Seattle Coffee Direct review: Rip off! 683

I'm currently wrestling the Identical issue.
Wish I had read your post BEFORE I agreed to the $2.00 deal.
Thanks for posting.

i am disabled so ordering on line has been a god send, until now. i live on $800.00 a month and seattle coffee direct has taken at least $150.00 this week, that means i don't eat this month.

YUP! It's all very true! They billed me for 3 additional shipments in less than 10 days! As above, I do not even drink coffee and it was a gift for my son. When I called I was told that they only give store credit - who wants credit with a crook? So I informed them that if I did not get a refund I would A) call my credit card company B) call the Better Business Bureau and C) call the local TV consumer group until I received my cash refund. I asked if store credit was her final answer or was I to start my calls. She basically said "Go for it". I then called my credit card company and disputed the charges. The very nice woman I spoke to said she was just shaking her head at all that coffee and what was I going to do with it all? Told her I had enough to open a Coffee Shop - LOL. Then I called the Better Business Bureau and found out there was over 924 complaints against this company in the past 36 months and was instructed on how to file one on-line. Within 24 hours of writing my complaint I was contacted by the BBB and told that Seattle Direct had agreed to refund my money since I was an unhappy customer. I am now waiting to make sure the charges are indeed off my card before I mail back these multiple bags of coffee. I will NEVER sign up for another trial offer again...except with Gevalia Coffee which always did exactly as they promised. Good luck to the rest of you and I would suggest the BBB for the fastest results.
Pinkcloudz

I also have not recieved a refund and that was 2 years ago when they pulled the same stunt on me... Good Luck with your refund

Get in touch with the other 400 folks and hire a lawyer. It is companies like this that make the good ones look bad.

I like the comment above: We are Seattle Gormet Coffee and not Seattle Coffee Direct. Well the bags that were sent to my house were labeled as: Seattle Gormet Coffee. So nice try; but I don't buy it. You should be made aware of who is using your name and ruining your reputation and do something about it; if truly not you. Doing nothing makes you as guilty.

This company is shameful to say the least. I've been charged four times for nothing under two different names. They didn't even send a product. They told me they would refund my card. Never did. I have worked with my credit card company to get these charges removed. It is a hassle for sure. I believe this company tries to screw folks out of their money and has no true intention of providing a product. It is a scam. Period. It has been four months and I'm still trying to resolve one of the four charges; where they used Metro Coffee Direct instead. Same company; same problem.

My advice to you all is simply to dispute the charges and cost them money in the long haul with the disputes. Maybe in time; these scams will no longer be profitable and stop. I hope in the end; it cost them more than they received; as they clearly deserve it. Karma at its best.

I just got off the phone with them this morning, clearly no one gave them any form of customer service training. I have in essence paid $120 for approx 2 lbs of coffee. I am beyond irritated at them, after the first shipment was charged to my account, within 2 days another $38.95 was charged to my account, and then within 5 days of that charge another 38>95 was charged to my account. I contacted them after the 2nd shipment and asked them to stop sending any, and then the third charge and shipment arrived. I then returned shipments 2 & 3, that was 3 weeks ago, they can't refund me until they recieve the shipment back, spoke w/UPS and they said it takes max 10 days for the return to arrive at the company. Ok, so where is my refund? According to the rude CSR I spoke with, it will take 4-6 weeks to credit my account. Okay, how is that even possible, the bank says refunds take 24-48 hours to appear on my account. This is clearly a rip-off!

