Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/24/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Purchased their product from a local Kroger on May 12th ************************************************ the stores. She mentioned this had a rebate on it so i purchased. She gave me the text information for the rebate. I thought it a little funny to fill a rebate out in a text, but i did. The code to send the text to was OTR52 I agreed to the terms, and sent my receipt via text I did and hit submit. The text then said one your purchase is verified we'll let you know. Have not heard anything. Contacted On The Rocks many times. First time they said they would get back to me within 5 days. No answer. I have wasted a lot of time with this company with 0 results. Will not purchased again.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/03/2024

  ****************** reached out to us via our On The Rocks Contact Us Form on June 22nd at 9:26AM inquiring about the status of his $5.00 rebate. We asked him for his Submission ID and a copy of his receipt so that we could follow up with ***** who is our Third-Party Rebate Clearinghouse and investigate further. He declined to provide his Submission ID and copy of his receipt.  
  
  We were notified of the BBB complaint and immediately reached out to the support team at ***** on June 26th providing just his name since we did not have his Submission ID. They responded back on June 27th and advised that the submission for ************************* #*************** was received and processed in May **** 21st))as a valid submission so it should have already been paid. Inmar is researching on their end why there was a delay in issuing the payment. In the meantime,they processed and paid out the $5.00 to ****************** on June 27th.
  
  Separately, Inmar also advised they will ensure that other consumers who submitted this offer have also been paid. 

  Thank you,

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/02/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  contacted the maker of the product supplier who makes and bottles the product in question. In the picture there are stains at the top of the bottle that can clearly be seen in the picture under the seal a blind person can see the stains. I supplied them with the location and date purchased per the receipt clear pictures and lot number. The store said they only sell the stuff! so i contacted Beam suntory corp. Again after giving them all the info they requested and then some. Things like room temp of my apartment 70 degrees and so on there now saying to much glare in the pictures i sent???? a blind person can see the brown stuff under the seal and on the inside of the bottle! the lot number as best as i can make it is [ *****************] The person who answered my email and giving me the run around is *********. Any good company who cares about there product and the health of it customers would of done one of two things the first thing didn't work emails and pictures the second thing would be will send you a prepaid shipping label with proper packaging to ship the item safely back to them and a pond getting the bottle and it's contense we will issue you a full refund. But know they choose to give me the run around and stall tactics hopping i'll go away there wrong!!

  Business Response

  Date: 01/11/2024

  Jim Beam Brands Co. (***************) is in receipt of the letter from the Better Business Bureau of ******* & Northern ********, **** (BBB) dated January 2, ****, regarding a customer complaint about ************ business with an assigned an ID of ****************************** Complaint Letter).  *************** is a subsidiary and the primary U.S. operating entity of Beam Suntory ****, one of the worlds leading manufacturers of distilled spirits.  *************** and Beam Suntory **** take quality concerns about our products and consumer inquiries very seriously, and we thank BBB for the opportunity to address the allegations in the BBB Complaint Letter.
  
  As further detailed below and in the corresponding documents, *************** attempted to address the customers complaint through our standard customer service process. This involves a series of questions and requests for information to determine whether a bottle should be returned to our Quality team for further evaluation.  This inquiry is necessary because,due to the highly regulated nature of the beverage alcohol industry in the U.S., transporting distilled spirits from a residential address to any other location is complicated, expensive, and typically not a service offered or allowed by the U.S. ************** or other common carriers.  In instances where a product return is warranted (e.g., for further examination by the *************** Quality team to determine potential damage or contamination), *************** employs the services of a vendor whose personnel are trained to implement processes and protocols to ensure the compliant transportation of distilled spirits and other controlled substances. In other words, given the nature of the product as a controlled substance, the return of a distilled spirits bottle is not as simple as sending a customer a shipping label and packaging material, as apparently suggested by the customer in the Complaint.
  
  We note that while our inquiry process is designed, in part, to determine whether return of a bottle (and/or a refund) is warranted, at no time in his communications with us did the customer request to return the bottle or receive a refund.  During the inquiry, the customer quickly became non-responsive to underlying requests and his communications became increasingly combative and hostile, at which point our legal department directed customer service personnel to cease communications with the customer.  Should the customer wish to re-engage with our customer service team and provide the requested information,we would re-open our inquiry and investigate whether a return and/or refund is warranted. Following is a timeline and summary of the communications.
  
