oakwoodbarrels.com and dirtcheapbarrels.com

[SteelManCM]

I sent an email asking a few basic questions, once that was answered, I sent one seeking availability of the barrels I wanted that went unnoticed. Yes, that was a red flag. Then I sent an email requesting to place an order. You will note that over a certain amount of barrels, delivery is free within 8 hours of their facility. So I ordered an amount that would grant me free delivery. I am 9 hours away from them, but my sister is 7.5 hours away, so I gave them her address.

They screwed up that order and had to fix it before final confirmation. You'll note that the messed up order had NO delivery charge, but the one that had the correct barrels di, in fact, include a charge for delivery. However, since the total cost was still below the barrels cost, I let it go. Once that was done, I was told that the orders are prepared and shipped within 24 hours and that all orders are invoiced for payment.

That is an important point. When you are invoiced for a payment, it means that you are given up to 30 days before payment is due. With that out of the way, I knew I could proceed with this order with NO up front money.

This order was placed on 1/31/2017, which was a Tuesday. I am writing this on 3/28/2017 with no barrels delivered and no contact from anyone at the company since 3/17/2017.

Here is the FULL email transcript, which I have edited only to allow from top to bottom reading and removing my name and personal information:

OakWoodBarrels email thread

 

[IslandLizard]

I don't doubt you had a rough time communicating with them, and they may be far less than bonafide. I'm sorry you ended up wasting time and resources on it.

Regarding being invoiced and it being due in 30 days, is total BS. It all depends on their terms of service, not yours, or what you think they are.

Reverse your positions for a few seconds. Would you send x number of barrels to an unknown customer, hoping they will pay for them some day in the future? That's not a pipe dream, it's plain stupid.

 

[kristiismean]

lol,

WHERE ARE MY BARRELS

"I am trying to issue a refund, not seeing a payment"

not worth bashing a company like you did.

Pay them, then don't get your barrels, okay, now you have a reason to call scam.

 

[thekraken]

Well that was entertaining. Sorry for your frustration.

I agree with IslandLizard in that when payment is due just depends on the terms. That said, it sounds like they have a number of internal problems they need to take care of. That's some no good way to do business. You're fortunate that you hadn't given them any money yet.

 

[fermentinginpa]

Yeah, being invoiced for payment simply means they are going to send you an invoice to pay off of. That does not magically grant you Net 30 terms with them.

 

[bucketnative]

It all depends on their terms of service, not yours, or what you think they are.

Unless you're a Fortune 50 company... then you pretty much get to dictate the terms.

 

[jleiii]

Our club was trying to put together a bulk buy with them, and the guy doing the 'leg work' got prompt and seemingly valid responses to all his emails, then someone decide to research them. They appear to be mostly a scam.

 

[jojacques]

Bad costumer service is baaaaaad
You are like a dog with a bone, but damn, this company needs to do something.

 

[Homercidal]

So they want to offer a refund AND ship you the barrels, but first they need you to pay them??

Uh, why can't they skip the REFUND (since you didn't pay them) and simply ship you the barrels for free.

The answer is, because they want your money first so they can take it and run! Truthfully, I'm not surprised a company would want your money first, but after all of this time, it's apparent they arent' shipping until you pay, and I'm suspicious that they might not ship anything after you pay either.

Someone needs to make a trip to their address and see if they actually do business there. Maybe it would be more fruitful to drive there and pick them up.

 

[lump42]

Ive seen in other forums major complaints against this company, where people did pay and never received product. I believe there are complaints listed on BBB website too.

 

[SteelManCM]

I agree with everyone here. Yes, I would normally pay first. In this case, since I had seen the reviews and was wary, I took the Invoice at what I have known to be as a business owner.

Never was it asked if this was for business or personal. It was stated, though, that the barrels had been shipped, many, many times.

Yes, I knew this was most likely going to be a wild goose chase, but since there was no up front money to lose, chase it, I did!

For those stating that I have no reason to call scam, I'd like to point out that the barrels never showed up after being assured they had been shipped. Had they shown up when promised, I would have (and still will) pay before they are even unloaded from the truck.

 

[Homercidal]

Work it, Jerry!

 

[Mainer]

In general, I try to avoid buying from websites called DirtCheapAnything Dot Anything. Except maybe DirtCheapDirt dot Dirt. I'd buy that.