Complaint Review: Mike's Cigars - Bay Harbor Florida

I ordered 2 5-packs of cigars from Mike's on 12/08/2018 (Order no: #2912087, 14:38, $59.44, 1 5-pack of H Upmann Lonsdale EMS and 1 5-pack of Punch Rare Corojo Pita EMS). I smoked one of the H Upmann Lonsdale's a month or so later. This was after the return period but I only smoke about 1 cigar a month.

The cigar was wrapped so tightly that I had to run a skewer through it, it was harsh and the taste wasn't very good. The second one's taste was better but it wasn't what you would expect from Upmann for the price. And I had to skewer it also.

On 1/25/19 I emailed Mike's customer support that I would like a refund or credit of 24.95 + 6.99 tax = 28.31 for the Upmann's. They replied that they hadn't received any complaints about the H. Upmann and refused to give me a refund. They said that They also said that when you try a new cigar you accept certain risks...You may not like the new cigar, it may be a harder draw, taste may be odd etc. That is why they offer their cigars in boxes, in 5-packs and, in SINGLE stick option.

It was their good selection of 5-packs that was the reason I changed to using Mike's in the first place. So I didn't feel this was much of an excuse. I responded that I had been trying to be polite about the matter but I disagreed with some of their conclusions.

I told them that I did believe it was possible they hadn't received any complaints on the Upmann's. But I didn't consider it a case of having to assume risk when trying new cigars but a case of product quality instead. And I've smoked better cigars that I bought in a grocery store for a lot less!

When I didn't get total satisfaction I searched for someone higher up to hear my story. I found Oded Ben Arie, President, and CEO, and emailed him twice but didn't get any replies. Then I filed a complaint (Case# 90482416, Ref#106-11010944-90482416-13-1100) with the Better Business Bureau of West Palm Beach (Eneida Cardona BBB, 4411 Beacon Cir STE 4, West Palm Beach, FL 33407, (561) 842-1918, [email protected]).

The company replied that they would give me a 10.00 CREDIT, which they did. I used the credit for my next order (#2937101, 02/19/2019, 00:43, $35.49, 1 5-pack of Punch Rare Corojo Pita EMS). The BBB emailed me to see if my case was satisfactorily completed and I told them it was OK but said that I should have gotten more.

On 03/27/2019 Mike’s responded to my request for more money on the BBB site and said that "...customer paid $25 for the cigars in question. He purchased other cigars in this order but is not complaining about them. We already gave him $10 CREDIT ex gratia. We are willing to give $15 extra CREDIT so we can move forward".

There was NO MENTION of a $50 minimum on my next order to use my discount! On the BBB site, on 03/28/2019, I said "I got the $10 CREDIT and will gladly accept the additional $15 CREDIT…" I logged in to the website of Mike's Cigars and proceeded to place an order (order# 2949674, $36.94) to take advantage of the additional $15 credit.

I thought everything was fine until I saw the final price which didn't include the discount. I couldn’t figure out how to apply the credit or find a way to cancel or revise the order. I left a message for customer service and logged off.

No reply. I emailed them twice to let them know about the problem and fix it. No replies.

Then I emailed the BBB to see what they thought I should do and they said they would reopen the case. Mike’s emailed me that I had left an item in my cart and I told them that they hadn't put the $15 credit on my account. Then Mike’s replied and gave me the code for the discount.

Again, no mention of a $50 minimum order to use the discount. So I tried again to place an order with the discount but couldn’t. I quickly called customer service and requested to cancel or revise the order.

But the rep told me, after checking further, that I needed to order a minimum of $50 in order to receive my discount. NEWS TO ME!!! I hung up on the rep and proceeded to email them a scorching reply asking them to revise my charge for the order or to cancel the order and pay for the return postage. Again, no replies.

Then I received a confirmation email from them about this last order and I told them that I still needed to cancel or revise the order. Then I got yet another email from them that my order had been shipped. I was REALLY MAD!!!

I emailed the BBB again and they contacted Mike’s again. Mike’s said that they wouldn’t cancel or revise my last order and suggested that I read their terms and conditions which I did. I told the BBB that I reviewed the terms & conditions, and while the information was certainly impressive, nowhere did it state ANYTHING about a $50 minimum on credit that Mike's gives.

In addition, they never said anything about the $50 minimum on the BBB site or in any correspondence with me. And there was no mention of the minimum when I ordered my last shipment. The first I heard of it was when I called them after they didn't respond to my message I left for them.

I said I don't consider their last response adequate, truthful, or at all helpful. The BBB said that they couldn’t pursue the case any further but suggested that I might contact the Division of Consumer services for Florida or the Florida Attorney General. I’m going to use all the resources I can find to make sure Mike’s doesn’t screw another customer like they screwed me.