Thank you for posting this on urbanflorist.com I ALMOST placed an order until I read your comments. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

And Google has granted your wish: you're the number one non-advert link for Artisan Flowers & Gifts

About the credit card: it sucks to have to cancel the entire card. You should look into
virtual credit card numbers. They're perfect for online purchases. You generate a new number for each purchase, and can cancel individual numbers if needed. I've used them for three years now, and love them.

This UrbanFlorist is a scam. They don't deliver.

I placed my order 12/7/05 for delivery on 12/8/05.

No flowers. No call. They let you wait on line forever.

This website must be closed. Don't order from this lousy Canadian company.

I just called to cancel my credit card after reading this email. They did not deliver the florist is now harrasing the receipient.

Thank you for posting. I just wish I read it sooner.

wow...thanks cam for all your hard work.
and thanks to ned for the heads up on the cyber number.
great info.

I, too, ordered flowers which were not delivered. I, too, get an answering machine and no response. And, I, too, have cancelled my credit card. Do not order from here.

yes.. i've been in your situation. I sent flowers for my mother who lives in Toronto because i was visiting her a few days after her birthday.. it was a surprise.. but it turned out that she got them after i got to Toroto from Atlanta.. They are so poor in service. I dispute the entire order with my credit card company. I told them that i never place the order.. So, my mothe rdid end up getting free flowers. i guess this is what we have to do for people like this.

This screed is very unbecoming of a person who considers himself an influential blogger. For one thing, it's uncomfortably personal to me, your reader. For another, I think that using your influence to air your personal gripes against companies you do personal business with is a cheap shot. (This isn't the first time you've done this either. I remember your screed against your cellphone vendor.)

Noting that you've put ten times the energy into this hack job against a crappy online service than you did into ordering flowers for your fiance, I have to wonder just how much more thoughtful it would've been to buy flowers from a human being at one of the many places you have to buy flowers just a block or two from your own house and spared your readers this childish diatribe.

Having had an even more "ugly" experience with this disreputable company than you have described, I support your efforts to expose them for what they really are. Perhaps "Ed B" should place an order with these scoundrels if he thinks it is no big deal. I'm totally with you that companies like this will continue their unethical practices unless unless consumers are willing to take the time and effort to do something about it.

As an aside, I cc'd the Vancouver Police Department on a letter that I sent to Vancouver Flower Company and was very pleased when they called me long distance to take a more detailed report. The company is "known" to the police and it would be helpful to them if more people who have had their credit double billed were to formally complain to the police in addition to disputing the charge with their credit card company.

Finally, I requested recently that urbanflorist.com be listed on Epinions.com. My request was approved and ratings can now be submitted. Use the following link: http://www.epinions.com/Urban_Florist_Online_Store

Warren misses my point. I don't dismiss that this vendor is some sort of international criminal enterprise. I simply object to Cam airing his personal gripe in a public space and I'm calling him on it. Are we going to hear his attack on Time Warner Cable next week for charging him wrongly for an extra pay-per-view?

I also am surprised that someone who claims to know so much about the Internet as Cam would allow himself to be taken for a ride so easily. I buy stuff on the Internet all the time, but know that the promise of next-day service is worth about as much as an automated response to the deposit of funds from your credit card.

I think Ed B. misses my point about the whole post. I already explained that I was in a hurry when I placed this order and thus did not do my due diligence to make sure the company was legitimate. I take full responsibility for this, but still stand by my post as a warning for all other people to not use UrbanFlorist.com. The number of complaints about UrbanFlorist.com backs up my suspicions that they are a semi-legitimate company who cares more about overcharging their customers than about delivering a quality product.

I was lured into a false sense of security because I had been using 1-800-FLOWERS.com for years with no issues at all. Same-day delivery meant same-day delivery. If they could do it, then I assumed UrbanFlorist.com could too. This is where I screwed up.

Besides, blogs are a very personal thing. I can use CamWorld in any way I want, including posting personal gripes about companies that have screwed me over. Would you rather I kept quiet and not do the public service of warning the rest of the Internet about such a sleazy company?

I note that Ed B's IP number is the proxy server for New York office for CBS. I wonder if Ed B perhaps has some unresolved personal feelings about blogs and instead of identifying who he is or who he works for, he is using the anonymity of the Internet in a thinly-veiled and feeble attempt to undermine the credibility of influential blogs? Hmmmm...

I so wish I would have seen this before ordering. I placed an order on Dec. 7, 2005 through UrbanFlorist.com and it never delivered. It was for a patient in an LA hospital. He checked out five days after the order was supposed to deliver and never received anything. I checked my credit card and the charge was roughly $8.00 higher than my confirmation email. I went throught the same BS as everyone else...customer support calls go to a full mailbox, etc. I also found out it went to Artisan Flowers out of Canada. It's such a horrible feeling to get scammed like this.

Is publishing personal information about people who thought they were posting anonymously any less sleazy than your florist?

Ed B. - If you have a personal gripe with me or would like to discuss this matter offline, please email me privately. Or, if you'd like to take this public, feel free to start your own blog and write nasty things about me there. I can take it.

Final note to Ed B: If we lived in a perfect world where justice always prevailed, it would be inappropriate for people to air their gripes in a public space such as the Internet; the relative anonymity of the Internet offers far too much temptation for abuse. Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world and companies like the Vancouver Flower Company (a.k.a. urbanflorist, artisanflorist, etc.) seem to be able to operate with relative impunity - even in countries like the US and Canada. The only vehicle that most "common people" have to fight back against abuses is to exchange information in a public space like the Internet. I would not want to be anonymously maligned on the Internet and I only posted after going to considerable effort to deal directly with the company, and after finding many stories on the Internet that closely mirrored my own. I was born and raised in British Columbia and I may yet have opportunity to speak to the owner of the Vancouver Flower Company face to face.

