Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/05/2023

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  This company is using illegal and fraudulent business tactics to scam consumers. On April 18th I attempted to purchase a few books from Puppy Dogs & Ice Cream Publishing after falling for their ad on ********* I selected the "everyone feels" bundle of (3) books for $39.95 and added them to my cart. After filling out my information, I selected PayPal as my payment option. When routed to PayPal's site, I noticed that the charged had bumped up to $50.49 but I assumed it was just a high shipping charge. After being routed back to the Puppy Dogs & Ice Cream site, the transaction was processed immediately. A screen to review/ confirm the purchase that is typical of every online retailer I've ever purchased through did not appear. The receipt I received was for (2) bundles of (3) books (the "everyone feels" bundle that I was attempting to purchase and a "right now" bundle that I never added to my cart) and a line for a "**** Digital Library - 14-day trial." Similar to the second bundle of books, I never added this to my cart, nor was it referenced in any way shape or form until after my transaction went through. Fast forward 2 weeks, and my card was charged $106.80 for a subscription service that I never signed up for and never agreed to. The claims made by the business on other complaint responses that the additional books were offered at a discount and the consumer accepted is a lie. The claims that customers are informed multiple times throughout the transaction about the subscription is a lie. It's a shame. The books we received are actually pretty decent. This company could have made it as a legitimate business, but instead elected to utilize fraudulent business practices to scam consumers. I would encourage an interested party with BBB to follow the same steps on the **** website, because I'm sure you'll get the same results. ****** learned... look up BBB reviews for unknown companies before making purchases.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/09/2023

  *******, 

  Thank you for your feedback. Based on your complaint, we have double checked the purchase process and payment method used for your order. Information regarding the free-trial and subsequent charge if not cancelled were presented 3 times before the final order submission. Additional books were only added if a customer clicks the button saying YES, add it to my order!.  All items included in the order are listed as line items before payment is made. 

  I'm sad to hear that your experience with ** was not what we would have hoped for. I see that you have been in contact with our Customer Support Team on 5/5/23 and that they took care of cancelling and refunding the subscription. Please let ** know if there is anything further that we can do to assist you and we'll be happy to help. 

  PDIC Customer Support

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/05/2023

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Puppy Dogs and Ice Cream uses deceptive online tactics (SCAM) to subtly hide information re additional "bonus" offers and their "14-day trial period" that are not easily seen when completing an order for a fixed set of books. Then these charges are automatically included when you complete your original order. This is then followed by a $97 charge for an annual subscription that no one intentionally signs up for.This processing trick (SCAM) can be seen across dozens of recent complaints of the company, and the company's response is always the same...alleging that You (the customer) must have made a mistake when ordering your desired books. And of course, when you call their customer service number, you are informed that it is not yet set up for service (SCAM). The company's email responses to these ordering issues appear to be "canned" responses as some of them reference how good they did in 2021 and that they expect to have a good 2022, although we are now five months into 2023.As a company that is heavily promoting ********* books and Godliness, it would be strongly advisable that this company immediately change their deceptive sales tactics so as not to SCAM their good-hearted customers out of their hard-earned dollars.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/08/2023

  *****, 

  Thank you for your feedback. I want to assure you that we make every effort to be clear with the way that we present our items and the free-trial of our digital library. We do offer additional books at a discounted price prior to the final order submission screen. The additional items wont be added to an order unless a customer clicks the button saying YES, add it to my order!. 

  We've also done our best to ensure that the information concerning the free trial of our digital content is presented to customers multiple times throughout the shopping/purchasing process. In addition, after the order was placed, you would have received an email with instructions for accessing the content as well as how to cancel the trial if you werent interested. I don't see that you have contacted ** since being charged for the trial subscription lapsing, so I have taken the liberty of cancelling your subscription and refunding you for the charges. 

  I'm not certain what number you attempted to reach ** at, but we have recently begun addressing customer support issues via phone and you can reach an agent at ************, Monday through Friday from 9am-5pm PDT. Please don't hesitate to reach out to ** if have any further questions or concerns. 