  We received the initial email complaint regarding a bottle of Old Grand Dad 114 proof bourbon (a distilled spirits product produced by ***************), including a photo of the bottle with the alleged foreign matter, via the Beam Suntory **** corporate consumer complaints online mechanism on December 26, 2023.  Our corporate complaints team promptly responded to the customer the same day to acknowledge receipt of the complaint and advise him on when he could expect a response. The complaint was promptly directed to the appropriate customer service team assigned to the product at issue, which we refer to as our Old ********************** team.  A representative of the Old ********************** team responded to the customer on December 27, 2023. In this response, the team member asked the customer to provide a photo of the product (as described to the customer in subsequent emails, the original photo provided is unclear and contains a glare), the Lot Code (including visual instructions on how to find it on the bottle), and other information about the circumstances of his purchase and storage of the product. Emails corresponding the events described in this paragraph are attached as Exhibit 1.  Please note that the image of the bottle sent by the customer in his initial email is not depicted in Exhibit 1 due to the formatting limitations of our customer service system.  A separate file of the photo is attached as Exhibit 1-A.
  

  Following his receipt of the response from the Old ********************** team and the request for additional information, the customer replied on December 27, 2023, with two separate emails containing some of the requested information.  He did not provide another photo of the bottle.  It appears that the request for an additional photo, as well as for information about its storage conditions,irritated the customer and led him to infer that the Old ********************** team member was attempting to blame him for any problem with the product.  This is not the case; the information requested in the Old ********************** team response described above is part of ************ standard protocol for responding to consumer inquiries.  This information is necessary for us to determine potential cause of an issue, as well as to identify potentially fraudulent claims. Emails corresponding the events described in this paragraph are attached as Exhibit 2 and Exhibit 3.
  
  Following receipt of the customers emails from December 27, 2023, an Old ********************** team member responded to the customer on December 28, 2023.  The team member thanked him for the additional information and, in response to his perceived irritation at the request, explained that the information is necessary to assist the *************** Quality team in identifying the potential root cause of the product issue, and expressed regret for any misunderstanding or inconvenience cause by the process.  The team member also clarified the request for an alternative photo of the bottle, explaining that our teams review of the initial photo did not yield evidence of black mold, as alleged in the initial complaint.  The team member hypothesized that this may be due to a glare on the bottle in the photo (which is evident in Exhibit 1-A). The team member specifically requested another photo of the bottle with no glare and provided suggestions on methods to avoid a glare.  Emails corresponding the events described in this paragraph are attached as Exhibit 4.
  
  The customer responded on December 28, 2023, with combative and hostile language directed to the team member. He did not provide the requested additional photo. Emails corresponding the events described in this paragraph are attached as Exhibit 5.
  
  Given the lack of cooperation from the customer and his hostile language to the team member, on December 29, 2023, ************ legal department advised the customer service team to cease communications with customer, provided that if the customer reached out again, the customer service team could engage to reiterate the need for a clearer image of the bottle in order to further investigate the issue.*************** remains willing to further investigate if the necessary information is provided.
  
  Please let us know if we can provide any further detail or context.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/20/2024

   
  Complaint: 21074122
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

  Beam Suntory I 1st i responded to EVERY REQUEST FOR INFO FROM THIS CO. 2ND i was asked for the room temp my reply was /is 70 degrees. 3rd i was asked were it was purchased i replied Drug city with a picture of the reciept which has business name,address,and phone. 4th i was asked for number stamped on the bottle and a picture from Beam Suntory was sent on where i could find that number# i replied with all the numbers i found on the bottle just incase.5 i was asked for pictures of the issue in hand i also replied with the clearest picture a person can talk and supplied them in this complaint as well as the complaint to Beam Suntory Beam Suntory then ask for more pictures of the same spot as it seems no one there can see the stains even after i pointed out the location of the issue between the bottle top and the label. and yes i did say a blind person can see this issue very very clearly! YES IM VERY FRUSTRATED AT THE LEAST! and you are correct i never asked for a return or cash back as i was trying to find out from the company you work for the steps to be taken before that can be done! Any *** who backs there products would first say there sorry for the issue 2nd ask for info which I DID COMPLY IN EVERY WAY POSSIBLE!!!  3rd any *** who backs there product would have said we can't figure out what's going on with a picture so please send us Beam Suntory the bottle back at our cost and once we figure out any issue we will get back to you. NONE OF THIS TOOK PLACE SO YES IM UPSET TO SAY THE LEAST! sO WITH THAT ALL BEING SAID PLAES TELL ME WHAT QUESTION I WAS ASKED AND DID NOT COMPLY???????????????????????????? If your going to say more pictures im not going to comply as the ones i sent are as best as i can do! Contact your legal ***** on that! So ill say it here is Beam Suntory corp. going to back your products or not? Please no long winded answers that answer nothing Thank you.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/25/2024

  Due to the limited consumer engagement including lack of photographic support of this complaint, the investigation process was limited. However, based on the extensive review of the retain sample that matches the lot code provided, our Quality team has advised there is no evidence of foreign matter and Old Grand-Dad has passed all product qualifications.  A one-time reimbursement check for the price provided ($34.87) has been issued. Please allow up to ***** business days for processing and mailing time. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/26/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. What should i do with the product? I do not want it and im not willing to risk anything or anyone's health.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************