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:09/19/2023

  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.

  I received an email stating that I has won a grill in their Blue Moon ****** Sweepstakes. I have 3 days to respond to their email with a verified form. However, the form they sent me to docusign has field that cannot be completed; they are either locked completely or not operating (for instance, the "State" combo box has only two selections: ---select--- or State. No actual States. I have not received a response to my request for a working, legitimate form that can be sent back to them. I am adamant that they do not let the time expire and then say I am non-responsive by not submitting their form in time.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/20/2023

  We have reviewed the complaint submitted by ***********************, regarding the Blue Moon Summer program administered by Merkle **** Merkle has determined there was a technical error with Mr. ********* prize claim DocuSign form. Merkle has since resent DocuSign form, and the expiration timing has been reset. Merkles ************* team is available for any additional questions ******************** has.
  
  We appreciate your participation in the program and apologize for the error.
  
  Merkle *************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/20/2023

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.

  Better Business Bureau:

  The business has corrected the issue and I consider the matter resolved.

  Regards,

  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/13/2023

  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.

  I submitted for an Old El Paso/Fanatics rebate about 2 1/2 weeks ago and my rebate submission/purchase receipt was rapidly approved. However, I never received the follow-up email with the $50 Fanatics coupon code. I contacted HelloWorld/Merkle and inquired why I hadn't received my rebate. After a delay of 5 days they responded by email with: "Our team is aware of the issue and are working to resolve the issue as soon as possible. We will reach out once the issue has been resolved. HelloWorld *************** Then they followed up by email with: "Thank you for your patience while we looked into your inquiry. Per the Official Rules, there is a limit of (1) offer per household: Limit: Each participant may receive a maximum of one (1) Offer per household. Multiple participants are not permitted to share the same email address. Any attempt by any participant to obtain more than one (1) Offer by using multiple/different email addresses, identities, registrations and logins, or any other methods will void that participant's Offer and that participant may be disqualified. We apologize for any confusion or disappointment this may have caused. Sincerely, HelloWorld ************** The problem is that I did not violate any of those terms. I only submitted for one rebate and I live alone and I'm the only one using my email address. I tried calling them at 2 phone numbers associated with them but one was non-functional and the other had changed to another organization. I don't know where they came up with this and I have no recourse. I followed up the second email from them explaining the above and they responded coldly and callously with: "Hello, Thank you for your email! We have addressed your inquiry regarding the Old El Paso Promotion on Case (# redacted). Thank you for your patience and have a wonderful day! Best, HelloWorld ****************** They made no attempt to listen to me or address my concerns. They cheated me out of my $50 rebate and they don't have to answer to anyone.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/19/2023

  We have reviewed the complaint submitted by ********************************* regarding the Old El Paso Guaranteed Fanatics Offer program administered by Merkle **** on behalf of General ***** ****** **** Merkle has determined there was a technical error, causing Mr. ********** submission to be wrongfully deemed ineligible.Merkle has since fulfilled the offer code for $50 off a purchase at Fanatics.com to ********************** on September 15, 2023.
  
  We appreciate your participation in the program and apologize for the error.
  
  Merkle *************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/19/2023

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.

  Better Business Bureau:

  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

  Regards,

  *********************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/02/2022

  Type:Billing 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 company that the complaint is being filed upon constantly charges my bank account for products or services that not only did I not authorize, but I dont know what the products or services are that they offer. I have even gone as far as switching banking institutions, and this company follows. Im not sure if my Social Security number has been compromised or what, but I need help. They have charged my bank account thousands of dollars. Please help!

  Business Response

  Date: 12/02/2022

  Hello,

  You have contacted the wrong company. We do not collect credit card information from consumers and do not bill consumers. We are a ***************** and do not sell products or services to consumers directly. 

   

  Thank you,

  Customer Care 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/02/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your rejection of the business's response. 
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of why I am rejecting this response appear below:
  
  The charges on my account are made by Hello World, Hello World *****, and Hello World Sas. I do not have contact information for this company so I am unable to say if BBB contacted the correct company. I do know that the charges are under these three company names. There is no rhyme or reason as to which company name shows up when. It is always random. My account is also getting charged fraudulently by CashApp with random names. I have read online that these Hello World companies are connected with CashApp somehow. There are tons of reviews online with complaints exactly like mine against this company.
  
