Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  11/10/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I placed an order for an item that was on sale, I was charged, the next day I received an email that the order was cancelled because of a glitch and I used a coupon code on an item on sale for 999.00 they claimed this was a glitch and said they refused to sell it for that... of course this is after they sold and charged me. I called the business to inquire they claimed this was a glitch and not false advertising, I was hung up on... order ****** I feel it is an unethical outcome but if that is the way the business feels to conduct it self then it is what it is. I or anybody else I know won't be using brinsea incubators.

  

  Business response

  11/13/2023

  Dear sirs,
  During routine system maintenance of our website a malfunction occurred and caused some products to revert to very outdated prices which are no longer economically viable. The Ova-Easy 100 egg incubator which Mr. ***** ordered for $999.99 less 10% with the use of a coupon code currently retails at $1499.99. We are not able to honor this erroneous price and are very sorry the system malfunction created an unrealistic expectation.
  Mr. *****’s order was processed automatically by our online shopping cart software Thursday evening and his credit card was refunded via the same method Friday morning as soon as the error was identified.
  
  When Mr. ***** called our office both one of our sales representatives and our office manager apologized and explained the system error to Mr. *****. He was offered to cumulate a couple of deals currently available: a free humidity pump (a $169 value) in addition to a 10% discount. The phone call was cut short after words to the effect that there was no point carrying on with the conversation if she (our office manager) was not able to help him. She proceeded to sending Mr. ***** the following email in response to a complaint he had also sent via the contact us form on our website:
  
  
  Dear Mr. *****,
  I apologize for the inconvenience you may have been caused. There was a system glitch that caused some of our products to revert back to older prices. Due to the nature of the glitch it allowed customers to place orders at the incorrect price. Unfortunately, we cannot honor those prices but can offer you a 10% discount and a free humidity pump with the purchase of a new incubator or a free pump with the purchase of a scratch and dent. If you would like to proceed please give our office a call and someone will be glad to assist you as the two offers cannot be cumulated online.
  If you do not wish to proceed your account will be deleted from our system as per your request.
  Regards,
  Sherylann
  Office Manager
  
  Complaint
  I placed an order and my card was charged, you then cancelled my order instead of honoring it. This may be allowed by law although your terms and conditions don't imply that it is once we have entered the contract of sale... but it doesn't seem very unethical. I am sending you this complaint for my records and additionally I would like all my information removed from any databases at Brinsea. This including my account, email, phone number, address, credit card etc deleted, If I can't trust you to honor your prices I certainly don't trust you with my personal information.. pls don't send me any ads either. I will make sure all my customers know what incubators id recommend and don't recommend. Thanks for your help
  
  We fully appreciate the disappointment and frustration the system malfunction has caused Mr. ***** and sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. I can also assure you that we respect our customers’ privacy and that his request has been honored.  
  
  Sincerely,
  Pascale P*****
  Executive Vice President

  

  Business response

  11/15/2023

  Dear sirs,

  We’re anxious to resolve the situation but unsure how to proceed as Mr. ***** does not seem willing to accept anything but purchase the item at the erroneous price.
  
  The incorrect pricing was not intentional or deliberate false advertising on our part but the result of an unfortunate computer system malfunction which resulted in his order being processed automatically by our shopping cart software at an unviable low price we cannot honor.

  Although Mr. ***** does not accept our apologies or explanations, I can assure you that we acted in good faith and refunded his credit card as soon as the incorrect pricing was discovered and as an alternative offered him better deals than we would normally offer to make up for the inconvenience.
  
  We do not have any issue with Mr. ***** using a 10 % coupon code.  In fact, we offered him a 10% discount AND a free humidity pump ($169 value) with the purchase of the Ova-Easy 100 incubator at the correct price of $1499.99. We also currently have a scratch & dent Ova-Easy 100 incubator retailing at $1089.99 and offered Mr. ***** a free humidity pump with the purchase of that model. Our scratch & dent units are heavily discounted and do not normally qualify for offers.  
  
  Advice on how to proceed to get this situation resolved promptly would be greatly appreciated.
  
  Sincerely,
  Pascale Deffieux Pearce
  Executive Vice President

  Customer response

  11/15/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: you broke our contract and agreement.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** *****

• Initial Complaint

  11/07/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I purchased my Brinsea incubator turning cradle a couple years ago. Shortly thereafter the motor died. I ordered a $70replacement and the replacement lasted only a couple months before it too died. This past June I ordered yet another $70 replacement motor (plus shipping) and this one ALSO doesn't work. I have been trying to reach the company since June. Their number is always busy, their two emails are always returned to sender and no responses from them on ********. My incubator is useless without the cradle and the cradle is useless without the motor. At this time I would like a refund of both the 2 motors I paid for at least, and a replacement of this turning cradle that is obviously a lemon.

  

  Business response

  11/08/2023

  Dear *******

  I'm concerned that it has been so difficult for you to reach us and that you had to resort to a complaint to BBB.

  We are a busy office with multiple phone lines often engaged and it also appears that our spam filter has flagged your address if your emails are being returned. This is done at the server level and unfortunately we are not aware of which emails are being blocked for which I apologize. Your message on ******** should however have been answered and internal procedures are being reviewed to ensure messages are better monitored and answered promptly. 

  We do stand by our products and although your incubator was never registered for the 3-year warranty the cradle should not fail repeatedly in normal use. We will send you a complete new cradle and two motorized cradle ends to replace the 2 motors you had to purchase.

  I hope this solution is acceptable to you and once again apologize for all the inconvenience.

  Pascale D P*****
  Executive Vice President

  

  Business response

  11/09/2023

  As per your request I will be contacting you by phone to organize the refund and get the situation resolved.
  I apologize once again for all the inconvenience.

  Customer response

  11/09/2023

  Please mark this as resolved. This company did reach out and went above and beyond to fix the issue once I was able to get into contact with them. I'd like to make sure their report reflects their willingness to fix the problem. 

  Thank you!!

*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. ↩