Bongo InternationalReviews of bongous.com

Response from Bongo InternationalNov 23, 2015

Hello Brian Burke, Thank you for your feedback and we apologize for the confusion involving your shipment. International shipments involve many regulations that we are required to follow and those regulations do differ from domestic flight regulations, which is why FedEx can ship batteries domestically. I consulted with our Classifications team to determine what regulations are in place for this type of shipment. The reason individual batteries are restricted at Bongo is due to the I.A.C.O, International Civil Aviation Organization. Based on their regulations, individual batteries must be packaged according to strict standards. Bongo International does not have the capabilities to package individual batteries according to the guidelines. So if a battery arrives without the required packaging, we are forced to restrict it as FedEx will not allow it to ship international. Items containing batteries within fall under a different category and can generally be shipped international by air. I hope that this explanation helps. Thank you

Response from Bongo InternationalNov 12, 2015

Hello Lanette Holmstrom, I have passed your comments and concerns on to our Customer Service Manager for immediate review. The formula Bongo International uses to determine billable weight is a formula used by the industry. International shipping uses volumetric weight(or billable weight) to determine how much space a package is going to take up during transit. While your package did only contain 4 hats, the merchant you purchased them from shipped them in a fairly large box(12 X 12 X 9.4). Bongo International recommends asking the merchant for the shipping dimensions before placing any order. In terms of the other charges: $5 box fee: This is charged to cover the cost of processing the items and to prepare the documents for customs. $7.07 Fuel Surcharge: Based on the cost of fuel. Addition information can be found at the following link: http://www.fedex.com/us/services/fuelsurcharge.html $4.26 Lost and Damaged Protection*: This coverage allows us to reimburse you if the package is lost or damaged in transit to your destination. $33.80 Duty and Tax*: Our system calculates the cost to clear customs based on regulations provided to us by Canada. *Lost and Damaged Protection and Duty and Tax are not required and can be removed prior to checkout for most countries. Additonally, I took the liberty of quoting this shipment directly on FedEx.com. Your shipment will travel via FedEx International Economy. For a shipment leaving from our facility and traveling to your zip code, it provides an estimated rate of $134.76 USD at 10 lbs. of billable weight. Even if we used a lower rate, say .5 lbs., the estimated rate would still be higher than our quoted rate(our rate $67.35 USD vs $77.27 USD quoted by FedEx). You can quote the shipment yourself at https://www.fedex.com/ratefinder/home?cc=US&language=en&locId=express In most cases, Bongo International is able to offer reduced rates. Please do not hesitate to contact our Customer Service Team with any additional questions.

Response from Bongo InternationalNov 2, 2015

Hello Milen Mitulovic, Thank you for contacting us. I am sorry to hear your experience with Bongo International was not enjoyable. I have sent your concerns to our Customer Service Manager for review. You are correct that Bongo International does use the dimensional weight of the incoming box to determine shipping rates. With the items being disposed of, I am no longer able to see what the dimensions were. Bongo International always recommends speaking with the merchant to obtain shipping dimensions before placing the order. This allows the system to provide the most accurate quote. Bongo International

Response from Bongo InternationalOct 22, 2015

Hello Jurgen Salinas, Thank you for your feedback. Be assured that I have passed your concerns on to our Customer Service Manager for immediate review. I apologize that your order with SpiritHalloween.com arrived incomplete. Upon further research, I have determined that the following events occurred on the dates listed: 9/29/2015: Order placed with merchant. 10/10/2015: You sent us an email to inquire about delays. At this time, an associate responded to inform you that we had not received the 2.5' Roaming Rosie Red Antique Doll from SpiritHalloween and at no time blamed our merchant partner. You were simply informed that the item had not arrived and that we had no further information at this time. 10/14/2015: We reached out to SpiritHalloween for a status on the missing item. 10/15/2015: SpiritHalloween responded that the 2.5’ Roaming Rosie Red Antique Doll is on pre-order and was not expected to ship until “Sometime in November”. 10/15/2015: We called SpiritHalloween to confirm the item was on pre-order. We spoke to an associate who also confirmed that the item would not be available before November. 10/15/2015: We cancelled the item from your order so that the remaining items could ship to you. You were refunded 2,277.68 MXN on 10/15/2015 for the item. I was unable to locate anytime when an email from you was not replied. I hope this reply shows you that Bongo International is committed to ensuring customer satisfaction. Had we not cancelled the missing item from your order, your entire order would still be in our warehouse waiting for that item. This would have caused your entire order to miss the shipping deadline in order for you to receive it before 10/31/2015. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to reach out to our customer service team. Thank you

Response from Bongo InternationalSep 30, 2015

Hello Andrew Fraser, Thank you for contacting us. I have passed your feedback on to the customer service manager for review. Unfortunately, I am unable to see the shipment you are speaking about, as it was disposed of per your request on 09/14/2015. I will speak generally, shipping rates are determined by the billable weight which is the incoming actual weight or dimensional weight, whatever is larger. Dimensional weight is found by measuring the length, width, and height in inches and then multiplying those together and dividing that value by 139. Example: A box that is 10" x 5" x 15" would be measured as follows: 10x5x15= 750 / 139 = 5.4 dimensional pounds. If the physical weight of the box is 4 pounds the billable weight would be 5.4 If the physical weight of the box is 7 pounds the billable weight would be 7. While the item you ordered may have been small. If the merchant packaged the item in a large box, that could lead to higher shipping rates. Bongo International always recommends quoting shipping rates prior to placing an order with a merchant. That way, an informed decision can be made before the order is placed. I hope this information helps. If you have additional questions, please reach out to our customer service team.

