5/30/09 - Ordered shoes. 6/03/09 - Requested status, informed they would ship in 1 - 2 weeks. Cancelled order due to long shipping time. Notified item had shipped. 6/04/09 - notified item will ship in 2-3 days. Notified item should ship out on Friday or Monday. 6/05/09 - $62.48 deducted from my checking account. Notified item no longer available and that my order had been cancelled and my account credited. 6/06/09 - Notified item will ship in 2-3 days. Told to disregard last email, will ship out next week. Emailed company and told them I had received numerous emails with conflicting info, reminded them I had cancelled the order on 6/03/09 and requested my checking account be credited back the money they deducted. Notified item had shipped. Emailed company and told them I had already purchased the shoes locally and to please cancel as I had requested. 6/08-09 - Sent me a shipper tracking number with a link that had no record of the shipment. Notified me item had been shipped and gave me the same tracking number. Received another email giving me "USPS delivery confirmation Label Number". Received email from USPS with shipping info sent at the request of Freestyle Shop. 6/13/09 - Received a box in the mail from Freestyle which I have not opened. Notified Freestyle Shop that I would be returning the box and wanted a refund. Informed by Freestyle that they "never received" a cancellation email and if I returned them I would be charged a 20% restocking fee. 6/16/09 - Emailed Freestyle that I had sent them THREE emails to cancel the order, once on 6/3 and twice on 6/6. Requested owners name and phone number. Re- emailed this 2 more times, no response. 6/ 17 - Emailed Freestyle asking if they were going to continue to ignore me, and if so I would bring them their shoes in person. Still no response. Went to their website, www.Freestyleshop.com but no phone # on the site. Googled the address on the site which was a residence. Called the residence and spoke with Larry Bertignoli who said he had no affiliation with that company, could here somebody in the background saying "Just hang up, give them this number". The phone number he gave was for Boardwest Skateshop and got a recording. Looked at their website, www.boardwest.com and it shows an empty warehouse with fake graphics that said their grand opening would be July 2009. So now I am stuck with a box from Freestyle Shop with a return address of an individual that says he has no affiliation with the company and my checking account has been robbed of $62.48 and my statement shows the deduction was made by Boardwest. I am at a loss of what to do with this box or how to get my money back. Please Help!
I agree with you totally. I did file a complaint with the BBB and Freestyle is ignoring them. I also notified my Credit Union and they refunded the money to me. I just got a call 31 July from "Ted the Customer Service guy" of Freestyle and he told me that he had my credit card number and was going to get his money back. I told him that I would return his box if he would provide me with a valid address and he would not give it to me. I told him that I canx that order 3 times and he said we have no record of any cancellation. I told him I would gladly send him copies of the correspondence. He still would not give me his address and hung up on me twice. I told him not to mess with my account. The day after that the BBB emailed me and wanted to know if I had been contacted by Freestyle so I updated them on this latest conversation. I didn't open the box because sometimes when you open an item it is considered "acceptance" of the item. I am going to take your advice on getting a new bank card, he is definitely a low life and I wouldn't put it past him to mess with my account or give my info out to others. Thanks for your advice and I suggest you contact your bank, they will do a "charge back" and take the money from his account. Good Luck!
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I feel your pain. I to have been burned by them. I am in the process of trying to get a pair of sneakers I ordered well over a month ago. I was charged, told they were shipped and have still not received them. I filed 2 complaints with the Arizona Better Business Burea as well as filed a complaint with USPS for fraud. When I notified freestyle shop I did this they were more then happy to answer any question I had but still NO SNEAKERS on my doorstep.
I am still waiting more then a month later. This place is very shady. They operate under 2 names and both seem to be a scam if you ask me. They have no phone numbers on there website. When you do a search of there address you are led to another website called BOARDWEST. The number for this place always goes to voicemail. After numerous voicemails I finally got a call back claiming that they are not affiliated but they are after some prying and an overly chatty customer service rep admitted that they are the same place.
To the person I above I suggest filing a complaint with the Arizona Better Business Bureau first off. Secondly I suggest you open the box and see if it really is the item you ordered. I also suggest contacting the local Police dept in that area and speak with someone there. I plan to do that myself because there business pratctice seems very shady. i would also suggest getting a new credit card/bank card. I honestly don't trust them after dealing with them and I'll be damned if they try to charge my card or do anything harmful with that information.
I found this a bit late. On day 14 since I ordered a pair of shoes for my son. They instantly hit my card for the amount and then turned around and took it again. At the beginning of this week I emailed them asking why I had two deductions on my account. They sent me an email:
***Please read our FAQ page before you email us with any questions, as it may already be answered there. ***
FAQ:
10. WHY WAS I CHARGED TWICE?
You have not been charged twice. We authorize every card when the order is placed. An authorization will look like a charge on your statement, however it almost always falls off in 24-72 hours (sometimes it may take a week or so). You will not be charged until the order is ready to ship.
