Bill Barnes customer service is non-existent

My complaint started basically the day I placed the order. I ordered two picture frames and they said they were on back order and gave me a date. No problem, approximately one month after the expected ship date, I received the picture frames but they were not the size I ordered. Still, no problem, companies make mistakes - all I should have to do is return the frames and get the right size or a refund. This is when my problems started. They said they would cover the shipping - all I had to do was put a UPS number on my box and they would take care of the return. About 3 weeks after they picked up the package, I was notified that I received a store credit minus the cost of the shipping. No good, by this point I wanted a full refund. After numerous phone calls and horrible customer service they agreed to give me the full refund with the shipping.

Now is when the main problems began. I started receiving bills from UPS for the return shipping. I contacted Bill Barnes numerous times to get them to pay the shipping but to no avail. Everytime I talked to their customer service, they would blame it on someone else and promise to take care of it and get back to me. They never did and I continue to receive nasty messages from UPS - even threatening to suspend my account. I don't know what to due at this point, I am unable to get Bill Barnes to pay this shipping bill when it was their fault to begin with. They shipped the wrong stuff - I shouldn't have to pay the return shipping. So, I'm taking the only action I know to due - I'm filling these kind of complaints on whatever forum I can find. Bill Barnes is not listed under Better Business Bureau.

Comment On This

I placed an order on January 7, 2009 and did not receive it. When I called to follow up on the order they said that they had to order it from another seller. Too much time had passed so I canceled my order. I received a cancellation email and number, but have yet to see an account credit. I've called numerous times, but get the story that the accountant is out on pregnancy leave, etc. It is now Feb. 17 and still no credit. From now on I will check the Better Business Bureau before I make an online purchase. The Bill Barnes site is a black hole. Do not order anything from them.

Comment On This

Don't buy from these guys if you have even the slightest expectation that you may need to return the item. You'll never get your money back for a return. They're using customers' money to fund their business. It's a total scam.

They say 90 day store credit and then promise to credit to your credit card if you haven't used it during that time. It's been seven months and dozens of phone calls, and we've received nothing but aggravation, dodging of the issue and outright lies.

Alfred (apparently the manager) blamed the accounting department for weeks. After multiple calls, he finally fessed up and said that return credits were funded by incoming purchases and business was slow -- so too bad for us.