ComplaintsforThe Kelly Group, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  03/25/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  They asked for someone who doesn't work here anymore, they said they'd "call back" I'd like them to never call again.

  Business response

  04/23/2024

  As per their request, we will not contact this company again.  We are sorry for trying to contact someone who is no longer at the company, we were following up on an old lead.  We will remove the given number from our data base.

  Customer response

  04/23/2024

   
  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.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Pacific Builders

• Initial Complaint

  02/12/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Original transaction took place 11.10.22, balance paid 1.5.23.The original transaction was already very scammy in nature. I agreed to try their ink for my rather large printer, and ordered 1 black, and 1 of each color. (all phone sales - they don't do 'business' any other way)Then in January, I got a call from a 'manager' at the company claiming they needed to ship the "remaining" ink. I refuted that I ever ordered double (I wanted to try the ink before committing to a larger order). And they insisted that I only got the rates I did because of a bulk discount. I didn't remember any such condition to the order, but we settled on me purchasing a 2nd black toner cartridge. I was angry, and knew Kelly was conducting business in a very disingenuous way, and I vowed never to do business with them again. I Received a call today 2.12.24, wanting to send me a 'free gift card' thanking me for doing business. I thought it was strange given the history, and the length of time that had passed. I said as much, and immediately started sensing impatience from the rep on the phone, which was when she brought up the 2nd reason for her call - "We are closing out our year, and I need to send you the remaining color ink cartridges, and I can close out your account" These guys are absolute scam artists, and they should face consequences. It is an trivial amount of money for my company, so I am not seeking any compensation. I want the company to stop contacting me, I want others to be aware of their extremely shady practices, and after reading the exact same experiences that other companies have had, I hope the State pursues action against this company. These are despicable people.

  Business response

  02/13/2024

  We sold ************* a set of cartridges in September 2022.  Kelly Printing sells cartridges giving price breaks based on quantity. We will split that starter pack up into shipments as to not overload our customers.  We sent a second shipment of only the black cartridge out to ************* in November 2022.  ************** did not need the color cartridges at that time.  We waited for a full year before trying to ship the remaining color cartridges to him.  Most companies go through at least one of each of the color cartridges per year. That is not a high expectation to assume they would be ready for an additional cartridge.  As we sell high quality product, we are confident most companies will be ready to take the remaining balance of their order when cartridges are needed.
  ************** told us he did not want the remaining cartridges, and nothing was sent out.  We believe in our cartridges but if a customer, for some reason, does not like our cartridges, we would not hold them to the initial starter pack agreement.  We have canceled all remaining cartridges and have place ************* as a call in account so if ************** would like to order more cartridges, he must initiate the call to us and we will send him what cartridge quantity and type he wants.    

• Initial Complaint

  02/05/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We keep getting calls from them after we have requested that they take us off their list. They are very rude when they call. They ask for information about our system in a very demanding way like we have to give this to them. They hang up when we tell them to remove us from their ****.

  Business response

  02/05/2024

  We have called ********************** Company two times this year.  In mid January, the manager was at dinner and we were told to call back. Today, we spoke to **** who told our sales representative they had a contract with another company and they would not be changing now and will pass.  Neither time were we told to take them off *********** list.
  
  Had they called us and asked us to take them off our list, we would have complied.  We have now taken ********************** Company off of *********** list.

• Initial Complaint

  01/29/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I ordered an ink cartridge from Amazon and Kelly Printing Supplies reached out to me and informed me that they could save me money by going through them instead of Amazon. The ink lasts longer and cheaper than Amazon. I decided to try them in June 23. They sent the cartridge. I received an invoice via email on 7/31/23 that stated the invoice was due. I reached out via same email to inform that their product was not compatible with my HP printer and that I would pay the invoice but wanted nothing more from the company. In Aug they reached out to me again and said I needed to fulfill my order. I was not sure what *** was talking about, but she said I needed to get the color cartridges. I in turn told her of my issue and that I did not want the product any longer and she was insistent the I had to at least get one more blackx at $189. Again, I paid for a product that was not compatible with my printer and informed her to not contact my company any longer. 1/25/24 I received a call from *** stating again that I had to fulfill my "contract" (there is no contract) with them and get the color cartridges. *** said they would be $89 and some change each for the (3) colors. She stated that shipping would be calling me today 1.26.24 to verify information. The shipping **** called today at 11:32am, and stated the units were $189 each and the total was over $567. I said absolutely NOT! *** reached out again, and I informed her to call back around 3:30 this afternoon. At 1:30pm *** reached a co-worker and stated to "call ASAP as she was leaving the office soon". *** called again around 2pm and I informed her to have her mgr or the owner call me as I was not going to speak with her any longer. ******* called me at 2:21pm and I informed her that I was going to contact my lawyer for harassment and she said "you dont have to do that". I informed her to put me on the "do not call list" and remove my companies contact information.

