Complaint Review: Smiles Coffee

I ordered a trial sample of the coffee, which was really awful by the way. It arrived on Nov 20, 2003, and I cancelled on Dec 3, 2003. The rep (Gwen) said she would send out different flavors free of charge and if I changed my mind, I could join again, but that my cancellation had gone through. On Feb 24, a charge for $36.94 appeared on my card. I called Smiles several times, only to have a 15 minute wait each time, and then finally had a 20 minute argument with the same rep who told me that I had to pay for the shipment despite the cancellation, and that she saw that I had called on Dec 3 but that there was nothing she could do. In effect, I'm locked into paying for something despite the company claim that it was a trial offer and I cancelled within 2 weeks.

Don't be taken in by this scam. The rep spoke English badly and seems to have been hired to deal to frustrated customers: although I repeatedly asked to speak with a supervisor, she refused to give me the name or connect me.

Note that on smiles.com, no street address is given.

Carol
Fremont, California
U.S.A.