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:03/26/2025

  Type:Delivery 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 placed an order for an adjustable shelf, 100% toxic free microgreen grow tent on March 2, 2025. In violation of **** rules, they charged by **** prior to shipping. Their stated policy is to ship within 1-2 business days, they shipped after 4 business days (3/6/2025 8:19 pm). They shipped a partially toxic free FIXED shelf grow tent which is not what I ordered and not what is marketed. With everything considered, I cancelled the wrong product and I revoked agreement to any policy. ******, the owner at Active Grow said he affected the cancellation and had *** return the package to them. That did not happen. *** did not return the package. I spent a significant portion of the day working with *** Corporate and I paid the price of the return. Upon my action, *** did return the product to Active Grow. You can see *** travel history: 1ZX242540394343076. He claims that he paid *** $21 for the return request even though there is no evidence provided that he actually paid that amount and that amount should be disputed since *** did not honor his service request; I paid the price of affecting the return, not Active Grow. ******, in what has become his pattern, simply ignores the facts. Now, rather than dispute the $21 charge with *** who didnt perform the service requested, he just wants to charge me $21 and claim This matter is now considered closed. ****** wants to be Plaintiff, Judge and Jury. I specifically stated he was not authorized to charge my **** for $21; he ignored me (again) and charged me $21. He now has violated **** twice. He shipped the wrong product and then he wants me to pay for a service that was not provided by ***. There are other details, but bottom line is ****** at Active Grow is incredulous, deceptive in his products, and charges without authorization. Overall, this mother and son, in my view, are amateurs at best. This is a classic: Buyer Beware.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/31/2025

  Dispute Response for Order #**** (***** ******)
  To Whom It May Concern,
  We are submitting this response to a chargeback filed by ***** ****** related to Shopify Order #****, placed on March 2, 2025. We have issued a refund in accordance with our store policies and with detailed communication, but deducted a $21 *** reroute fee incurred due to the customer's mid-shipment cancellation. The claim that this charge was unauthorized or fraudulent is unfounded and directly contradicted by the full record of communications and receipts.
  
  Order Details:
  Product: 3-Tier Walden White Grow Tent
  Order Total: $382.50
  Shipping Method: Free *** Ground
  Shipping Address Provided by ******************start="889" data-end="892"> ****************
  *********, ******** 20149
  (Customer specifically noted: Please no signature required; I will not receive it if you do.)
  
  Timeline of Events:
  March 2, 2025: Order placed and processed.
  March 56: Order shipped via *** Ground within 12 business days per our stated policy.
  March 13 (Thursday, night): Customer contacts us stating they must receive the shipment by Friday, March 14, otherwise they want it cancelled.
  March 14 (Friday, morning): We attempt to reroute the delivery with *** based on the customer's request and address update, which caused a delivery delay from Friday to Monday.
  March 15 (Saturday): Customer sends a message stating the order is cancelled, despite the shipment being in transit.
  March 1516: We immediately initiate a return-to-sender with ***.
  March 17: Customer demands a full refund and insists we are not authorized to deduct any fees.
  March 20: Refund issued minus the $21 *** reroute fee. Customer is notified.
  March 21: Customer continues to escalate claims, including unfounded allegations of fraud, false advertising, and **** policy violationsall unsupported.
  
  Key Points of Clarification:
  The customer cancelled the order while it was already in transit.
  The delay in delivery was caused by a mid-shipment address update, not by any failure to ship.
  The $21 *** Return-to-Sender reroute fee is documented and was paid by us. A receipt of payment from *** is provided.
  The customer was issued a prompt refund, and we waived the standard restocking fee as a courtesy.
  We also attempted to reach the customer by phone to resolve the issue directly. The customer did not answer or return the call.
  
  Conclusion:
  We acted in good faith, refunded the order promptly, and communicated transparently throughout the process. The $21 deduction was a direct expense resulting from the customer's cancellation of an in-transit package. There is no basis for this chargeback, and we respectfully request that it be denied.

  Sincerely,

  ****** ********
  Owner, Active Grow
  ***********************************************************************
  ************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/03/2025

