Shopping Discussion

Top 5 companies you avoid at all costs

  • Last Updated:
  • May 17th, 2011 4:05 pm
Deal Addict
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Jan 14, 2005
2659 posts
398 upvotes
Toronto
LtFransky wrote: 5. Gap/Abercrombie/American Apparel (Any of those "hip" clothiers that contribute to the group-think ideaology in society)
A lot of clothing stores are like that now. Unless you shop at Sears or Zellers for clothing :lol:
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Aug 31, 2005
9916 posts
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Canada Post
Zellers
Bell Canada
Benetton franchise at Vaughan Mills
Sears
In Every Heart Red Strength, Our Hearts Are Many, Our Strength Your Envy
Member
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Oct 2, 2007
342 posts
5 upvotes
Toronto
- Rogers - I stopped doing any business with them. ridiculous service, fees, prices, monopoly.
- UPS - avoid them whenever possible, high brokerage fees, deliveries suck bigtime
- Ford - their auto-service is ridiculous.. $65 "others" fee, not labour or parts.. couldn't install timing belt properly (missed pin alingment), broke air intake filter bolt in front of my eyes and refused to do anything about it. sheer incompetence for resolving a basic electrical problem, overcharging quoted prices by more than $100.
- Canadian tire auto service - you know already - their staff are paid on %. avoid at all costs. pricier than dealership as well. I buy tires from there only, as costco has higher end tires only and is always too busy..
- MBNA and RBC - they sell your information and you get repeated calls at home or cell phone...

==============
And stores that I do use:
- Costco - like their refund policy and deals sometimes
- Canadian Tire - they do have some decent deals sometimes on tools, otherwise too expensive
- homedepot- for PM, many things are cheaper than CT or walmart
- superstore - certain stores often have very nice deals/discounts
- ncix - for computer parts, always running sales.. no PST for ontario
- redflagdeals forums :)
- citi bank driver's edge for their 2% off. horrible customer service though and are very happy to give you fees
- amex with costco - amex has the best customer service for credit card, ever.

General comments --------------
- Walmart - don't visit them much now, but they still have some deals.. More expensive/lower quality than HD or CT for tools / specialty stuff..
- independent gas stations - I'd like to use them, but I've heard bad stories for gas quality.. Thus use petro-can for their 2cents off.
Deal Expert
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Oct 15, 2002
17278 posts
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Dark-Colonel wrote: 3 months ago, CP charged me freaking $10 customs on a $30 game I bought from eBay (well $8.50 duty tax to be exact) but WTF is up with that?
Gifts above $60 CDN and merchandise above $20 CDN would be subject to import duty taxes. You should have known this and politely asked your seller to undervalue it if you wanted to avoid taxes. Or buy from a Canadian seller. Had your seller shipped via UPS Ground, you would have paid $30 instead of $10 for the customs duty fee + brokerage!
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Jul 12, 2005
2704 posts
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North York
So far it'd have to be... MDG + anything with ending with "-Direct" (i.e. Tiger and Factory Direct). I've actually never shopped at these stores due to the high recommendations on RFD not to haha. I've actually had no real problems with Rogers, Best Buy, Sears, Futureshop, etc. They've been fairly consistent, it's only sometimes where something there becomes a hassle (i.e. a really bad CSR, a PM or something). For Dell, I've actually called in quite a few times and in a few cases it has taken them WAY TOO LONG to understand the actual problem.
Deal Expert
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Oct 15, 2002
17278 posts
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1. ICCT <-- biggest scammers ever!!
2. TigerDirect
3. UPS
4. Tech Direct
5. MDG

Also Bell and Best Buy make the list if you have to deal with them enough.
Deal Addict
Jul 22, 2008
3854 posts
374 upvotes
1) All Auto/Car Retailers (We get ripped off compared to the U.S. market, buying my next car from the U.S., so yall just lost 1 customer - thanks for helping me make my decision)

2) ICBC - skyhigh insurance rates, kinda ridiculous... There isn't enough competition in Canada - premium for everything

3) Futureshop - pushy salespeople on commission and very unpleasant place to work for -- thank god I only worked there for 1 winter season

4) Shaw - won't offer retention packages to loyal customers, BUT willing to give out lower prices (good offers) to NEW CUSTOMERS.... Is that how you show appreciation to long time clients? If there is another company willing to offer good internet service in B.C. i'd switch asap!

5) All oil/gas companies - Our gas prices are a lot more expensive compared to the States, especially on the Westcoast (25%+ premium)... The Canadian gov't should investigate if gas stations on the Westcoast are colluding to keep the prices higher just like the Montreal/Quebec incident -- the worst part is most Canadian citizens weren't surprised that this sort of thing was happening....

6) UPS - need I say more? Brokage fees FTL (united piss-poor parcel service)
Member
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May 14, 2008
376 posts
33 upvotes
ooo UPS would have been my 6th. brokerage fees that exceed original item price. ridiculous.
Hai
Newbie
Aug 3, 2008
10 posts
Found this site not long ago and think it is great. Anyways here's my top 5 I avoid:

1. FutureShop
2. Surplus Freight (not sure how many stores even exists)
3. Amazon.ca (Amazon.com is considerably cheaper even after shipping costs)
4. Esso
5. PetroCanada
Jr. Member
Jan 2, 2008
103 posts
15 upvotes
a1e1a5
TicketMaster
Canadian Tire
Home Hardware
Rogers
Deal Addict
Nov 27, 2007
3678 posts
820 upvotes
ji_hyun_jun wrote: 1. Bell. -Who else?
2. Greyhound. - Bus breaks down in the middle of the night, and I felt like **** riding that thing. It's quite degrading.
3. Telus. - I got yelled at when trying to order a cell phone/plan over the phone.
4. Future Shop. - Why do I know more about the product you're selling than you do?
5. Sears. - Gone downhill.
Got to admit on #4,but applies to both BB and FS, totally clueless, but a few of the young guys do know their ****.
Jr. Member
Aug 6, 2008
136 posts
23 upvotes
Toronto
1. Rogers
2. Rogers
3. Rogers
4. Rogers
5. Rogers

Rogers is the most garbage company out there. They stiffed with me a restricted phone number that wouldn't allow incoming calls and proceeded to toss me around for weeks telling me that it was my phones fault. After a while they decided to blame it on my SIM card and told me to buy a new one for $40 +tax - which of course didn't fix anything. After countless hours with costumer service and tech support they were finally able to fix my problem which only required a simple change of number. After that I had to argue with their Costumer Care rep over whether or not I deserved a credit of $40 for the useless SIM card they made me buy. :mad:
Newbie
Jun 21, 2008
14 posts
Calgary, AB
1. UPS for the same reasons that have been stated over and over again in this thread
2. Wal-Mart annoys me to no end when I get dragged there; I am also not in favor of their employee relations
3. The Brick is a place I ran into one of the absolute sleaziest salesmen of all time
4. United Airlines left all of my bags (including my son's car seat) behind at the stopover in Dulles Airport BOTH WAYS from NYC-Toronto and back. Saw people pulling golf clubs off the same flight - which I guess are more important than, you know, A CAR SEAT.

I don't really have a 5th that I can think of; these places I will avoid if at all possible. I will refuse to buy a product from a retailer if it's to be shipped UPS.
Deal Addict
Oct 13, 2003
1361 posts
28 upvotes
1) MDG
2) The Brick
3) Tiger Direct
4) Petsmart
5) Bell
Newbie
User avatar
Jul 30, 2008
90 posts
Richmond Hill
In no particular order:

1. Purolator
Reason: They never actually deliver anything.

On their online tracking, they'll tell you that they tried to make the delivery but no one answered the door. It is a complete lie. Initially I thought maybe they did came by but I was in the bathroom or somewhere and didn't hear the door bell. However after the 3rd or the 4th time of the same BS, I got suspicious. I thought maybe they hire ninjas or ghosts to do their delivery or whatever since they never leave a tag at my door and in wintertime, there would be no footprint or tireprint anywhere near my house. As a result, I actually set up a hidden cam in front of my door to see if anyone actually showed up. Lo and behold, no one did.

What's the most annoying thing about this tactics is the fact that if they are indeed too lazy to deliver, at least tell me that they aren't deliverying anything and that I should go and pick up my parcel at their depot. I would actually be fine with that arrangement. Instead, they lie and force me to wait an extra day before I can go pick up at the Post Office. Pure scumbags.

2. CanadaPost
Reason: Exact same tactics as Purolator.

3. EVA Air
Reason: Outright Thievery.

Just this past summer as I was coming back from Taiwan, my aunt decided to pay an extra $105 US dollars to bump me up to business class for the flight back from Taiwan. My aunt paid for my seating upgrade right there at the airport in cash. The check in guy even asked to see the receipt of the upgrade which we have. I falsely assumed that EVA Air is a honest business and didn't check to see if my seating was actually upgraded until it was too late. I was stuck in economy and my aunt had no luck in getting her money back at all.

4. Acer Computers
Reason: Inflammatory Service Rep.

I was trying to upgrade my RAM on my notebook and had a hard time getting to the expansion slot under the keyboard and I called the service rep asking if there is a place where I can download the service manual. (I had no problem getting the service manual from ASUS and HP and assumed that it was ok to ask for them.) However, the service rep told me that apparently I was trying to commit industrial espionage or some crap and that the service manual is insider secret stuff and I can't have it. Then he promptly hung up on me.

5. Canadian Customs
Reason: They'll tax anything!

I attended my undergraduate studies in the US and when I finished, I decided to ship most of my winterwear which I can't stuff into my luggage back home. They are all very obviously old and worn but I got charged $300 for them by the customs anyways. The clothes were all bought in Canada too!

It's so sad that 2 out of 5 companies that I got ripped off by are funded by our fellow tax payers. GO CANADA!!!
Sr. Member
User avatar
Mar 30, 2007
564 posts
193 upvotes
in no particular order:

UPS - for reasons clearly outlined in this thread. for domestic shipments they are fine.

Wal-Mart - also outlined in this thread. unethical, horrible shopping experience, etc.

Canadian Car Dealerships - for overcharging for EVERYTHING, the thing that gets me though is parts. There is no reason why a part that goes for $4 in the states should cost me $6.75.

Futureshop - just because they will lie and scheme just to get out of price matching BB. It's their policy yet to they find it so hard to follow, truly amazing.

US businesses that "proudly ship with UPS" and won't ship USPS internationally for whatever reason.

bonus

Paypal - for ridiculous CDN/USA currency conversions
Newbie
Aug 14, 2008
6 posts
Seems like there's a lot of Sears hate going on. As a Sears Home employee I guess I'm supposed to proudly defend my company (?). I agree that it has gone downhill, even within the last year or so. Some of the products really suck and should be avoided like the plague but not all of it. Mattresses, appliances, and most furniture is alright but there's some really bad furniture and most of the tables and accessories are horrible. Overpriced and made of particle board. Sklar Peppler recently went down the drain for some reason so everything they make has been discontinued. The replacements are really cheap and uncomfortable.

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