After a complaint to the BBB, I got my refund in a matter of days, not months. Plus the original "special offer" purchase was refunded.

http://www.bbb.org/chicago/business-reviews/posters/peel-in-evanston-il-36000239 more info on the company. Apparently the same company runs several other services, so avoid like hell ANY of these URLs:
Peel.com
Danielle Janine Jewelry
PosterPass.com
publicationsmax.com
SeattleCoffeeDirect.com
Coffee Roasters Direct, Inc.
ShopDani.com
HollywoodJewelryStore.com
PerfectlyPendants.com
RelationshipSpot.com
RingingCell.com
Superduperfree.com
MagazineBurst.com
VermontRoastingCo.com
Homeartsdirect.com
Art Print World
MetroCoffeeDirect
Global Coffee Direct

Same thing has happened to me! Original offer was $2.00, since then my account has been hit 6 times for $38.95 each. Had to cancel my debit card to get this to stop. These people are nothing but scam artists..DO NOT BE FOOLED like I was.

I too have been a victim of Seattle Coffee Direct.com I too have been receiving shipments which are unauthorized. I canceled after receiving the very 1st shipment which was not what I ordered Kept receiving shipments every other day. I called again and again was told if I sent them back I would not receive a refund only a store credit. Have never received the grinder. Every 2 days a shipment comes with a knock @ my door. I call again. They have drained my checking acct.

you may want to actually contact the company...

Did you read the terms on this product I did and when I got my first shippment I called right away to cancel and got thru and the person was really nice to me and canceled my order and was not charged I also told them that i googled them and that there was alot of complaints about them and thats why i was cancalling and she was very understanding

I don't even drink coffee! I ordered some mugs for gifts, and i guess in the fine print I agreed to become a member and within 15 DAYS! THEY HAD SHIPPED ME 4 SHIPPMENTS 39 BUCKS EACH. I should have caught it sooner. The fact that they don't offer refunds only in store credit shows they know exactly what they are doing.

You know I think how dumb I must be to believe that someone is going to give me something for nothing. I, in response to trying to get a $50 restaurant card, checked a Seattle coffee ad. I use a lot of coffee and mistakenly thought it was the original Seattle coffee. I checked "ground" and they sent me "whole beans" and directions for using the coffee bean grinder--but no grinder. I called to request replacement bags of coffee and asked where could I send the wrong ones. They said just keep them. Got the new two bags within days and my Visa bill with an additional $38 charge from Seattle. How dumb am I? Or how greedy--is it free?

I fell for the same deal. The wording on the agreement is a little vague. They claim they can change the frequency whenever they want. Within one week of signing up, they had dinged me 4 times for $38.95 a pop. Plus if you look at their return policy, you only get "store credit" not a refund. What a rip-off. With the size of the bags of coffee you get and the frequency of the deliveries, what do they think I'm a restaurant? It is very apparent they aren't in this business to satisfy customers, but to gouge them to death until the customer leaves. I'm very surprised that this company is still in business. I'm warning all my friends and am going to plaster stuff everywhere on the internet about this company.

I am fighting with them now. They keep telling me my refund was processed for the $38.95 on June 17, 2009... Then they stupidly tell me that it will take 30 to 60 days to show up on my card. My bank say's that's BS and that they show NO refund coming through.

Any refunds I have gotten from legitimate companies have shown up on my card in 3 days or less. It's a debit card, not a credit card.

I'm on disability so I am also going to report them to Social Security and AARP. Those folks like to know when Seniors and/or disabled people are getting scammed.

I hope you all get your money back.

I contacted the BBB bureau and the very next day ... seattle coffee Direct agreed to a refund of my money ... I am suppose to get this refund within 72 Hours. Hopes this helps.
http://www.chicago.bbb.org

