My freedom smokes - Defective or wrong product issue : minimalsaint

[minimalsaint]

Company name

My freedom smokes​

Date of your initial complaint to the supplier.

16 September 2014​

How did you contact the supplier

Website ticket system​

Ticket number (if you were issued one)

ANC-55373​

General nature of complaint

Defective or wrong product​

Briefly describe your problem or issue

I ordered some LorAnn's vanilla flavoring for my DIY as I have many times from this vendor. I mixed a bottle using the same percentages I always have, but the liquid turned cloudy the instant I shook it. It seemed strange but I set the bottle aside in hopes that it would clear up. After 3 days, I checked the bottle and noticed it was not only still cloudy, but there appeared to be some separation happening at the top of the mix. Thinking something was wrong, I started to test the flavors I used (including the LA vanilla) by filling a small cup with my nic base and dripping the different flavorings on the surface. I only used one flavor at a time and replaced the nic base before each test. That's when I noticed that the vanilla flavoring floated on top of the base like an oil. I mixed a small bottle with nic base and vanilla flavoring only, shook and it turned cloudy.
At this point I opened a support ticket with MFS and stated that I thought something could be wrong with the flavoring. This issue had never occurred before and I was just wondering if something had changed and that I didn't feel safe vaping something that appeared to be an oil. I mentioned the cloudy mix and separation and submitted the ticket. After 2 days with no reply, I re-submitted the support ticket in case it was lost in cyberspace the first time. The reply from MFS was that they were sorry to hear about the issue and asked if I could send pictures. Nothing to address my concerns or even mention if the flavoring was different, concentrated, etc. "OK" I thought and took some pictures. I included pictures of the cloudy bottle next to a bottle I made with the old vanilla flavoring from MFS which was perfectly clear, the way it always has been and a picture of the flavoring floating on top of the base in the cup. I also mentioned that I had been in contact with LorAnn with my concerns and they asked me to send a sample to we if it was truly their flavoring.
After waiting for a couple more days, I got a reply on my support ticket to "keep us updated" with regards to my contacting LorAnn. Again, no addressing of my concerns or mention of any changes they had made, just asking me to basically do their job for them and offering nothing to ease my mind or offer a replacement (which was not my intent).
I replied that it was the worst customer service experience I've ever had from a vendor and stated that they could deactivate my account and I closed the ticket. I have spent hundreds of dollars with this vendor but clearly the safety or satisfaction of their customers is not a priority. Rather, it seems they prefer to have the customer do the legwork to be sure the product they sold as DIY eliquid flavoring is potentially unsafe, as it is clearly oil-based.
I do t care about the flavoring or the money lost- MFS has officially lost my business. While it may not matter to them, I would hate for a new DIY mixer to think that they are buying safe ingredients when the company who sells them truly has no idea what they are selling. If they do, nobody that replied to my ticket seemed interested to divulge.
Super disappointed that it went down this way with a vendor I loved and had no problem taking my money, but I would rather do business with someone who takes my concerns seriously.

​

 

[AlexStiff]

minimalsaint, please send me a personal email referring to this thread. Since you closed your ticket, I can no longer find your email / information and we had been wanting to get in contact with you.
alex@myfreedomsmokes.com

 

[minimalsaint]

ECF PM sent @ 8:20PM on Thursday, October 29th.
Email sent @ 11:37PM on Thursday, October 29th.
As yet, no reply.

 

[minimalsaint]

Update:
Received an unsolicited $5 credit on my account, which is not what I asked for, nor the point of the matter.
My main concern was the safety of the product that I was sold and the question of what had changed with the flavoring. This is not the same LA vanilla I have been buying for quite some time and my questions and concerns have yet to be addressed.

Mods, close the thread if you see fit, but I feel there was no resolution besides offering a credit that I refused to accept and what I saw as an attempt to sweep the real issue under the rug. I believe the safety of the members in the community should take precedence, and a vendor in the market of selling DIY vaping ingredients should know the products they sell to the very community who support them.

 

[AlexStiff]

we had mentioned in the email that there may have been some mis-communication. I did not personally deal with the situation the first time around so I do not know what was said. What I do know is that the product you received is not up to our standards, though I have personally checked the records and we did in-fact receive that product from LorAnns. They have been contacted by us to see what is up and we have since pulled the product from our website.
Without or second thought, we applied a store credit to his account but if you would like, we can just refund his card.

At this point, we feel we have done all we can.

 

[minimalsaint]

And, as I stated in my reply to your email, there was no miscommunication- rather just poor customer service (I have saved the support ticket emails for posterity) in the face of my receiving something that you NOW admit is not up to your standards, and possibly not even up to the basic standard for safe vaping flavors which generally concludes that flavoring oils should not be used for vaping purposes. At the very least, they should be marketed as “use at your own risk”.
You seem to be skirting the real issue here if you feel that a credit should be sufficient to satisfy my negative review. Money is not the issue here.
It is fantastic news that you have pulled a potentially unsafe item from your shelves, but unfortunate that the very same product has more than likely been sold to numerous consumers who put their faith in your company to provide safe ingredients for the use of mixing e-liquid for vaping. I believe a prudent step forward would be to post a notice on your website and possibly in the supplier forum to the attention of your customers for a recall of the product, along with the true reason for the recall.
You mention that you are in contact with LA regarding the product and I also feel that the information you receive from them in return should be released with full disclosure.
As I also mentioned in my support ticket AND email reply to you yesterday, please remove the credit, delete my account and remove all of my related information from your database. This will be my final request for this action.
Do NOT attempt to credit my card as I do not authorize MFS to use my personal information for any purpose, credit or otherwise.
As I have already stated already numerous times, the credit is not my concern and there are some things $5 will not buy, my personal safety or the safety of the community being one.
This is no longer about my personal negative review of the product and customer service. I feel a company who claims to sell “safe” vape ingredients should be held to a higher standard and adhere to said standard with the utmost sense of responsibility to the community who support them. This would include taking concerns from customers about the products they sell seriously, especially when something appears to be incorrect or unsafe. I started DIY to gain as much control as possible over the ingredients that go into my liquids and I chose what I thought to be very reputable vendors to serve the purpose of providing me with ingredients I could trust as safe.

Mods, please feel free to close the thread if you see fit, but I believe MFS now holds an obligation to the community to provide the facts. Upon disclosure of said facts, and a voluntary recall of said products including credit being given to customers who purchased the same item as myself, I would consider the matter resolved

 

[AlexStiff]

We have now deleted your account.
Thank you for your input.