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:03/26/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore 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.

  I initially purchased 2 age DNA tests back in January. They have since announced that the test is faulty, and if we wanted, we could request a refund. I received an initial email stating more information would be sent out. I never received anything, so I reached out. I was told my refund was processed, and I should be refunded in **** business days, which led out to 3/4/23. I reached out again 3/7/23 asking why I had not received this refund. I was then told I needed to click a link and fill out a form and request a refund, even though I was already told it was being processed and all set. I never received any confirmation that it was all set and my form was processed, so I reached back out 3/14. On 3/17 I finally heard back was told that in **** business days from the initial form fill out (3/11/23) I should receive a refund. It has yet again, been past the 10 business days and no refund. My initial contact with the company was 2/9/23 and I am still today fighting to get my money back after jumping through multiple hoops. The chat is no help, they escalate it and cannot offer help. And there is no phone number to call, so it is all via delayed email to get any help, which takes days to hear back from. I just want my 298$ back.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/04/2023

  Hi ****

  We apologize for the delay in processing your refund for the Age Test. Our team has been working through a very high volume of customer inquiries as well as refund requests. I reviewed your order and can confirm that you were been refunded in full as of March 28th. The credit typically takes about **** business days to appear on your statement. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please reach out to us and we can investigate further.

   

  Thank you.

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/24/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore 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.

  I contacted the company several times in regards to my concern for not my dogs swab or contamination asking for a retest. The original health report stated my dog was a her when hes a boy. I received the breed later and explained my dog is not a pit bull. I even had him retested at another company with no such results showing in his DNA. I went with embark assuming they had a respectable business and cared about their customers and their website seemed if there was an error on their end they would send you a new kit. However, they said no even after they agreed the female dog was inaccurate.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/03/2023

  Hi ********

  I'm sorry to hear about your disappointment. I reviewed your interaction with our Results Team. Due to a bug with one of the available reports, ***** was referred to as "she" rather than "he." This bug was fixed and the report has been corrected. All of the other information across *****'s results reflect that he is male. Separately, we reviewed his ancestry results and confirmed their accuracy. If there were any signs of contamination, we would not have proceeded with processing the sample and in that case would have issued a replacement swab for you to test your again.

  Thank you.

  *******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/21/2022

  Type:Service or Repair 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.

  I purchased an Age Test dog kit.After 2 weeks went by I noticed I didn't receive the customary tracking information I usually have with other kits I've bought in the past. I reached out to Embark. They said to wait until December 19 and they would reissue a new kit. I wrote December 19 and got no response. I wrote December 20th and they wrote back saying my issue was resolved. I wrote back saying no it's not resolved! And they didn't write back. At this point I just want my money back. I have spent hundreds of dollars with this company but after this customer service experience I dont want to spend anymore. I attached a screen shot of my activated age test kit which shows proof of purchase.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/20/2022

  Type:Delivery Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore 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.

  Was given a tracking number before I even sent sample to the lab, then told **** recycles the number and within 10 days the updated info would show, but if it didn't I would get new kits to send..I contacted them after the ****************************************************************************************** fact they were received before I even activated my kit! This company is a scam and fraudulently dupes people, they are unreliable and don't keep their word. I was willing to accept new kits to collect my sample since I was assured I'd get them if not updated ..(please see screen shot ) only to now be told no they won't honor that promise made by their own customer service and I have it in writing ..im disappointed and upset. It appears they don't care about quality or integrity and only care about fleecing the general public ..

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/31/2022

  I have not heard from the business in response to my complaint.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/03/2023

  Hi *****

  I'm sorry to hear about your disappointment and for the issue with the recycled tracking number. I checked your account though and see we received Nova's sample on December 13th and ****'s on the 15th. The results for both were released on the 28th. If you have any specific questions or concerns about the results, please reach out to our Results team at ************************************ A member of that team can closely review the results with you.

   

  Thank you.

  *******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/20/2022

  Type:Delivery 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.