  Business response

  01/29/2024

  We are sorry that **************** and we had a misunderstanding on the price of each cartridge.  The price of $189 is always the price she paid.  That is also a reason shipping calls to verify exactly what is being shipped and the price.  **************** said no and we did not ship it. 
  We are sorry Ms. ******* sales person called her earlier and more often than she expressed interest in. We will address that issue with her sales person as that should have never been done.  However, **************** asked for a supervisor to call back and one did.  **************** asked to be put on the do not call list and she has been.  *************************** Incorporated is now a call in account so if **************** would like to purchase more cartridges she would need to contact us.  They would remain the price of $189.00 each.  

• Initial Complaint

  01/03/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Kelly Printing Supplies has been gaslighting me for the past ********************************************************************************************************************** not. They then told me that I had agreed to getting 10 cartridges at a discounted price. I thought maybe I had forgotten but the next time they called they claimed it was 12. I knew that wasn't right so I asked to cancel and they said I couldn't because it was a verbal agreement about discounted cartridges. Well, I've spent a total of $1,134.75 on these bad quality cartridges (some of which was my personal money because I didn't want my company to be paying for the scam) and they keep calling me wanting more money. I've paid for all of the ones that they sent, so stop calling me. This is a scam and apparently I'm more gullible than I thought I was. Don't do business with Kelly Printing. Don't agree to anything. Kelly Printing jeopardized my job and stole my money and my company's money. And now I know I'm not crazy because of the other BBB complaints on here that say the same thing as me.

  Business response

  01/18/2024

  We are sorry ****************** is not happy with our company.  We do package our cartridges in starter packs and ******************** was signed up for the 12 cartridge starter pack.  As ****************** pointed out, we spread sending those cartridges over a period of 15 months to try to help.  This way *************************** would not need to have too many cartridges on hand.
  ****************** is also correct in that they have paid for all cartridges they have received. Therefore, ****************** desired outcome is for ** to not have further contact.  We will honor that request.  ******************** has been placed as a call in account.  Therefore, if they are in need of further product, they will need to call us.  Our customer service department will be happy to help them with any of their printer cartridge needs. 

• Initial Complaint

  10/16/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  They called and said they were offering a special on ink cartridges. They said they could send me a black ink cartridge for $148.95 and it last longer than normal ink cartridges. I received the ink, and I tried it, it ran out immediately. It was not good. I sent them the money for the ink and thought my order was closed out. They then called again and said I was verbally locked into buying the colored ink from them because they sold me the 1st cartridge at half price. I told them I didn't agree to buy more ink. They sent me 3 more colored inks and billed me $426.95. I paid for them and thought I was done with them. They have now called me again and said that one of the shipments was returned to them because they put the wrong zip code on. I told them I didn't order more. She said that was part of the deal and that once I received it, I had to pay them another invoice. I told them they are scammers and hung up on them. I am refusing the next shipment.

  Business response

  10/17/2023

  On August 4, 2023, **** was sent one black cartridge for her HP #***.  On September 14, 2023, we sent **** one cyan, one magenta and one yellow cartridge to complete the set.  Before any order is sent out, it is verified by our shipping department that the customer ordered that number of cartridges and the price plus being on a 30-day open billing.  She agreed to both transactions.  We do not ship any orders out until they are verified the next day by our shipping department to give the customer a chance to decide if they want to proceed with the order.  I have checked with our shipping department and they have no records showing another order being shipped to *********  Our customer service department has put ***** account on a call in basis.  There are no current transactions with her company. We were surprised by her comments on the quality of our cartridges.  We have been in business for over 30 years and have had thousands of transaction with satisfied customers.

  Customer response

  10/17/2023

   
  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.  As long as they send me no more cartridges or bills. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

• Initial Complaint

  10/02/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This company is a complete scam! They contacted offering FREE ink and once we received it they started to contact us about submitting payment.This was suppose to be a one time charge for one shipment and we have paid the company $1160.90 for horrible quality ink that was suppose to be free. We have constantly told them we are not interested to stop contacting our company and that we will not be spending any of our money on their company but they won't get that through their heads.We told them over the phone just now that we do not want anymore orders from them and the excuse was that there fiscal year was getting ready to end soon so they had to close our account. We told them to close it but they said they couldn't unless they sent out a last shipment. WE ARE NOT INTERESTED!

