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Mon, Jul 26, 04 at 16:37
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I’ve bought some plants from Kelly Nurseries catalog ( www.kellynurseries.com ) in early Spring 2004. To my dismay I received many of the plants totally dead, with no signs of life whatsoever. I wrote many emails to them, which were never answered. I called them and they said I had to send the label on the package in order for them to consider replacing it. I no longer had the package, but had the dead plants as a proof. They said that I could send my Credit Card statement as a proof of purchase, and that’s what I did. After months of having ignored my letters, statement and emails they sent another replacement. They replaced them in July, months later. Still I received a totally dead plant (a Mock Orange) – no sign of life, nada, and zilch! Then I called them again and they told me to send the Credit Card statement again. When they answer the call they mention that "your call is being recorded for quality purposes" but it wasn’t a recorded message, they answer the call like this every time, which sounded more like … "Anything you say may be used against you". I told them I had already sent the credit card statement. I was talking to a female voice, which sounded young and very mechanic. She said there was nothing they could do. Then I asked to talk to the manager or whoever was responsible for the Customer Services. I told her I knew she wasn’t a machine and she could talk as a human being. After insisting a lot to speak to the Manager, she said I could write a letter to Grace Avory, but said she doesn’t receive phone calls. Very weird… A customer service manager that doesn’t answer phone calls. Well, I made a note and decided to call again. Next time a man answered with the same message. He said that he was going to talk to his manager/ supervisor, whatever… I waited and he came with the message that he wouldn’t replace the plant without the label from the package. I said to him I bought the plants and they sent me them dead. It means they were the same as garbage. Then he told me to send the credit card statement again and I told him again that I had already sent it. Then he said they were NOT going to replace it. I got so mad! I told them I was going to call the Better Business Bureau in Illinois, Office of the Illinois Attorney General and CBS Show "Shame on You". He said I was threatening them. I just read a book called "Life’s Little Instructions, by H.Jackson Brown, Jr. It says that at least once a year we should write a letter complaining about some kind of injustice. I’m sure we all have experienced something like this and end up doing nothing about it. It’s our loss. This time I was ready to confront them, no matter what. It wasn’t a matter of money, it was a matter of being mislead. That’s why I am writing this letter. Kelly Nurseries always sends various catalogs with different names:
Four Seasons Nursery Farmer Seed & Nursery Burgess House of Wesley Interstate Nurseries, etc They are exactly from the same company, which is also called Direct Gardening (www.directgardening.com). If you go to this site and order their catalog, you will see that they say they have many catalog suppliers, which are exactly the same company. They hide behind all those other catalog names, but they are from the same address in Bloomington, Illinois. I’m going to go ahead and do everything I can to have my plant replaced this time, even if it takes me a lot of trouble. Let me know if this similar situation has happened to you. Maybe this way we can show how this company makes business to their only advantage. Next time don’t bother to buy from them. All they will send you is a dead stick in a plastic bag. This was the way my "plants" arrived. It proofs how misleading they are. "This is not a threat in any way, but my rights as a consumer I’m defending and I will pursue it." |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Post it on the Garden Watchdog - www.gardenwatchdog.com. They rate nurseries and post all comments. And next time, before you order, go to Garden Watchdog and look up the company. They have 49 negative comments on Kelly and only 6 positives. Forewarned is forearmed. |
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- Posted by FlowerPower___ Z6 New Rochelle (My Page) on Mon, Jul 26, 04 at 20:54
| Thanks so much! I definitely will. |
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- Posted by FlowerPower___ Z6 New Rochelle (My Page) on Mon, Jul 26, 04 at 22:30
| BEFORE YOU ORDER FROM KELLY NURSERIES CATALOG, CHECK THE LINK BELOW. THEY OPERATE UNDER MANY CATALOG NAMES: FOUR SEASONS NURSERY, FARMER SEED & NURSERY, BURGESS, HOUSE OF WESLEY, INTERSTATE NURSERIES, ETC. http://gardenwatchdog.com/c/239/ |
Here is a link that might be useful: http://gardenwatchdog.com/c/239/
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| FP, Bluestone Perennials has a nice collection of shrubs. While the regular herbaceous perennials they send are pretty good size, the shrubs are quite small - so if you buy one, don't be surprised. The shrubs are, in spite of their size, healthy and the prices are right. You might be interested in taking a look at them. If you hang out on the Perennials Forum in the spring, you will see a lot of discussion about this company - overwhelmingly positive. I've been burned by mailorder companies, too, and now stick with those I see disucssed and recommended on the GW. Fortunately a lot of money wasn't involved in my case, but the experience does tend to leave a bad taste in your mouth! |
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- Posted by FlowerPower___ Z6 New Rochelle (My Page) on Tue, Aug 24, 04 at 12:43
| Just to let you know that Kelly Nursery just refunded my money. They wasted my time and money, but in the end they at least had to refund the money I spent. See friends, when you are right you have to go till the end to get what you want. Those people are not worth dealing with. But it's always worth fighting for your rights and exposing bad businesses. There's a lot of competition in the market nowadays. And we consumers deverse to be treated well and with honesty. IF YOU EVER HAVE A PROBLEM WITH KELLY NURSERIES, WRITE AND INCLUDE ALL EVIDENCE YOU HAVE AND SEND IT TO: LISA MADIGAN ATTORNEY GENERAL STATE OF ILLINOIS 500 South Second Street Springfield, IL 62706 Phone: (217)782-1090 Consumer Protection Division www.IllinoisAttorneyGeneral.gov AND ALSO, WRITE A LETTER TO KELLY NURSERIES, which business name is PLANTRON, INC. PLANTRON, INC. (Kelly Nurseries) Good Luck! |
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- Posted by scott pearson 14701(pearsonscott32@yahoo.com) onMon, Apr 11, 11 at 19:19
| I was very pleased with my dogwood and kwanzan cherry but the weeping cherries were pathetic and I am sure the employees that were forced to ship them were embarrassed. it was shocking. i know kelley is s... and have avoided them for twenty years but gave them another chance..never more |
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| Kelly nurseries was a great nursery in Dansville, NY, south of Rochester in the 1970s, had a good name, I bought plants from them then, also in the 1980s without any problems. But it was sold and quality decreased, sorry to read that now. |
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| Please take the time to file a complaint to the Illinois attorney General if you have not received satisfactory treatment from Kelly Nurseries Customer Services Dept. It will help many other people and might get Kelly Inc. to change their business practices. Online complaint forms available. Lisa Madigan, Illinois Attorney General Consumer Fraud Bureau 500 South Second St. Springfield, Ill. 62706 217 782-1090 |
Here is a link that might be useful: http://www. illinoisattorneygeneral.gov
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