  Regards,
  
  *******************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/24/2022

  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.

  There is a business that charges my bank account continuously called Hello World or sometimes it is called Hello World *****. The charges are always different amounts of money. But sometimes it is several charges within one day. I did some research to try to find out who they were, and cannot find any real answers, but have found pages upon pages of other people complaining about the same issue I am having. I do not know who the merchant is. I do not know what services they provide. All that I know is that they have charged my account for thousands and thousands of dollars. I have even switched banking institutions and somehow they follow me. My bank looks into it and says that it does not look like a fraudulent charge. I need help!

  Business Response

  Date: 11/28/2022

  Hello,

  This is not our business. We do not have a system to accept credit card information or payments from consumers so you have ** mistaken for another company. 

  Thank you,

  HelloWorld/****** Customer Care

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/28/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.

  Better Business Bureau:

  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

  Regards,

  *******************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/12/2022

  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.

  On April 18, ********************************************* won a Ranchology sweepstakes. I filled out a generic prize claim form and asked the person what Id won. They sent me a copy of the rules stating the prize was four Hidden Valley Ranch branded blankets, coupons, a chip & dip bowl set, $250 gift card for streaming services and a 65 tv valued at $510. I was thrilled!!! On May 23, 2022, I emailed them asking the status of the prizes. They responded that it would be sent **** weeks after the sweepstakes ended on June 30, 2022 and attached the same rules to that email. It seemed odd that I was being told ** won before the sweepstakes officially ended but they are the ones running it. On August 22, 2022, I received an email with a gift card for a pizza oven. I emailed them and was told oh you won a pizza night sweepstakes that included that, a $250 ********************* gift card, coupons and bags of charcoal that ended March 31, 2022. I explained repeatedly how I was told Id won the tv prize package, each time including the rules for that sweepstakes and asked how if I won a sweepstakes that ended March 31, 2022, and their guideline is **** weeks after a sweepstakes closed, why it took four months to fulfill this prize with not even so much as an apology from the company. They provide NO explanation, stating when I completed the prize acceptance form, thats what I agreed to despite it being a generic form. They refuse to acknowledge their error in this or the fact that I gave away a perfectly good tv based upon detrimental reliance Id won a 65 tv from this company. Ive contacted Hidden Valley Ranch since its their company promotion who basically state I need to contact ********************* since its their error. There is no way to contact anyone at this company other than email and it seems some intern made an error, now wants to cover it up and no one higher ** in the company knows about this. I want this matter resolved!!!!

  Business Response

  Date: 10/14/2022

  Hi ****,

  We have confirmed that the win notification emails and the Affadavit you signed to accept the prize contained the correct prize description and did not state that you won a TV. We apologize for any confusion and appreciate your participation in the promotion. 

   

  Regards,

  Customer Care

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/14/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your rejection of the business's response. 
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of why I am rejecting this response appear below:
  
  No one has yet to apologize for THEIR error of offer any explanation. I have yet to receive any sort of explanation why they kept telling me I'd won a tv prize package for FOUR months. They've yet to explain why if I won a prize that the sweepstakes ended March 31, 2022, why it took FOUR MONTHS to fulfill the prize when they say **** weeks. Are they not interested in the emails I have that they repeatedly tell me I won a tv and included those rules??? They have NEVER sent an email with rules for a pizza oven. Why do they refuse to acknowledge their multiple errors???  I WANT ANSWERS!!!!
  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/12/2022

  Type:Delivery Issues
  Status:

  UnresolvedMore 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.

