"We've Charged Your Card But Canceled Your Order. Have a Nice Day!"
Haband
I deserve what I got at Haband. I ignored the negative reviews about this site and decided to buy a few birthday gifts there. My adult nephew is in management and likes clothes from Haband for work so, I skipped on over to the site to make a simple purchase.
Simple?
How about non-existent?
What the Site Sells
Clothing for men and women and some home and living items. For the most part Haband carries very traditional, non-trendy items.
Navigation
At first glance, this site looks very professional and complete. All important links are clearly visible and finding what you want is simple.
It's easy to get around the site. The top of the page has the main categories: Men, Women, Shoes, Home & Living, and Clearance.
There is a keyword search and a quick catalog search box as well.
Click a category and that opens several subcategories. You can drill down your search by clicking on the subcategory and seeing the thumbnail photos of items.
If you like something, click the thumbnail and a larger photo shows up with a description. Click to add items to your cart.
When you are finished shopping, you will got to the checkout. If you are a returning customer, fill out your email and password. If you want to register on the site, fill in your email and pick a password. You can continue as guest as well.
Fill out the usual info and move on to pay. Your shipping charge will be $7.99 unless you are ordering from a catalog and then shipping varies. It's a weird set up.
Finish your transaction with a major credit card and you should receive a confirmation email and, later, a shipping one.
I got as far as the confirmation email and then it was all downhill from there.
My Experience
I wasn't impressed with the items offered on the site but the stuff wasn't for me. Prices aren't bad though for what limited stock they carry. I found a couple of things that I wanted to buy and put them in my cart. I was offered a chance to buy a strange coin bank (having nothing to do with what I purchased) before I went to the checkout. I declined and moved along.
I registered with a password and moved on to fill out my personal info and use my MasterCard for payment.
Everything seemed OK. I got a confirmation email and was told I would get another email when my order shipped.
I was charged the day after I made the order unlike most sites when you are charged when the order ships. I hate that.
I waited. And waited.
After a week, I contacted them by email asking if my order had shipped or what. I didn't get a response so I attempted to call them. I called during regular business hours but no one answered. Not even voice mail.
I wrote again a day later asking the status of my order.
I didn't get a reply so I want to the site and tried to see if I could track down my order. It could find no evidence that I shopped there.
I called the order line and got someone but she said they only took orders. They had no info on previously made ones. Another dead end.
I FINALLY got an email about three weeks after my order was placed and charged. They apologized but they had canceled my order. I could make another order if I wanted they said. I was given no explanation as to why they canceled my order. They had my money and they didn't indicate my items were out of stock.
Fuming, I fired off an email saying my money had better be refunded THAT DAY and that I would not be making any orders from them again. I told them I thought they were crazy for turning down my money and not even explaining why.
I never got a response.
I wasn't credited for six days. By the seventh, I had planned to go to my credit card company.
The credit was complete so I washed my hands of Haband and I won't ever go back there. I have no idea, to this day, why my order was canceled and why they don't return emails or answer their phone.
This was one of the worst experiences I have had online — barring electronics craziness. It simply makes no sense to me that a company would exist to sell products and then decline to send them after charging a consumer. If they were out of stock, fine, why not say so? The site was still advertising the same things (They weren't on sale or clearance) for weeks in the sizes I needed so I don't think it was a stock issue.
Whatever it was, I won't be going back to Haband. The reviews posted around the net all give frighteningly bad accounts of experiences with this site. Well here's one more.
Shipping and Returns
Shipping can be confusing.
The chart says:
Standard Shipping via Parcel Post, $7.99. If you are ordering from any of our Catalogs, the following Standard Shipping Rates apply
Your Total Purchase
Under $30...$5.95
Between $30.01-$50...$7.95
Between $50.01-$100...$9.95
$100.01 & Over...$10.95
Then they go on to say if you want UPS to deliver, it will be an added charge and if you want priority mail, it will be an added charge and there is a bunch of other stuff about shipping that will lead to confusion.
They ask you to allow up to two weeks for your order to arrive ONCE IT IS SHIPPED. That is a problem if they don't ever ship the order!
Returns and exchanges are accepted. You don't get your shipping charges refunded and you pay to send the items back which is pretty standard stuff. I don't know if they charge for return shipping of an exchanged item since I never got any items.
Contact Info
Customer Service: service@haband.net
Orders only: 1-800-742-2263
Inquiries about orders: 1-800-213-1220
This line is supposed to be open between 8 am and 8 pm EST.
Conclusion
I wouldn't shop at Haband again if they were selling everything for a penny. I don't like bad customer service and I got even worse than that. I got no customer service. I was charged but my order was canceled and no one explained why. It took a while to get my credit meaning I paid interest on the order cost for almost a month from when I was charged to when I was refunded.
This place is a mess. I wouldn't shop there again and I do not recommend that you do.
Naturally, not all people will have bad experiences with the site. But mine was enough to tell me that customer service is sorely lacking and it isn't worth chancing making an order on the site.
1 star.
Recommended:
No