Thank you,
Marie Hurst
Customer Service
My response was that both deductions were still on my account and my shoes were still showing up to 10 days to ship! No reply from them since! So number one she lied about the charge falling off in up to 72 hours it had been 10 days. Number 2 she claimed I would not be charged until the order was ready to ship, I was charged on the 5th and the shoes will still not ship for 4-10 business days according to their website!
I have emailed them once again after finding this site. It will be interesting to see their response after sending them a link to this page and a few choice words. Hopefully I can find where to rate them on Yahoo now! : )
Freestyleshop.com
Just a note. I also called the number for boardwest and he gave me [protected] which of course is the answering machine. Mr Boardwest told me they only handle the credit card billing for freestyleshop.com so I replied with "so you are they guy who has taken my money while I have no items"! He basically hung up on me. I need that job 10-4 M-F! This is the only time their "assistances" (whatever that is)are in.
6/30- PLACED ORDER FOR A SKATEBOARD - MY CARD WAS CHARGED AT THE TIME OF PURCHASE THERE WEBSITE STATES "YOUR CARD WILL NOT BE CHARGED UNTIL YOUR ITEMS SHIP" WEBSITE REVEALED THE ITEM WAS IN STOCK... HOWEVER, WHEN WE CHECKED SHIPPING STATUS IT REVEALED WILL SHIP IN 7 TO 10 DAYS. TEN DAYS LATER WE CHECK STATUS NO CHANGE... CALLED THE NUMBER PROVIDED ON THEIR WEBSITE - A RUDE MAN ANSWERS THE PHONE STATES THEY ARE THE WAREHOUSE AND HANGS UP... EMAIL THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE WAITED 72 HRS - RESPONSE STATES WILL SHIP IN 4 DAYS. CHECK MAILING STATUS 7 DAYS LATER STILL STATES WILL SHIP IN 4 DAYS. REQUEST MY ORDER BE CANCELED - 3 DAYS LATER RECEIVE A RESPONSE - ITEM IS OUT OF STOCK - CHECK WITH YOUR BANK AND THEY WILL ADVISE YOU OF THE TIME FRAME FOR REIMBURSEMENT... MY MONEY WAS REFUNDED OVER THIS WKEND... PLACED ORDER LAST NIGHT WITH SO CAL SKATE SHOP - ORDER WAS SHIPPED TODAY... I WILL NEVER! BUY ANYTHING FROM FREESTYLE SHOP AGAIN!
I had the same thing happen to me recently. Charged instantly, shoes never shipped, I call an email only to get a response that says "It hasn't shipped yet" and then get hung up on when I say I want to cancel the order because it was suppose to be a gift for a birthday that has passed. I'm contacting the BBB in Arizona as well. DO NOT BUY FROM THIS COMPANY. Shady people with TERRIBLE customer service!
I had the same experience as everyone else here. I ordered the shoes, found out they wouldn't arrive for 2 wks, tried to cancel, but they wouldn't let me -stating that they were coming directly from the manufacturer- THEY DON'T EVEN KEEP THE STUFF THEY SELL IN STOCK! They did arrive 2 weeks later when I was away on vacation.Since I already bought them from another company I sent them back asking for a refund or an exchange. I required a signature sending them Fedex and someone did sign for them- DBERTOLLY. However, they're trying to tell me they never received them, that I sent them after the 15 day allotment, etc. When I sent them proof with his signature they promptly stopped answering my emails. And the day he signed for the package was exactly 15 days after the first delivery attempt by Fedex which would be within the allotment time.I dealt with Marie Hurst also. This company was in Huntington Beach, CA. I didn't know they had one in AZ, although I found an address for this company in Surprise, AZ online.
I had the same experience i ordered two pairs of shoes and they emailed me two tracking numbers on DEC 6 2010. the update on ups says billing info received and one says voided. even though It said i would receive them on the 10th of DEC. I talked to ups and they said this means they never picked up the shoes, when I called freestyleshop they were not wanting to help me out. A guy who answered promised the shoes were shipped out but still haven't received my shoes and every time I call they hang up on me. Luckily I used my amex and they are investigating this and they have returned my money. I will never use freestyleshop again ever, AND I BUY A LOT OF SHOES!
My experience is exactly like all of the ones above. This company is a fraud. I have never been treated so poorly. I wish I would have done more research before I placed an order with freestyle shop.