  PDIC Customer Support

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/03/2023

  Type:Delivery Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My business has repeatedly received phone calls over the past 2 years from customers claiming that I'm trying to scam them - they are receiving charges on their bank account from "******************** Smiles" for orders that they never placed - and the information leads them back to my business (both the business name and phone number, apparently?)I am NOT receiving these orders via my website, and apparently when they call their banks, they are getting charges from "Puppy Dogs and Ice Cream" for orders that they never placed; however, the contact info is leading several customers back to ME, attempting to file their complaints.I've attempted to contact customer service in the past, but have not received a response.Can you please remove my phone number and business name from your description, so that I can stop getting these calls??

  Business Response

  Date: 05/04/2023

  *****, 

  Thanks for responding to my call earlier. As I mentioned, we have checked into it and your company name and contact phone number are not included anywhere in our transactions with our customers. We do have an email domain of puppysmiles.org and it is likely that customers seeing this may be searching the web for it and inadvertently coming across your company's info. We are looking into ways to reduce the issue you are experiencing. Thanks for reaching out! 

  PDIC Customer Support

  PH#************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/05/2023

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
  
  Regards,
  
  *********************
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/02/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I ordered 3 books for $20 and received them in the mail. Then in the middle of the night I received a charge for $97 for an online catalog that I did not purchase, want, or need. This company has fraudulent practices where they get your credit card number for a purchase and continue to charge for other things hoping people dont notice or dont have the time to figure out how to stop the unsolicited charges over and over.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/03/2023

  *********, 

  I'm sorry to hear that your experience with us was not what you expected. We've done our best to ensure that the information concerning the free trial of our digital content is presented to customers multiple times throughout the shopping/purchasing process. It is also listed as a line item on the final screen where the order is submitted. In addition, after the order was placed, you should have received an email with instructions for accessing the content as well as how to cancel the trial if you werent interested. 

  I see that you were in contact with our Customer Support Team on 5/2, and that they were able to confirm that the subscription was cancelled. They also refunded the full charges for the subscription. You should see the refund on your end within 3-5 business days. We're happy to help if you have any further questions or concerns, just contact us through our website, www.puppydogsandicecream.com, or give us a call at ************. 

  PDIC Customer Support

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/03/2023

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
  
  Regards,
  
  *****************************
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/28/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On 4/7/2023, I ordered a set of books from the company. I received my order, however when reviewing my credit card charges, I saw there was an additional charge of $102.34 on 4/22/2023. I reviewed all communications I received, and none of them referenced a second charge or enrollment in a subscription. I did not authorize this charge, and it will be disputed.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/01/2023

  *******, 

  I apologize for any confusion regarding this order. Certain items include a free trial of our digital content with your purchase. After the order was placed, you would have received an email with instructions for accessing the content as well as how to cancel the trial if you werent interested. Since the free trial expired without a cancellation, you were billed the yearly subscription charge. We've done our best to ensure that the information concerning the free trial of our digital content is presented to customers multiple times throughout the shopping/purchasing process. It would also have shown as a line item on the final screen before you submit your order.

  I certainly don't want you to pay for something that you didn't want and won't use. I see that you contacted us on 4/28 and one of our Customer Support team members refunded all charges associated with the subscription and confirmed that it is cancelled as well. You should see the refund within 3-5 business days. Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any further questions or concerns. Have a great day and thank you for your business!
  
  
  PDIC Customer Support Team

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/27/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I placed an order on 3/31/23 for 3 books, The Everyone Feels series. We received the books on 4/5/23 with Tracking Number **************************. We love the books and have seen success with our 6 year old being able to understand the material and implement the action steps. So, I have no complaints about the books. My problem is the 14 day trial that I unknowingly signed up for. I am very cognizant of these things, and can't imagine I signed up for a free trial on my own doing. If I did, I would have made a note in my calendar to make a decision about if I wanted to continue with the membership, knowing that I would be charged. I did not do that, and had no desire to have a membership. On 4/12/23 I was charged ***** for the membership that I did not knowingly sign up for. I looked back at my order confirmation and looked on the website on my account and to my surprise, I was signed up for the membership. I followed the steps to cancel my membership within the allotted time. When I confirmed it I did not receive any notification that I would be refunded, or when that would happen? I have not heard from them regarding the cancellation. I have yet to receive a refund from them. Can you please help in getting this accomplished? Sad thing is, I really love the books! And would possibly order again if it were not what I consider bad business. I understand mistakes happen, and I could have mistakenly overlooked it. But them not falling through with the cancellation promise to refund my money is unacceptable. I know it has been cancelled because it now says No Active Subscriptions Found. Thank you for your assistance.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/27/2023

