FTD is bleeding me dry and won't let me out

[MEISH]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for reading. For almost a year I have not gotten a check from FTD. I have told my rep about it and he doesn't care. I don't send any wire outs so I should not owe them money, but every month they say I owe them when I was the one buying the flowers to fill the orders that they are making money on. There are so many fees and things now it's absolutely impossible to make even enough to pay their fees.

I am at the point now where I don't even open the statement it's so bad. I flat out refuse to send them more money after I have filled all these orders. I don't think I should owe them so I don't send them a check, then they tack on another $50 for late payment. Last time I checked it was over $1500 they said I owed them.

Some sales man comes here trying to sell me their pos system, telling me he can push orders my way if I do that and it makes sense now why shops call and say they are sending me an order and it never comes. It's because they are sending them to shops with pos and charging me the same otrageous fees.

My mercury system is always going down on it's own and I am missing orders that way. I have talked to tech support and they even took over my computer remotely and couldn't fix it. Their suggestion is to put a new disc in. I don't see how that will work because none of the old discs ever took the problem away.

I wrote to cancel my membership and was told I was to late that the deadline was Feb 18th but the codification deadline is March 15th. It seems like they changed the deadline on purpose. I thought it was always the same as the deadline to get into the book. All I got was a cold response and that they would have my rep contact me. It's been a few days and no contact from my rep.

Yesterday I received my statement in the mail so even after Vday I was unable to get even with them. I haven't opened it because I know if it comes in the middle of the month I owe them.

My next step is to write to the president, vice president and any other executives who's names I can find online. I hope someone will do something. Has anyone ever heard of a shop being in this situation without even one credit for anything.

They are even billing me for a double directory listing and they said they would change that and they haven't even done that. They bill me for my town which covers a few zips, then bill me for those zips as towns.

Their solution is that I should buy their products????? If anyone has any advice that would help me I would so appreciate it.

Thank You, Meish

 

[lori042499]

If you are not reconciling your statement and not sending a check and not sending any wire outs, why the heck don't you go through the proper channels and quit..It is not a requirement to stay...Do you not understand the statement? I am sure you owe them and you won't get out of what you owe them, but if nothing is tying you to them like technology and such, stiop filling the orders and read the rules and quit...

 

[MEISH]

Thank You,

I did try to quit and I'm not trying to get out of owing them money. I was thinking after Vday I would "get even" and could cancel, but now they changed around the deadline and it's not the same as the date for the book. I am stuck for another 4 months and they will charge me fees and if I stop filling the orders I will have less going to paying those fees. Maybe I am wrong about that, but had a similar situation with Teleflora and stopped filling the orders because we were no longer memebers and still had to pay those fees after the next membership term was over. In the end the teleflora mess was $4,000

 

[lori042499]

Ok. let me get this right..You did send a resignation letter...Then yes, I would keep taking some orders that you can make money on until your last day to pay for some of the service fees. you will owe them but it may be smaller than if you just shut down and do nothing until the end date...

 

[sandytf]

Meish,
With all due respect, it sounds like you are in distress and reacting emotionally to the situation. You need to calm down and get your head together so you can improve the situation...not make it worse. While I am sympathetic to your position, the fact is you have a contract with them and you must fulfill it or go through the proper channels to end the contract. Not opening the statements is putting your head in the sand and ignoring the problem. That won't make it go away. I can see how you would owe them money if you're just filling orders and paying monthly fees. Sending orders is where the money is and you obviously aren't sending.

Even though you may have missed the deadline for terminating the contract, you can still stop filling orders immediately. You'll still be obligated to pay your monthly fees though. I would do a little more research on the deadline. It was always the same as the directory deadline in the past but I wouldn't be surprised if they changed that recently.

Take a deep breath, open your statement, reconcile it and keep in mind you will only get a few more and then you'll be done with them for good!

 

[BOSS]

Meish, did you send your letter "Return Receipt' so that you have proof as to when they received it? If not, send another one, with return receipt to the company, and one to your rep as well. If you did the first time, you should stand your ground and fight. I do not believe there are two different dates, unless like you said they changed the rules again, something they are known to do.

How many orders do you fill/send each month, what are you paying for membership?

Do you have Mercury? If so, you should be able to eliminate that at any point and save that amount.
Do you have extra directory listings? Those too should be canceled immediately.
Do you clear credit cards through them? If so, those need to be moved before you quit.

Trust me, writing to the Presidunce, or anyone in the company for that matter, outside membership services will simply be a waste of your time.