Larry Bertignoli is the father of Mark Bertignoli who owns Freestyleshop, then changed over to BoardWest because of all of Mark Bertignoli's fraudulent activities and chargebacks no Credit Card company would process his credit card transactions anymore so he moved out of California and opened up in Arizona under his father's name and social for the credit card transactions that was Boardwest. Now he is back in California operating under his 20 year old sons name Valentino Bertignoli or Val Bertignoli. Mark Bertignoli now operates in California once again in Huntington Beach under Streetwise Skate Shop here is the address and phone number: Store Location:
Street Wise
18358 Beach Blvd.
Huntington Beach, Ca 92648
P: 714.842.2900
Link: streetwiseskateboards.com
I feel the pain and frustration all of you have expressed with "freestyleshop.com." I recently ordered a pair of SUPRA shoes from them, and received an email that the shoes would ship in 1-2 weeks. Wanting the shoes earlier than that, I checked the website and saw that they "prefer" to do all of their customer service via email, I still called the 1-877 number listed, and no one answered the phone... I finally connected with a man the second day I tried the number, and after telling him I wanted to cancel an order, he IMMEDIATELY became very curt and told me to email my request, and promptly hung up. I emailed the company at FSS@freestyleshop.com and asked them to cancel the order, and did not receive a reply for FOUR DAYS--inexcusable and very telling, as any legitimate company is invested in offering timely customer service--after which a woman [who I think is a total fake alias] from "Marie Hurst, " telling me they could not cancel the order because they had already ordered it from the manufacturer and that it would be shipped out by the end of the week, but did not give me any information about the carrier, expected ship date timeline, etc. Increasingly skeptical about the company and its lack of detailed information but still wanting to give them the benefit of the doubt, I emailed back and asked them for tracking information for the shoes when it was available, and received an email the next day telling me the shoes would ship in another "4-7 days, " but with no further information. I re-checked the info in the email, and saw that they had confused my shipping address with my billing address, and so emailed back, again, telling them that they had confused the two and told them to fix it. I actually received an email later that same day, stating, "As per our check out page and per Visa/MC rules and regulations and to help protect our customers against fraud we can only ship to the bill to address." This was, of course, absurd, since all LEGIT online dealers can ship to a different addresses, and wrote back, telling them that at this point, "The customer service at Freestyle Shop has been so awful and unattentive I have called Bank of America to cancel this transaction. Your package will be sent back to you." Very, very tellingly, I got an angry email back, saying that Bank of America would side with them and that I would be out money, and that if I refused the package, they would STILL charge me 50% of the total cost.
I called Bank of American thereafter, telling them what I had found in an earlier post here on this site, about the company originally being "BoardWest" in Surprise, AZ, and that it had been investigated by the Better Business Bureau of AZ, and that it was now operating as "Freestyleshop.com" in Huntington Beach, CA, and explained the whole story about the company being unwilling to cancel the order after I asked them to a number of times. BOA was appalled and transferred me to the fraud department and they told me, after checking my account, that Freestyleshop tried to push the order through within the last ten minutes, and that they would investigate and promptly reversed the charges. I also asked them to cancel that card, since I have no faith in this company not messing around with my card and charging me falsely for something else. After BOA credited my account, the next day I received a phone call from this number: [protected], from a "Mark" asking me to call him back, surely angry that I did call my Bank and told them what had happened. I never called him back, but it was the most attentive they have ever been, since they couldn't collect on their false promises.
My advice for anyone else that has been burned by this company is to call your credit or debit card issuer, and tell them what you have found on complaintsboard.com and /link removed/ about "freestyleshop.com" and the shady customer service, and they should issue a credit to your account. Banks these days are so competitive over offering the best fraud protection (Chase, Citibank, BOA, etc.) and do not make you liable for the charges, especially if the merchandise was never received. Additionally, keep all of the emails and any other documentation you have, and if you are in CA, file a police report so this fraudulent company is forced to admit its fake storefront. (I would do so but am on the East Coast). Finally, if you are as upset and angry as I was, call the [protected] number and tell this Mark character you want your money back. He stated he was a freestyle shop representative, so he should field these calls anyway. If he hangs up on you, well, I wouldn't be surprised, but there's your answer. Tell your bank you did everything you could to reasonably get this resolved without their intervening.
Also, for those skateboard enthusiasts that want a real, legitimate, kind, and attentive skateshop with an amazing selection of shoes, go to ccs.com. I have shopped with them for years and they are super and go out of their way to make sure everything is satisfactory with your order. Good luck, and I will offer any advice for those who respond to this post.
I phoned to verify the availability of an elusive DVD from Freestyle Shop . The "customer service" rep guaranteed me that, if the item can be added to the cart, then it is in stock and available to order.