  My exact email to these folks that I sent out to these people at Helloworld/******, the new owners,This is ************************************* in ******* and last week, I wrote to you folks pertaining to a *** tracking number you supplied to me in the expectation of an arrival of a prize I won as part of your ********************* sweepstakes promotion from last month, but all I have received from that tracking info is that the label was created on 10/3/2022 but the item has not been received by *** for shipment, so I need to know what is happening here?!I tried to call you guys via your toll free and long distance numbers, but they have all been disconnected or not working properly and I rightfully won this prize and hoping this makes it to my home by the week's end, as it shouldn't take well over a week for something to arrive from your homebase of ************, ** to my home here in *******, **, a few days maximum at best, but I never heard back from my original inquiry from you guys and *** cannot do anything for me unless they have the actual merchandise in their hands, which they do not as of this writing and here it is 10/11/2022 and still nothing to report from you or them on the transit of this parcel. It was for a cooler with speaker of the ********************* logoed brand but nothing as of yet has arrived or been received by me here in *******.Could you please get back in touch with me as soon as possible, either through e-mail or via my cell phone at the number listed below? Just needing to know when I can expect this package to reach my home here in ******* and for the record, here is that tracking info as of this writing and still bolded below..Thank you in advance and hoping to hear back from you folks soon, however way you decide to respond back to my inquiry and I have a case # as well for you to investigate this. Take good care.Regards,************************************* CELL #: ************** CASE #: ******** Tracking Number:1Z02V5W84200812834 Service *** Ground Weight **** LBS

  Business Response

  Date: 10/14/2022

  Hello *******,

   Apologies on any delay in our response but I do see ************* contacted you via email on 10/12. Please rest assured we are actively investigating the status of your prize shipment and will be in touch as soon as we have answers. Feel free to continue to reach out to *************: *************************************************** They would be happy to help! 

   

  Have a good day!

   

  Regards,

  *************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/14/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your rejection of the business's response. 
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of why I am rejecting this response appear below:
  
  [You must provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution. Please type details here:]

  So here's the deal with regards to all of this craziness being caused to me. This item was supposed to have been shipped out on 10/3/2022 and all that has transpired with this package is that a shipping label was created but *** never received the item/prize that I won from them and this package has been staying dormant now for almost two weeks time and I know it shouldn't take 2 weeks time to get an item from their facility in ************, ** to arrive to my home here in *******, ** as I figure 4 days *** via the *** Ground option.

   As I alluded to beforehand, I have tried in good ******* and patience to call them but their numbers are all disconnected and the e-mail responses have been slow as molasses and trying to send correspondence to them via their website has been impossible as it is not working properly. To me, it just seems all I am receiving are formatted e-mails for them to just to say "hey, we responded back to you so leave us alone and we'll see what we can do here regarding your prize."

   I legally won the prize late last month and why this is even happening now is beyond my comprehension, so I'll offer a compromise to them at this time and here is my proposal.

  NOW, IF AND ONLY IF they are unable to get this cooler with speaker sent to me by the end of next week at the very latest (Saturday 10/22/2022 end of business day), then I would like for them to issue me a $130.00 gift card for the **** value of the item I won as that would be an OK solution for me, but I will give them the benefit of the doubt as enough is enough already and as of this writing, yet again, the item is stuck in limbo somewhere and the communication has been short of disastrous from their ends.

  I'm just wanting the prize I legally won from this promotion (********************* Fest) OR they can issue me a $130.00 gift card, so then I can use it to get other things from other retailers to compensate for the loss of the item and its value of it as well.

  They have my cell number and e-mail handy, so they know what they need to do to reach out to me as I am not a hard person to find and talk to, but this is it!

  They have until next Saturday end of business day (10/22/2022) to have this shipped out to my home or they can issue me the gift card in the amount listed above as proper compensation to me ****** MC, AMEX, their choice to make if they go this route) and a formal apology for all this commotion even happening here and caused to me.

  They have always been good and on time when it comes to delivering prizes from other contests I have entered and I have been quite content with everything but why this is happening now with this specific promotion is unorthodox and just hard to understand here.

  Please just let me know what's going on here and what can be done to make me and them happy at both ends. They have a few options to go with here, so let's see what happens and for now, that is why I am rejecting their response at this time and I'm being upfront and honest with everyone here and with them.

   

  Regards,
  
  *************************************

  Business Response

  Date: 10/20/2022

  Hi *******,

  I understand ************* has been in contact about a solution, but I also wanted to let you know that a replacement will be shipped out soon. ************* will follow up with you via email once tracking information is available.

