Complaints
This profile includes complaints for Talbots's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see
Customer Complaints Summary
- 98 total complaints in the last 3 years.
- 29 complaints closed in the last 12 months.
If you've experienced an issue
Submit a ComplaintThe 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:01/11/2023
Type: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.
Talbots shipped clothing items on 7-Nov-22. I received the items on 10-Nov-22. I kept two items and returned six items on 23-Nov-22. My items were returned well within Talbots' 60 day return policy. I received email from Talbots on 9-Jan-23 that my return was outside the return policy and that Talbots accommodated me by applying my $301.12 refund amount to merchandise credit. I contacted customer service on ********* requesting a refund to my original payment method. What should have been a simple apology for the mistake and a resolution that they will refund to my original payment method right away was instead a run-around. I was told Talbots received only 4 of my 6 items. Talbots physically received all of my items. If Talbots only entered 4 of the 6 items as received in their database, that's their problem. I was lied to that their policy is to refund to merchandise credit then to refund to the original payment method. That is not what their 60-day return policy states. But, that is what their internal policy is, I guess. Finally, after a lot of baloney from the customer service reps I was told I would be refunded to my original payment method in 5 business days. Considering Talbots deceitful tactics in this matter, I am concerned I may not be appropriately refunded.
Business Response
Date: 01/14/2023
Please extend our apologies for any errors on our part and for Ms. **************;poor experience with our customer service agent. ****************** spoke with *****, a Support and Research specialist, on 1/13 and together they resolved all outstanding issues to the customer's satisfaction.Initial Complaint
Date:12/09/2022
Type: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 paid off my bill on the due date in August. It was passed 5 pm so I called Talbots to make sure I would not be charged a late fee. However, they charged me five months worth of penalties and late fees. When I reached out to them all I received was automated responses and more late fees. I received a total of 155 plus dollars of late fees on a zero account and they refuse to help me. All they did was refund 30 dollars after charging all these fees and hurting my credit score of over 800 points. I have been a customer for more than 15 years and I will never buy from them again. Since I can not get anyone on the phone I am filing this complaint. I am paying the late fees because they will not resolve the issue but I deserve to be reimbursed.Business Response
Date: 12/15/2022
Hello, we are very sorry to hear of Ms. ****** issue with her Talbots Credit Card. The Talbots Credit Card is owned by Comenity Bank. Any complaints regarding the credit card should be directed to Comenity. We have, however, escalated this issue to the bank on the customer's behalf. It is currently in the hands of the Comenity Complaints Department. We will follow up with ************** when we receive a resolution. Again we apologize for any concern.Initial Complaint
Date:11/29/2022
Type: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 returned an item from an order placed Aug 28 and received via **** on Sept 3. The **** return tracking shows that Talbots received my returned item on Oct 28. However, I was issued a merchandise in store credit rather than being credited to my original form of payment, because Talbots claimed I had returned the item after the 60 day return policy. This is inaccurate and is proven via **** tracking numbers for original shipment and return. I am expecting Talbots to comply with their own policy and refund me to my credit card $61.86Business Response
Date: 11/30/2022
************** contacted our customer service department on 11/29/22. The merchandise credit for $61.86 for order 082822IE07742 was credited to her original method of payment. The credit should appear on her account in 3-5 business days.Initial Complaint
Date:11/27/2022
Type: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 items and returned them and received the following email,Its On Its Way Back To Us! Order #: 221101IE02064. This was on November 5th. I received an email they received the items on November 14th. I have contacted them twice without a satisfactory response and still no refund. They need to fully refund my account. Thank you.Business Response
Date: 11/29/2022
Our apologies to ********************** for the delay in processing her return. A return credit for order 110122IE02064 has been entered today and should appear on the PayPal account in 3-5 days or less. The reference number for the return is 112922RD54334.Initial Complaint
Date:11/15/2022
Type: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.
This is a follow up to Complaint # ********. Talbots reported they received returned items and will credit account. I confirmed online and via phone NO CREDIT HAS BEEN ISSUED. I initially approved their response, but would like to rescind approval to I can obtain proof of credit.Business Response
Date: 11/15/2022
The refund was processed today to our customer's ******************** Credit Card issued by ************** reference return order number 111522RD66762. The credit will not post to the Comenity account the same day. Please allow 2-3 days for the return form to process and the credit to post to the account.Customer Answer
Date: 11/17/2022
[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Better Business Bureau:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does satisfy my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint #********. I understand that by choosing to accept the business response that my complaint will be closed as resolved.
