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:06/10/2023

  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.

  On May 31 I placed a $239.85 order for contacts from Advanced Vision over the phone (paying with credit card). Later that day, I wanted to cancel this order, and my mom called to cancel it. The business agreed to cancel. My mom made a follow up call the next day to ensure cancellation, and Advanced Vision acknowledged the cancellation, saying they were able to stop the order with their vendor, and that they would refund the money to my card soon. On June 5 I received contacts from Advanced Vision. My mom and I both called Advanced Vision on June 5 but were told that the person who handled our cancellation wasn’t present. On June 6, my mom called again and explained that the order was cancelled, yet we still got a package and weren’t refunded. She asked for a return shipping label so we could return the contacts without having to pay for shipping. We were told this could be done. However, on June 7, when my mom called to follow up again, she was told that we didn’t cancel the order, we wouldn’t be getting a return shipping label, and if we didn’t return the contacts in 30 days, I wouldn’t get a refund. My mom said we would file a chargeback, and they said they would fight our chargeback with the evidence that I had received the contacts. It is illegal for a company to send me an unordered product (which is what the contacts became as soon as I cancelled) and then hold my money hostage until I spend the time and money to ship the unwanted product back to them. Evidence that I received the contacts shouldn’t remove any blame from the company, because the core issue is that they are forcing me to pay for and receive a product I didn’t agree to receive. On top of this illegal action, I should not have to pay the extra shipping cost to correct the business’ mistake. I filed a dispute with my credit card company about not being refunded despite cancelling the order. I was advised to ship the contacts back to expedite the dispute, which I have since done.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/26/2023

  This patient ordered contacts from us on 5/31/2023. The patient had these contacts mailed straight from the manufacturer to an address in Massachusetts, while we reside in Missouri. The patient's mom called back and wanted us to price match the contacts from another supplier. We told her we would price match within reason, to a competitor. The patient called back saying the contacts would be 59% cheaper at the competitor. The patient's mom was then informed that we could not price match that price, as she could not provide a price quote from the competitor. We told the patient's mom that we would attempt to cancel the order, but it was already in process with the manufacturer and could not guarantee that it would be cancelled. After speaking with the manufacturer, the order had already been placed in the mail. We explained to the patient's mom that the order was already processed and bound for its destination, so it could not be cancelled. We told her as soon as we received the contacts back from them, we would be able to refund all of their money back to them. The patient's mom demanded that we give her a return shipping label, but it was explained that we do not pay for return shipping as is a standard company policy. They patient's mom became infuriated and has since called several times yelling at the staff. The contacts were returned to us on 6/12/2023, by the patient and the patient's money was promptly returned on 6/13/2023. This patient has always demanded money back for various reasons and is always trying to receive product/services severely discounted or completely free and this was another attempt in this, which is why the decision was made to return the patient's money in full and let them shop elsewhere. We have returned all money for this order to the patient and the patient has confirmed via phone that they received the funds.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/26/2023

  Complaint: ********
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  

  The company's portrayal of events is inaccurate, and it is clear they have no desire to conduct business in a transparent manner or even admit they made a mistake.

  We were surprised by the contacts arriving specifically because we were told that they had been cancelled, that the order was able to be stopped from the vendor and that the money would be refunded to my card. The company claims to have explained to us that the order could not be stopped from the manufacturer -- they fail to mention that this explanation occurred after we had already received the contacts package and called them asking why (obviously, by the time we received the contacts, it is exceedingly obvious that the order was not stopped like we were told it was). Repeatedly, we have had to reach out to the company for an explanation, instead of the company being proactive and transparent about their policies. The company's failure to acknowledge their mistake and inability to accurately communicate to us about the status of an order is astounding. Refunding the shipping cost is the least a company could do to recognize their fault and ensure that their customer has not had to spend extra money fixing what was not their fault to begin with. Instead, the company chooses to pretend as if they did not make a mistake, and instead blame us. 

  Implying that a customer "faked" a cancellation to get free contacts makes no sense either, especially because we spent the time to call and double check that it was indeed cancelled. If anything, it is suspicious for a company to tell their customer an order was cancelled and that they would be refunded, yet still keep the money and send the package anyway. I used to have a great experience at Advanced Vision before Dr. ****** left, but over what should have been a simple cancellation, the business is losing multiple customers. 
  
  
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  ****** ****