  ******, 

  I'm sorry to hear that your experience with us was not what you expected. We've done our best to ensure that the information concerning the free trial of our digital content is presented to customers multiple times throughout the shopping/purchasing process. In addition, after the order was placed, you would have received an email with instructions for accessing the content as well as how to cancel the trial if you werent interested. 

  I see that your free-trial period ended on 4/12 and you cancelled the subscription on 4/13. In order to have avoided being charged, you would have needed to cancel by the end of the day on 4/12. When someone cancels after the subscription has been charged, a refund is not automatic. Customers need to reach out to our Customer Support Team in that instance and, depending on the circumstance, a refund may be issued. We can be contacted via our website, www.puppydogsandicecream.com, or by phone at ************. 

  I certainly don't want you to pay for something that you didn't want and won't use. I have refunded all charges associated with the subscription and confirmed that it is cancelled as well. You should see the refund within 3-5 business days. Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any further questions or concerns. Have a great day and I hope you'll consider shopping with us again. 
  
  
  PDIC Customer Support

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/28/2023

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

  I find it interesting, however that the day that the trial ended was the day that I was charged. I saw it on my bank records later on  that day and went in the next morning to figure out what it was and why I had been charged. That is when I cancelled it. Thank you for your assistance!
  
  Regards,
  
  *********************
  
   

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/26/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I ordered 3 books from this company, for which I was charged $27.80 - that's fine. However, 2 days later, a $97 purchase was posted on my credit card. Upon investigation, I believe they were charging me for a "digital subscription" that I absolutely did NOT sign up for. This is a shady company.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/27/2023

  ******, 

  I apologize for any confusion regarding this order. Certain items include a free trial of our digital content with your purchase. After the order was placed, you should have received an email with instructions for accessing the content as well as how to cancel the trial if you are not interested. Since the trial period lapsed without a cancellation, you were billed the yearly subscription charge. I certainly don't want you to pay for something that you didn't want and won't use. I see that you contacted us yesterday and one of our Customer Support Team members refunded all charges associated with the subscription and confirmed that it is cancelled as well. You should see the refund within 3-5 business days. Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any further questions or concerns. Have a great day and thank you for your business!
  
  
  PDIC Customer Support Team

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/25/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Date of false transaction is today, April 25, 2023 at 3:00 a.m. Paypal contacted me with a report of a purchase of $102.82 in the middle of the night to Puppy Dogs and Ice Cream. I was asleep at 3:00 a.m. and did NOT make a purchase. On April 11, I did purchase three religious children's books which I received right away...two days later, I received another three books and was charged $58 and change for all six. I expected to be charged $30 for the three books. I think this is elder fraud...I'm 70 years old and wanted to get a nice, sweet book about ***** for my 7 and 5 year old grandchildren which is what their advertising promoted. I want to return all of these books and get my money back...NOW! I do NOT want to be charged for the $102.82 fraudulent purchase. ************************* *****; ****************** ************.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/27/2023

  ******, 

  Thank you for reaching out and for your feedback. After taking a look into your order, I see that two book bundles were included. The first bundle is the one that you originally chose to order. The second would have been offered to you as a discounted item prior to the checkout screen. It wont be added to an order unless the customer clicks the button saying YES, add it to my order!. 
  
  We understand that mistakes can happen and we have 30 day refund policy to help resolve issues such as this. I see that you have spoken with a member of our team and have returned the book to the address provided. Our team member has taken care of issuing the refund for the returned merchandise. 

  n regard to the subscription, we've done our best to ensure that the information concerning the free trial of our digital content is presented to customers multiple times throughout the shopping/purchasing process. In addition, after the order was placed, you would have received an email with instructions for accessing the content as well as how to cancel the trial if you werent interested. I see that our team member also assisted you with cancelling the subscription and providing a full refund. 