Regards,
***************************Initial Complaint
Date:11/14/2022
Type: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 online order y (order #: 221017IE43352). Items were received 10/21 and I chose to return them with shipping label from Talbots. These items were brought to post office on 10/21. I tracked the return and contacted Talbots as I wanted to make sure I would be credited before being billed again. The items were received by Talbots on 11/7. I contacted Talbots and they stated it would take 1 week to apply credit. It is now 11/14 and 8 have been charged for these items and they have not been credited to my account. [#*****]Business Response
Date: 11/15/2022
We are very sorry to hear of the delay in processing ********************' refund. A credit has been issued for the dress and wide leg pant on order101722IE43352 . These are the items noted on the order that she wished to return. Please let us know if this is not correct.Customer Answer
Date: 11/15/2022
[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Better Business Bureau:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does satisfy my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint #********. I understand that by choosing to accept the business response that my complaint will be closed as resolved. I would also like to note that the November invoice which was generated after Talbots received the items and DID NOT Credit the account timely will be not be paid. I will be paying the outstanding balance for the item just received today.
Regards,
***************************Initial Complaint
Date:11/08/2022
Type: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 cannot unsubscribe from Talbots email. Their link to unsubscribe does not provide that option. I called Talbots customer service twice with no success. This has been like this for over a year.Business Response
Date: 11/09/2022
We apologize that ****************** has received unwanted emails. We have opted her out of all marketing emails. She may still receive this afternoons email as it has already been scheduled. It appears she attempted to opt out, but did not complete the process. Customers need to also click the link at the bottom of the email and then submit the form on the website. Some customers assume that once they clicked unsubcribed they were done.Customer Answer
Date: 11/12/2022
Better Business Bureau:I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # ********. Please add your rejection comments below; if you do not provide any details, your complaint will be closed as Answered.
[You must provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution. If you do not enter a reason for your rejection, your complaint will be closed as Answered.]
Businesses and Customers should be civil, courteous and polite in their responses to complaints. It is important to remain professional and productive when participating in the BBB complaint process.
FAQ
Regards,*****
They did not stop sending emails. I received 3 emails today.
Business Response
Date: 11/18/2022
The email address, ************************** has been deleted from our system. We watched for the last few days to make sure the email address did not receive planned marketing emails. We can confirm the email address has been deleted and is not receiving emails from Talbots any longer.Customer Answer
Date: 11/28/2022
[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Better Business Bureau:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does satisfy my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint #********. I understand that by choosing to accept the business response that my complaint will be closed as resolved.
Regards,
*************************Initial Complaint
Date:11/04/2022
Type: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 received a gift via mail order. When I first went to wear the item a few months later, I noticed a small hole on the seam, a defect. The item still has the tags and has not been worn. I called Talbots, they said they would send me a return shipping label, and that I could not take the item into the store to exchange like for like. About five or six weeks later, I called back to say I had not received the shipping label. They told me that they showed in their records that they had sent it, and just to wait for it to arrive. They never arrived, so I Took the item into a store, and sure enough they said they could not do anything. I called back last weekend - third call to try to get the issue resolved. I was told that they sent the return shipping label to the person who sent me the gift, not to me. Furthermore, they said that they could only deal with the purchaser, not with me. She is very ill and I am absolutely not going to bother her with this nonsense. It has been very frustrating to try to resolve this issue. I would be happy to have a non-defective item, but since it is defective, Talbots must offer some sort of resolution. As it is, they have not done that to any degree, and have been completely incompetent. I have spent over three hours trying to resolve this issue. The last person I spoke with assured me that she had escalated the issue for somebody to call me back. That was a week ago, not surprisingly, radio silence. So this company ships a defective item, provides misinformation two separate times, does nothing to resolve it, is unresponsive and does not contact me as promised and furthermore says that there is no resolution other than for the original purchaser to deal with processing a return of a defective item. Complete ********.Business Response
Date: 11/05/2022
We are happy to look into this customer's concern. Unfortunately, we cannot find any purchases after 2020. If the customer can provide the order number or purchase information, we will be happy to provide a final resolution to the issue.Customer Answer
Date: 11/05/2022
Better Business Bureau:I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # ********. Please add your rejection comments below; if you do not provide any details, your complaint will be closed as Answered.
