L.L.Bean
reviews and complaints

As a customer of L.L.Bean International, I found the shopping experience to be decent. The website navigation was smooth, and the variety of products was good. However, I encountered some issues with order tracking and customer service responsiveness. The quality of the products received was satisfactory, but not exceptional.

LLBean has good quality clothing and prices. There is frequent sale pricing that is great. I love the free shipping and discount cards that come with your order for use on your next time shopping order. I also love the accessories for winter outdoor activities and camping. Great site for duffle bags/luggage that you can have monogrammed. The Christmas Season has great gifts for all ages. Suggestions for stocking stuffers. LL Bean has clothing specific for the winter season: jeans lined in fleece or flannel, jackets/coats made for snow and low temp, camping needs for all seasons. LL Bean is worth checking the web site out.

I've been making purchases and dealing with LLBean as a consumer for well over thirty-five years (yup, that give's you something of an idea of how old I am). For me they are the gold standard of retailers and online merchants. Always courteous on the phone - and available, 100% money back guarantee, always decent; they treat you like they care. I've returned things that have broken and always gotten refunds - no questions asked. I have clothes from them that have lasted YEARS, and a blanket my parents bought from them that's got to be forty five years old - still gorgeous. I love them. Simply a great pleasure to deal with.

Some time back, my boyfriend had an LL Bean jacket that was several years-old that the zipper had broken. He contacted the company and they replaced the jacket with the newest version, free of charge. I have ordered many things from this store and have always had a good experience. They sort of remind me of Tupperware in the sense that when you purchase something from the company, it is for LIFE. They do stand by their products very well. The quality is excellent. I have worn the same sweater from LL Bean since I was 16 years-old and I am now 42! The quality lasts and lasts forever. I would definitely recommend this company.

Such great customer service! I grew up in Maine and have been familiar with L. L. Bean all my life. This past Christmas, my fiance ordered me a pair of women's size 9 slippers from L. L. Bean online but they accidentally mailed men's size 10. So I went into the store and asked if I could trade the men's size 10 for the size I was supposed to get. Even though my fiance originially bought the slippers on sale and they were no longer doing the same sale, the cashier (I can't remember her name!) made up the difference so I did not have to pay anything. She was very nice and worked quickly to make sure I got the ones I wanted :) I've never had a bad experience there!

I don't do outdoorsy things and their clothing (even petite) isn't cut well for my height/stature so I don't shop there normally but I needed waterproof gloves to potentially a) hack ice from the wind shield b) clear snow from the windows/roof and c) shovel snow! I have literally, child sized hands so it's hard for find adult gloves to fit me and not many come in xs. So, I came across a model on the ll bean site and it was on sale so I ordered it (free shipping). Alas, it was too big and bulky - even for normal female hands so I had to return it in store. Despite paying using PayPal, they were able to refund a credit card I had linked to PayPal. So in conclusion, although nothing fit properly buying online from them and returning an item was hassle free!

The zipper on my beloved LLBean down jacket that I bought in 2015 became stuck and when I pulled it apart 3 of the zipper teeth broke off. I contacted their customer service and I received a response in less than a day saying I could return it for inspection. I did and included a note saying if they determined the zipper to be defective, I would be happy with a partial refund or crediting the cost of a replacement jacket which was quite a bit less than the one I was returning. I also said if they couldn't do that, to please return the jacket and I would have a seamstress put in a new zipper. I just got an email (from the same customer service representative who wrote the original email) saying they were crediting me the full amount. For a 4 year old jacket! Now that's great service and a company that stands by its products!

My dad purchased from LLB for YEARS! He SWORE left and right by them! AND! I CAN see why! They've been NOTHING but Wonderful to me! I purchased a jacket last yr. Well the zipper got stuck and thus the jacket got Stuck on me and I couldn't get it off w/out cutting the jacket! I called LLB and Immediately was told to cut it off LOL and return it. I did and they gave me my FULL REFUND back! AND NOT just a credit but a REAL CHECK so I Could shop elsewhere! I opted of course to get another jacket from them! I returned some stuff I hadn't worn in AGES! They gave me a refund for that as well. I now Won't put this stuff into Good Will... LOL I keep it and when I have a box of it, I return it to get a credit or a check back. ONLY my last purchase did I need to wait for over 3 wk. To get it., Otherwise I got Every purchase VERY Rapidly! NO complaints w/LLB! Their stuff is Wonderful and I LOVE it!

