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:03/19/2024

  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 have never been treated with such little regard for the customer than from Mr. Fontaine at Fontaines Auction House. Fontaines Auction house deceptive business practices are truly unfortunate. A dome clock that I won in an auction arrived with a huge crack down the back and my shipper photographed it PRIOR to leaving the auction house with the crack(s) in it. The dome was not cracked during the auction (no cracks in photographs) nor is it on the condition report. Upon requesting a refund for the full amount of the clock, Mr. Fontaine refused, laughed at me, belittled me and treated me like I was crazy for asking for a refund for an item that was damaged under the storing of his auction house. Everyone I have spoken to agrees that he should issue a full refund for the clock as that is what any auction house or business would do. When I called him back to reach some sort of negotiation, he said that since he didn’t charge me a storage fee we should “call it even.” That was his choice not to charge a storage fee. He then refused to negotiate, would not pay for repairs to the dome, and continued to make me sound like I was in the wrong. This auction house should not be in business for deceptive business practices, belittling customers, and falsely advertising extremely expensive items. Mr. Fontaine hung up on me several times for trying to reach some sort of negotiation and trying my best to reach a middle ground. I cannot fathom how someone with such little regard for customers and their rights can be in business and face zero consequences.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 03/19/2024

  On April 1, 2023, this customer purchased three items from our "American & European Timepieces" auction. She sent an email on April 17th, authorizing the release of her items to the shipper of her choice. The delivery was delayed so she asked me to get involved, which I did. I contacted her shipping company who confirmed a delivery date within 2 weeks from that date. The customer decided not to accept the delivery in that time frame, and she wanted the items returned to our gallery so she could make different arrangements. After nine months had passed, she finally sent another shipper to retrieve her items. At some point, there was damage done to the glass dome on a clock she purchased. She called on March 19th to let me know and stated she wanted a full refund. I explained to her that she had some responsibility in the matter because she left the items with us for nine months. She said she wanted "no part of that" and the only thing she would accept was a full refund. In the next half hour, we received four aggressive phone calls from her with one berating our receptionist and calling her "delusional." I attempted to work thinks out with this customer, but she was being unreasonable and unwilling to negotiate a fair resolution.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/25/2024

  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  Dear Better Business Bureau,
  I am responding to blatantly factual inaccuracies in Fontaine’s Auction Galleries response. 
   1. A storage fee was never discussed with me, and as such I was under no contractual obligation to be held accountable for a storage cost or allow it to be the equivalent of the value of the damaged clock in their possession. In fact, Mr. Fontaine assured me that it was no problem to leave the items there until such time that I notified them to place it in transit. Their decision to allow the storage fee to equal the cost of the damaged clock is unacceptable and frankly, not legal.
   2. The shipper provided me with a photo of the damaged clock prior to it leaving Mr. Fontaine's place of business. There was no discussion of / or legal receipt or invoice presented to me stating I would assume liability for damage done to any items I purchased while in storage.
  3. I first became aware of the damaged,  massive crack in the purchased clock AFTER the shipper provided me with a photo of the damaged clock at the place of business, ie: the (cracks were there prior to Fontaine’s releasing the clock to my shipper). 
  4. Mr. Fontaine's written response to the BBB, “I attempted to work thinks out with this customer, but she was being unreasonable and unwilling to negotiate a fair resolution.”   In fact, this is the complete opposite of what occurred. Fontaine’s Auction Gallery refused to negotiate with me. I was, in fact, the one that called to try and speak with Mr. Fontaine about a resolution to the damaged item. He refused saying “we can call it even because you stored your clocks here.” He would not discuss ANY other option whatsoever. I mentioned several including Mr. Fontaine compensating me for a new glass dome (since the entire dome needs to be replaced). He refused. I asked him, “Then what do you suggest that is fair and reasonable?” He responded that he would not reach any sort of middle ground or negotiate an offer.
  5. “In the next half hour, we received four aggressive phone calls from her with one berating our receptionist and calling her "delusional."" I called back to speak with a person in charge, and reach a middle ground with Mr. Fontaine. That is not aggressive, that is actually demonstrates my efforts to resolve the matter in a fair and reasonable manner, none of which Mr. Fontaine was willing to do. At one point, I called back, understandably extremely frustrated at that point since Mr. Fontaine refused any compensation or repair help, and hung up on me several times. I asked the woman who answered what should I do about this situation in which she responded, “Read the legal terms”. I asked her several times to specify which section of the legal terms I should review and she would not specify.    
  6. As for the first shipper: Fontaine’s Auction Gallery recommended a shipper to me who picked up my clocks on April 17th, 2023. The shipper originally said he was on his way to Texas, but that was far from the truth. Three months later, mid-June, their recommended shipper had not delivered my clocks to me nor would provide me any idea of when he was going to deliver them. I then requested that the shipper return my clocks to Fontaine’s place of business.
  