I suspect that most on-line floral purchases tend to be "impulse buys" and are done for convenience rather than to get a low price. This was certainly the case for me. I have served in the Canadian military for more than 28 years and am currently undergoing a long-term separation from my wife and family for service reasons. The night before heading out on a trip, it suddenly hit me that my wife would really appreciate receiving some flowers. My priorities in my subsequent search for an on-line retailer were reliability and quality. Price was not a big consideration. I plead guilty to not doing enough research before placing my order - normally I am much more careful. My wife did receive the flowers and did appreciate the gesture, which, of course, is the most important thing.

I likely would not have expended much time and energy on this issue if were I not separated from my family. As it is, I do have time on my hands and have decided to use some of it so that others will not have to share my experience.

I don’t know anything about you and I do not question your motive for the remarks you have made. You are very articulate and I think your comments are worthy of consideration. I don't know anything about Cam either, but if had I read about his experience prior to placing my order, I would have saved myself a great deal of frustration. For me at least, his efforts are more worthwhile than much of what I see on the Internet.

For those watching with bewildered bemusement, I apologize for being so verbose.

Cheers.

Warren

Don't flatter yourself, Cam. I have nothing to do with CBS News and I doubt they have any more interest in CamWorld than they do in rotten.com. I'm an old friend of a girl you used to have a crush on. She introduced me to your blog several years ago and I read it and post to it when I'm bored.

My interest in your blog is purely personal.

It's remarkable that in this post full of doting admirers, you choose to abuse the anonymity of the one poster who dissented with your point of view.

Now take a step back ... turn that little valve in the back of your head ... and let just enough air out that it'll fit into a size seven hat.

Warren, I appreciate your sincere post and understand where you're coming from.

I guess my point is that we all have a crappy customer service experience every now and then. No one gives their credit card number away without hoping for the best.

When we get ripped off, we get angry and sometimes want to stick it to the people who ripped us off. (If any of you out there want to stick it to Verizon, Time Warner Cable, AT&T, Con Ed, American Airlines or Budget Rent-a-Car, be my guess because they've all fucked me over personally at one time or another.)

OF COURSE if Cam rants about a bad experience he had with this company, a bunch of other people (like you and me) with time on their hands and energy to burn will kill a few hours chiming in. It feels like democracy, but if we weren't lazy and were really doing things on principle, we'd go to Vancouver and maybe break their kneecaps or something.

I appreciate that you're bound by your duty to the Canadian military and if it precludes spending time with your family, I doubt you'd use your precious free time to engage the crooked florist. I completely understand, although I don't think that this screed is going to topple the florist.

Me ... I'm just another asshole New Yorker (like Cam) who gets off on reading my witty posts and aggitating or -- hopefully --entertaining people.

Anonymously Yours,

Ed B (not his real name ... shhh ...)

Same thing happened to me. They did not meet delivery dates, and the flowers arrived partially dried up and looks real ugly. All emails to them have not been replied. And I thought they were ignoring me just because I am ordering from Asia. Apparently this company deserves a real bad rep.

Worse still was I ordered some flowers on my friend's behalf. Sigh.

I had an almost identical experience about a month before you. Too bad you didn't see my blog posting about it: http://blog.mennos.org/nucleus3.2/index.php?itemid=147

I just confirmed this morning that I'm receiving all my money back from the credit card company. Thank goodness for a litte consumer protection.

Uggh! I just placed an order and now cannot get a real person to tell me when it is going to be delivered.

Update: I was able to call the credit card company and cancel the card and the charge. I was told to tell the recipient to refuse the flowers. Turns out, I needn't have bothered as they were NEVER delivered!

Thank you for the warning. (Oh, and by the way the credit card company stated that the price charged was $12 more that what I was told by the florist!)

I tried the same thing. I logged oto the website who stated that they would deliver flowers in Somerset, PA. I ordered them and got a print out of the order, which I unfortunately threw away. I trusted that the flowers would be sent to my one friend up north. It was opening night for a show she was in and I wanted to surprise her. I thought the shop was only a few blocks from where she lived. I called her to see if she got the flowers and she said no. I thought that was weird. Then I saw that they had charged my credit card $40.00 I though that they would call my friend and let her know that flowers were on there way or at least verify her address. Nothing. Then my dad warned me about giving my credit card info out over the internet. I though it was strange to find out that this business was located in Canada. Stupid me, I sent the flowers to the wrong place!!! Wrong again. I checked my credit card info this morning to see if I could dispute the charge and I think I am over the 60 day limit. This is ridiculous. I got charged for nothing and had to tell my friend that she was to recieve something that she had never gotten. I should have just called a flower shop in PA to do this in the first place. PLEASE be wary of who you buy from over the internet. Fortunately this is the only problem I have ever had from a website. Unfortunately I am out $40.00 and they are making money off of innocent people. Do not trust this company!!!!!!!!

~Janelle, from Jacksonville, FL

Too late...I found a debit of $58 on our account from Artisan Florist and decided to google them, as I did not order anything from a Canadian company. Thanks to your update, I sent a link to my husband asking him if he had ordered any flowers for me. He had, but I have not received anything as yet (2 days after the order). I hope he can cancel the order and contact our bank with this scam of a business. What an awful experience and aggravation during the holiday season.

Thank you. I'm out close to $50, but I appreciate what you've done here and hope others may be spared the loss. This is the kind of positive thing the Internet can accomplish. Thanks again.

I also have been scammed! I placed 3 separate orders on Dec 15th, not one of the orders got there on the correct date and I'm not sure if one of the orders has been delivered anyway. My credit card has been way over charged by at least $55.00 dollars. I have cancelled my card do to the fact I do not trust these terrible people. The quality of the baskets I ordered sound very average also.

To Ed B - As long as Google's Adwords sees fit to allow scammers like Urbanflorist.com to place ads claiming "Your City Florist" in every community in the US and Canada, thank goodness there's someone like Cameron to step up and tell his story. This 'screed' gives voice to thousands who've experienced the same rip-off but lack the platform.

