Peppermint Berri is a disgusting company. Their 38 Trust Pilot reviews are all one star, the lowest possible, though somehow they end up with a 1.4 rating.
I made a big mistake when I ordered a weed remover tool from them on May 14, 2020, having seen a Facebook ad for the device. I then filed a complaint with PayPal on July 22, where I said this.
After ordering a weed remover on May 14 and not receiving it, I emailed Peppermint Berri three times on June 5, June 30, and July 20 asking why my order hadn't been received. Each time I was told there was a problem with the "courier" or shipping service. I was given a tracking number, but the information never changed.
I just checked reviews for Peppermint Berri and found that 36 people have given this Singapore company horrible reviews, with most saying they never got a product, or the product was defective, or they couldn't get a refund. It seems clear that Peppermint Berri is scamming people and shouldn't be allowed to have a PayPal account.
I've repeatedly asked for a refund and keep being told that the weed remover is on its way, but there never is any change in the tracking information -- which supposedly originates in Los Angeles. I live in Oregon. It shouldn't take months to get a product from California to Oregon. I want my money back, and I want Peppermint Berri to be preventing from scamming other people.
This seemed to me like an open and shut case. I expected that PayPal would tell Peppermint Berri to give me a refund. But I learned that PayPal makes it difficult for people like me who get crappy service from a sleazy company.
PayPal wanted me to go through a dispute resolution process even though the scammers at Peppermint Berri (an online store based in Singapore) clearly had no intention of resolving my problem -- just stringing it out for as long as possible.
I got some satisfaction out of a writing a scathing blog post on July 22, "Read these bad Peppermint Berri reviews before buying from them." But what I really wanted was PayPal to stop doing business with Peppermint Berri, or at least to give me my money back.
Which finally happened on October 6, almost five months after I ordered the weed remover. Peppermint Berri sent me the weed remover at some point, September, I recall, which I promptly returned, since I'd asked repeatedly for a refund after learning what a scam this company is.
The secret of my success was not giving up. I had to contact PayPal via chat after the weed remover came and I returned it, because there was no way to submit additional information via the PayPal Resolution Center.
A PayPal employee said I could send a PDF file with the additional information about the return to them, and they'd add it to my case.
It was frustrating to have to go through so much work to get PayPal to do what should have been done quickly -- tell Peppermint Berri, or Resilient Media (the parent company, apparently) that I should get my damn $88.94 back.
I learned a couple of things from this mess.
One, PayPal is an easy way to pay, but it isn't really a safer way to pay. I got screwed by Peppermint Berri and PayPal didn't make it easy for me to get my money back. They seem to favor sellers over buyers, probably because sellers are how PayPal makes most of its money.
Two, don't blindly trust Facebook ads for products. Yes, I've learned about some great products via Facebook ads. However, I should have looked for Peppermint Berri reviews before ordering from them. Buyer beware is familiar advice, yet also great advice.
I'm very glad to learn about this disposition of PAYPAL. I've been using them with glee, but now I understand they will not protect one as well as your credit card company. My takeaway from your post is, use Paypal with reputable US and Canada companies. Rethink purchases from unknown companies in far flung countries or at least google them first, don't assume PayPal is this great protector.
Shipping via post office from far away continents can take almost 2 months (my experience with envelope size orders from NZ/Australia).
Something else I've noticed: Before, when one got to the shipping portion of online ordering, the company would make it clear whether they use USPS, or a courier such as UPS/Fedex. Often now no such clarification is made. Arrgh. (The difference for me is the address I provide).
When looking into it, they clarified that they make the call when they ship. I have found that if I develop a relationship with the company (just an email or two, a prior order over $100, nothing major)or if I call and ask for it, I get the UPS/Fedex delivery.
Posted by: El | January 03, 2021 at 06:44 PM