Response from Bongo InternationalSep 4, 2015

Hello Pedro, We take all feedback seriously and have sent this to our customer service manager for immediate review. We are sorry to see a long term customer rate us one star. Bongo International strives to make international shipping easy and affordable. In terms of your prior shipments, all dimensional weights are determined by a sophisticated system of scales and computers that removes most of the human interaction and possibility of human error. It is true that shipping rates are updated from time to time by our courier partners, but Bongo International is not involved in the decision to change rates, higher or lower. And reviewing your many past shipments, I did not notice any shipping rates that were out of the ordinary or higher than past shipments of similar weight. Due to the delicate nature of televisions, our policy is to leave them in their factory packaging, as the manufacturer designed the packaging to protect the television. Due to the long distances international shipments travel, Bongo International always recommends the purchase of Lost or Damage Protection. Your claim was submitted on 03/03/2015, processed, and approved in 1 business day. Your claim was never denied and based on the conversation history, you were never told that we would not cover the claim. Also, only one exchange between our claims department and yourself occurred before the claim was approved. Your check was issued on 4/11/2015 and at this point we are still confirming if the check has been cashed. If we determine that it is not cashed, we will issue a new check and have it sent overnight to the address provided. The most recent contact with Bongo International, other than a phone call to our Customer Service team on 9/3/2015, was 7/1/2015, where you asked for a phone number to contact us. You received a response within one business day with our phone number. We hope that this response is satisfactory for you. We would hate to lose you as a valued customer.

Response from Bongo InternationalAug 25, 2015

Hello Stig, We take all feedback seriously and I have sent this to our customer service manager for review. Bongo International makes every effort to ensure a smooth transaction for our customers. We are sorry to hear that your orders with our valued merchant partner ended up cancelled. Unfortunately, on August 24, 2015 the merchant requested that we cancel your orders. They were unable to locate them in their system and would not be shipping the items to Bongo. We are sad to see you rated us one star as Bongo International was not involved in the decision to cancel your orders. Once a merchant requests to cancel an order, Bongo complies with the merchants request. We hope that you will continue to shop with our valued merchant partner – and you find your future experience more pleasant. Thank you for your patronage! Bongo International

Response from Bongo InternationalAug 24, 2015

Hello JohnJoe, We hope you had a wonderful weekend. We sent this feedback to our customer service manager and he provided some insight we hope which helps you understand our shipping rates. First, we are sorry you feel frustrated with our services, we were unable to locate an order or mailbox associated with this feedback so we were not able to look into the specific data associated to your comments specifically. We will have to offer general details. Bongo charges: - Box Fee (number of boxes shipping): $5.00 for each box shipped to your address. - Shipping Cost details: Shipping Fees based on the boxes received. - Fuel Surcharge: A fee charged based on the the cost of the shipment for fuel and other maintenance - Loss and Damage Protection: This is an optional and costs 2% of the value of your goods. Loss and Damage Protection allows us to insure your shipment for any damages or missing items after the goods are shipped through our courier. You can choose to remove your Loss and Damage Protection by clicking the "remove" text next to "Loss and Damage Protection". If you remove the Loss and Damage Protection on your shipment, any goods damaged or not delivered by the courier may not be compensated for. - Duties and Taxes: If any duties or taxes would be charged on your goods, we will offer many of our customers the ability to pay these duties and taxes to us at the time you processed your goods for shipping. If your country allows FedEx to charge our account for duties and taxes, you will be shown these fees at the time of checkout with the option to click on "remove" to choose to pay those fees when they arrive at your local customs through our courier. Unfortunately we are unable to pay duties and taxes ahead of time for all of our customers due to the regulations of our courier FedEx as well as the regulations of the customs departments of each country. - Remote Delivery Charges: Remote delivery charges are issued when your delivery location is not one that FedEx will ship to normally. This fee is $26.00 USD and you can find out if your delivery location would incur this fee by going to https://bongous.com/international-shipping-rates.php and clicking on the remote location link above the duty and tax calculator. The charges are summarized when you ship your items. IMPORTANT NOTE: Calculating the billable weight for shipping costs: The billable weight for shipping costs are calculated by actual weight or dimensional weight whichever is greater. Dimensional weight is found by measuring the length, width, and height in inches and then multiplying those together and dividing that value by 139. Example: A box that is 10" x 5" x 15" would be measured as follows: 10x5x15= 750 / 139 = 5.4 dimensional pounds. If the physical weight of the box is 4 pounds the billable weight would be 5.4 If the physical weight of the box is 7 pounds the billable weight would be 7. We hope you find the information helpful in determining how we calculate shipping costs. Please feel free to reach out to our customer service team and as for our manager, he may be able to research your order and determine it's accuracy. Of course if there was a mistake, you will be refunded. Thank you, Bongo International