So, I ordered a case of mangosteens for my dear aunt in Chantilly, VA, for Christmas from this online purveyor that seemed to have every foodstuff imaginable. It almost seemed to good to be true. And unfortunately it was.
It was from a company owned by Anshu Pathak, who's currently being sued by Harry & David for using domain names that they associate with their company. He has a plethora of "(insert name of food here) of the month" clubs ranging from exotic, international, & organic fruits to chocolate, Kobe beef, cheese, nuts, & wine. Here's what happened.
I ordered the mangosteens more than a week before Christmas and received the order confirmation via e-mail. Then I received a delivery confirmation on Christmas stating that they'd been delivered to my aunt's place that day. But when I went to her house a couple days later, there was no sign of them. I knew that, despite how much fruit she eats, she couldn't have eaten them all that quickly and even if she'd given some away (as she always does because she's such a sweetheart), she probably would've saved a little for me, not that I was expecting her to, only that she's that generous. I asked her when I saw her if the fruit had arrived, and she said no. She ended up calling up Anshu and asking him to cancel the order since she insists I save my money (because I make a very meager living) and she had plenty of mangosteens when she lived in Thailand years ago. His excuse was that they tried to deliver them but had the wrong ZIP code. Well then why did they send me an e-mail confirming receipt of the gift?
So a week or two goes by and I get an impersonal e-mail from Anshu informing me that mangosteens will be arriving from Thailand on January 11. I e-mail him back expressing my frustration because my aunt had already asked him to refund my money. He just shot back a terse response that the order had already been canceled. Well, I checked my credit card statement yesterday, and wouldn't you know it, there was no credit on my account. I had to call my credit card company to dispute the charge. So the moral of the story is, ANSHU PATHAK IS A THIEF! Don't buy from him regardless of how tempting anything on his website sounds. I saw a similar complaint online yesterday after I found out that I'd been swindled, only the victim hadn't been treated nearly as cordially as my aunt said she had been. Hopefully more people will document their experiences with this man and he will be put out of business for his deception.
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Good Evening,
ReplyDeleteCan you please provide me copy of "delivery confirmation" you received as stated in the following article?
"Then I received a delivery confirmation on Christmas stating that they'd been delivered to my aunt's place that day."
You ordered 6 Mangosteen fruits, not a box of 96 Mangosteen fruits. Your order was canceled on December 31, 2008 @ 11:48: as per the request of the recipient. Have I done anything wrong?
Do you know how to place the order online? Do you know your aunt's address? Do you know how to choose the shipping method? Do you have the copy of your original order?
Hamid Farshchi started with 12 Mangosteens and now he is regularly buying 72 Mangosteens per order? Do you want his phone number?
Harry and David has filed lots of lawsuits against their competition. Have you read the answer and cross complaint filed by Hickory Farms against Harry and David?
http://dockets.justia.com/docket/court-ordce/case_no-1:2009cv03011/case_id-91841/
My business has gone up 900% more than last year. Why? Because I am a thief? I work 16 hours a day. 7 days a week and you are calling me a thief?
I would like to know how did I stole your money? Do you know me? Do I have a reason to steal money?
Thank you
Anshu Pathak
Several years ago, I ordered from a cheese of the month club that he owns. I did not get several orders and two of the orders I did receive were spoiled by the time they arrived. When I tried to explain this to him he not only got VERY belligerent, but downright ugly. Since then, I have read some very bad things about this man on the internet. DO NOT buy any food products from this man!!
ReplyDeleteHello Skye. I read your complaint today on October 20, 2013. Please email me your phone number at anshupathak@aol.com and I promise you I will resolve all your issues on the same day. Thank you. Anshu
DeleteI also have ordered from this man and his company...I am having a very hard time receiving the shipment. I call weekly and get a different excuse every time.
ReplyDeleteSad to see this...I was actually excited after receiving our one and ONLY delivery. He will have to make good quickly and with our great satisfaction before trusting him and his 1-800cheeseclub.com again!
Hello Pamela, I read your complaint today after more than 2 years. If you are my customer, please provide me your information at anshupathak@aol.com and I will take care of your issues on the same day. Thank you.
DeleteI also had similar experience very recently with the owner of Exotic Fruit Club (exoticfruitclub.com) - Anshu Pathak (anshupathak@aol.com), aka Anshu B. Pathak. No wonder, when I googled, his name/his business name along with word "fraud", I found so many links / law suits etc. I don't know the details on those law suits but customers don't just file law suit for sack of it. It must have been unhappy / frustrated customer.
ReplyDeleteHis product, whatever, I had received, has been good, so far, however, the service and the shipping are terrible. The responses, I had received from him after complaining that I did not receive any product after placing the order, were totally unprofessional and non-cordial.
He told me to place the orders online, when he knew that the product was not available and not ready for shipping out. After asking when it will be available, he kept going in circles without mentioning about specific timeline, so I would know, how long I need to wait. At this point, as a normal human mindset, it did feel that he is sniffing money by taking bulk pre-orders from customer and then sending orders after 4-6 months. However, considering past experiences with him and he being Indian too, I did not want to judge him so I gave him benefit of doubt. Upon asking for credit, he was not happy and told me to choose another vendor (I was anyways going to choose another vendor).
I would not recommend this merchant to anyone who is expecting even average customer service, after paying hefty price to this merchant's expensive products. They don't care about customers and have ego to such a level, that, if they are not happy about you asking better customer service, they will tell you to choose another vendor. I would never have business with any such vendor who keeps ego with their customers.
Many of the products, he has advertised on his website - www.exoticfruitclub.com - are not available with him, or not ready to be shipped out immediately, so beware before you order. From the website, it would look like (as website would tell) that he has all available. Why don't they update their website if its not available ?
Hamid, I am sure you are not going to like my response but I have explain it to you and others on this page so they all understand my situation and your pain. I sell exotic fruits. I am not in business of selling shoes. In reality, there is no guarantee by mother nature that fruits will be ready as per by customers order. Fruits are being imported from all over the world, they come on time or they do not come on time. If they come rotten, I cannot ship them. I take orders all year long and I ship as soon as fruits are available to me in Los Angeles to ship. For specific fruits like custard apple, soursop, mangosteen customers wait, some times they wait for a year. I am in business since 1989 in USA and people who trust me they place orders and people like you who do not trust me post negative remarks like you. Have I stolen your money and ran away? Have I shipped you rotten fruits? If I am late, I am late, but that is not due to me, that is due to mother nature and the govt. regulations. Thank you. If I owe you any money, please email me at anshupathak@aol.com and I will pay you in less than 30 seconds.
DeleteThis guy conned me for $50 for custard apples. I still have online invoice and I wasn't quick enough to think to cancel it on my VISA. Anytime you email him, you get a canned response so he doesn't have to tend to his emails. He's a con, ripoff, and don't do business with him ever!
ReplyDeleteSir, my name is Anshu Pathak, my email address is anshupathak@aol.com. Please email me copy of your order and your phone number. If I owe you money, it will be paid in full within 30 seconds. A con, a ripoff will not respond you to pay you money back. Thanks. Anshu.
DeleteMy sister was also defrauded and treated poorly by Anshu Pathak. I was given a 3 month Exotic Vegetable of the Month club in early October. She received a confirmation email that I would be sent a shipment in the early part of the month. I did not receive anything. I called in mid November, and was told I would receive shipment within the week. Received the first shipment two weeks later and nothing more. My sister called today early January to complain about my present and was yelled at and treated in a very insulting manner. No resolution -- no shipment. Buyer beware! I wish she would have seen this information before purchasing.
ReplyDelete