  In conclusion, Fontaine’s refused to refund me for a damaged clock under their care, refused to reach any settlement, and hung up on me several times after my earnest attempts to reconcile. Fontaine's Auction Gallery’s complete lack of accountability for their damages to my clock violates the rights of the customer. 
  An auction house that knowingly or unknowingly damages an item while it’s waiting to be picked up, is financially responsible for that item. Furthermore, I am requesting the Better Business Bureau to take this matter seriously given Fontaine’s Auction Gallery’s lack of accountability for damaged property, dishonest representation to the client, and lack of customer service to resolve the matter or reach any reasonable resolution. My attorney will be following up for the value of the damaged item that the business tried to ship to me as well as a formal complaint to the Consumer Affair department of the State.
  Sincerely,
  
  ********* *********

  

  Business Response

  Date: 03/28/2024

  Even though we were able to charge a storage fee per our Terms of Sale that this customer agreed to, a storage fee was never discussed. My response to her was that in my opinion, she had some responsibility because she left the items at our gallery for 9 months. I told her that I would be willing to work something out; however, she wanted "no part of that." The only thing she would accept was a full refund. As I stated in my first response, I would be willing to resolve this matter by working out a fair and reasonable resolution with each party taking some responsibility. I propose a refund of $346.50, which is half of the purchase price of $693.00, with the customer retaining possession of the clock.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/01/2024

  I will accept the refund for half the price of the item. To clarify, I did, in fact, want to negotiate and made that very clear in our phone calls, hoping to reach some middle ground. Please reach out to me to let me know how you will be refunding me for the amount of $346.50.

  Sincerely,
  
  *************************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/08/2023

  Type:Service or Repair 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 auction house did not disclose the true condition by being deceiving. It was purchased online. They did not show the back of the lamp with the vertical run lines. I would never have paid this amount. Those lines are permanent and will never come off. Which is probably the reason they didn't disclose it. I spoke to the owner about it and he agreed to a refund of a "couple of hundred" dollars. I never got the refund. I also purchased a bowl that I was unhappy with because of the same reasons. The owner told me to send it back for a refund. I received a refund a couple weeks later but for the bowl only. They did not refund me for the lamp like they said when I spoke to the owner on the phone.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/09/2023

  Dear BBB,

  We provided eight photos of the item online (attached are a few). We provided the following condition statement: Very good overall condition with some wear to the painted surface. In fact, the lamp has some wear to the painted surface. If this lamp was anything other than what we listed it as, we would have said Excellent condition with no flaws. I personally met with this customer when the lamp was picked up and the customer confirmed it was accepted by him in satisfactory condition and he signed the Clearing Copy (attached). Please view the link to the online listing: ******************************************************************************************************************************************

  Best,

  John

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/09/2023

   
  Complaint: ********
  John is not being truthful. Imagine that! My friend is the one that carried out the lamp. I never got a good look at it. Besides, the issue is he told me on the phone that he would refund me a couple of hundred dollars. He did not follow thru. These auctioneers have a responsibility to disclose everything to unsuspecting online bidders. My picture is the backside of the lamp that they did not show. How about the bowl I returned? They purposely gave no mention or picture of the monogram on it. Monogrammed sterling pieces are less valuable. See a pattern here? Just do the right thing, John , and follow thru with your own words. 

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/10/2023

  Dear BBB,

   

  Please see my response below and attached email.

   

  ******* is not being truthful. I personally saw him look over the items before he handed them to his friend. We were in the process of issuing a partial refund, which is from a different accounting from the full refund he was given so it was taking longer. Instead of contacting us to find out what the status was, we received this profanity filled email. At that point, it was obvious to me that there was no sense in going forward with the partial refund. 

   

  Best,

   

  John

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/10/2023

  I find you pathetic, John. Your now not refunding because I swore at you. Another pathetic excuse. There's no reason you couldn't send all the refund at once. You had no intention to refund. It just all sounds good now in the moment. This is not about money. I have enough of that. It's about holding a deceitful, untruthful auction house  accountable. Funny that you didn't respond to my "profanity ridden" messages with ONE "F" word. Your communication skills are stellar. All this for a couple hundred bucks when one motivated bidder like myself could mean thousands for you. That's not very smart, John. I will end with this. Why don't you try being honest? You can avoid these things and all your bad reviews. If something has a dent or scratches or ugly runs just disclose it and show it. Never again with you!