CBD gummies are gaining popularity. Chrissie Klinkowski ordered some through a company called Green Ape. But when she received the product, she decided it was best to send it back. With the guarantee the company offers, she should have quickly received a refund. So what went wrong?
Question
I have a problem with Green Ape CBD. I returned a package of CBD gummies unopened and inside the packaging material they sent it to me in. They have a sneaky policy of recurring deliveries and I returned them because I found out these have sugar added and I can’t eat sugar now.
When I returned the CBD gummies, a representative said they would issue a refund for the $75 but I would have to cover the shipping. I’ve sent about 20 emails to them asking for my refund and it goes nowhere. I spoke to someone yesterday who said, “Oh yes, we received your order and will process a refund for your CBD gummies. It will take five to six weeks to get a check and now there will be a $5 restocking fee.”
A Green Ape representative said it was unable to process a return to my credit card. I asked them to send me an email to confirm they would send me a refund and they said their email department would send me an email today as they didn’t work yesterday.
This all sounds shady to me. Why wouldn’t they refund it to begin with? Why is it taking two months to get my money back and now five to six weeks more?
I said I would dispute my credit card charges, but they said they would just say “they are resolving it” and point them to their policy, so that would be “pointless.” I just want an email with a confirmation so I know this company intends to refund those CBD gummies. Can you help me get a refund from Green Ape? — Chrissie Klinkowski, Boulder Creek, Calif.
Answer
Green Ape shouldn’t have monkeyed around with your refund for those CBD gummies. If it promised to return your money, it should have done so quickly.
I reviewed the paper trail between you and the company. By the way, nice job keeping track of your communication with Green Ape. Most people just call instead of sending email, which means they don’t have any record of their interaction with the company. It looks like you received several form responses to your repeated requests for a refund. That’s frustrating.
Restocking fees are common, but they are not consumer-friendly. Putting an item back in a warehouse is a basic cost of doing business. You shouldn’t have to pay for that.
You can avoid most of these problems by checking out my ultimate guide to product returns.
The online reviews of Green Ape are inconclusive. I found your complaint on a popular consumer site, along with another consumer who was upset that the company continued to send him CBD gummies even though he asked to stop his subscription. Maybe you have to be careful about agreeing to a subscription of any kind when you’re buying products by mail. I once ordered medication online, and they offered a generous discount if I agreed to let them replenish my supply. They sent me way too much of the product and kept charging me even after I repeatedly asked them to stop. (Related: Panda Express took a bite out of my daughter’s birthday.)
Generally speaking, businesses want to set up a system like that. They’ll sell more product that way. It also makes sense to make it difficult to cancel or to send the product back. That may be what was happening to you. The company’s supposed inability to refund back to your credit card was an indication of that.
Finally! A refund for those CBD gummies
I contacted Green Ape on your behalf and asked for a refund of your CBD gummies. The company did not respond to me directly. But a short while later, we heard back from you.
You reported that Green Ape refunded the full amount to your credit card for those CBD gummies, with no restocking fee. Success!