  Business response

  10/03/2023

  I am not sure who *************************** is as this company has never done business with her.  Our contact with this company is **************** We sold **** laser cartridges on two separate occasions.  The first being on January 3, 2023, when we sold him cartridges for his HP color laser printer which takes the number 414.  This sale included a full set of cartridges 1 black, 1 yellow, 1 cyan and 1 magenta as all four are needed for this printer.  These are large cartridges and our prices are very competitive.  On January 4, 2023, our shipping department verified this sale with **** stating the terms of a 30 day open billing which he consented to the terms.  We have a 30 day open billing so **** would have a chance to test the quality of the cartridge before he paid for them.  We have this conversation on tape.On February 23, 2023, we sold **** a CF 237 cartridge for his HP M607 on the same terms and conditions which we verified the next day on tape. We have been in business for over 30 years and if our cartridges were so horrible, as ***** stated in her complaint, I doubt we would still be in business.  We will honor her request to stop calling even though we have only done business with **** and never have been in contact with her.

  Customer response

  10/10/2023

   
  Complaint: 20686595
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I am the person The Kelly Group, Inc. has been badgering.  I am not sure who **** is.  We do not have anyone named **** in our company.  *************************** is our Office Administrator.  I would love for The Kelly Group, Inc. to provide all of the audio tapes(not just one or two) to show how shady their business practices are.  When they initially contacted me, the sales woman told me that we could try their ink for free.  I hesitated, but finally agreed to give it a try.  Before we received the ink, the woman called me back and that is when I found out that it was not free.  She informed me that we had thirty days to try the ink before we would have to pay.  I told her that I did not want it and asked her to cancel the order.  She told me that it could not be canceled so after several minutes of me telling her that I did not want it, I finally just told her that this was the only order because we did not want the ink.  Several weeks later the sales woman called me back and told me that they were shipping the remainder of my order.  I told her the order was cancelled and she told me that she had to send me something because they did not ship everything with the first shipment.  I told her that I did not want anything more from them and that I would pay for the first order, complete or not, but not to ship me more ink.  We went back and forth for a while before I finally gave in and agreed to take whatever it was that she said was supposed to have been shipped.  Now she contacted me again recently and told me that they were shipping something else.  I told her that we had not ordered anything and that we had cancelled our order.  We went back and forth about the cancelation for a couple minutes and I finally told her that we did not ever want to hear from them again.  We do not want and did not ask for their products.  They are pushy and basically forced us into something we did not want by refusing to cancel our order.  I have never dealt with a company that uses these tactics.  I guess I am just too nice and that I should not have answered the phone that day.  At least I wish that I had not answered the phone.  If we never hear from The Kelly Group, Inc. again, it will be too soon.  I just want them to cancel any order that they say we still have and to leave us alone.  I told the sales woman that I would pay for the ink that we had received, but I do not want any further contact with their company and I do not want their products. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

  Business response

  10/11/2023

  In our response on the first line we stated our contact with this company was ****************  Our mistake that we inadvertently got **** in our mind later on as it is similar to *********  Most would recognize the mistake and not dwell on it.  **** must have missed the part in our response that we will honor ****** request and stop calling it is the very last sentence.

• Initial Complaint

  09/26/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  A representative called my office and asked if I wanted to try their ink. I let her know I did not need the ink at this time, and she said she would send it and I was to pay after I tried the ink and if I liked the ink I was to pay for the ink. If I did not like the ink, I could return the Ink. The ink was shipped on 08/09 2023. I still have not tried the ins since I have not run out of the ink I am currently using. Collections started calling me to tell me I had a past due invoice and needed to pay it immediately or they were going to send me to collections. I informed them that I still have not tried the ink and I never received the invoice. She kept screaming at me that yes, I did receive the invoice by email. After several phone calls and telling her I want to just return the unused ink she told me that I cannot since I agreed to their terms. I never received an invoice until 9/20/2023 @ 4:27pm. She was sending the invoice to the wrong email address. I have been telling her for several weeks that I want to return the unused ink and she keeps telling me I am not allowed to return the ink once they ship it to me. I want to just return the unused ink to the business.

  Business response

  09/27/2023

  We sold Affordable Tents toner cartridges on August 4,2023.  We verified the order and ********************* agreed to the terms of net 30 days. The invoice was then emailed to ***********************  Our accounts receivable department started calling on this past due invoice in mid September. Our accounts receivable department followed our protocol correctly.  Since Affordable Tents did not call within the 30 day trial period this invoice was due and payable.
  