   
  Complaint: 23109404
  
  Active Grow, *** and Mis. ********, again ignore the facts,do not provide documentation, choose to attempt to be Plaintiff, Judge, Jury and choose to take money when and how they seem fit without regard to this former customer.
  As a process to proper judication of the disputed $21 AND other actionable events, I plan to dispatch an inspector to validate and document that Active Grow shipped the wrong product and misrepresented the entire product is 100% toxic free.  ***and Mis. ******** are reminded they have been properly noticed to Preserve.Already there is a preponderance of evidence that they misrepresented the toxicity property of their product along with misrepresenting the product shipped.
  March 1, 2025, *** ******** represented via Active Grow Chat that the whole tent is 100% toxic free see attached document.
  Asking ****** AI (is PEVA plastic 100% toxic free? ) reveals it's not 100% toxic-free and still contains chemicals see attached document
  *** ******** in his response does acknowledge this was an order cancellation, not a return and his attempt to classify it as a returnto invoke his return policy is moot and without affect. My full and unconditioned revocation of any and all Active Grow policies remain in affect indefinitely.
  Active Grow did not call my phone and *** ******** again misrepresents by inference claiming: We also attempted to reach the customer by phone to resolve the issue directly. The customer did not answer or return the call. This misrepresentation is evidenced by an email from ***************************************************************,Monday, March 31, 2025 5:39 PM (about the same time he filed his response providing zero time to respond) that stated in its entirety: Hi ***** whats your actual phone number Id love to talk? *** ******* knew at the time of his BBB submission that he did not have my actual phone number and thus knew and wantonly,made a false statement. This continues the pattern of willful misrepresentation while defaming.
  In *** ******** response, he again ignores the fact that his request to *** for, Return Service, was not provided by *** (I affected return; See travel history: 1ZX242540394343076.) and thus, that charge is invalid and thus not owed and remains disputed for all reasons.  *** ******** response states he shows evidence of paying *** for services charged (A receipt of payment from *** is provided.) but does NOT provide any evidence.   
  Even if the owners, *** and Mis. ********, claim for $21 is valid, they do not have the right to take money when they want in the form they want.  I noticed them not to charge my **** $21, they ignored that, and took money when and how they wanted.  This is not only likely a legal issue; it is highly immoral and unethical.  Due process was ignored and they are attempting to avert due process in an effort to unjustly enrich themselves.
  What should have been a simple return of $21 is turning into a battle of misrepresentation, defamation and due process worth likely thousands of times more than the original disputed amount.
  I remain in belief that Active Grow is run by bad actors who misrepresent their products and will take and hold your money unless you take the time and effort to fight.  Buyer Beware. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ******

  Business Response

  Date: 04/04/2025

  To address the consumers statement regarding the *** fee, I have attached the image of the receipt below showing the $21 rerouting charge paid directly to *** from our end. This was necessary to stop the delivery after the customer submitted a cancellation request post-shipment.

  As previously stated, the incorrect address provided during checkout contributed to the issue, and our policies clearly outline the customers responsibility in such cases. Nonetheless, we waived our restocking fee and issued the refund before receiving the returned item, which is outside our normal protocol.

  If any further documentation is needed, Im happy to provide it.

  Best regards,

  ****** ********

  Owner, Active Grow

  ********************************************************************************************** | ************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/11/2025

  They did not provide a receipt; provided an invoice with a service included but not rendered and disputed.  Disputed bills are not receipts.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/11/2025

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

  Active Grow does not dispute they sent the wrong items as marketed on their site.  Active Grow does not dispute that they sent an item that is toxic even though they marketed their entire tent is toxic free.  I believe this qualifies for Fraud. Despite their transgressions and failures to perform, they want to twist rules that do not apply to be plaintiff, jury and judge and charge without authorization my **** the amount they unjustly claim.  They say they provide receipts but no receipts show on my BBB complaint.
  
  Active Grows refusal to acknowledge facts and twist the situation should give any potential buyer pause.  I continue to believe this is a BUYER BEWARE company and due diligence should be taken prior to any purchases. 
  
  For this prior customer, I will continue to escalate.  BEWARE 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ******

  Business Response

  Date: 04/16/2025

  We have already provided a written explanation along with documentation showing that we paid *** a $21 reroute fee after the customer canceled their order post-shipment. The documentation included an invoice reflecting payment for services rendered by ***, which is standard and valid evidence of a completed transaction.
  

  We also attempted to contact the customer by phone using the number they provided to the BBB and followed up by email to request an alternate number. We did not receive a response.
  

  We strongly disagree with the customers continued and speculative claims, including false allegations of fraud and product misrepresentation. At no point prior to this complaint did the customer report receiving the wrong product or raise concerns about product materials. These accusations are both inaccurate and unrelated to the original shipping and refund dispute.
  

  Our return, refund, and shipping procedures were followed precisely. In fact, we exceeded our own policy by:
  -Waiving the standard restocking fee,
  -Processing the refund before the returned item was received,
  -Attempting direct communication to resolve the matter.
  

  We stand by the quality of our products and the accuracy of our listings. We are not offering any further resolution and respectfully consider this matter closed.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/23/2025

  Once again ****** and his Mom provide false information; an invoice is not a receipt of payment.  Ask any attorney, judge or even the IRS.  And since the services mentioned in the invoice were not rendered, this is not a valid charge and disputed.  If they did pay it without dispute, then that is negligence.  Either way, it is an invalid charge and doesnt authorize business to charge the customers ****.  This is a violation of merchant account/**** rules; charging a **** without authorization.
  
  Once again, Active Grow proves they are disingenuous by claiming they tried to make contact, presumably to work this issue out when three times they state: 1) this matter is closed 2) This matter is now considered closed 3) consider this matter closed.  I wish Active Grow would have tried to communicate with me to resolve this issue rather than have BBB involved.  BTW, BBB is GREAT!
  
  Active Grow again provides no evidence that they shipped the correct tent as describe on their web site and that said tent is completely 100% toxic free as marketed.  They are under Notice to Preserve and I will pay an inspector to inspect sent product to provide indisputable evidence of my known allegations.
  
  I encourage BBB to close this complaint as unresolved as Active Grow continues with misinformation without any indication of attempted resolution.
  
  My conclusion is Active Grow is managed by bad actors who misrepresent their products, do not tell the truth and attempt unauthorized extraction of money from their consumers. Escalation. Buyer Beware.
  
  
  ***** ******