  On 10/13/2022, I purchased 6 Embark tests for my recent litter (whelped 10/01/2022). It should be noted that I have purchased a total of 26 Embark tests for my dog breeding program, a significant investment! The 6 kits arrived & I returned them to Embark in 2 separate packages (which is the norm) on 10/25/2022 & 10/27/2022, respectively. At that time, Embark sent 2 notices verifying that the swabs were on their way to the lab. Unfortunately, 1 package was lost. On 11/03/2022, I enquired to Embark, raising my concerns...I was told to wait 10 business days at which time they would send 3 replacement tests free-of-charge. This occurred & on 11/09/2022, Embark sent out 3 replacement tests. As of 11/16/2022 the tests show as delivered to the lab, yet the swabs remain at a standstill. As regards the OTHER swabs which had successfully begun "processing" by Embark in late October, a "glitch in the system" (according to Embark customer service emails) has the results expected by late December. UNACCEPTABLE!! I was told by customer service the following: "Thank you for circling back. I appreciate the information.I have checked the tracking information, it does show that they were delivered on the 16th of November, they should be scanned into our system within this day. You'll be notified automatically once we scanned them and the swab will begin processing. Rest assured, the bug in our system won't affect your dog's results in any way and you should still receive the results as provided in the initial update, which is in November." Nothing was been scanned in yet. Worse, the system (upon log-in) still shows that I have 3 puppies who will have results available in "late December" & 3 puppies whose swabs have been "activated on November 13th, awaiting return". As time is of the essence in matters of DNA testing & lab performance, one would expect "glitches" to be of concern to Embark.Very Truly,***********************

  Business Response

  Date: 11/30/2022

  Hi *****: 

  I'm sorry about your experience with your latest samples. As our **************** team explained, there was a technical issue on our end that causes the "results by" date to change. I can completely understand how the late December messaging can be alarming. We do provide a conservative estimate, however results are typically ready much sooner than what's listed. I checked on your samples earlier - the processing is almost completed and you should have your results soon! Again, I apologize for your experience and that this batch of samples took a little longer than previous ones. If there's anything else we can assist with, please reach out to our Customer Support team at ****************************************************************.

   

  Thank you.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/01/2022

  Dear Embark Veterinary,

  Thank you for your reply to my BBB complaint. I'm astonished that half of my 6 time-is-of-the-essence DNA samples activated in late Oct./2022 have simply fallen into a "technical issue" category. I don't believe that myself or any customer should be the victim of an issue not in their control. Apparently you do though...hence, my moving all of my business to *****************. I have spent approximately $4,000.00 at Embark & am embarrassed for you. I've never felt so thoroughly devalued as a customer! I have filed a claim with the attorney general's office for the ***********, hopefully that will incite you to express your technical issues transparently to your clients before they invest in testing...not AFTer you've received their (in my case) $774.00.

  
  Regards,

  *****

   

   

  Business Response

  Date: 01/03/2023

  Hi *****

  I'm sorry to hear that you remain disappointed. I completely understand your frustration with your latest batch of samples. As it was previously stated, there was a technical issue and we are very sorry that you were impacted by it. I checked your account and see that all of your results have been returned to you at this time. Thank you again for your business and for your feedback.

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/20/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore 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.