I have ordered from LLBean for more years than I can remember - all my adult life, and in my very persnickety opinion expecting excellence, I see nothing but the best with LLBean in every aspect. This is how much I shop LLBean: I always use my coupons, but think I have enough for a couch almost now. I love LLBean! We had their large Capel wool rugs all over our home that sadly flooded and are gone now. They were beautiful. LLBean tops all the charts. The quality is perfect. The styles are classic - not passing fads - and always look good. The people and integrity are amazing. I can't begin to tell you the help they have given over the years. They want to help. Their guarantee is unconditional as opposed to so many other stores. I recently called asking about buying another very nice dog bed they no longer had in stock, because over the years, one of my dogs scratched a hole in the bed. They offered to take it back! I did not take advantage of that since my dog destroyed it over the years; yet, they are just amazing!

Clothing can be very expensive so that?s why I shop for the best value not necessarily the cheapest price. And there is a big difference between the two. Trust me I know. I have bought many items purchased at an unbelievable price that claimed to be a great quality name brand only to fall apart after the first or second wash. I was left scrambling to find the ?Returns? link only to my horror to find out there was none. One of the first things I look for while shopping for online fashions is does the site offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee? I also look for a company that been around for a while. L.L Bean fits both of these important criteria. In addition, I look for value. And by value I mean clothes that are somewhat timeless. I shop for new styles and colors that tend to be classic in style. This way I can wear them longer as opposed to items that have a short fashion lifespan. Not to say that buying in vogue cloths is taboo just be smart about it. Most of the clothes at L.L Bean fit into what I call a timeless category or as close to it as it can be therefore providing great value I can wear year after year. Many times they will offer free shipping or a free $10 card with purchase. This is the time to buy. Their tees and capris look great and wash and wear very well. If you take care to wash and not over dry them they come out of the wash wrinkle free. There tee three-quarter sleeve v-neck in cornflower blue is one of my favorites.

Aug. 6,2015 I tried to shop items on line. When I tried to click on a garment, I got a message from LLB that page was unavailable due to LLB website problems, and if I kept getting that message, to call LLB and report it. Obviouisly, LLBs oft stated promise of Customer Service Guaranteed, is empty and false. At LLB your satisfaction doesnt have a time limit, seems to be false also.

I called LLB to report the web page problem and inability to shop, and the first woman told me it must be (1) the program my computer was running (2) I had a cookie problem and needed to clear my cookie history and allow cookies on LLB website, and/or (3) the browser I was using. In the last year, this has happened 3 xs, and sporadically before that.
I told the woman there was nothing wrong with my computer, computer program, browser or cookies. I told her LLB website said it was having a website problem and if I kept getting that message, to call LLB and report it so they could correct the problem. She repeated the same thing 3 times, like she was reading from a script. When I told her to stop repeating her script and either take a message about their web page, as their web page instructed me to do, or I would just quit trying to shop and terminate my call. They she said shed connect me to their Technical Dept.

A man who said his name was Michael repeated the same thing when I described the problem and that the web page said to call LLB and report the problem if I kept getting their error message. He just kept reading from the same script. When I repeated there was nothing wrong with my computer, etc, he got rude and snotty and said there was no error message from LLB, and it was my computer. I told him I was looking at LLB web page that stated they were having technical issues, and he just kept over talking me telling me it was my computer. I told him I had no problems shopping Lands End, Chicos, or Coldwater Creek websites. He started to repeat the same script, in a ruder, harsher manner, so I terminated my call.
I sent an email message to Michael, since the only thing he would do is tell me LLB technical issues are my computers problem, and continually over talk me. The result was that he deleted 11 items I had in my shopping bag, and replace them with one item I did not have in my shopping bag, had not wanted to order, and would not order.

