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I am feeling very fortunate as I purchased plants from this company prior to reading these reviews...I ordered a 24 pack of golden sedum, a silver leaf vine, a hardy fuschia bush, and a 3 pack of "walk on me" thyme.. The plants did in fact look very sad in their "dormant" state upon arrival however, after just three days in the ground at least 20 of the 24 sedum plugs have rosettes and the vine also had 5 new leaves (both arived with little to no green and the vine was yellowing) My vine is now twice the starting size and it's just been two weeks in the ground.. My fushcia has many new buds emerging (and it appeared to be a stick). Sadly the only plants that haven't shown any signs of life are my thyme ground cover... All in all I'm pleased. For the overall cost this has been a success for me although the investment was minimal. I will repeat that these plants all looked to be dead upon arrival and this in itself wasn't encouraging and they are small but once again -for the $...and the fact that they truely are alive...I am satisfied.
If it sounds too good to be true; it usually is!! I was also swayed by the great prices. I placed an order on 2/21/05. I have emailed with no reply. Right now I would be happy with a response, even better a refund! (order # 31402938)
The Garden Watchdog is such a great resource, I should have checked here first.
I was very disappointed to see the flimsy packaging of my rather large fragile purchase (the rock bottom prices were enticing). I feared opening a bunch of crushed dead looking specimens, but things actually looked like they were in decent shape ("dormant", but the lavendar had some healthy sprouts). Sadly, I found this complaint page after receiving the order.
I can only hope that the company has taken customer complaints to heart and improved their offerings -- even if only as a result of legal force. I will hope for the best, but will bookmark this site and save the follow up contacts in my address book.
It's difficult to imagine how they make their money to stay in business unless their slim profit margin hinges such a large volume after settling complaints.
I had ordered from this company before I found your website, so I am petrified of what I will find when (and if) the order arrives. I'm going to try to cancel it.
I was wondering, though, about something I saw in the "thread" of conversation about this company. How can you know what a company's affiliations are? How can you know if a company keeps changing its "identity" to avoid people knowing who they are? How can you know what all the Richard Owens companies are, for instance?
I'm curious because I want to track down the affiliations of another company and I would like to know how to do it.
On Feb 12, 2005, SeagovilleSue Seagoville, TX wrote:
I received a catalog from Burgess/Royal Dutch of Bloomington, Illinois, claiming such great prices and quality. I purchased $105.15 of Siberian Elms, and sent my order form by mail back in December 2004. Finally, I received a charge on my credit card 012605 for the full amount, but no plants or mail received from the company, so I emailed them. I received an email back asking for my name and address so they could access my account. I replied back by email, with the information. No resonse has been received yet. I sent off another email today with the same response attached as before, and will wait and see. I advised them I will dispute this if I do not hear from them. (Boy, am I'm sorry I didn't find your site sooner!) I intend to dispute the charge as soon as my credit card bill comes in the mail, if my plants are not here in good condition. What I see is that I have 60 days to dispute with the credit card company once the charge shows. If I wait on Royal Dutch to play their back/forth games, the 60 day deadline may pass me by. I will dispute and cancel the dispute when and if I receive my plants. I don't think I would use this company again, due to the comments I read about it.
I ordered about $70 of assorted bulbs on July 1. I recieved them in a green plaastic bag, when the bag was open I was hit by a stench similar to rotted potatos.
I was told to send te original shipping label back and the bulbs would be replaced. I also sent an extra $9 for UPS shipping. I recieved the bulbs yesterday, when I opened them I recieved that familiar stench and sure enough most the bulbs had turned to a slime consistancy.
I called and asked for a reimbursement, to which I was told they couldnt do. I now have filed a dispute of payment with my credit card. If I were to follow the same directions again, by the time I got the bulbs,if they werent rotted, it would be too late to plant.
Within a 1 block radius of my house I've run into 2 other people that have had similar experience.
The customer service reps are rude and short, and leave you with no alternative but to keep sending shipping labels. Now they have my original (I took a copy) so if something else dosent come up Im just screwed.
STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY!
I should have known better.... I ordered 18 robin hood roses from this company (bare root) in mid-July. They insisted that even though it was mid summer, I'd receive healthy dormant plants, and I'd have no problem with planting and with the results. I received 18 DEAD- I mean falling apart, stinking, DRIED OUT plants. My options? Repackage this mess and send it back (at MY cost) or plant them (yeah sure) and let them know how they do after 6 weeks. I guess I'll "plant them" and call them after 6 weeks. I'll report the results in 6 weeks.