How much did you lose filling orders for them in February?, How much do you owe? If you'd like, private message me this and I'll see if I can help you sort out a direction. Like the ladies said, you may be better off filling for a bit, but if you have "services" that can be eliminated anytime to reduce the overhead of membership, that will help reduce your balance, and speed up paying down the debt.

 

[Flowermomma]

OK yes you missed the quit deadline and yes its different then the codifcation [email protected] will stop your merc system and payments for it as of the first of the month.
you can NOT get out of the directory unti the next date so you are in until end of april.
but you can start refusing orders. if you stop the merc that makes it easier
you can tell them to take out all your extras in the directory if you haven't missed the make changes date but you might have missed it.

you owe them money because the fees you are being billed are more then the orders coming in cover and if you are not sending any out you are also being hit with a low sending fee.

Just send your letter to get out now for May first and call it done. Yes you will have to pay what you owe for the last 3 months but then you are all clear.

 

[master J]

All I can say is Sheesh Meish!!!! Ughh!

 

[MEISH]

Thank You,

I did not know that I could get rid of mercury at any time. I am planning on filling orders to bring down the debt. I'm unsure if I get rid of the mercury that I would be able to fill the orders, unless they would just fax them.

You are correct about the emotional response. If they even seemed to care the least bit it would not be so bad. It's like they don't even hear my problem. If I was a customer sending flowers and I told them my red roses were not red enough they would care and give me a refund, but not since I'm a florist with a real problem. I know about the contract business and the part where I'm screwed because they can change anything at any time.

I did miss the deadline which was Feb 18th I was told. I sent a message to member services as they told me to do when I called to say I wanted to cancel. Now i WILL send return receipt letter as advised ASAP.

I can send you that information from my statement, but give me a minute while I work up the nerve to actually open it

P.S. I'm a really bad business person if you can't tell... lol

thanks for helping

 

[Flowermomma]

once you stop the merc you are pretty much stopping taking orders.
most shops will not use shops that are not merc if there is another shop in the town that is. Or so i found.
And the paper work headache that goes with manual filing!!!!

if you want to keep filling orders do NOT stop the merc yet. but do look over your statement and see if there are spots to cut costs.

 

[Flowerchatter03]

Some great advise here! Get somewhere by yourself with at least a couple of hours and get out your statements. You should be checking your orders with what is listed on your statement. I cannot tell you how many times I have found that I have gotten charged for orders I didn't receive nor fill as well as for orders I didn't send. People make mistakes and with one typo, the wrong shop is billed. Get this straightened out first.

Second step, find out the next deadline, go ahead and write the letters, send out certified mail and to your rep, etc. Keep copies for yourself. Send e-mail messages that the letter has went out certified. Once it has been received and you get your card back stating it was received, e-mail everyone and state that it has been received. Write it on your calendar and DO NOT fill any orders after the last date.

If you owe a large amount of money, call them and get on a payment plan. You owe them the money and, therefore, they will sue you if you don't pay.

Lastly, most florists make the mistake of thinking that wire orders will make them money. Is it possible? Yes, but not in all cases. There are many aspects that make this a positive or negative result. For the most part, WS is a tool to be used by the florist. It is not a source of great income. If you are new to an area and are trying to get your name out there, then a WS can be a temporary help. That is IF you are marketing to the recepients.

Good luck to you! I wish you well and hope that you get this monkey off your back by the middle of the year.

 

[Mikey the Flower Guy]

Thank You,

I did not know that I could get rid of mercury at any time. I am planning on filling orders to bring down the debt. I'm unsure if I get rid of the mercury that I would be able to fill the orders, unless they would just fax them.

You are correct about the emotional response. If they even seemed to care the least bit it would not be so bad. It's like they don't even hear my problem. If I was a customer sending flowers and I told them my red roses were not red enough they would care and give me a refund, but not since I'm a florist with a real problem. I know about the contract business and the part where I'm screwed because they can change anything at any time.

I did miss the deadline which was Feb 18th I was told. I sent a message to member services as they told me to do when I called to say I wanted to cancel. Now i WILL send return receipt letter as advised ASAP.