Obviouisly, LLBs oft stated promise of Customer Service Guaranteed, is empty and false. At LLB your satisfaction doesnt have a time limit, seems to be false also. LLB employees feel safe in being rude, sarcastic, and downright nasty because they are on the phone with the customer, and they will not have to be responsible for their horrible behaviors.

HORRIFIC Customer service that is deceiving. I was charged a late fee on a late fee for a $35 kid’s backpack that was initially paid a day late by phone since their own online system did not function correctly. Once I finally got a real person through the automated customer service system, they wouldn’t remove the $60 in late fees on a 29 cent interest charge that had accrued. Do not sign up for this card!

Citibank Mastercard customer service has been frustrating and difficult to work with since they took over the LL Bean credit card. I have had the card for many, many years previously and never had such terrible experience. It started with suspected fraudulent charges on my card in June 2022, totally $43.95, which were not cleared up until November 2022. On any of my other credit cards (Bank of America Visa and Chase Visa) when I report suspected fraud or dispute a charge, the charges have been removed immediately. Not so with Citibank Mastercard, LL Bean. Then, when the charge was recognized as being fraudulent, Citibank canceled the existing card, opened a new card, credited the new card, but refused to allow me to post any charges to my new credit card without going through a new application process. I have an excellent credit rating (800!) and several other open cards with balances paid off every month. I simply asked for a refund, and for them to close the account, and they have not, as of January 29, 2023, been able to provide the refund or close the account. Never again, Citibank!

I brought to the attention of ll bean customer service that they were advertising items up to 50% off and I was unable to find any items whatsoever at 50% off and asked their customer service vice president in writing to point these specific items out. This person who claims to be a customer service vice president, ignored my request for assistance with my request to “Show me” ANY items that were truly 50% off. Well, this appears to be a situation where ll Bean just flat out lies to customers now. Not to mention, advertising that they can’t back up. I wrote a negative review for their website. They would not

publish this TRUTH on their website.

My son, Ayush Agarwal, had purchased a pair of casual shoes for me in 2017 (Order No. [protected] Dated 08/28/2017). We live in India. I used it for few days, then we found it's leather top has discolored. We took to a local shoe store to ask if it could be corrected. I was told that it could only be made black (original color was brown). My son had told me that these shoes come with Lifetime Warranty. I, therefore, decided to bring it back to LL Bean store.

We came back to USA and took the shoes to the store at L.L. Bean Lone Tree CO Store (8525 S Park Meadows Center Dr, Lone Tree, CO) on 12/31/2022. The manger looked at the shoes and said that there is nothing wrong with the craftmanship. He was not prepared to listen to our concern - very un-cooperative and rude. When I said that you would be losing a family as customer, His answer was 'It's fine with me'. Obviously with such a negative mindset, we could not expect resolution of our problem. I, therefore, decided to write this here. I have attached the Pic of the shoes for quick reference.

I have been informed that now there is a change in LL Bean return policy. But when the shoes were purchased, the return policy was valid for life long. I, therefore, request the LL Bean management to accept my shoes and give me the store credit.

Looking forward to a positive response,

Ajay Agarwal

7102 S Undergrove Way

Aurora, CO 80016

Email: [protected]@Yahoo.com

Your website has not worked on iPad for at least three years. Every time I try to place an order, I receive a message saying the 'a problem has occurred' and directing me to phone in the order.

Today as usual I phoned. The first person to whom I spoke needed to be told several times what size and color I wanted. At which point the line dropped. Had to call a second time. NO call back from the first rep.

Second rep told me that in store pick up was not possible. I asked him to verify. He did, it is possible, and then he added a delivery charge even though the website which does not allow me to order said in store pick up was free. Finally he 'waived' the charge.

LL bean has good products but a lousy website and poor telephone ordering service. Makes it a bit difficult to do business with them, wouldn't you say?

For years I have purchased many items from LLBean, and have generally been satisfied with the quality.

I purchase dozens of long and short sleeved polos and rugbys. from many manufacturers: LL Bean, Ashworth, Dockers, Eddie Bauer, Izod, Van Heusen, Field Gear, Puma, Greg Norman.