I recently signed up for the Seattle Coffee Direct program and was hosed! My first shipment did indeed arrive in record speed, I was impressed. However, what I received was not at all worth the $25 I was charged, in my opinion. A couple of days later, not weeks, I received another shipment...a few days later I received another shipment...a week later I received another shipment. I immediately logged onto my online bank account to see if I was charged for any of these unsolicited shipments. To my dismay, my account had been charged 3 times for the amount of $34.68...I was livid. I contacted the company and was told to return the shipments to them and I would be refunded for all costs. I did but after 2 weeks I had not received a refund or confirmation that the shipments were received. When I contacted them again I was told that the shipments were received but my refund would not be processed for another 10-14 business days. That was over 3 weeks ago so I called again this morning. The representative I spoke to today told me that the person I spoke to before did not know what they were talking about and my refund could take up to 2 billing cycles (60 days). This confused me because the charges weren't made on a credit card, it was made through my bank account so what "billing cycle" were they referring to? I protested his response and informed him that they've had their merchandise back for over a month and I have nothing to show for returning it to them in a timely manner. I was then told that he would send me a confirmation email to show that the merchandise was received and a refund has been processed. I ask you, how is that giving me back my money? I still have not reached a satisfactory conclusion to this dilemma and plan to go to my bank this evening to see what can be done on their end. To say the least, I am very disappointed with my experience with this company and will NEVER participate in any program of this sort again.

Today I placed a call to check the status of my refund.
I noticed that when I called using my home telephone number (the one I put on my application for the trial offer), the phone call would click off when picked up, but when I switched to another telephone, the call was picked up.
Are they perhaps screening for previously identified unsatisfied customers in order to dodge the phone calls?

I placed the initial order ($15 deal), and NEVER saw anywhere that I could set up a shipment schedule.
My order arrived in 3 days, TOTALLY the wrong items (I would NEVER purchase caffeinated coffee, yet that is what I was sent!)

Immediately I called to not only complain, but to cancel my account. How surprized was I when I spoke with Marlene to find that another order @$38.95 was already sent out! I was told by this Marlene that I could have set the frequency of shipments when I signed up. So not true.
At my request, my account was cancelled, and I was told just refuse shipment, and I would be refunded promptly.
I refused delivery, and both were sent back the way they came, by UPS.

Today I called to find out if the packages were received and to ask when I would see my money refunded. Anna told me that it takes 3-4 weeks for the packages to be returned to them, and then 1-2 billing cycles for a refund! Why so long to get the packages back? Some lame story that no matter the method used to return the packages, they go to a post office first, and are then sent back in bulk.

The way I figure, this will take 3 months to POSSIBLY see my money returned.

Stay away from this company, stay FAR AWAY!

This company employs a marketing technique called, "The dangling carrot". If you READ the fine print on the promotion, you will see that in fact you agree to a recurring subscription. Cancel it immediately after receiving your trial offer. The company was in the right, you just didn't read the fine print.

I had the same experience as everyone else on this board. I accepted a 5 items for $5 to try out their coffee. No mention of a membership, no confirmation e-mail. Three days after receiving the 'sample' order, I got two additional bags of coffee in the mail with no packing slip or bill of any kind. Since I did not order a membership from them and received no invoicel in the box, I checked out the internet and found this company to be a SCAM. I immediately closed the Credit Card that I had on file with FB and called the company to cancel my supposed 'order'. The customer service lady was very rude, told me that there was NO REFUND allowed at all and that I had two more charges each over $39! I called my bank - Thank God my card that I checked this company out because they canceled my card before the charges came through! WARNING...THIS COMPANY IS A MAJOR SCAM AND SHOULD BE ILLIGAL!

My husband signed up for the coffee deal, not realizing they were going to charge $145.00 total to our card (more like $5.oo). They told us if we send all the packages back, we would receive a refund. This happened in early May. I called back to ask where my refund was after waiting a few weeks. They said the money would be refunded in my bank account the next month (June). It never showed up. I called back again...and then again... Finally, someone told me it would either be on June or July's statement. June is gone, and July is here...and still no money. I called back again, and now they claim we will be receiving a refund at the end of July. I'll be back to post whether or not I received the refund! This is getting ridiculous, and it is a ripoff!

It seems as if this is the usual thing for this company. I did the 5 for $5 deal which i knew would be $25. That's fine. But when 3 days after I got the initial shipment, I rcvd 4 more bags of coffee. I didnt sign up for any auto ship program. On the terms and conditions section of their site, it clearly states they have an autoship program. Hey, thats cool. But IT DOES NOT say you are signing up for one.

