HomeCenter.com review: Fraud 23

Ordered a ceiling lamp from them in August. Their website showed the item in stock. My credit card was charged in full ( $464.18). After 1 week I got an email saying there would be another 2 weeks before it gets shipped, or to pay more to get it faster (classical bite and switch)
After the 2 weeks I get another email saying there would be another 4 weeks before shipping. Still the homecenter.com shows the item in stock. I sent an email asking for clarification. When I got a response from a certain Brian Orkin, he asked me to indicate where the website was showing quantity in stock. So I had to send them a link to their own website...
After that I decided to cancel the order, realizing I was taken for a ride. What followed more than confirmed it.
Countless calls to customer support... Hours waiting to talk to somebody... When finally getting to talk to somebody, after a couple initial questions, I would get dropped again in the waiting queue. Sometimes, when getting past the initial questions, there would story after story of excuses, like: we have first to cancel the order with the manufacturer, the person crediting account is not here, we have to check this, we have to check that, etc... On a particular occasion I even get the HomeCenter person suggesting to talk to my bank about stopping the payment (unfortunately I paid by credit card).

Do not ever buy form them, COMPLETE SCAM !

I think the only way this company makes money is to take the 4% restocking fee that they charge when your item hasn't shipped in over a month despite the fact that they claim the item is in stock. Fraudulent and bad service I've asked for proof that the refund has been processed and they send me some generic looking form that looks like someone made it in Dreamweaver. When our business process a credit we get paperwork that we can easily email with a validation number. Avoid any dealing with these people and I plan on reporting them to the BBB.

This company is the worst online shop that I ever dealed with.
I ordered a Elkay sink and they got the best price. Once the order was placed, they charged credit card rightaway and emailed back saying the stock woould not be available for 1 month. Then I immediately emailed and called to cancel the order and they said it would take 5 days to process the cancellation. Then I received another email from them saying they locate another sink but would cost $30 more. I told them again by email and phone call to cancel the order. 5 days after, they refunded the amount minus 4% fee.
As you can see, they are selling something they don't have and earn money from cancellation fee. Very very bad.
I wish I found this board before placing order to this damn company.

My husband and I ordered several faucets and soap dispenser from Homecenter.com . One of the faucets was too large. We followed Homecenter's instructions to the letter: We requested and received an RGA #. We shipped the faucet back to the address Homecenter instructed. The faucet was delivered to that address on January 7. 2009. It is now JULY 31, 2009, and Homecenter has not credited a dime to our credit card company. These people are crooks. Wish I had read all the negative reviews BEFORE purchasing from them. Never again.

I ordered a sink and faucet from them. The sink was delivered without the mounting brackets and template which were supposed to be included.

I waited one month for the faucet to be delivered. After the month was up, I called two times requesting delivery each time I was promised delivery the following week. The faucet never was delivered and I had my credit card refuse payment.

Also when I called about the delivery I had to wait over 30 minutes to get through on their phone line.

DO NOT ORDER FROM THIS COMPANY!

I ordered an Elk Lighting pendant from HomeCenter.com on October 20 and received the items several days later. Upon inspection I discovered that the item, a three light fixture, was not as advertised and displayed on the Elk Lighting website and on HomeCenter.com. I requested and received a return authorization from HomeCenter.com and returned the light fixture to Elk Lighting as they requested. While I was shocked to learn of HomeCenter.com's 25% restocking fee, I chalked it up to my poor judgement in even doing business with this outfit. They don't stock anything, they simply order from the manufacturer and return to the manufacturer. Even allowing for forfeiture of 25% I expected a refund of 75%. Alas, it has now been nearly two months and I'm still awaiting my refund. They even went so far as to tell me that once I withdrew my complaint from the Better Business Bureau they would refund my money. That's extortion and it's a criminal offense. Don't do business with this company as they are dishonest and you'll be sorry you ever heard of them.

DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH HOMECENTER.COM! After buying tens of thousands of dollars of products from several online companies over the years, this is by far the most amateur organization I have ever dealt with. I only wish I had seen complaintsboard.com before I ordered from them. Everything you read on the other postings is all accurate. Slick looking website, no communication, bait and switch on prices, impossible to get a hold of anyone either by email or on the phone.

DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH HOMECENTER.COM!

DO NOT SHOP ADVISORY

DO NOT SHOP THROUGH HOMECENTER.COM

I ordered several pieces from homecenter.com
1 - They were not shipped within the timeline I had paid for and arrived later than expected delaying my renovation process
2 - The pieces all arrived on different days (days apart)
3 - One of the pieces (1 piece of a 2 piece set) was incorrect rendering the piece useless
4 - No one at homecenter would answer my emails, I was spoken to rudely and even hung up on, unable to fill out the return forms online
5 - After a month of phone calls and emails from me that went unanswered, I finally received an email telling me my request for return was denied because it was past the 30 day return time. Despite the fact I had been requesting a return via email for over 30 days

I had to re-purchase the missing part for more than what the entire piece cost me from homecenter, pay $150 customs and shipping fee, and pay an additional $190 for my plumber to come back a second time to re-do the plumbing. This process put my renovation project back over two weeks with absolutely zero response from homecenter.

DO NOT SPEND YOUR MONEY AT HOMECENTER.COM

I ordered some sprinkler parts from the company in April. They shipped the wrong items to me. I dutifully followed their return protocol, returning the items in early May. As of early August, I still cannot get a refund from them.
I have spoken with customer service on numerous occasions. They provide only token apologies, but no action. They provide no path for issue escalation. Their voicemail system is not personalized, so you do not know whether you have left a message for the correct person or merely in some random dump box.
In addition, to save themselves money, they do not have a toll-free number, you must pay for the phone call to get your money back.

They do not answer their phones, avoid responding, and give only vague platitudes if I actually reach someone.
NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH THEM. THEY ARE CROOKS.

HomeCenter.com sent me a completely different product than what was ordered. Not only is it different in appearance, but it is completely different in features. I ordered a Alsons 650 shower head from HomeCenter.com which is listed as a 651CBU on HomeCenter.com. The shower head I received is an Alsons 653 (although the tag on it says 651CBU) listed as a 653CBU on HomeCenter.com. I followed the company's returns procedure and submitted a request for return and listed that I received the wrong product and still wanted the correct product. After waiting several days I emailed a request for an update. The following business day I received a call from a representative. The representative asked me a few questions then cut me off and told me that they would not honor taking the item back unless I paid a 25% restocking fee. From that point on the representative became hostile and would not let me speak. She stated repeatedly that their products all state "Image shown may differ from actual product appearance, especially finish and color." I reiterated to her that the product wasn't just a little different, but was in fact a completely different product. Finally I just hung up the phone as it became apparent she was unwilling to actually make their mistake right. I was sent a product other than what was ordered. I no longer want the correct item from them. I just want to return the product and never do business with them again. I feel their business practices are deceptive at best.

Honestly I started to feel that they were deceptive when the site offered free shipping, but the at the last minute in the checkout process charged me $8.95 "handling fee" which comes to just slightly more than what the cost of shipping would be.

Ordered a Kohler sink, which arrived damaged. We were unable to contact Homecenter.com by phone because none of the provided numbers worked. When I heard back from Brian O., I was told the sink would have to be made and it would be at least 28 days for the replacement. I requested a refund at that time, which was denied. A second sink was shipped and was also damaged. Several emails were sent to Brian about this before I received a reply. I again requested a refund and was again denied. I did involve Kohler after being told by Brian that a third sink would be shipped, and he did finally agree to cancel my order and issue a refund. I have yet to receive a refund. Brian cares nothing about customer service and has shown no empathy for my situation with receiving two damaged sinks.