Recently, I have noticed a significant number of failures in the seams (neck and cuff) of Bean long sleeved polos: 7 of 12 fairly recently purchased polos are showing seam failures.

It is my understanding that garments should not fail at a seam. No other manufacturer has been found to show a seam failure (this would amount to dozens of other polos). Also, several LLBean rugbys have not shown a seam failure.

I have 7 fairly recently purchased Bean polos that I have not used yet, so I have no experience with the seven. Thus, the seam failures are somewhat aged.

I would comment that in my professional Metallurgical Engineering experience with metal structure failures, that welded structures should not fail in welded seams or areas adjacent the welded seams.

Perhaps you have already experienced complaints of a similar nature in the past and have dealt with this problem. I would appreciate your comments about this problem, and if you have taken steps to solve the problem with your supplier or suppliers.

Regards,

Peter Hakanson

Cust #[protected]

Hello,

I purchased 6 Seaside Beach Towels online on June 20, 2022 for $34.95 per towel. I received the towels and were happy with the quality but all towels had a price tag on them for $29.95.

I called customer service on June 23, 2022 and spoke with Jill. I explained the situation and asked that they honor the $29.95 per towel price. She said she was a supervisor and would look into it. She called me back 5 minutes later and stated that nothing can be done to honor that price.

Doesn't make sense to me. Not great customer service.

Maybe I will return them to the store and then repurchase them at the lower price they are marked as...

When does a company need to to have workers put how they identify on their name tags. Will NOT be back to bean until this stupid behavior is corrected. My Mastercard will also be changing to Coign when it arrives. American values matter so when bean comes to support MY Christian values I might return but not until I am informed of real change.

I purchased these a few years ago and the top of one of them always bends over and shows the lambswool. I've tried bending the flap under and securing with a clip to correct this, but it has not been successful. Is there a way I can send a picture of the problem? Thank you

I didn't wear the blouses before washing, but after washing the two blouses, I noticed they had shrunk UP an inch or two. I sent them back because I have been an LLBean customer forever and tell others about the good return policy. I returned the blouses this month, not having even worn them. I received a phone call from the company rep today, May 10, 2022, telling me they are refusing to honor the return policy. I had stupidly said I washed them in warm, not hot, water. She reminded me the directions said to wash in cold water. I asked if warm water was really so bad; to me, it's not. So, she is sending my blouses back to me! I am so disppointed in LLBean now and will tell others how they treat customers. I have used the LLBean credit card every time.

Really, really sad. Maybe I should have lied!

One more thing to add to this 2022 year.

88 year old widow left without a credit card after decades of loyalty.

My mother recently received her new LLBean credit cards in the mail. I noticed my father was still receiving a card although he had passed away two years ago. Trying to do the right thing, I called LLBean to inform them that my father was no longer living and they only needed to send one card to my mother. I was transferred to Citibank who evidently handles LLBean credit cards. When I informed Citi of my father's passing, they immediately closed the account because he was the primary card holder. I tried to stop the process but was told that, now that they knew, they were legally obligated to close the account. My mother would have to reapply for a credit card. They transferred me to another department to open a new account for my mother. The Citi credit card application division never heard of LLBean and suggested I go online and apply which I did.

Afterwards I saw on the the LLBean webpage that there was an instant approval process for LLBean credit cards so I called. The LLBean staff was very commiserate and understood how my honesty had put my elderly mother in a situation where she had no credit card. They attempted to help but, in the process, discovered that my mother's application was denied due to lack of credit history. "The system" has decided and there is no recourse.

My mother was the one who handled finances during my parent's nearly 70 years of marriage. She paid the bills, did the taxes, arranged for home loans, and handled any financial transactions. She currently has no long term debt. She owns outright her home, an additional property and two automobiles. Her annual income, including her IRA required minimum distribution, exceeds $100,000 annually. Her net worth is well over a million dollars. For the two years since her husband's death she has continued to use their communal LLBean card and paid the bill in full every month. Her reward for decades of loyalty: a closed account, loss of all her LLBean Bucks, and no ability to get a new credit card.