  The results that came back from this company said our new dog was 100% American Pit bull terrier. We saw this dogs parents and they were clearly mixed breeds and the owner advised the same. They breed in error and were both mixed. I showed our vet the result and they assured this result had to be an error. Taking one look at this dog it doesnt take science to see shes not 100% APB Terrier. Assuming this was clearly an error or mix up I asked about this and was assured she was at least 95% American put ****************. In disbelief because I saw her parents and also having a full blooded APB terrier in the past I was certain something was off here. I went to the top rated company I could find and did a new dna test on her. This test confirmed what I already knew that she was in fact mixed, and with many breeds. American PIt bill terror was the highest percent at a whopping 48% along with 9 other breeds. When asking them to do the right thing and refund the error since I had to get another company to get the correct results instead of Embark doing the right thing, I am told the same answer Im seeing in many other complaints of this manner. There are several reasons why test results can differ between complains and the three same completely ridiculous answers that seem to excuse the bad results, and seem to be a templete they send to everyone and all their replies felt very scripted. DNA is DNA no matter what algorithm and markers, and the reference panel?! I assume they are saying is this the same dog? Its clear to anyone except embark that their result on this was the incorrect result in this case and wasnt in any way accurate. *** also asked for a manager to review and contact on the matter and I just get the same representative with her scripted answers responding and doing nothing to make this right.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/27/2022

  Hi *****

  
  I'm sorry to hear that you remain disappointed with your experience with Embark. As it was previously explained, there are many reasons why results can differ between companies. While you are correct that DNA is DNA, each company has their own methods for testing that include different reference panels and algorithms. It is also not unusual to have a purebred American Pit Bull Terrier, even though they don't have the expected "look" of one. For example, we see a lot of dogs who were adopted as Lab mixes that then test as American Pit Bull Terriers or American Pit Bull Terrier mixes. Pit bull terriers (or related breeds) are among the most common dogs in *******, so its not at all surprising that ancestry related to them would show up in a large, perhaps even disproportionately large fraction of American dogs. 

  Unfortunately, we do not offer complimentary retests and, per our public refund policy, we are unable to provide refunds for scientifically sound results.

  Thank you.

  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/02/2022

  Better Business Bureau:I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # ********. Please add your rejection comments below; if you do not provide any details, your complaint will be closed as Answered. 
  

  my dog was not adopted at a shelter as Embark has suggested. Her mother was there and clearly mixed as well, and accidentally breed with a neighbor dog that again was mixed! Im telling you this and went as far as to pay to have another test done which proves the same that Im telling you all along. The 2nd DNA test proves she was not 100% American PBT and resulted 11 breeds. Them saying their algorithm differing causes their result to test 100% American PBT vs another company showing 11 breeds is a joke. This would be telling me DNA truly isnt DNA and you could just pull my results out of any ole hat because you and 5 other companies could come back with that different of a result based on the algorithm?? This far off the ****** So you believe you are correct and cannot admit that you could even possibly have made an error is very concerning? Giving people bad results who then have to spend extra money to get retested to show you these results are just as suspected, wrong!  Your results are clearly not as sound as you say and the fact your company cant admit when they even could be wrong and have zero wiggle room to help a very unsatisfied customer is just bad business All around. You calling a refund a complementary test is very offensive. A complementary test would be you doing another test to fix your mistake but to call refunding a bad test is not complementary. Seeings as how we went to the extreme of buying another test from another company tells you we arent in this to get a complementary test. Were asking you to do the right thing and refund a bad read. A customer who is so unsatisfied she had to go else where to get results because this company didnt do the right thing to begin with. To all those who I have shared this story with, Id love to be able to say this is a good company that fixed their mistake in the end but so far from what I can tell from the many complaints ive seen, you do whats best for you not your customers. This is not a good way to run a business. Im sure youve done a good job for many but you have to be able to admit error and have room to help your customers and stop repeating the same script to all of them. This whole situation is very disappointing. 

  [You must provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.  If you do not enter a reason for your rejection, your complaint will be closed as Answered.]
  
  Businesses and Customers should be civil, courteous and polite in their responses to complaints. It is important to remain professional and productive when participating in the BBB complaint process.
  
  FAQ
  
  Regards,

  Nicki

   

   

  Business Response

  Date: 11/30/2022

  I'm sorry to hear that ***** remains disappointed with her experience. Regretfully we do not offer complimentary retests and, per our public refund policy (https://help.embarkvet.com/hc/en-us/articles/115000237293-Can-I-return-my-test-kit-and-get-a-refund-), we are unable to provide refunds for scientifically sound results.