So, they got me for $25. Thats cool. I can eat that. The coffee is ok. Not great but ok. But the 3 charges I have rcvd for about $39 a pop, those are going to go away. I'll try to let them refund my money. If not, thats cool. I'll have my bank backcharge them. Wife works for the bank, so we will be getting our money back. It's just if they want to do it the nice way.

Also, going ot make sure I complain to the better business bureau and the federal trade commission. We need to get this company shut down. They are screwing people left and right. Yes, they end up paying refund for a few orders here and there but what about all the people that just don't feel like fighting them? This company will stay in business if we do nothing.

Total SCAM! it's funny how similar all of these complaint are. I ordered, and was billed 3 times in 3 days and sent 3 shipments within 3 days. I called and they said "well you didn't check how frequently you wanted coffee" First of all I did and it showed so on the receipt, which by the way I had to request they send to me. I also asked for tracking numbers which they never sent me. So back to the "how frequently you want shipments" box. Even if I hadn't checked it does anyone think a reasonable shipment schedule is two pounds of coffee every other day?
Called, the guy immediately said "okay just return and we'll refund" clearly it's a rehearsed reaction didn't ask for explanation or try to keep me or explain just "okay, thanks." Thanks because in the meantime they're holding my money in their accounts for up to 90 days as they have a 60 refund window.
I called back again after the first refund was issued but the other two were not. Total run around, finally spoke to a manager and she too was evasive and just stuck to the script of "oh it's our policy for 60 days" so I'm like you're basically stealing money from my account for 90 days while you collect interest on it, it takes 2 seconds to pull it from my credit card but 60 days to refund it? She says well we only get our mail from the warehouse every TWO WEEKS?!?! In 2009 they get their mail every two weeks? Yeah right. It's all just a SCAM SCAM SCAM SCAM DO NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS SERVICE.

From 6/12/09 to 6/24/09 I was charged 258.70! Who the hell drinks this much coffee!?! Theywere only supposed to bill me 38.95 once a month after the initial 25.00 introductory offer! This place billed me almost everyday during this time! I called and cancelled on 6/25/09 and I'm praying I don't get charged again!

Stay away from these charlatan's they will screw you without greese!

Well i too have ordered the deal 2 coffee cups and 2 bags of coffee, well it was supposed to be just 5 dollars .well i was billed 25.00, and then a few days later they took out 38.95 then they took it out again, i called the company to get my refund, i sent the coffe back, they said it took them 30 days to get the package back, what bologna, then they said i would have my refund back on the 21st, today is the 23, and no money, when they did take the money out 2 times it caused my checking account to bounce, i live on every penny i have, and for them to take 80 dollars from me or anyone else is just wrong, i will be calling the bbb too, they need to be shut down and sued for everyones money back, and i keep calling in the day, there hours are 10 am to 6 pm, eastern, well i called yesterday and they said there offices were closed.and i called at 2 pm, what a scam

Oh I hear you. I ordered on an add that said 5 for 5, then after you order their add says 5 for 5 each. If it were 5 for 5 each, I would of NEVER ordered it. Then the started shipping things I did not order twice a week and are charging me almost 40 bucks per shipping. I dont think so. I will be returning the orders, and I better damn well get my money back. I already told them that I should of searched their company out first. I am so sick of being ripped off by people.

I got this one settled with Seattle Coffee: they refunded my money within 72 hours of being notified by the BBB. Now I'm waiting to get my money back from the other dietary supplement outfit: weeks after I cancelled my "membership" with them (Acaipur is one of their company names), they were still taking money out of my checking account. I had to cancel my debit card and open a new one to prevent further fraud.

I am too angry to say what I feel right now. Am not waiting or being nice about this one. Am contacting Chicago/Evanston BBB through their websites and overnight mail. Next step will be the Attorney Generals office. I am also launching a class action suite against them. Will get back online and give out info in a day or two.