Although an article in today's New York Times leads me to believe that complaining about a bad experience with a vendor may actually help that vendor in internet search engines, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/28/business/28borker.html?src=me&ref=business, I've got to share this miserable tale. In late September, I went looking for a new sink online. I found it at Homecenter.com and immediately submitted my order, using my Visa card to pay for the just under $600 charge. Nowhere was it mentioned that the item would be on back order or that Homecenter.com would not be shipping the item to me themselves. I waited a week or so and not having received my order, sent an email asking for shipping details. I didn't hear anything back but being pre-occupied with other matters in a busy life, didn't pursue the matter immediately. After another week, I called their "Customer Service" office - a misnomer if there ever was one!. I asked where my sink was and was informed that it wasn't available yet and would be shipped from Kohler in another week. I told the service rep that I wanted to cancel the order. She informed me that I couldn't cancel my order over the phone and would have to send an email to do so. I sent the email in as soon as the phone call ended. At that point, I made the assumption that it would be OK to go ahead and find the sink at another vendor, which I did. Later that day, I received an email from Homecenter, telling me "not to consider my order cancelled and not to order the item from anyone else! There was some reassurance, since a note also indicated that my order from Homecenter would be held until the cancellation issue was resolved. That was a lie! A week later, the sink from Homecenter arrived via UPS. I refused delivery and it went back to them. Since then, I have been trying in vain to get my money refunded. Their website offers a method to track the progress of my request for cancellation and refund but it is worthless, since all it has indicated for the past month is that my issue has been resolved and a credit is approved, pending one final step - the issuance of that credit. The actual crediting has not happened... From the instant I had my first conversation with their customer service representative, I've known something was wrong. Unfortunately, by that time it was already too late for a reasonable conclusion.

I wish I had found this complaint board before doing business with homecenter.com.
I ordered a wrong item, discovered my mistake within a few minutes and tried unsuccessfully to cancel my order (they wanted to charge me 4% just to cancel).
I called, on hold for a stupid amount of time without speaking to a rep. I emailed them 4 times before I finally noticed there outrageous cancelation policy and emailed the cancel address.
I received the same "Your order is not cancelled until confirmed cancelled". Then I received a shipping confirmation.
I'm not even going to bother trying to return the item. A terrible experience...how do we stop companies like them?

I will check this board before I do business with other online retailers going forward.

Worst online experience ever! Absolutely no customer service or support after purchase. In February 2011, I ordered and purchased a Dainolite Pendant light fixture. About 30 days later, a shipment finally arrived, but only contained the lamp shade. Repeated emails to Homecenter.com regarding the completion of my order have been ignored. Website shows status of my order as "completed". 60 days has now past, and looks like I purchased a useless lamp shade. Do not do business with this company.

I ordered lights, they ended up not being the color they appeared to be only. I asked if I could send them back for an exchange. I was told I could. 1 week later, while trying to pick what lights I wanted to exchange for, I was told I would have to pay a 25% restocking fee even if I exchange. I decided to just send the lights back and buy somewhere else. They told me to send them to a PO Box, which I questioned and they said yes. Of course, it was sent back to me as undeliverable. I wrote in again (since you only have a 2 hour window to call for the return office) and this time they sent me a UPS label with the correct address. I spent 7 months requesting to be refunded my money through emails, phone calls...they would say it would be returned and then it wouldn't be. I finally got ahold of Brian O. (apparently the owner since he owns the URL), he emailed and said he would place a refund on my card. I couldn't get him to tell me how much he was sending, when I called in the 2 hour window I was told only Brian could tell me. So I emailed him several times that day because he wouldn't answer his direct line and it wouldn't let me leave a message. He finally responded that he would not respond to my emails! I finally got a refund of $40.00 I paid $133.00 plus the shipping...horrible, horrible buisness...

Ordered product. Once I paid that said it would be three weeks prior to shipping unless I paid about $100 more. Then when time to ship came, nothing was sent, sent an email off of there site, no reponse, called and waited about 45 min for an answer, none. Call the sales line and the guy was a ### and would just switch me to the other line that no one picked up. After about 10 times, I got someone and they said that it shipped that same day two weeks later than they said it would. We will see if it shows!

The merchandise is charged for immediately with no follow up. I have an outstanding order that was supposed to have shipped March 30th according to the only email I received from them. When I email them now on their site with my order number I get an auto reply and no assistance. I plan to file a complaint by the end of this week and notify my visa that their company should pay back the amount charged.

