Proflowers.com debit/credit card scam, overbilling  Internet

     I tried to order flowers for mother's day from this company. I picked out a lovely-looking bouquet and a simple vase. I chose standard shipping, and was told at checkout (on the FINAL confirmation page) that my total was right around $42. I accepted to have this amount charged to my debit card.

     I later received a confirmation e-mail saying my card had been charged for more than $70! Several charges had been added to the order that I was NEVER shown or informed of before that point. I was irritated, but still open to the idea it might be a mistake, so I e-mailed customer service explaining the mix-up, and that I was being charged for more than I'd agreed to.

     The reply e-mail was nothing but a copy of the receipt with the fradulent charges added. That was the entire e-mail! No response to my concern at all!

     I e-mailed them again, explaining the situation once more and saying I'd like to be refunded the extra charges that I did not agree to pay.

     A very condescending representative e-mailed me back saying the first amount I'd mentioned was the price before shipping, which had been displayed in the shopping cart, and said he was sorry I'd "missed" the actual amount when confirming the order. He also told me that the order would go into processing soon and couldn't be changed after that, so I should go and change it myself to pick something cheaper quickly or it would be too late.

     I went back to the website and created an identical order with all the same options to see if the amount in the shopping cart matched up, and sure enough, it didn't! The amount in the shopping cart was $30-something -- with shipping, it was still the amount I'd originally agreed to have charged.

     I wrote back explaining all of this, in one last ditch attempt, hopng I might get a better representative this time.

     The reply simply told me that my order had not been processed yet, so I should e-mail them back and tell them to delete it from the system if I didn't want to proceed.

     I did, and they did delete it -- at last they got that part right.

     Proflowers.com will lie to you about credit/debit charges, try to scam you out of more money in hopes that you won't notice, and customer service representatives will lie and be condescending and completely unhelpful. And then you'll be back to square one searching for a gift. Save yourself the time and trouble and do not even consider this scam operation as an option. Local small businesses, though their websites might be less flashy and more difficult to navigate, are a much safer option.