Ordered nice looking creepers and moss. They arrived 6 weeks later (!) and dead. I called the company and was told they were "dormant" and I should plant them and wait 6 weeks for them to sprout up. I did that, using standard gardening practices for those plants. Two tried hard to make themselves live, but were not successful. I lost $47. When I called the company today, they told me their policy was that I could have replacement plants. I explained that it is too late and would like a refund. No-go. They said I can send in the labels for replacements (I was told this at least 15 times, in very pleasant tones.) I called Visa and was given my money back. A happy ending to a sad story. I'd never use Royal Dutch Gardens for anything ever again.
w0w- sure wish I'd seen this earlier- but i was one of the lucky ones- my order from Royal Dutch did not ship and did not ship and did not ship and they kept promising so on the 59th day, I filed a complaint with my credit card company and finally got the credit- BUT, stupid me, I'd also placed an order with Direct Gardening which did ship and everything was scuzzy, moldy and/or dead so I sealed everything backup and went down to the post office and mailed it back insured. And they said they didn't get it etc for nearly three months until I finally faxed them a copy of the insurance form from the USPS. I told them if I didn't get a credit in 5 days on my account, they could fight it out with the US government and... the credit was issued
Hi everyone. I guess I am pretty much in the same boat regarding Royal Dutch's bad business practices. I ordered hostas, snow on the mountain, vinca minor, three rose bushes and one climbing rose...the results? Well the vinca minor was nothing more than a mass of black slimy leaves and dead vines, the snow on the mountain was brown and *crackly*, only one rose bush is producing any leaves (Red Treasure), the other two are black and show no green when nicked, the climbing rose (Blaze) is dead as a doornail. This was the first time that I ever ordered from this company and it will be the last. I'm not a rich person, so I put a lot of thought into what I want to order each year- this year has been the pits. Thanks to Royal Dutch. I am sorry that everyone else had losses too. I hope your next ordering experience is much better.
Warm Regards,
elizabeth
On June 16th, 2004, mote added the following:
Out of all of the plants that were dead, I only asked for two rose replacements and they haven't even responded to that request. Don't bother with this company unless you want to throw your money away and receive dead plants...
I ordered from Royal Dutch twice last year and couldn't be more dissapointed. The shipping was fine and all my plants did arrive.
I ordered three types of tulips, two bushes, a lenten rose, snowdrops, feather hyacinths, and a Pride of Ireland Iris. But out of nine items, only three survived. The bushes looked ill from the start and promptly withered away to nothing despite having good care.
The feather hyacinths and snowdrops never came up, which is funny considering I raise over 300 bulbs and know what I'm doing. I should after a decade of gardening.
The iris rotted, which is also a first. But I'm not surprised as it arived slimy and foul-smelling.
The tulips survived and look healthy, but even there I was let down. The Miranda was shipped as ordered, but my Double Beauty of Apeldoorn are singles. And the Blue Lagoon tulips are fire engine red, with no hint of turning into true blue or even the purpilish blue the catalog showed.
As for the free bulbs I earned, they all either rotted in transit to me, or were empty husks at arrival. I'd love to believe the snowdrops and hyacinths will show up and surprise me, but even if they did, I'd still avoid this company.
So far, my only complaint is that my order arrived too early. I have mailorderd from many different companies and have always been sent the plants at a time when it was safe to plant them. There is still some snow on the ground here and night temperatures remain low. since the plants are packaged in plastic, I felt I had to get them out to prevent rot. I currently have them acclimating in a paper bag in the garage. There was no packing slip or invoice that I could find until I saw a list of contents on the outside of the big mailer bag. There was not specific planting guides or info on returns or warranties.
On the other hand, the bareroot plants look healthy enough and the jury is still out regarding dependability.
Royal Dutch is nothing but a scam. My card was charged in August (for stuff I didn't order) and I'm not sure how this company got my PERSONAL information. I have tried numerous times to tell these dingbats that I didn't order $198.01 worth of merchandise (stuff that looks dead, by the way), and they have refused to respond UNTIL I threated them with legal action. Here is their email to me:
"Our refund guarantee states that the Original shipping label, the items along with a letter requesting a refund need to be returned within 14 days of receipt. You will need to send the Original shipping label (s), the
items along with a letter requesting a refund for these items. Be sure to state in the letter that you did not order this and that someone else used your Debit Card without your knowledge. The shipping charges are
non-refundable, however, you can state in the letter that you are requesting that the shipping charges be refunded as well."
So now I have to spend MY hard-earned money to send back I didn't order to a shady company. BUYER BEWARE!!!!
On December 10th, 2003, nancyl56 added the following:
Well, it's now December 10, and I'm STILL fighting with these idiots regarding I didn't order! They insist I did! I have had to cancel my credit card because of this. The company sent me an email telling me I ordered the stuff and too bad, I have to keep it. Hmmm, I smell a rat. I have filed a complaint with the Illinois Attorney General's office.On March 26th, 2004, nancyl56 added the following:
Here it is, almost April 2004, and I'm STILL fighting with these people. I've gotten nowhere with the Illinois Attorney General's Office, either - that was a big waste of my time, energy and money (for postage). I have had to cancel the credit card that was used to purchase the products (I don't know what they are because I didn't open the packages). I have sent several emails to Royal Dutch asking them to accept the items as a return and give me back my money - they flatly refuse telling me that I ordered the stuff! I don't know what else to do. I tried disputing the charge with my credit card company, and I was told I had to cancel the card. I'm out $198.00 because of these people, and they have the audacity to send me catalogs for this year! Ugh!