To Cameron - Urban Florist and Artisan Florist are rip-off beasts created in large part by the lack of quality assurance of none other than FTD. FTD named Alif Somani's operation it's 'Best New Member' in 2003 for his ability to drive volume to the FTD network. Real florists have been complaining loudly about his skimming of funds and false advertising for years. FTD finally booted out the Vancouver Flower Company family of sites in February after Valentine's Day but sadly, another florist wire service - FloralSource - picked them up.

Our website, FloristDetective.com, provides in-depth consumer information about purchasing flowers online. We issued a warning about UrbanFlorist.com in January 2005. Shoppers would be amazed to see the lengths and depths affiliates like Urban Florist will go to to dupe them.

A word to the wise, be wary of florist Adwords and Overture ads claiming "Your City's Finest Florist" or "Family Owned and Operated Since 1970". Read the 'About Us' pages and look for addresses and local phone numbers or you too could be the next consumer fooled.

The same thing has just happened to me. Good thing I didn't hit the free upgrade button! I am going to immediately dispute the charge with my bank and hopefully everyone else will be as successful as Cameron was in getting a refund. Sheesh, what a freakin' scam!

I just have to say that if it wasn't for your link on google I would be totally in the dark with this scam of a company. I too ordered flowers to be delivered same day. No delivery and no one to talk to or contact at customer service. I have contacted my credit card company had my number changed and I am disputing the charge, what a headache! Butif it wasn't for your indepth research and detective work on this crappy company I wouldn't even know where to begin with your info I got after this IMMEDIATELY! This was ironically the first time I've ordered online...let's just say I will be much more tentative and careful in ordering again.
BTW- Have they been reported to the BBB and does anyone know what is being done with this?
-Robin Whatley(Highly disguntled naive online consumer)

I ordered for a hamper to be delivered to Florida on Dec 19th and nothing has been delivered as yet. Luckily no payment has gone through on my credit card either.

The company claim to take 3-7 working days to deliver the item but it has been 8 excluding 3 days for Christmas etc. It is really unfortunate that the freedom and anonymity of the Internet allows people to continue opening online shops like UrbanFlorist.com - If this Alif Somani guy is actually forced to stop operating with this site there is no law to stop him from opening another fraudulent site that allows him to obtain people's credit card details, is there?

I ordered the flowers through the internet on 12/23/2005. The flowers were supposed to be delivered on 12/24/2005. Today is Thursday, 12/29. No flowers.

Of course, the company already charged my debit account of $63.-- in addition to the transaction fee of $1.92. I can't believe I was so stupid. I usually do my homework before I do any business with any company that I have never dealt before.

HOWEVER, I DO WANT TO REPORT THIS COMPANY TO THE CREDIT BUREAU. ANY SUGGESTIONS?

I placed an order on 12/13/05 for a Christmas gift basket to be delivered on 12/24/05. This item is listed on the website as "Christmas warmer basket".I wanted to make a Christmas gift to my old friend in Cleveland, OH. As of today, 6 pm on 12/29/05, nothing has been delivered. I called the company. The Customer Service gives only the option to leave the message (during regular business hours). I called the sales and reached a person by the name Aaron. He refused to give his full name. He said that I requested the delivery on 12/24, but they gave no guarantees and therefore he did not see any problems with them being so late. He refused to give the name of the supervisor. He refused to cancel the order. He put me on hold, and in 3 minutes the line was disconnected.
I did not think I have to explain that the Christmas gift has to be delivered by Christmas, otherwise it loses its meaning. Instead of doing a surprise gift, I had to call my friend to find out if he received something from me (only to learn that he didn't). My credit card was charged by Artisan Flowers for the amount of $46.51, although the on-line bill had the amount of $41.48. I am disputing the item.

I too have fallen into the trap. I ordered a Christmas Warmer Basket on December 5th from the UK, for my daughter, to be delivered on December 21st to an address in Pickering, Ontario, Canada. from the advertising we thought that this company was in Pickering and came up in a Google search for florists in the Pickering area. I received an order confirmation and the money was taken from my UK account in £GB on the 7th. I noticed that the conversion rate was wrong, as for a delivery plus shipping and tax the total came to $55.98. My account was charged £36.84. We warned our daughter of the impending delivery and she arranged to be at home to receive the supprise. The supprise was .. no delivery. I have e-mailed to no avail. My daughter has rung to no avail.
I too have been worried about the fraudulent use of my Visa card details and have registered my Visa card with "Verified by Visa" to ensure that my card cannot be used without my confirmation and password, saving me the trouble of having to cancel my card and take up a new one. I am also trying to get Visa to withdraw their service from both urbanflorist.com and Artisan Flowers Canada who presented the invoice. If, like me, you believe that this site should be taken off internet what can we do?

If even one quarter of those scammed by Urban Florist picked up the phone and called the Vancouver Police Department fraud unit he might actually be closed down--saving 1000's of other from going through the same rip off hell.

Alif Somani has only succeeded (and pocketed MILLIONS, I might add) for more than 4 years because no one bothers to actually follow up with law enforcement when they are robbed--they just let their credit card companies pick up the tab. Why do you think we pay 18% interest?! If someone broke into your house you wouldn't let it slide--why is it ok for someone to defraud you?

Call the damn police or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police if you have been robbed by Alif Somani--here, you can even file a report to the Vancouver Police online https://vancouver.ca/citizenreport%5Fwa/

This guy rips off his employees and HONEST people who work hard for the money he pockets as he kicks it in his mansion in tony West Vancouver. Think of that as you blow it off and don't report the crime.

By the way--

Artisan Florist is just one of the many names this company operates under, depending on the week and which credit card companies have shut down his accounts on suspicion of fraud. He also operates under Continental Floral Company, Vancouver Flower Company and about 10 other names.