  If you have any other questions or concerns, please reach out to us through our help center at www.puppydogsandicecream.com. You can also reach us at ************ between the hours of 9am-5pm PDT. 

  PDIC Customer Support

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/27/2023

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  They contacted me and are refunding my money and cancelling the subscription.

  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************
  
   

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/20/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I purchased 3 books from your company and the total was $48.44. Now I'm doing my bills and see you charged me another $102.34, but I didn't purchase anything else? Can you check my purchases and let me know what the extra $102.34 charges were for?

  Business Response

  Date: 04/21/2023

  ******, 

  I apologize for any confusion regarding this order. Certain items include a free trial of our digital content with your purchase. We've done our best to ensure that the information concerning the free trial of our digital content is presented to customers multiple times throughout the shopping/purchasing process. After the order was placed, you would have received an email with instructions for accessing the content as well as how to cancel the trial if you werent interested. Since the free trial expired without a cancellation, you were billed the yearly subscription charge. I certainly don't want you to pay for something that you didn't want and won't use. I have refunded all charges associated with the subscription and confirmed that it is cancelled as well. You should see the refund within 3-5 business days. Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any further questions or concerns. Have a great day and thank you for your business!
  
  
  PDIC Customer Support Team
  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/22/2023

  I NEVER signed up for a free trial on anything! I only ordered 3 books. Ive noticed the exact same complaints on the BBB site about the Puppy Dogs & Ice Cream company! It looks like theyve scammed and charged most of their customers with subscription fees that we never signed up for! 
  Im retired and want my $102 back! Thank you BBB! 

  Business Response

  Date: 04/24/2023

  ******, our

  I'm sorry if I wasn't completely clear in my previous response, but the charges were refunded back to you on 4/21 for the full amount of the subscription, and it has been cancelled so that you will never see another charge related to it. As I mentioned, it can take 3-5 business days for the refund to be reflected on your end, so you should see it by the end of this week if you haven't yet. 

  If you have any other questions or concerns, please reach out to us by using the chat icon in the lower right-hand side of our our website, www.puppydogsandicecream.com or call us at ************ from 9am-5pm PDT. 

  PDIC Customer Support

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/11/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On 2/20/23 I ordered 3 books from Puppy Dog Books. On the way to checkout they offered me another 3 books to order. While CONTINULY pressing the no button, it took me to checkout. On 2/22/23 they charged my debit card $59.08 and $53.13. On 3/21/23 they charged me ***** which, I'm assuming, is for their subscription. On 4/7/23 I packaged all 6 books up with a note stating if they do not credit my card with the total ($209.21) amount, I would have my credit card company with fraud. I paid extra to have a record of the person's signature who receives the books. I told them to remove me from their contact list as I no longer want to have anything to do with them. Today, 4/11/23, I received a thank you note for my purchase and subscription. Can you help me get my money back?

  Business Response

  Date: 04/12/2023

  *****, 

  Thanks for reaching out. I've used you email address to pull up your account information and located the order in question. I see that two book bundles were included. The first bundle is the one that you originally chose to order. The second would have been offered to you as a discounted item prior to the checkout screen. It wont be added to an order unless the customer clicks the button saying YES, add it to my order!. 

  In addition, we make sure to inform customers in a couple different spots throughout the ordering process about the free-trial of our digital content. Once the order is placed, you would have received an email with instructions for accessing the content as well as how to cancel the trial if you werent interested. I certainly don't want you to pay for something that you didn't want and won't use. I have refunded all charges associated with the subscription and confirmed that it is cancelled as well. You should see the refund within 3-5 business days.

  With regard to the returned books, I would simply need to get the tracking number that they were returned under and I will then be able to process a full refund for the items. You are welcome to provide a response here with the information or reach out to us through our contact center on www.puppydogsandicecream.com. Simply click on the chat icon in the lower right-hand part of the screen to be connected to a Customer Support Agent. I don't see that we have had any contact from you since your order was placed so that we could address your concerns. Just know that we are always available and eager and help with any customer concerns. 

  PDIC Customer Support

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/12/2023

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
  
  Regards,
  
  ***************************