Hollister Co. Deceptive on-line ordering & unhelpful customer service New Albany Ohio

On 12/2/08 I placed an order at hollisterco.com for an 8-ounce body spray for a cost of $14.00 +tax. The only reason I ordered it was because the order total showed no shipping charge (the day after Cyber Monday I assumed it was a special deal). The order total showing when I hit "Submit Order" was $14.97.

On 12/3 I checked my online check card balance and it showed 3 pending charges from Hollister ($14.97, $8.00, $22.97). I checked my order confirmation e-mail and it showed that they had added $8.00 shipping for a total of $22.97. This $8.00 amount was definitely not showing when I submitted the order. The $14.97 & $8.00 have dropped off my bank account, leaving a total charge of $22.97.

I sent an e-mail to their customer service dept. and then I called their customer dervice department and talked to Heather and was (rudely) told that there was a system glitch and there is always a shipping and handling charge. Heather told me there was nothing she could do about the shipping charge, but that she could cancel my order. I told her to cancel it but I advised her that I had already received a shipping confirmation e-mail. She said she was certain she could cancel it. I was very doubtful since I already had the shipping confirmation e-mail.

I sent another e-mail to their customer service dept. that included a description of the situation and copies of the screens showing that when you order a body spray there is no shipping charge, but if you order a shirt a shipping charge does show up. I asked them to honor the price showing when I submitted the order.

On 12/4 I received 2 e-mail replies that both included Hollisters shipping and handling chart and a note thanking me for inquiring about their shipping and handling charges??? I replied, again describing the situation and asking if my order was cancelled like Heather told me it would be, and if not, would they refund the $8.00. I received a reply saying no to both.

Yes, it's only $8.00, but I definitely would not have ordered a $15 item on-line if I knew that the shipping would be $8.00. I added the item to the cart to see how much shipping was, and since it showed no charge that's why I placed the order.

Jennie
Champlin, Minnesota
U.S.A.