I can send you that information from my statement, but give me a minute while I work up the nerve to actually open it

P.S. I'm a really bad business person if you can't tell... lol

thanks for helping

Meish....
FIRST, IF you "missed" the deadline, you missed the deadline...you are panicking, and making matters worse..when FTD sends YOU a check, you ARE losing money, and when YOU send THEM a check, your account "owes" them MORE money, than the other way around.
Here, to make things "simpler"...IF you SEND OUT an order for 100.00, YOU get to keep $20.00, and you are holding the $80.00 on FTD'S behalf, which YOU are obliged to send to them, at the end of each month!
IF you RECEIVE an order for $100.00, you'll ONLY be paid $80.00 for that order, but, WILL BE expected to fill it for $100.00...this is the "easy" part.
The "balance" of your clearinghouse statement pertains to your "membership" blackmail, er, membership fees, PLUS the "extra" zips you service, PLUS, 7% of your orders in AND out, for "overhead" to run the clearinginghouse on your behalf, PLUS the costs to operate,and maintain your mercury system, PLUS, you'll be "extra charged" for incoming orders, late payment fees, and for the "trust funds" that you are holding for FTD..IF you process your credit cards through them, PLUS, you're getting DINGED to not reporting your orders for NOT confirming deliveries, once you've filled them
The shoe is NOT on your foot, you've admitted you're bad at business, and now, your "habits" are catching up to you!!
YOU "missed" the deadline to resign...that is YOUR job, you missed your payments to them, that is YOUR job, you missed confirming delivery, that is YOUR job, you DIDN'T open AND "challenge" your clearinghouse statement, that is YOUR job, you DIDN'T "reconcile" your FTD statement, to check for accuracies, or billing screwups (there are plenty), that is YOUR job, people have "paid you" hopefully, for any orders you've sent out...ONLY $20.00 less expenses, belongs to you...the balance belongs to FTD...that's YOUR job, NOT taking action to drop zips and listings, and areas serviced, is YOUR job, making sure your Mercury computer is "functioning properly" is YOUR job, FTD just provides you "licensed software" to operate on YOUR computer (I assume it belongs to you!), the phone line/high speed internet connection belongs to you, ...I assume you are "tired" of working for FTD for less than peanuts, and you ARE JUST NOW, figuring that out??
We sympathize, Mark (aka BOSS), wants to help, but, it's YOUR business, I would hope you care about it, and IF you do, follow WHAT we're telling you...we already KNOW how much it hurts to belong, and it has little to do with FTD "letting you out"......would YOU let YOUR customer "out" if THEY owed YOU money??
I didn't think so....
So, take a breath...one thing at a time......the listings date is rapidly approaching, minimize your listings, and every single line by line item, remember that IF you shut your merc OFF, you'll get hardly ANY orders, if NONE at all......but, call them, have them shut off your MERC, they CAN do this month by month, BUT, you'll STILL be responsible for what YOU owe THEM......start NOW, quit, send them a resign letter, fax, merc, EVERYTHING, follow what the fine folks of FlowerChat TELL YOU, and within short order, you'll be clear of the FTD albatross, BUT, remember, IF you "owe" them money......they're coming, and probably WON'T "listen" to "reason", even if it makes PERFECT 'sense" to YOU!

 

[BOSS]

Meish... Drop the display ad ASAP~!! Your paying way too much money for that ad for one thing, and not too many shops use the printed directory these days... whoever sold you that should be shot.

Yes, you may not get the number of orders without the Mercury you might, but are you getting many now? I'd bet you're losing money on the Merc anyway.

 

[Louis Taylor]

Dump them now like we did

 

[MEISH]

Thank You everyone again,

For the record.... I meant out of membership not out of paying them. I just think they should care and do something, which is beyond what I have control over.

I did try to cancel before and was told about the deadline and when that was I was told it was the same day as codification and I had missed it by one day then. I figured it was the same now, however they must have changed it, or the person who told me that was wrong. Because I sent a email to member services like they told me to over the phone and I got a email back that the deadline was Feb 18th.

I did have a few conversations about the extra town listings with someone there as well as emails and I have a confirmation email from them that they were going to change it and they never did. All in all this doesn't matter now, I'm just mad about it because they said they would and they didn't.

I have spent many hours with tech support to fix the merc shutting down. My computer doesn't shut down the merc does. 1800 flowers doesn't shut itself down a couple of times a day. I think they should have someone there who can fix that for me. I am not a tech support person I'm a florist and it's their software so I think it should stay open when it's supposed to.

They took my low sending fee off, however they snuck it back in. I did have to prove that I wasn't sending them out via 1800.

Thank You Everyone for helping

 

[Mikey the Flower Guy]

Thank You everyone again,

For the record.... I meant out of membership not out of paying them. I just think they should care and do something, which is beyond what I have control over.

I did try to cancel before and was told about the deadline and when that was I was told it was the same day as codification and I had missed it by one day then. I figured it was the same now, however they must have changed it, or the person who told me that was wrong. Because I sent a email to member services like they told me to over the phone and I got a email back that the deadline was Feb 18th.

I did have a few conversations about the extra town listings with someone there as well as emails and I have a confirmation email from them that they were going to change it and they never did. All in all this doesn't matter now, I'm just mad about it because they said they would and they didn't.