This company was investigated by the RCMP and the Consumer Protection Bureau LAST JANUARY (why do you think FTD dumped them? Hello, SHAREHOLDERS? Do you think a publicly traded company wants to fraternize with someone under criminal investigation? He was feeding them 100's of 1000's of dollars a month, so it must have been painful for FTD to cut ties, but I guess it came down to that or lose the *entire* farm, so....) but because so few of the defrauded customers bothered to cooperate or follow up with the investigators nothing was done.

I have personally heard Alif Somani say 'If we make it difficult enough for someone to get a refund, 9 times out of 10 they will just walk away'. HE DOES THIS KNOWINGLY. And he laughs about it.

So REPORT him, for god's sake.

Thank you for your warning about this company. I read it too late and spent $74 (and was charged $83) for flowers that were never delivered. They still have their mailbox full. Fortunately I paid with Visa, and they instantly credited my account when they heard my story.
You have done a wonderful service with this blog, no matter what anyone says.

I got my money back! I contacted CTV news and they did a story on Dec 23rd. They came with a camera to the store. Please phone your credit card company and report the incident. This company has a huge record. You will get your money back and this sort of publicity will get him closed. I have been contacted by Visa and I have informed them of the ongoings.

Yes, I also had a problem with this company. I ordered a gift basket which they charged me over 135 dollars for and the basket arrived which was not even worth 40 dollars! At least it was delivered ... but we definitely got ripped off. My recommendation -- DO NOT USE THE SERVICES OF THIS COMPANY!!

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY TO ORDER FLOWERS!!!! We thought we were sending Christmas flowers to our friends in Michigan and what they got was a box full of dead flowers which were delivered four days late with no card or vase. We paid extra for the floral upgrade and to add a "quality" vase but they ignored that all together. Of course they charged our account immediately. We definitely did not get what we paid for. I wish I had seen this site before I placed an order.

I also ordered from this company back on November 2nd 2005. I also ordered the upgrade and next day delivery. My sister in law in turn received dead flowers full of ants 2 days later by FedEx. I am currently fighting with my credit card company to refund the $70.63.

JUST ANOTHER PERSON THAT WAS TAKEN BY THIS PIECE OF S--T. MY NEPHEW SENT HIS MOTHER AND I A GIFT BASKET TO BE DELIVERED OVER NIGHT 12/22/05 AND YES OF COURSE IT COST AN EXTRA THIRTY DOLLARS FOR THAT SERVICE. WELL AS YOU ALL KNOW IT WAS NEVER SENT AND MANY E-MAILS LATER STILL NO DELIVERY.

BUT LO AND BEHOLD MY SISTER WENT OUT THE FRONT DOOR TODAY 1/5/06 THERE ON THE FRONT PORCH WAS A BOX. SHE HAULD IT IN AND FOUND THE BOX OPEN ON THE BOTTOM THE TOP HAD SO MUCH TAPE ON IT MY GUESS IT WAS OPENED BY SOMEBODY AND RE SEALED
WELL THE CONTENTS INSIDE WAS STREWN ALL OVER THE BOX THE BASKET CELLOPHANE WAS SLIT OPEN AND I WOULD GUESS THINGS REMOVED. MY NEPHEW SAID THE BASKET WAS ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS,THIS PIECE OF CRAP
WAS WORTH NO MORE THAN TWENTY FIVE DOLLARS IF THAT
NEPHEW CONTACTED HIS CREDIT CARD CO. AND THEY TOLD HIM THAT THEY COULD DO NOTHING AS THE SALE HAD BEEN ALREADY PROCESSED.
YOU KNOW THE OLD SAYING WHAT GOES AROUND WILL COME AROUND. WELL I HOPE ALIF SOMANI CONTACTS AN INCURABLE DISEASE AND DROPS DEAD. ONE LESS MIDDLE EASTERN ASSHOLE AROUND. [I AM GUESSING BY THE LOOK OF HIS NAME] THEY ARE STILL SCREWING THIS COUNTRY ONLY BY ONE PERSON AT A TIME

Please build a relationship with your neighborhood florist. They will give you value time and time again. And for whatever reason you are not happy, at least you know where to find them.

Again, no mention in all these posts about actually REPORTING the crime.

I've decided I have no further sympathy for people who can't be bothered to report a crime.

Have fun with your credit card companies.

Well, the also take advantage of florists, I received a order from them for a dozen carnations wrapped and delivered for $29.99. We delivered to the customer and she came in the next day, irate and mad, because I had ripped her off, so once we started talking she was supposed to receive 3 dozen red roses for $59.99, wrapped, so I pulled out the order and showed her, well, she called her husband, and asked where he ordered them from, and he said UrbanFlorist, well, she was shocked at the obvious theft of money. They charge you extra, and then skim half the order, and send whatever they want, so the florist that does end up filling for them may fill what the are told, but it is never correct. If you need to send flowers, and want the security of knowing what you are sending, go to yahoo local search and put in florist and city, it is great because you can read comments from actual customers who have dealt with the businesses and most local florists can email you a photo of the arrangement, which puts everyone at ease.

I was ripped off by Artisan too (aka. urbanflorist.com, et al). The same M.O.- piece of crap was *not* what I ordered, paid for overnight- it was sent ground, credit card charged over 10% more than the 'invoice' amount.

Thankfully, I did get a chargeback on my visa. I reported the incident to the RCMP, but the Vancouver PD would not take a report. They told me that I would have to report the incident to the PD in my city. That seems rather silly and inefficient to me. Also, it would seem that Mr. Sleezebag Somani really knows his game. If ANYTHING at all arrives- i.e. 6 dead carnations instead of the 2 dozen roses ordered- it's not a criminal offense, it's a civil matter.