I wish I'd found all this before I ordered! They did the same thing to me. Sent me three orders for $38.95 each. Each one sent out two days apart! I guess they want to hurry up and get their money before we have a chance to catch on! I have been trying to get them to return my money. I sent all the coffee back. What a Fraudulent Company. They should be put out of business!

i never received an invoice for any of the charges. I never authorized a shipment of coffee to come every week and was even charged twice for my orders

I'm trying to get charges reversed for coffee I haven't even received yet. Went to the Better Business Bureau online and filed a complaint there. The "parent" company of all these coffee scams is Peel, Inc. out of Chicago. Theoretically if you get a delivery you can send it back via UPS, unopened, saying you REFUSE delivery. That's supposed to get you a refund, but I'm not waiting. I filed with BBB and will hopefully get some resolution soon. (I'm going through the same thing with some green tea/hoodia junk -- ALL of which is the result of thinking I could get a free Blackberry just for "trying" So-and-So's products. You'd think I'd have known better...)

here you go.I email them with my complaint.Got my money back. Hope you do too. Cancel your credit card and get a new one or they will keep charging you.

Jeff Berman

Director of Customer Service

SeattleCoffeeDirect

[protected]

jberman@seattlecoffeedirect.com

i payed them the first time 5 dollars for a trial but with in two weeks i was charged on my card 121, 85 cant get anyone on the phone they sayed they would cancel please does anybody know how i can get my money back thanks

debra

Seattle Coffee Direct also operates as
* Coffee Roasters Direct
* Global Coffee Direct
* Metro Coffee Direct
* Peel, Inc

All use the following info:
990 Grove St, Evanston IL 60201
[protected]
Point of contact is Jennifer Carani, [protected] ext 18

File a complaint with the BBB at http://chicago.bbb.org
We received a full refund of ALL charges, including the trial package!

Finally...Seattle Coffee Direct refunded me all the money they STOLE out of my account!
And to top it off 4 days later everything came that they were suppose to send in the first place..

And I'm keeping it! That's for all the trouble they put me through!

Oh great, looks like I will not be getting my money back any time soon. I order the promotion of 5 for $25 and then started getting more and more every week and was charged $38 for all these bags that I didn't order! So not only did I get charged for a bunch of coffee that I didn't order, I also got charged the $25 for the first order and never even got that one! When I called to cancel all the orders they told me to send the unwanted orders back and I would be credited back the money I was owed. This was 3 months ago! I finally got a refund confirmation that said it would take up to 14 business days to refund my money but when 2 weeks past and I still didn't get it I called again and their new excuse was that their was an error with my account. NO THERE IS NOT! They have the right #, they just wont give me my money back. This is illegal! This company should be shut down!

We didn't do enough research and got "stung" by their newest offer. We signed up for the $5.00 intro offer on 5/16/2009 believing their statement in their terms that the first shipment would not occur for a month, allowing us to cancel should be not like the coffee. However, on 5/18/2009, before the introl offer ever arrived, we were charged for the first of 4 UNAUTHORIZED shipments. Each shipment was billed at $38.96 (12-oz bags at $12.50 + 6.98 for each of 2 bags) for a total FRAUDULENT charge of almost $160! We canceled, returned the coffee, and have requested both our bank and VISA to reverse the charges. Since then, I discovered that “SeattleCoffeeDirect.com” is also known as “MetroCoffeeDirect.com”, “GlobalCoffeeDirect.com”, and “CoffeeRoastersDirect.com”! It’s obvious (at least to me) that they are an “agile” company in today’s rapidly changing e-business environment — they change their name frequently to HIDE . . .

They are charging me like crazy! so far $77.90...I have not received anything for them...I also can't get a hold of the company from stopping these charges every week.I need some help on who to contact.

dolly.wolf@yahoo.com

any info please.