Bought a toy recently on-line from Chapters/Indigo. They were advertising “free shipping”. At the checkout, I noticed a $9.95 shipping charge, because the package was “overweight”. The fine print says that over 5 pounds shipping weight is $4.95 shipping and over 10 pounds is $9.95. OK, I wanted this item, so I sucked it up and paid the extra shipping. (Shipping weight on the listed item showed 15.5 pounds.) I was pretty sure the toy was not that heavy, but the shipping weight includes the box, packing, etc.
Anyway, when the item arrived, it felt pretty light. Very light. In fact, the Postal mailing label showed that it weighed 2.15 kg (4.75 pounds). In total. Including toy, box, packing, tape, label, and misc. fingerprints.
I emailed customer service to let them know of their error, and received this in reply:
I emailed Isabelle 8127* back:
Well, Ms. 8127 emailed yesterday with:
Well, she’s a chipper little thing, ain’t she? Should I just leave it be? Am I being unreasonable? Should I ask where my $9.95 has gone? I note that the shipping weight on the website has not changed.
*what’s with the name? Is she a robot? Is there an Isabelle 8126 that was terminated?
I certainly don’t think you’re being unreasonable in questioning the charge. I wouldn’t bother continuing to send e-mails, though. You’ll probably get better results if you call their customer service number - at the very least, you’ll probably get to talk to an actual human.
However you contact them you need to tell them what you want. If they’ve already agreed to correct the shipping weight on the website, then what you need now is a refund or credit for the overage you paid due to their error. You were overcharged, you need the money back.
Sorry for a bit of a rant, but a recent experience with our great Canadian book retailer…Chapters Indigo has put me over the edge. Any of the US choices offer shipping and service that is so vastly superior I could scream. I am now waiting up to six weeks for an item I desparately need to ship. Amazon could have it to me in 48 to 72 hours. Anyone who has been into our neighbour’s retail environment in the last few months (CDN $$ rules) has seen the difference in the retail environment. Friendly, helpful, will bend over backwards to get you answers and resolution of problems. Many have posted about the rip off on the cost of goods, but now it is also very clear that our American neighbors value the customer and treat them better than our friends at home. It’s time we let the retail environment in Canada know how much greener the grass is on the other side, and as for Chapters-Indigo…don’t ever use their on line services unless you have exhausted every other option in advance. Buy from Chapters…NEVER DO THIS