Holiday Shopping Challenges: Non-Delivered Temu Orders, Butterball Turkey Disappointment, Fox Nation Issues, Amazon Billing | November 2024

The holiday season is here, and November brought over 58.5K new consumer reviews, highlighting key issues with food products, subscription services, delivery platforms, and online retailers. This newsletter shares some of the month’s top complaints based on consumer feedback collected on PissedConsumer.com.?

If you’re interested in a specific consumer issue or company, please reply, and I’d be happy to provide more details.

Christmas Shopping Challenges with Temu

Temu is gaining popularity among consumers this holiday season. However, consumers have shared frustrations with their shopping experiences involving unfulfilled orders and incorrect charges. Complaints highlight issues such as being billed for items not ordered, missing deliveries, and receiving incomplete shipments:

“They sent and charged me for a huge amount of Christmas bags that i didn't order,!?? I got my original order the next day. Meanwhile i have all these bags i never ordered! How do i get refunded and send these back? I would never order that amount and be charged $335!” (Review #6261597)

“I DID NOT GET ANY OF MY ORDERS. Before I could track it and now I cant for some odd reason. I would love to have it due to money was taking out of my bank account already and it all Christmas gifts…” (Review #6276195)

“I was charged for items that I didn't receive it say delivered but I only got christmas pillow covers…” (Review #6263867)

Read the latest Temu reviews.

Butterball: Disappointing Holiday Staples

Consumers reported dissatisfaction with Butterball’s turkey products during Thanksgiving preparations. Complaints ranged from deceptive packaging to poor product quality:

One reviewer described the "turkey breast" as a mix of off-cuts rather than a whole breast, with a gravy packet constituting half the package contents.?

?“First, it's not an actual turkey breast. It's various off cuts of what Butterball claims to be turkey breast meat all stuffed into a net. Secondly, when I opened the "turkey breast" package, a gravy bag constituted half of the contents.”

Read Butterball review (#6276636)

Despite following usual cooking methods, some consumers found the meat tough and lacking the traditional turkey taste.?

“Disappointing Thanksgiving… the odor from the turkey was so pungent, I had to turn on our exhaust fan. The leftover meat was so pungent, I could not eat it.”?

Read Butterball review (#6279546)

Fox Nation: Subscription Frustrations

Issues with billing and access dominated complaints against Fox Nation. Key problems included unexpected charges and discount miscommunication.

Automatic renewals at higher-than-expected rates left subscribers questioning their agreements.?

“...Apparently I was automatically renewed on your service and they billed me $67.99. Im not quite sure why I would pay $67.99 when its $1.99…” (Review #6278696).

Other consumers shared frustration over a Black Friday promotional price discrepancy, sparking concerns about transparency in discount programs.

“I signed up for fox nation, as vet, and also for the 1year at $1.99. The info came back that the extra year was for $32 pls dollars, instead of the Black Friday cost of $1.99…” (Review #6258837)

Read the latest Fox Nation reviews

Amazon: Billing and Refund Controversies

As one of the most relied-upon retailers, Amazon has faced some scrutiny for several recurring issues during the peak of the shopping season, including unauthorized Prime charges and refund delays.

A reviewer reported being signed up for Prime without consent and encouraged others to file complaints with the FTC.?

“I had purchased an item from Amazon 6 months ago & was very diligent in making sure I had not selected anything to do with Amazon Prime. I discovered 6 months later that I was being charged monthly for Amazon Prime to my credit card on file as a default in my account…”

Read Amazon review (#6279642)

Customers experienced difficulties receiving full refunds on returned items despite Amazon’s "free returns" policy.

“Order the item for Black Friday special it was offering 11% off placed it before midnight on that day but it didnt give me the discount charge me full price. Was adjusted. Then a long-term issue with the refund that states on their site free returns sent the order back and they did not give me my full amount back… (Review #6277331)

Read the latest Amazon reviews

Expedia: Travel Nightmares

In their complaints, consumers share significant issues with Expedia’s booking and refund processes, including canceled reservations and overcharges. Some travelers were left stranded due to unacknowledged or mishandled bookings.

“Upon arrival I was told my reservation had been cancelled by them since I did not own a credit card. I offered by bank card and asked it they could put a higher deposit/service fee and THEY REFUSED. My husband who was with me offered his credit card and THEY REFUSED since the reservation was under my name…”

Read Expedia review (#6277681)

This consumer share experiencing issues due to last-minute rate changes and double bookings.

“I recently used Expedia to book hotel rooms at Kachina Lodge in the Grand Canyon for me and my family. I'm very unhappy with their handling of the entire trip.”

Read Expedia review (#6227709)

Peacock TV: Subscription Missteps

Consumers encountered billing discrepancies and technical issues with Peacock TV. Some were billed double or at rates higher than advertised Black Friday deals.?

“Charges on my citi card for $22.68 and on my chase card $22.68... I been charges twice and I wanted the subscription for 1 yrs for $19.98... black Friday promotion” (Review #6277668)

Subscribers also reported being unable to use their accounts despite successful payments.?

“I subscribed for 1 year premium annual subscription and it refused to work in my TV.” (Review #6276720)

Read the latest Peacock TV reviews.

Would you like to learn more about these or other consumer trends? Feel free to reach out and I’d be happy to help with research or connect you with review authors.

Jonna Clark-Simpson is the head of consumer research and marketing at the PissedConsumer.com review and reputation management platform. She analyzes consumer experiences and keeps her eye on the latest consumer alerts. Joanna assists media representatives in their investigations for news stories and writes articles with helpful tips for consumers and companies. Connect with Joanna on LinkedIn.

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