This place ripped me off too! On 11/11 I ordered a $140.00 package that....NEVER showed up. ON 11/18 I called and spoke with a Robbie who couldn't tell me why the flowers were never delivered! Then he transfered me to a woman who stated that she called me and left a message.....BULLSH**! Anyway this Robbie said that they (Urban Florist) would credit my credit card within 21 buissnes days. Yeah right. My card should have been credited by 12/20....the only thing that happened was that they charged my card $10.00 over the invoice total. I have since disputed this charge with my credit card company and for now am being credited provsional credit.

Thanks for this blog, when i got my credit card invoice I had NO idea who Artisan flowers & gifts were until I looked online and this blog showed up.

Thank you.

My parents never received their gift basket,my experience was a nightmare, never did get to talk to a representative, after hours of waiting on hold I was disconnected, still waiting for my refund through my banks credit card fraud division. I placed a complaint with the Canadian Better Business Bureau, (CompetitionBureau.gc.ca) please do the same and get this scumball off the net.
Thanks,
Jerry,

Same here, Cristmas delivery was delayed after new years. Fortunately I used a virtual credit card number and canceled the # in 15 days. Not a dime goes to their pocket. Is there an organization of some kind we can join againts this Alif scammer?

Sorry to say, add me to the list. I ordered a number of floral gifts for the holidays, and as far as I can tell, only one was delivered late and near dead. However, upon checking my statement there were additional orders from the same florist that I did not place. I have followed suit and cancelled my card. This is the first disaster I have had with on-line shopping, but, of course, caveat emptor

i was a former employee of urban florist, embarassed to even say so! i was there for only about 2 weeks, and in that time i was so embarassed to tell anyone that i worked there. Alif is a scam artist. he would always say if it's too hard to get a refund then people won't keep trying. just for an FYI, my last pay cheque BOUNCED due to insufficient funds on their behalf. so at this point i'm out over $400!! and i've now made many attempts to contact alif, however have heard nothing. at this point i will be contacting CTV, a local tv station in the area to bring this company's disgraceful actions to light. please go to ctv.ca, then to olsen on your side. I will also be contacting the vancouver police department. i strongly advise anyone who reads this to do the same i have gone back to their office three times now and no one is there, and no one answers the phone. i'll be taking alif to small claims court if i do not hear back from him by january 23rd.

Well its Jan. 10/06 and their phone's have been disconnected.
Unfortunately my sister from Amsterdam ordered me a deluxe xmas thing with a vase, but you'll never guess what happened, it never showed.
It was dec 24 so I called to see what local florist they used. "We can't give out that info"
Fine, called back on 12/26 got fedex tracking #.
Waiting in calgary. Fedex was closed 24/25/26/27
Great. Fedex said vase broken. Called florist, got supervisor THOMAS. I told him to resend my order asap. Got them 12/29/05. 5 wilted roses and 6 gerberas. I phoned him and he said we can't refund your sister cause you did receive something. WOW!!!!! I don't think so. He told me to email a complaint. Yup, did that and have been on the phone for days waiting for someone to answer the ruddy phone. Now its disconnected.
I will be phoning the Vancouver police and the credit card people.
Well at least the phones done and hopefully no one will do the email thing, till they start up again under a different name.
NOW FOR A GREAT STORY.
I sent my sister flowers from my local florist that I know in Lethbridge 12/20 and he did the call thru his florist book and she had it delivered to her door 12/23 and they were beautiful. I even went back to my guy and thanked him.
Good luck everyone.

Wow! I wish I had read this before I did what I thought was get a lovely gift for family in Canada. They scammed me for over $150.
Have contacted my bank.
Bunch of schmucks

This bull happened to me too the flowers for my mother birthday were questionable and they took out at least $6.00 more than I was charged I contacted them by email. They asked me to fax or email scanned proof of the incorrect charge when I told them I didn't havve the resources for that and asked if there was any other option they never replyed. This all started December 12,2005 I have givin up and refuse to order any flowers over again. You never know waht you are going to get.

I ordered flowers in early October was overcharged,AND the flowers were never delivered. My numerous phone calls,25 to date, to this company proved absolutely futile and eventually, I gave up. After several weeks, TWO MORE UNAUTHORIZED CHARGES APPEARED ON MY CREDIT CARD, both for different amounts!!!
Finally, I was able to contact a REAL LIVE PERSON WHO WOULD TALK TO ME. This man was very understanding, and told me that several hundred people who placed orders during this month were charged twice. Imagine my shock upon hearing this! He also mentioned that they string people along promising refunds until it is too late to contact your credit card company to do a dispute the charges. These are serious crimes and I cannot believe that this company is still in business.
If you have been ripped off by this company, I urge you to be persistent, and fight back until your credit card company concede that this is a fraudulent business and credits your account.

And remember, these businesses sometimes stay in operation because good people, possibly like yourself, do nothing.

I have to get on board this discussion. You are all compaiiing about just a few bucks, so you'll love MY story. We orderd gift baskets for our top 2 clients and to arrive the week before Christmas. They arrived January 6th! And, the baskets were both very, very small for the money. I know they are never as they appear on a website, but I saw one of them and it was embarrasing. And, it was damaged AND there was no "from" on the card so they didn't know it was from us. This is our client! And to top it off, the two transactions totalled $320, but we've been billed for $413! And I can't reach anyone at Urban or Artisan. The masterCard people won't do anything becasue they insist my only complaint isd the size and they maintain that it's a matter of OPINION. Never mind they were emabarrasingly late, damed and no "from" on the card. Unfortunatky, as a business owner, I don't have much time to deal with crap liek this. $413 bucks!!!!!

Jeez, BARBARA, Jan 5, up there -- the man is certainly a rip-off artist and a dishonest businessman, and deserves to be shut down, but what does your assumption of his national heritage have to do with it?

There are a hundred perfectly good reasons to hate this guy and the way he does business without being a pissy racist bitch.

No answer at their toll free number today, no hope for a refund on my part any longer.

feel less lonely all of the sudden. But still, I feel so trapped.