RIPOFF FRAUD. Ordered a simple toilet seat on 2/6/10. Immediatly charged VISA, and money taken. Now 3/13/2010. No product, no replies after several inquires other than a automatic email. NO WAY TO DO BUSINESS. AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID! HomeCenter.com is a FRAUD.

This company is a SCAM. I wish I had looked at reviews and complaints before ordering! I called to check if an item was in stock before ordering.
(and waited a couple minutes while the person who answered checked, and then said yes it was absolutely in stock) I then hung up and placed the
order online and paid extra for 2 day shipping. That was Feb 22nd. It's Mar 24th, I still haven't recieved the soap dispenser, and have tried several
times and can't get a person to answer the phone. When calling you need to have a person's name (type in the first 3 or more letters of the last name
of the person you are trying to reach) Of course I don't have a name (note, this is a paid call, and by this time you've already been on for a while after
saying they changed the selections in April, and some other blah blah blah) I tried a set of digits twice, the third time I got "error 666" and a hang up.
If you're calling to check on you order status, why don't they just have you type in your order number instead of a person's name? How am I supposed
to know anyone's name who works there? I haven't gotten answers to email either.

I agree they are just a rip-off place. I ordered Kitchen knobs they were supposed to be the size of a dime the Knobs were the size of 50 cent pieces. they will not tell me where to ship the items back and are giving me a hard time about getting my money. I was told I need to wait to find out where to ship the items back. I'm calling my credit card company they refused to get back with me for 2 weeks.

I too have had a horrible experience with this company. I purchased materials for my project and most showed up quickly. We however had an issue with our plumber for one of the products. This meant I had to do a return. This company will gladly take your money, but giving it back is another story. My materials shipped directly from Hansgrohe, and I was unsure of where to ship the materials back to. I filed an RGA on their website and it took 2+ weeks for someone to get back to me about where to ship it to. After Hansgrohe recieved it, I called to see when I would get my $330 back for the product and was informed that it would take 30 BUSINESS days days to recieve credit. 30 BUSINESS days went by. I called up and they still had to verify that the product had been accepted as reutrn from Hansgrohe. Isn't that what the 30 days is for? Anyway 60+ BUSINESS Days have gone by, and now I can't even leave messages. THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE is absolutely horrible. I reccomend anyone out there to pay the few extra dollars for the products from another website, because service like this is not worth the savings.

BEWARE OF STOLEN CREDIT CARD NUMBERS! Just as bad as all of your complaints, but perhaps worse - the credit cards I used at homecenter.com were stolen by someone there and used to purchase netflix, ups, itunes, lanebryant.com and many other charges. Each card was only used at homecenter.com com and all fradulent charges occurred within one week of the charge to me, so I have NO DOUBT that the cuplrit was someone at this establishment. I have called and left messages for them, but no return calls. GO ELSEWHERE.

I am have a similar situation unfolding right now. Anyone reading this do your self a favor and take these complaints as fact and shop elsewhere. Those of you that have been charged incorrectly you need to contact your credit card issuer and return the charges. The process is described on the back of your monthly statement. Do not wait for them to string you along as that may void your ability to return the charge. Call and let your card holder know and fill out the form and get it returned. Then get online access to your card acount and review it regularly in case they charge you again or you can close your account and have your card golder open a new one with the open date backdated so your credit score is not hurt but so homecenter.com cannot charge you anymore. Best case they are inept and totally unorganized...but I believe they have no intention of providing good service and their business model is to overcharge and string you along until you give up and take the loss. RETURN THE CREDIT CARD CHARGES TO THEM ! And make sure your cardholder reports it as fraud. Complain to the proper authorities. I am preparing an email mailing list to all of homecenter.com's suppliers from their own websites which I will make available to all. Good companies don't want their name tarnished by the unethical practices of a company like this. If we mess with their ability to accept credit cards and also with their sources of product we can hurt them badly and maybe shut them down. They are also on ebay and I will be informing ebay of their track record that is posted on the web such as here and also with the BBB. Hopefully Ebay will drop them.