Fruit of the Month Club - making substitution of promised, advertised fruits - no prior notice given

# 18 for May 27, 2002

Complaints.com received the following consumer message on May 26, 2002:

From: Email User RE: Fruit of the Month Club - making substitution of promised, advertised fruits - no prior notice given I ordered my parents, my brother and his family, and my sister and her family 12-box Fruit of the Month club subscriptions for Christmas.

The subscription I ordered for my parents included such items as Clementine Mandarines, Mission Figs, Mangoes, etc. The very first month, Harry and David substituted Pears and Stilton Cheese for the promised mandarines. My parents don't like Stilton cheese and they already had pears.

The mangoes that were supposed to arrive in April have yet to arrive--they are apparently "ripening" very slowly. Harry and David have never attempted to contact my parents in advance about the substitutions and the late deliveries. They just send what they want when they want.

My brother and sister have each had at least one substitution for the promised, advertised fruits. The substitutions are always either apples or oranges. Once again, no prior notice about the substitutions. I advise anyone to avoid the Fruit of the Month club. My family has taken to calling it the Fraud of the Month club.