So, I ordered the item and, without much surprise, EVENTUALLY (one week later) received an email canceling my order because, alas, the item is NOT AVAILABLE!
Then, when I called to complain, I was informed that customers CANNOT CALL TO COMPLAIN. This company does NOT have a phone number for complaints; the phone number listed on their site is FOR ORDERS ONLY! What a convenient protocol for customer service.
DO NOT BUY FROM THEM. I ordered a pair of skate shoes from them and got them over a month later with shoes that didnt look the same as on the website. After many failed attempts at contacting them we finally just returned the shoes only for them to ship them back. NO REFUND. and had to pay for shipping TWICE! freestyle.com is a scam.
This site needs to be shut down. I ordered shoes and a few days later i received an email stating that my order could not be placed. I checked my statement and, wow, my card had been charged. I tried calling and SAME AS EVERYONE ELSE. Order line only. I contacted my bank to dispute and it was taken care of. Then i started receiving shipping emails. Shoes show up 1 MONTH later. I get a threatening phonecall from some stooge who cant even pronounce my town's name. So I figured whatever, i'll settle my debt and move on. The shoes show up in a wrongfully packed flat rate box. ### obviously didnt read the rules of flat rate. I had to PAY for it. I shoulda refused and had it sent back. Like I said before, "This site needs to be shut down!" How can they get away with this kind of treatment?
I ordered some shoes from this place and immediately they charged my card and sent me an e-mail stating that my product would ship in 2-3 days. Well, a month later after not receiving ANYTHING I attempted to reach these ###s. Finally, after threatening to file a claim with my bank, they responded with another e-mail stating that my item would again be shipped so I gave this company the benefit of the doubt. What an idiot I am, a week later and I had to call my bank and proceed with a claim. I finally got my money back, this company is a joke and the owner(s) should be prosecuted.
boy i wish i would have checked here sooner, im actually on the phone with my bank right now starting a fraud claim again this kook, typing this as i wait on hold.
I ordered a pair of Vox shoes from this crook and after 2 weeks of no email/no shoes i decide to call the 'customer service' number to politely ask what was up with my order.
the guy was extremely flighty and put all of the blame on Vox, stating that they screwed up their shipment and my size wasn't there. sounds shady, i know, but i patiently waited another week before calling again this time understandably more frustrated. His response this time was to call me a liar, told me again that the shoes had already shipped and i would have them in 2-3 days. Another week goes by and i call again, this time pissed, i tell him i want a refund and he acts all surprised and says "i cant believe they haven't sent you a tracking number, i will get someone to send you one today" well of course i get no tracking number and after another day decide to file a fraud charge with my bank.
My bank has already started the process of refunding me and cancelled my card so if i do get the shoes now they will be free..i'm sure they wont show up though.
An interesting side note is that 3 or 4 other random charges appeared on my card right after this all happened and the bank and I seem to agree that they are not coincidental, if you have done business with this guy you NEED to cancel your card immediately.
good luck everyone, karma is a ### Larry or Mark or Marie Hurst or whatever your name is.
received my shoes 7 weeks late, wrong size, completely wrong colorways and to top it off they are USED! haha.
this scam artist kook actually sent me used shoes.
I ordered 2 decks and bearings and a month later I emailed asking about it. I was told it was they were out of stock. why did I have to be the one to get in touch with them. When we ordered they did say it was in stock. I have sent several nasty emails and it almost a year later, I think with all of these comments I should just cut my losses...it was over 100.00 and I am in Canada so it isn't so easy to get anything done about it. These people have left a bad taste for me to order again.
I wish there is something we can all do...why do they still have a website up and running?
DON'T BUY FROM THEM
I ordered a skateboard for my son on October 20th. I received an email with a link to my order and the status said it would ship in 4-7 days and my credit card was charged that day (even though they say they don't charge your card until the item is actually shipped). After 9 days, I sent an email with no response. I called the number on their website and it is disconnected. I sent a couple more emails out to two other email addresses I found and then after finding this, I located Mark Bertignoli at Street Wise in Huntington Beach and gave him a call today. He told me to call the order number and that he had nothing to do with the Free Style shop order process. Well, my daughter just happened to be a couple of blocks away and she paid him a visit and asked for her brother's skateborad. He told her nothing is shipped from that store and that he had already told me to call the order number (which states when you call it that it is only for ordering and references the disconnected number for other inquiries - how convenient). I called him back and told him I would be filing a police report if I did not receive the skateboard. He hung up on me and blocked my number. Tonight I received an email from "Marie Hurst" telling me that "We had a few days delay on getting our Globe boards back into stock. Your order will be shipping out this coming work week and you will receive a tracking number once it does ship out." Again, how convenient!