   

  Thank you,

  *************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/21/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your rejection of the business's response. 
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of why I am rejecting this response appear below:
  
  [You must provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution. Please type details here:]
  
  Regards,
  
  *************************************

  Here is the deal and an update I want to provide you folks at the BBB and the ONLY reason I am rejecting this latest proposal by this company is because I am not even sure they are going to come through for me as that was the last line of nonsense they fed to me over 2 weeks ago, getting me to believe my parcel was coming and a *** shipping label was even created and yet as of this writing on 10/21/2022, the item still seems to be lost in transit somewhere. I have been dragged into the middle of all this between this company and *** with *** saying they never received the item to start with, so hence why they couldn't get it out and then you have this company, HelloWorld, the actual shipper stating they did send it out but *** lost it somewhere and then when I went to call ***, they opened up an investigation into the matter only for it to be closed 24 hours later BECAUSE they needed a better description of the item than what I provided to them.

  Now since it was **** near impossible to reach HelloWorld by either their toll free or long distance numbers (as both numbers were disconnected) and their contact us form was not working properly either, I informed *** to send the correspondence of our discussion session to Helloworld's customer care e-mail address and let them handle the situation at their end, for then they sent me a reply back stating they would send me the replacement item, if and when they get a proper tracking number to this replacement parcel.

  I'm not even sure whom to believe anymore as I never had any issues with these folks before but this has gone far enough as I have been very patient with these people and it's just so hard to reach out to them until you have to utilize these tactics I had to not only ****** their attention more but to actually try and claim my prize, if it ever arrives to my home here in ******* and for all the trouble and hassles these folks have been causing me, they should not only send me the replacement item of the prize I legally won, but a gift card in the amount I specified to them beforehand ($130.00 for the cost of the item) and a formal apology for the chaos caused to me and then placing the blame on others when it was their own fault for not following proper protocol in the first place.

  NOW, UNLESS (AND I STRESS THIS WORD GREATLY) UNLESS they get their acts together at HelloWrold and provide me with a proper legitimate *** tracking number with an actual item or two attached to it, this is the main reason why I am rejecting their latest proposal as they can do a lot better than this and I never did hear from them today from my last inquiry I made to them late last night, so they need to step up to the plate and get this handled at once and provide me with the goods for which I legitimately won in their promotion from last month and that is all I will say about that for now.

  For the record, here is that tracking # that has all the details associated with it and they can go ahead and file the claim of the missing item with *** on their own accord...1Z02V5W84200812834...they can trace this on the *** website and you and others can see for yourselves where this package is or if it even exists for that matter. Please have them keep me posted as I have offered them an alternative compromisable solution to this fiasco, but hoping they do the right thing here and make this worth my while so this never happens again with anyone who wins one of their contests and I will keep y'all updated as to when and if my prize or two will arrive to my home, that I can promise you folks! Thank you and if you folks at the BBB would like to get a hold of HelloWorld's e-mail address for their customer care team, it is as ************************************************************ with a case # being HelloWorld #******** as my proof that I am not making any of this stuff up and this is my hard evidence as such as well to prove my worth!

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/09/2022

  Type:Sales and Advertising 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.

  Im a business that participated in a promotion with Zelle. I was a vendor at a market and was informed that They would match dollar for dollar all sales that came in through zelle. I later had to investigate and found out that Hello world would be the one sending the payment. The market was in late June /early July. Ive been told 3 separate times by Hello World that they apologize for the delay and I should receive it by this date and when that say comes and go I receive another date and so forth. I cant believe these companies use these people or how theyre still in business. Theyre terrible and have no problem exploiting and stringing along small businesslike myself

  Business Response

  Date: 09/12/2022

  Hello Fabiel,

  Please rest assured your check will be issued Friday of this week (9/16) so you should be receiving it soon. There have been delays in the fulfillment of this promotion and we sincerely apologize for that. Please reach out to ************* if you need anything else: **************************************************.

   

  Thank you, 

  *************