On February 9th, I ordered Flowers to be delivered to my girlfriend for Valentine's day. She lives in Calgary, I live in Paris, and being thousands of kilmeters away is already a pain. I though that flowers were the least that I could do. We're the 16th, and still no flowers.

Well, it's the second time that I order flowers via the internet. And the first time it was just perfect. Unfortunately this time I could't remember the name of the first local florist (now I can recall it, it's Anne Paterson's Flowers and their bouquet was just gorgeous). So I went for the first florist that I found on Google: Urbanflorist.com

I guess it's pointless to try to reach them. Their phone number "has been disconnected or is no longer in service".

I'm actually more annoyed because of the flowers that didn't -and will apparently never- show up than because of the $80 that I spent on them. And I'm almost sure that I don't have any guarantee on my VISA.

I hope we can do something. At least contact google and ask them to take into account all our claims. Google has a quite strong lobby power (see what they did to BMW germany). I think it's woth trying at least.

So here is what I propose. I created a special mail address to receive all our claims :

urbanfloristcomplaints@gmail.com

Please send your complaints by mail to this address. Google will then have enough evidence to ban Urban florist from its search result. It' won't give us our money back, but it will hopefully prevent people from falling in the same trap in the future.

Fadel

I wish that my husband had seen this before he ordered my valentines flowers. He ordered them for same day delivery and they just got to my work and it is Feb 17. Also, I tried to call to complain because they were frozen and dead. I can NOT get anyone on the phone. I am furious that he paid all this money for this. I just do not know what to do.

If only I had read this sooner!!

Yes, it's true. I ordered a couple of bouquets for a couple of my friends for New Year's ONLINE at www.urbanflorist.com. Seemed like a nice, legit site with even a "Geotrust: orders are safe, secure and guaranteed" seal on it.

I ordered the flowers on December 30th....to be delivered on January 1st. Well, my friend tells me she got the flowers....on January 10th! Okaaaaay...that's sorta-kinda-really late. And, what? They arrived WILTING? Great. Happy New Year!

THEN, when I check my Visa statement; it has listed 'Artisan Flowers and Gifts, Vancouver BC' dated January 10th. Hmm....could that be the flowers? I assume it is. And on February 2nd, I see another charge for Floral Source Eagle Point. Is this the second bouquet of flowers? And why is there yet ANOTHER transaction for Floral Source Urban Florists on February 7th? Hmmm....something doesn't look right here.

I google Artisan Flowers and Gift, Vancouver BC...and come up with links to http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff172745.htm and http://www.camworld.com/archives/001365.html!

When I called the Urban Florists 'customer service'...I got the "All of our operators are currently busy" message.

I'm currently waiting for my bank to dispute the charge.

I learned my lesson; NEVER ORDER FLOWERS ONLINE...and I'll make sure everyone knows what a scam company www.urbanflorist.com is.

Alif Solami,
Your a pig dog mother of a goat!
You think that you're so fucken slick by ripping people off. You think that it is a noble thing that you do? Well congratulations on your ill gotten gains. When you die you will be greeted by infected whores and an eternity of emptiness!
Have a good day.

I was scammed by this company on Valentines day I placed an order with them for next day delivery and to my disappointment never received them. They never called or anything and on March 3rd they withdrew money from my account that I never authorized with still no flowers. These assholes are going to pay for this shit and maybe somebody will learn a lesson from it. ASSHOLES!!!!!

I did the same, I was in a hurry to get a gift for a friend, didn't check them out as I usually do. My fault, but they did over charge me. Talked to Nelson, said he would make sure I would get the refund, which never happened. I have been waiting since December 12,2005. Of Course, the time has expired, but I won't give up, their email is full, maybe because I do it everyday.

As for reporting them, I have made many reports to : Canadian BBB, Vancouver PD, FTD(which did drop them). I did get a letter from jimpatenaude@vpd.ca, which stated the Fraud section had investagated this business just recently, and found no crime involved with this company. He felt they were doing a large amount of transactions(yes, stealing our money) per month, close to 10,000 and through poor business procedures, many of the orders were not completed. (BS) Currently the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Authority is reviewing the Urban Florist, they may do some enforcement action.(HA HA)
Also got an email from someone asking about what I had wrote: lucas.pecherzewski@bpcpa.ca , this person asked for information about Urban Florist, which I gave. Have not heard back, am still waiting. Hope some one from this list of many, will take this email address and send them a letter with their complaint, as I did. Lets not let them get by with this. Can you figure how much they have made if they do this to 10,000 per month for 12 months, $120,000, just scamming people out of their money. Unreal that they can get by with this, send you emails to what I have posted, maybe some of us can get something done.

I find some thing to write or someone to send my complaint to, almost daily. And I do so freely.
They are SCAMMERS !!! Check out another web site called: Ordermotions.com, they have the Urban Florist listed as a company who bought their stuff and are saying this is such a great company, well, I sent them a letter also. Telling them what a mistake they had made, told them to check out all the complaints and sites with the complaints. Sure hope they do so.

Contact me anytime, Gram101101@aol.com

Oh no! I am waiting today to see if the flowers i ordered today got to the person i sent them to... I talked to this really stupid lady at customer service who said that cannot guarantee delivery so i thought this is one of those businesses that's too small to handle large volumes jsut coz they were able to set up a nice looking website.
But it seems after looking at this post that i made a terrible mistake. It is worse than i thought. Not only is my order in jeopardy but my personal information is at risk. I can't believe i was so stupid not to google this before. Part of the reason is that last valentine's day i ordered through urbanflorists and they delivered the next day very promptly and my friend loved the flowers. So i will only hope the flowers get there this time in decent shape and that my credit card info isn't jeopardized.

