trying to get the right section C and all my parts, all I got were lies from the customer service reps and no call backs from the company, I finally filed a complaint with the BBB last Wednesday.

Finally, today...on December 15, I received section C of the tree, but still no extra lights, fuses, instructions or gloves. The fun doesn't end here...oh no...my husband was finally able to assemble the tree tonight and section D's post is too big for E so he had to rig some pvc and shovel handle to hold it together so it wouldn't topple over - He doesn't know how he's going to pry those 2 sections apart after christmas..lol.

The best part was when we placed section A at the top of the tree and we thought our troubles were done...

DH plugged in the lights and my entire tree has white lights except section A at the top...they are multi colored!

I almost blew a gasket...dh remained calm and said that we've learned our lesson and he's not sending anything back because he's tired of dealing with their cracker jack operation.

I did call them again tonight and a "lighting technician" was available to help me and he's sending me some white lights for the top of the tree. I did already get a shipping confirmation email from him. Thank gawd!

I tried everything...that's why I finally filed the complaint with the BBB. I called them everyday and told them that I wanted a refund and that they had ruined my holiday season because they had stolen my hard earned money and left me with 2 giant boxes of junk.

It's hard to get justice when I'm cross country from them and have to deal with them by phone and email.

And honest to gawd...I can't even imagine what kind of idiots they have packing these trees and supplies for shipping. How can you not know your A, B, C's and not pack all the right sections and parts? What ###s!

I wanted to send the tree back from the beginning and get my money refunded, but the company won't budge on their refund policy...I would have to pay about $100 in shipping out of my own pocket and who knows if they would ever confirm receipt of the returned merchandise! They are flakes!

My PSA - Don't buy an expensive Christmas tree online.

Purchased an $800 Christmas tree from Balsam Hill last year. Upon taking it out this year all of the stickers that label the complex lighting had fallen off leaving no way to effectively assemble the tree. Upon contacting Balsam Hill they recommended that I try to glue or tape all the stickers back on with a few hours of phone assistance from their technician. This is an impossible task due to the complex nature of the lighting. The company promises a quality product and charges quite a bit for it, however they certainly do not deliver. This problem could be easily rectified by a permanent labeling system since these trees are meant to be used for years but Balsam Hill customer service and the CEO refuse to take notice of this defect in their product leaving the consumer at a loss when it fails in under one years time. I live within driving distance of the company and could have taken the tree in for repair or they could send a technician out but apparently this isn't an option. Had this been a $100 tree from Walmart I might expect this. It was not. Be aware if you are considering a purchase from Balsam Hill, this is a product that is only used once a year but if it fails in a year then you will be very frustrated and out a lot of money.

Last year I bought a tree for $1229 from Balsam Hill Tree after checking out their branch kit. Spent a whole day trying to set up but found many defects - broken stand, balls of wired lights (not spread around the branches) branches coming out due to lack of push-pins & more. They delivered it promptly and later, via phone, agreed to issue credit upon return (they paid for return ship), but it took 2 months of calls, emails, which they didn't respond to, and it wasn't until I contacted Better Business Bureau that I got a credit. Very nice when you're buying but agonizing experience trying to get a credit. Doing business with them is risky! I wrote a version of "Night Before Christmas" out of frustration. It tells my story!

The Nightmare Before Christmas
(with apologies to Clement Clarke Moore)

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even my spouse.
Stressed from the problems with our Balsam Hill Tree,
Fell asleep with his pliers while up on one knee.

The pets were nestled all snug in our beds,
While visions of tree lights danced in their heads.
And papa in fleece, and I in my sweats
Were contemplating whether to contact Fed-Ex.

When out of the den there arose such a clatter,
The base had collapsed and the tree lay much flatter.
Away to the doorway I flew like a flash,
Switched on the light to check out the crash!

The realistic branches with lights that we loved,
Came tumbling down--no push-pins above!
When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
Our Balsam Hill tree lying front over rear!

With so many branches loose and detached,
I knew in a moment we must send it back!
More rapid than eagles my spouse did sing,
And he whistled, and shouted, get rid of this thing!

Now crap, now ###, now g------ s---!
Damn branches, damn lights, damn stand, that’s it!
To the top of the window! To the top of the wall!
A star would be if this tree were any good at all!

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
But--down to the ground the branches they went,
With the tree full of lights and realistic tips all bent!

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the phone,
Jean from Balsam Hill saying you’re not alone.
As I listed the flaws of my beautiful tree,
She told me a credit she’d issue to me!

I got dressed and came in to look at our tree,
Picking up needles with tape stuck to me.
Five bundles we needed to wrap up real tight,
To haul to the boxes with all of our might!

The lights how they twinkled! The branches so real!
The needles so soft and the stand made of steel!
The vision we had of this beautiful tree,
So many problems, twas never to be!

The stump of a toothpick I held tight in my teeth,
While listing the problems and, yes, no receipt!
I had a red face when I voiced my concerns,
Worried that they would take no returns.

Then she was helpful, as nice as could be,
Yes, we laughed, twas Jean from Balsam Hill Tree.
She told me a call tag she’ll issue ahead,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

She spoke a kind word and went straight to her work,
Contacting Fed Ex and reaching the clerk.
And a return we decided after so many talks,
Our beautiful tree will be packed in the box.

He sprang to his van after loading the tree,
And away he drove, and how sad were we!
But my husband exclaimed, ‘do not despair, ’
A real tree we’ll get for many a year!

Twas a week after Christmas and still not a word,
Not a credit appeared, how downright absurd!
After dozens of phone calls and emails from me,
I couldn’t get through to Balsam Hill Tree!

I couldn’t get nestled all snug in my bed,
I dreaded no refund and a battle ahead!
For six weeks I angrily stirred and paced,
Over Balsam Hill Tree who I endlessly chased!

When out of my brain there arose such a clatter,
Contact my VISA, they’ll help with this matter!
I wrote them a letter to explain the debacle,
That Balsam Hill caused and the problem we’d tackle!

I still tried to contact Ms. Davis to see,
If she’d send me my refund to end this misery!
I kept calling and calling but to no avail,
Customer Service was closed for a post-Christmas sale!

Contacting Balsam Hill reps was tough,
Being jerked around for six weeks was finally enough!
Better Business in California I finally did call,
When I tried every means and then hit a wall!

More rapid than eagles I got a reply,
BBB did their thing and I guess s... did fly!
In less than a week, how shocking was this,
A Balsam Hill apology for “PERCEIVED” lack of service!

How nervy, I thought, to use these words,
“Perceived lack of service, ” that’s for the birds!
A lack of service as real as can be,
Was prolonged for six weeks by Balsam Hill Tree!

And then in a twinkling I saw on my bill,
My refund for $1229, what a thrill!
Two months since I bought that Balsam Hill Tree,
That caused the worst Christmas I ever did see!

Balsam Hill Tree they nailed to the wall,
My refund I got, but that was not all!
The interest I lost on my VISA I got,
And satisfaction that Balsam Hill Tree got caught!

If ever a lesson I learned from this mess,
Is to research a product, it’s maker, and yes,
Check Consumer Reports and the BBB,
You’ll be much better off, less worries, you’ll see!

Be smart when you shop in stores and online,
Know all of the rules and then you’ll do fine!
Hope your Holiday’s happy and out of sight,
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

DH