I placed an order with Royal Dutch Gardens to be sent as a gift to an experienced gardener in northern New York. When I visited her this summer, I learned that the plants arrived in very poor shape and ultimately died after they were planted. I did not receive the package or mailing label and the recipient of my gift did not keep the package or mailing label. I asked for and was denied a refund by Royal Dutch Gardens and they refused to replace the plants because I could not produce the mailing label which never came to me. Surely Royal Dutch Gardens has a record of this order and my payment by check. I have sent my complaint to the Central Illinois Better Business Bureau, 413 SW Washington Street, Peoria, Illinois 61602 and to the Office of the Attorney General, Consumer Protection Bureau, 500 south Second Street, Springfield, Illinois 62706
On Sep 19, 2003, babawawa Holly Springs, MS wrote:
On April 22, 2003 I ordered (3)Pride of Ireland Iris and (3)Dorothy Rose Columbine. I did not know that the policy of the company was to charge my credit card for the items that I had ordered and I would be shipped the items in the fall.
I called in May to find out when my order would arrive, I wanted to plant the iris as soon as possible. I was told that I had ordered from the fall book and they would ship the order as soon as they could. I called again in August about the Columbine at least. These had been shipped the May before and I had never received these items. I called again this morning and was told that there was no definite ship date on the columbine and they had no order for the Pride of Ireland iris. My credit card was charged for both items. I do have my online receipt! When I did talk to customer service this morning, they told me to send a copy of my receipt to a supervisor and they would investigate my order,which I did. After seeing all the negative things people have to say about this company, I'm really not very hopeful about my order.
I ordered from Royal Dutch Gardens via Direct Gardening. I ordered bulbs which I will not receive until fall. I also ordered pampas grass that arrived dead. It was gross. I can't believe a company would send anything like that. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of leaving the packaging lay in the garage and my husband promptly threw the original packing slip away and they have given me a very hard time about that. Even though I have a copy of the charge to my card and a copy of my order, I have not seen replacements yet. I wish I had found this website before ordering from them. I think I'm about to lose on this one. I'd like to cancel the bulb order, but am afraid that they will not replace the pampas grass if I do. I would not recommend this company to anyone and think they should be reported to whatever consumer agency.
On August 13th, 2003, weedsalot added the following:
Believe it or not - Royal Dutch finally sent replacements for the pampas grass. Guess what - they are dead too! They were planted in small plastic pots, wrapped in plastic bags and tied shut, and placed in another plastic bag for shipping. I can't imagine why they think shipping plants like that will work???? The plants were dripping wet with mold on top and brown grass sticking out. When I pulled them from the pot, the roots were brown. I'm going to return the original shipping label and tell them they are dead. I could not in good conscience recommend this company to anyone. I will continue to post the outcome. I'm not going to close the BBB case until I get live plants.On September 18th, 2003, weedsalot added the following:
I sent a letter asking for replacements of the replacements. So we will see what happens. I also received a letter from the IL BBB saying that other legal action has been brought against this company (House of Wesley) and they will not handle complaints that are being handled through legal channels. So, I sent my information to the Attorney General. This company needs to be held repsonsible for their poor business practice. I will not purchase anything from this organization again.On October 20th, 2003, weedsalot added the following:
After sending a letter with the original shipping label to Royal Dutch asking for replacements of the dead plants, they sent me a letter saying they were sorry about the trouble and to send them the original shipping label and they would replace the plants. This tells me that they did not even look at what I sent them. Their customer service is the worst. I also received a letter the the Attorney General and I sent them the same information I sent to Royal Dutch and said that I was done with this company and I was not going to spend any more money on postage to send information they already have. I agree with William12, surely they have records of what they send and if they were paid. This is a horrible company to deal with. I'll post again once I receive the next order of pampas grass. I hope the word gets out so this company does not get away with stealing from people.
So far I've only ordered 3 roses, some bulbs and a hydrengia. Two roses died, one did well. I had no problem replacing the roses and so far so good with the new roses but it's only been a week. The hydrengia came dead looking & wilty and a stow-a-way (baby slug) but I planted it in a pot and within two weeks it was healthy and thriving. I just planted the bulbs so we'll have to see about those.
My biggest complaint is customer service. I've needed help with some products and I've had to contact our own nursery for help.
I ordered 100 trees from them last year, over half of them were sent, obviously dead, and the rest were already budded out but most died shortly after planting. I did everything possible to give them the best chance at survival and only 5 of them survived this year. The other plants I bought came to me destroyed they weren't packaged for shipment. all the dirt had fallen out of the packages and no chance of survival. With out a number (how convenient on their part, that should have raised a red flag to me) I cant get a hold of them to make sure they will be replaced and I only have until the 30 of this month for the warranty.
Ordered plants last Fall (02); they arrived late & looked dead. Sure enough, this spring they were 95% dead. They will not talk about an adjustment without original invoices, which, of course went out with the shipping cartons last year. This is not a good company.