Ohhh, I wish I had read this first. I just got ripped off $73. When you buy something emotional for someone you love, and the wilted dried up, dead flowers arrive, you almost can't believe it. I am Heartbroken. I am making it my personal mission to wreck this companys business.
Jeff

I have reported them to the Better Business Bureau as well,
Cheers, Jeff

>> WELL I HOPE ALIF SOMANI CONTACTS AN INCURABLE DISEASE AND DROPS DEAD. ONE LESS MIDDLE EASTERN ASSHOLE AROUND. [I AM GUESSING BY THE LOOK OF HIS NAME] THEY ARE STILL SCREWING THIS COUNTRY ONLY BY ONE PERSON AT A TIME

Posted by: BARBARA at January 5, 2006 03:04 PM

that's just sick and wrong. i'm surprised no one has called on this witch. yeah, i'm not entirely too happy about alif somani's business acumen, as he has pleasantly gone out of his way to screw over my friend's bouquet that i helped her boyfriend pick out. instead of the twelve mixed peruvian lilies with the premium vase and artisanal card, she received five yellow stems of peruvian lilies, no vase, and the message on a printed invoice. what he did is wrong and i think he reported this with his credit card company.

probably alif somani should get birdflu and die, yeah, i get that. he's ethically messed up. but don't badmouth all the middle easterners out there because of what's going on in the world, barbara. it's people like you that makes the rest of the world think that americans are narrow-minded, clueless, and inept cowards, and the rest of the americans who *aren't* narrow-minded, clueless, and inept cowards have to live with the crap you and your sort spread around.

and cam - i say keep it up. i read all the comments - even the one from ed b - and i'm grateful for you sharing your experience. as with all the others who voiced the same thought: i wish i read this before i helped my friend's boyfriend place this order.

I am the newest victim. Ordered flowers, and got the full mail box. Ive never been so violated.

Dear All,

I am also very unhappy of urbanflorsit.com !!!
I would like to let people know everywhere that urbanflorist.com is not a serious store !! Don't ever buy anything at urbanflorist.com

I have been rip-off. It is called a "Non-payment for Goods Delivered": I have ordered on March 7th 2006, 3 dozen of red roses to be delivered on friday March 10th in Toronto - They had enough of time to do the job neatly and it was not a public holiday or whatsoever.

My recipient did receive the delivery on the right day and right address, BUT it was not THREE dozen of red ROSES!!! I was ONE dozen of TULIPS!!!
You would certainly agree with me that is not the same meaning nor the same value and that such substitution is just not acceptable! Urbanflorist has messed up my order and in the same time the surpise I prepared. What a disapointment for me and for my recipient who indeed dislike tulips (unluckily). So you can imagine my frustration.

I have sent them over 20 emails to report the error for two weeks already and they have never replied!!! I cannot call them since it is a tollfree number and I live outside north america.

Never order urbanflorist if you don't want any surprise like mine...

Regards,

Samuel

p.s. if you have some advices on what I should do please let me know. Thank you.

Seems more and more is coming out about this company this floralsource must be the new name of urbanflorist since they are clearing credit cards or at least conducting a illegal activity here by partnering with a known criminal operation. It would seem floralsource located somewhere in oregon is a shadey operation too, I did some looking around the internet and they appear to have a office in florida too. It seems to get better and better all the time. These criminals seem to have all kinds of locations and you can't ever get them on the phone. I found a number for this floralsources it is (877)231-2478 and (877) 213-7820. Looks like floralsource is something florisrs also sign up for if I was a florist Id be running far from this company too. So they got us consumers buying flowers and not happy and they got florists joining this florasource and not happy what a rip off scam. Keep away from this company. Floralsoureces and Urbanflorist keep awya from this company consumers. Shop in your local town first.

I received a bouquet and couldn't believe how awful it was.The pedals were all fallen off and the container was bone dry and the container was in the box upsidedown. Then you can not speak to anyone, voicemail they don't call you back. Then you keep calling and no one will speak to you. I would never never use this company. What a terrible company if infact they are ligit....

My husband ordered flowers for our Anniversary last year from urbanflorist.com. He was stationed in the Middle East at the time and wasn't able to contact a local florist in our city. He emailed me to see how I liked the flowers, and since they had not been delivered that day, his surprise was ruined.

I called the phone number listed on my bank credit card statement, for days, without anyone ever answering. My husband found a phone number on their website and after several attemps I finally was able to talk to someone. The person I spoke with claimed they had so many orders that they were running behind, but promised to deliver them the following day. I waited "all day" for delivery but again never received the flowers.

I again contacted urbanflowers.com and again was given the same story. I then contacted my bank and diputed the charges on my credit card. In 2 weeks the charge was refunded "by my bank". BEWARE OF URBANFLOWERS.COM!!!!!!!!

I wish I had read this site previously. I ordered flowers for my sister in New York. The ad said they were a $90 bouquet on sale for US$45.
When my sister received the bouquet I asked her to email me a picture. Shock - she said that she could go out on any street in New York and pay less than $7.00 for those flowers. They were awful. I sent pictures back to Urban florist and they promised to rectify the situation. this was on April 15th 2006. Today is April 28th and no new delivery has been made. In addition they are not answering calls and my emails are being returned. To add insult to injury there is a double charge on my VISA. I have already called VISA because again Urban Florist is not answering calls and emails are being bounced back.

This is so true my husband order 3 dozen roses from them on valentines day they arrived 3 days late and no vase the flowers were almost dead and instead of sending me 3 dozen like he ordered they only sent 1 dozen he paid them 115.00 we tried for a week to get a hold of someone finally we did and they said they would send a whole new order out if we email pictures showing that the flowers were dying so we did we called a week later to find out what was going on and they said it takes 3 weeks to view the photos. After 3 weeks we called back and the man we had been talking with no longer worked there we ask for the manager and he said he would refund our money in full in 7-14 days after that nothing and now when you try to call the number is out of service we are currently disouting this with our credit card. WHAT EVER YOU DO DON'T ORDER FORM THIS COMPANY!!!

no numbers work, my mother sent me plants through this company and when i told her i recieved dead and i mean DEAD flowers. she called them and they said they would refund her credit card the money 60.00 to this day its never been credited, she turned them into BBB again. but how can a company keep doing this and not be stopped, cant he have some type of criminal charges against him......

fight back! post ur comments and rate urbanflorist with siteadvisor to protect other people..