[You must provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution. If you do not enter a reason for your rejection, your complaint will be closed as Answered.]
Businesses and Customers should be civil, courteous and polite in their responses to complaints. It is important to remain professional and productive when participating in the BBB complaint process.I specifically asked his business to contact me, which they can do via my phone number. The order was placed by *********************** in ************* **. I specifically said in my complaint, I had a bother to care, but the problem is the item was a gift. Yet they say that I have not ordered since 2020? You can see the level of customer service they offer. If they look at her account, they should see the case number that was apparently escalated for someone to call me, but that has not happened in over a week.
FAQ
Regards,*********
Business Response
Date: 11/07/2022
************** was called on 11/5/22 but was not available to answer. A message was left on number ************ around 2:40 pm that a $100 digital merchandise credit has been added to her profile as compensation for the defective item. Customer was also advised that the item could be kept or donated with no need to return. The previous request for information on the original purchaser/order number was only needed to determine the value of the item. We apologize for any concern or inconvenience.Customer Answer
Date: 11/07/2022
[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Better Business Bureau:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does satisfy my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint #********. I understand that by choosing to accept the business response that my complaint will be closed as resolved.I do want to emphasize that Talbots failed repeatedly to provide basic customer service and failed to do everything it said it would, over the year that it took me to resolve a simple issue. I requested a replacement for a defective item, which was not something that Talbots honored. The ridiculous amount of time and effort (at least 4 hours) all on my part to resolve was unacceptable. While I appreciate the supervisor who ultimately gave me a merchandise credit, she said the issue should have been resolved promptly last January. At this stage I have no intention of ever shopping at Talbots again. I was told I couldnt even give the credit to a friend. Talbots makes everything impossible.
Regards,
*****************************Initial Complaint
Date:10/30/2022
Type: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 made several purchases at ******** this summer both in person and online. I never signed up to receive any sort of marketing emails. I began receiving emails from both ****** and their associated company Haven Well Within. I unsubscribed from both Talbots and Haven Well Within multiple times using the "unsubscribe" button at the bottom of their emails, but still continued to have multiple emails sent per day. After multiple attempts of unsubscribing via the email link, I called Talbots multiple times by phone requesting my email and information be deleted from their system so that I would not receive emails. I stopped receiving emails from Talbots, but continue receiving emails from Haven Well Within. I called Haven Well Within directly twice, and both times was told this would be taken care of and that I would no longer receive emails. However, I continue receiving emails multiple times per day from Haven Well Within. I would like my account/email completely deleted from their system and I would like no further contact from the company.Business Response
Date: 11/01/2022
We apologize for any inconvenience caused to **************** by receiving unwanted emails. We have confirmed with our email marketing group that she has been unsubscribed from both Talbots and Haven Well Within emails and per her request has been permanently deleted from our system.
Customer Answer
Date: 11/03/2022
[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Better Business Bureau:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does satisfy my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint #********. I understand that by choosing to accept the business response that my complaint will be closed as resolved.
Regards,
***************************Initial Complaint
Date:10/24/2022
Type: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.
Dear Talbots,I ordered clothing and I returned 7 items on the first order and 1 item on the second order.Please give me my money back.Put the money on the original payment method.I don't want the store credit at all.Thank You,*****************************Business Response
Date: 10/24/2022
Thank you for contacting Talbots. The customer was refunded in merchandise credit due to the return items being originally purchased as final sale. Final Sale items do not qualify for any return amount and are purchased as final sales. The customer's items were refunded in merchandise credit as an exception to the final sale policy. Customer spoke with a supervisor who made a refund back to the original method of payment as a courtesy overriding the final sale policy. Refund credit was processed back to original method of payment on 10/23/22 which takes 2-3 business days to settle.Customer Answer
Date: 10/24/2022
[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Better Business Bureau:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does satisfy my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint #********. I understand that by choosing to accept the business response that my complaint will be closed as resolved.
Regards,
*****************************
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