Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Vermont Violins's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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Vermont Violins has 3 locations, listed below.

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  Vermont Violins

  5 Green Tree Dr Unit B S Burlington, VT 05403-6025

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  Vermont Violins

  8 Glen Rd Ste 19 West Lebanon, NH 03784-1646

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  Vermont Violins

  24 Main St # 2 Montpelier, VT 05602-3175

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:09/13/2022

  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.

  The Vermont Violins website allowed me to purchase a BAM compact high tech cello case (tweed look) online with no indication that it was not in stock. The next day they emailed me about how it would take four months on back order, and that I should consider the (lesser quality) cases they are selling. I cancelled the order. They started the process for a refund with Pay Pal. It has been five business days, still pending for $1902.31. I complained and they said it could take another five days. In law the bank can do this but I feel the whole thing is absurd, that they can tie up this amount of money and earn interest for a product I had no chance of receiving. I really need this item work. I am unable to buy this item until the refund processes to my PayPal account. Vermont Violins has responded with information but not addressed my first concern, that a consumer could be misled to buy an item out of stock, and loose access to funds (for almost two weeks!) needed to purchase the item elsewhere.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/17/2022

  To begin, the timeline presented is not very accurate.  The case was ordered on 9/4 and the refund credit was put in to Paypal on 9/7.  We try to resolve out of stock issues as quickly as possible.

   

  I think a lot of us are aware that availability of some products, mostly imported ones, are difficult in these covid days.  While improving certainly, there are still many items that still have erratic supply and the situation changes extremely quickly in the volatile world we live in.  When we get an order for an item that is out of stock and presents a long wait, we respond as quickly as we can.  We try to ameliorate the situation by working with clients to find a suitable alternative.  If the need for the item is not urgent, we offer discounts to thank them for waiting.  And, of course, we offer full refunds if the delay is not acceptable and no alternatives are suitable for the client.   As seen from the timetable, we issued the refund within just a few days of getting the order--after enough time to reach out and discuss the situation with the client.

   

  All credit card transactions on our website are handled by third party processors, Paypal and Stripe, for security reasons.  When we issue a refund, we cannot control how long that refund will take to process back into the payee's account, however the funds leave our account immediately upon processing...so it is inaccurate to suggest that our out-of-stock situation is a ploy to gain access to free short term financing for our business....nor is it even a side effect....fortuitous or not.

   

  Many folks do contact us ahead of ordering to check on stock status of items and we are happy to let them know whether there will be a delay in shipping an item.  But not everyone does of course and it is an inconvenient extra step to have to take.  We do apologize that our site did not warn this client in advance...we wish we could keep the on line inventory more "real time" accurate but in this changing and volatile world, that is not possible for a small company to do.

   

  We have received many glowing reviews of our service for our online store and our staff works very hard to help each client achieve satisfaction.  We always regret an unhappy end result and apologize for the inconvenience that the backorder caused.  We all look forward to happier days ahead when supply is more predictable and consistent.