I used this company a few months back. I'm sitting on the other side of the herring pond, and I decided to use this outfit to send some flowers to an American friend in Ohio who was coming out of hospital. I specified the delivery date so the flowers would be delivered on the day she came home. They were delivered OK but three days early!!! By the time she came home they were nearly finished. Thanks for bringing your experiences to our attention.

Well, the have a new web page and I love the guarantee, really something....

i'am understand what you guy's say here let me count lettle quickli me history in oct5/2006 me first daughter born early in day when i'finish in the hospital come to mi home take shower and stuff to due i'm place two order online in "FLOWERSHOPPING.COM" and at some time i'call at they toll free and make sure they going to be available to delivery in the same day one swette voice over the phone tell me "yes of course any order place before 2:30 pm we delivery in same day let me tell you never happening i'am waiting all day long at 21:00 pm i'call again asking for me delivery they take me "claim" and tell me we going to call you back in one minute .
next morning no body call me i'call again and i'remember to that person i'was very especific in me "especial instructions for delivery" was in hospital and they must to delivery before saturday morning because they leaving the hospital.some conversation some body its going to call you .of course that don't happen again i'call back lettle upset and one woman over phone scremen and ieling me you don't was authorized to use that credit card.its not are problem its your problem or you bank problem and hang me up.i'call me bank and they tell me mr they charge all ready in you credit card the represent in bank try to call that person but she refuse to talk in the line we me at same time she put me in hold and try to ask her what happening? she hang up the phone again and lether she don't pic up again she refuse to talk we the bank and also whit me they ripp off one of me very important they in me life its me first daughter and the only person cano't send flowers because thif peopple like that are in the bussines god bless to ther but carefull don't buy flower's whit theres the name its FLOWERSHOPPING.com and they say we delivery around the world i'dont want imagine if you have to send flowers to europe when they delivery that??? this its begini i'promes to her i'due

Hi Fadel,
I was reading all the sad situations regarding this so called florist, "Urban Florist". I'm glad Anne Paterson's Flowers provided a gourgeous arrangement for you. I happen to own the store, and like a normal florist, we take pride in what we do.
Kerry

My case with his company is rather different from you, the users of urbanflorist.com. We were their vendros of fresh flowers from Colombia, the ones who built many of those lily bouquets that many of you purchsed. I wish I had seen these postings from you before Dec 2005. This characther Alif Somani is the greatest scam artist ever. He's the type of guy that claims to be your friend only to stabb you in the back after gaining your trust. I should've read the signs once his payments began to delay, but as a person with a good heart, I trusted he would finally start paying again. This never happened.
After May 2006, Alif Somani dissapeared from the face of the earth owing us USD$40.000....yes, forty thousand dollars. After many attempts to reach him on the different numbers, no news were ever heard from him. We are a small business and this 40.000 represent a large portion of our yearly sales, and thanks to Mr. Somani, we have been on the verge of bankruptcy ever since, struggling to survive, lending money, becasue we do have a a commitment to our vendors so we will pay them. But nobody is paying us ....

Needless to say, this scam that we were victims of has also destroyed other parts of my life, I no longer have a loving wife , but an angry partner that every day reminds of how fool I was by trusting this guy. I have also been ill repeatedly, and therefore been subject to skin and muscle medical treatments because my body hasn't put up with the stress of finding money to pay my vendors where there is none. Besides this, me and my wife stopped receiving wages from our own company so we could have a little bit more to pay our vendors. And the vendors....I get calls every week of people calling me a liar, threatening us to be reported to the local authorities..this after years of having the reputation of being early payers and serious people.
By being in another country it is very difficult for us to search this guy and try to collect our well earned money. Hiring an attorney in the US or Canada is not an option since we were left blanked out, and we cannot afford one.
If anybody knows any way to send this person to jail, to report them to the FBI, the Interpol (I know he's scammed people in India, China and russia before), or any type of authority that can hunt him down..please contact me at : vitoalbis@hotmail.com
I no longer have any hopes of retreiving my money...I sure would enjoy to see this guy in jail for many years and never see him set foot on any business for the rest of his life.

Please prevent yourselves from doing any business with this person , you will loose more than just the money.

As a retail florist I am not surprised to read comments like those posted. Everyone that orders flowers should call their local florist and bypass 'order gatherers', who charge $10 to $15 to do nothing more than pass the order to a real florist that will actually deliver the product.

Call your local florist directly - we know what we have in stock, we know what is fresh and we know when we can deliver. Avoid disappointments by avoiding the middleman.

Doug
Broadway Floral, Portland OR

Doug F.
Broadway Floral

Thanks for the warning about Urban Florist. I live in Europe and use Internet florists quite frequently. Once, I tried sending flowers to a friend in the US via Sendaflora. They kept my money but delivered no flowers. After I sent them several emails and one air mail letter, they apologized for the delay and promised to deliver. Then nothing happened. No flowers were ever delivered, and I didn't get my money back.

Sendaflora? They should change their name to Stealurmoney!

I worked with Urban Florist for around 3 months. Sorry, I didn't know that this is a bad company until I read this website. But I am wondering how come that the owner Alif Somani still could reserve the site for future business? It should be removed as a website address to protect more consumers from being defrauded. I am sure this website will proceed to doing its business. Why do I think this? Because I worked there much later than the posting dates of these complaints involving RCMP etc. So it surprises me that business has boomed even after complaints were posted, even after when this company got aired on tv...or even when Better Business Bureau had compiled a great deal of RipOff Reports about this company. Business was good when I worked there. We were around 10 call takers working at a time and there were always lots of callers on hold wanting to order flowers so I could imagine how many more complaints have come forward, or will continue to come when this website proceeds to do business.