I wish I had never been honest. My mother would still be using her LLBean credit card and paying her bills in-full, on time until the day she joins my father. I appreciate the empathy shown by the people in customer service at LLBean. They said, if it were their mother, they would be angry too. But empathy and anger do not get an 88 year old widow her credit card reinstated. Perhaps there is someone of authority remaining at LLBean (or, less likely, Citibank) with compassion and common sense who can.

Sincerely,

Steve Wright

[protected]@yahoo.com

[protected]

You guys need to read your product reviews on your website, because there have been a few people lately who are making hostile and discouraging remarks to something someone else posted about a product. Can you please rid your comments section of the trolls who feel the need to comment to everyone/thing in an inappropriate manner and are bullying them into not posting anything further? Thanks a bunch!

I purchased a fleece 2 yrs ago from your store in Freehold NJ. Last winter ( 2021) the full. zipper let go . I sent it back and nothing was done . There is nothing wrong with my washer or dryer as indicated by your tec. Also I have another fleece from about 10 yrs ago where the 4 snaps at the top won't close . Both are bright blue . I'd like both replaced . Thank you Charles H. Hengartner. [protected]

Sep
18
tmobile*web upgrade [protected] wa $87.60

charges for "free" phone exchange. T mobile representative could not explain october 30 2021. Charge does not equal free.

According to LL Bean policy items bought before 02/09/2018 have a life time guarantee on them at 100% and return anything from us at any time.
We do not want you to have anything from LL Bean that is not completely satisfactory.

Had conversation with Kristan on 10/04/2021 and Vaughn on September on 09/30/2021 and they will not honor LL Bean policy. Was getting nowhere with them and they were very argumentative and waste of time talking with them.

I return items with my receipts and LL Bean return department will not honor my returns.

my account had a fraudulent charge on my account. I called to report it and get a new card. my accent was closed without my consent . I request to listen to the call to prove I didn't close the account and the manager refuse. i try to open a new account and customer service hangs the phone up and wont call me back. I have called several times and I tried online.

I purchased a pair of Allagash moccasins in May of this year. I used them around the home, on grassy surfaces and for light walking on woodland trails. The soles are worn at least halfway in only five months. The return desk informed me that they had been "abused" and were not eligible for a return. I have been a Bean's customer for over forty years and am now convinced it is not the same company it used to be. I will not buy anything from them again.

This is not the first time I have complained to LLBEAN regarding delivery. As I have a LLBEAN credit card for over 10 years I receive delivery included in my purchase. I would not call it free as the cost of the items is quite substantial.

LLBEAN continues to use UPS. I have set up a UPS delivery preference account which clearly states Front porch delivery. UPS leaves packages wherever they want. They still do. LLBEAN has previously told me it is for UPS to fix. I have tried that. LLBEAN must exert some influence as it is their product being represented. I took a hiatus from buying from Bean for the last few months because of this problem. Ordered again. Received an e-mail from UPS saying package was delivered. Not on the covered front porch. It is raining outside. Our ring camera saw someone come up the drive walking and then walking away. No mask or gloves. Can't see where packages were left. There is a ramp on the front of the house to the covered front porch. You would think that would be a hint that mobility is an issue. I want a picture of where packages were left. Hobbled out to look but can not locate.

This was my first time ordering from L.L. Bean. I ordered 2 pairs of pants in the size that matched the size of all of the pants that I buy. Also, it appeared that I could return the pants if they did not fit based on the website information, so I felt comfortable placing the order. When the pants arrived, they were both too large. I don't mind wearing pants that are a little loose, but these were just too big. The shipping information indicated that I could return the pants for swap or refund, but I had to pay $6.50 for shipping. I called the customer service number to see if they could waive the fee since I wanted to purchase replacement pants that would fit, but she did not do that. So, I will be returning the pants, paying the $6.50, and never buying anything from L.L. Bean again. This is very disappointing because I'm out $6.50, L.L. Bean won't be making any money off the replacement pants, and they have lost a potential customer forever. I don't understand why a company would lose margin and a customer over $6.50. It's just bad business.

Unless a potential customer lives near one of the few L.L. Bean stores, I would recommend against ordering anything from them by mail.