I have spent many hours with tech support to fix the merc shutting down. My computer doesn't shut down the merc does. 1800 flowers doesn't shut itself down a couple of times a day. I think they should have someone there who can fix that for me. I am not a tech support person I'm a florist and it's their software so I think it should stay open when it's supposed to.

They took my low sending fee off, however they snuck it back in. I did have to prove that I wasn't sending them out via 1800.

Thank You Everyone for helping

Meish.....I encourage to to "remain mad" at them!!.....this is NOT uncommon....FTD turning a deaf ear, whan you need the help, the most!!
Always ask here at FlowerChat....we WILL NOT turn a deaf ear...though, we MAY give you an "earful", and are ALWAYS he11 bent on helping as much as we can......the way you came across, could have been "perceived" as one thing, and reality was something else./
Your next post was much more thoughtful and calmer, coming from someone IN CHARGE....which is what YOU ARE!!
Your decision is made, follow Louis's advice.......get on the "out" train get your ticket, follow the instructions, and you'll BE THERE...and good luck...we're with you all the way!

 

[anytimeflowers]

Meish,

Just adding my encouragement to you. I went through the directory crap with Bloomnet, and I hear the same thing about TF. They all seem to follow the same rules, which is.


1. Tell the ticked off florist that you will "fix" the listing but do nothing.
2. If the florist persists, go ahead and "fix" it for a month, maybe even two. Then sneak it back in and bill them again.


Meish, they will fight you for a while, but I encourage you to fight back. Make SURE you keep those e-mails, you will need them. They are going to keep billing you, they may credit back some of those extra listings and low sending fee, just keep at them.

And for sure, after you have reached an amicable agreement, pay them. You may need to make payment arrangements with them but eventually it will be a distant nightmare, and you will enter a new realm of unbelievably tranquil holidays!

 

[dlnfloral]

AAHHH the joys of FTD. Like others take a deep breath and continue the battle. Start eliminating things you don't need and get it down it the bare bones.Keep sending the resignation letter and be STRONG!! You'll get thru it

 

[MEISH]

ok so this is an update as of today
1. my rep still has not called me


2. i called member services to have my low sending fee and reciprocity taken off and was told they no longer credit that for shops as they have in the past but they will waive it for the next 6 months provided i am still a member, but it is notated that it'd dependant on my membership not being terminated before that. (i asked if i terminated before the next deadline would they charge me for the past fees that had been waived - she had no answer but told me i was smarter than she thought i was???)

i was told from the beginning of the call that if i had sent in my termination notice they would not credit anything, that it's a new rule or something so note to anyone else who wants to cancel. no credits even if you deserve them... because you sent in termination and they only waive fees for members. i had to argue and argue that my termination did not go thru because i missed the deadline. she really pushed this and it was so frustrating. finally she opened and read my emails and agreed that it was not official so i am sending her my 1800 statements to prove i am not sending with them and she will waive it. also i was asking for an email to confirm we had the conversation. so then she said she noted it and actually gave me a ticket number to refer to our conversation if they turn on it in the future.

3.i'm going to try to get out of my directory ad, but i missed the deadline and i left someone a message about that to see if they can credit it on my future statements.

4. i have to get to my rep i think or at least she said he was the one who could change or waive fees for me

5. i did see on the bottom of the statement it says to send in writing within 60 days of getting the statement so i will try that to see if i can have credits for 60 days back reciprocity and low sending fee. she said i can't because it's a rule, but someone has to have the authority. they said they would waive them so i think they should give me a credit

6. it was the most backwards conversation i have ever had as if they trained her( i'm sure they had) to say these stupid phrases because she said i just have to note that i told you that since you sent in termnation i can't credit anything on your statement. it's a rule... and on and on about everything i was concerned about.

7. i think since i'm stuck for another 4 months i'll try buying a mixed pack of codified containers for mother's day and see if that gets me some more orders (i feel you all wanting to smack me). i can put them on my website and make 100% profit

8. if i have to be stuck for another 4 months at least it's for mother's day so i think i'll keep sending to cover fees

9. i opened my statement and it's down to $47 i owe them so i think i'll suck it up and send it to them to avoid my $50 stubborn fee

10. i'll send my termination snail mail with return receipt as well as email

thanks to everyone for helping
p.s. if i had know this listed my shop and town i wouldn't have admited to not opening my statements...

 

[BOSS]

Stick to your guns.... they'll try all sorts of smoke and mirrors to confuse the issues. Pay the bucks, send the letters. And the rest I told you yesterday...

And don't worry about your shop name and city... many of us "used to believe" too, some still do....