  We have since discovered that the email address listed for Affordable Tents is incorrect.  We mistakenly put .com when it should have been .net.  Unfortunately the email did not bounce back as undeliverable or we would have called to confirm the email address or mailed a hard copy of the invoice to insure that our customer received the invoice with all of our contact information. Since ********************** did not have our information, we gave her a return authorization number to return the unwanted product even though it was past the 30 days.

• Initial Complaint

  07/26/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I work for a small golf course on a small island in the Pacific Northwest. When Kelly Printing called and offered ink I thought I'd give it a try. Our first order came in in November 2022. Another set of ink showed up a month later in December 2022. I let them know that I didn't need this much ink as we are a small business that goes through maybe one cartridge a year. That is when I was told that to get the "special price" I had to buy three. That was not my understanding when we first ordered it. I did ask that they wait till spring before sending the third and final order.Once I did start using the ink, I found that the quality was not up to standard. The color was streaked with light lines and not a solid color. Then when I tried to photocopy a page, some of the colors were so light that they didn't even show up on the photocopies. When it was time for the final ink to be sent, I let them know that their ink was not good and I didn't want it. They were insistent that they had to ship out the third order and I had to pay for it. I have the third set of ink here in my office that I did pay for. The original and 2nd set of ink I gave away for free. This ink is just useless as you can see from the attachment. I can't use it for my business. I would like them to take back the third set and provide a refund.

  Business response

  08/07/2023

  This is still an ongoing case for us.  Unfortunately the BBB requires a response before the completion.  This customer wanted to return their last order with us. They stated they had paid and wanted a refund.  They have not paid for this invoice.  We called our customer and provided a return authorization number to return this last order of unopened cartridges.  We have yet to receive these cartridges.  Once we receive our cartridges that were sent out, we can clear the open invoice. Until then, this invoice remains open and we need either our product or payment.

  Customer response

  08/08/2023

   
  Complaint: 20373997
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  They sent a return authorization but not a shipping label therefore I have to pay to return the item that I mailed a check for.  Yes they have not cashed the check, but I don't believe they won't once they receive the item.  I live on an island only accessible by ferry.  I will find time this week to drive off island to a *** store to ship this back (sorry our **** location is not reliable).  I will also be calling the bank to make sure to stop payment on the check that was mailed.  So to return an item that I asked not to have shipped multiple times but finally got bullied into having shipped will cost me mileage, ferry ferry, time, and the shipping.

  Thanks Kelly Printing.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  Zoe Officer

  Business response

  08/10/2023

  They reject our response!?!
  We did not have to give a return authorization number.  They ordered these cartridges on a 30 day open billing in June.  We have the verification of this order recorded. This order became due in early July. It is only after we tried to collect on this past due invoice that all of this discussion regarding returning product occurred.  But at that moment it was already too late.  We have the right for the payment of the order they made.  We decided to go against our policy and give them a return authorization number to make our customer happy.  There should be no reason whatsoever that we should have to pay for the shipping of the product back.  We paid for, and will not recoup,the shipping costs of the product out to them!
  As far as them not believing that we will not cash their check?!?  We have never done anything wrong towards our customer, so this just sounds like they are trying to embellish an event to justify their weak complaint, especially as they got what they wanted.  We made this customer whole by not taking payment and then issuing a refund, which would be against another written company policy.  Additionally, we could have cashed their check and moved on doing nothing further for this customer and adhered to the original agreement. But we did not because we believe in building relationships and not just one time sales as our numerous customers can attest to.
  Finally, they havent returned the product because they have to drive to the *** store?  That sounds like another convenient excuse for them to be the victim.  We made this customer whole by allowing return of this order, even though we did not have to; not taking payment, even though we should; and giving good faith that they will return our unopened, in new condition, merchandise.  We are the ones who are not made whole, and yet they reject our response forcing us to have to respond to keep our relationship with the Better Business Bureau on perfect standing.
  We only sell business to business.  As authorized buyers of a business, they should know terms and conditions.  Additionally,an owner of a business is responsible to know all that is occurring in their business.  This is not a consumer we sold to.

  Customer response

  08/10/2023

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is not exactly satisfactory, but they are just going to push and push that they are a good business.  After reading various other reviews on the BBB website, I definitely should not have done business with them.  As you can see from the attachment, I am not lying that it is not easy getting to a *** store.  I will have to take the ferry to Tacoma (free) and then pay ($17.60) to come back to work.

  Their substandard product will be mailed out today and they can then sell it to some other unsuspecting customer.  If their ink would have printed nicely, I would not have had a problem.  If they would have worked with me on replacing the ink that was not working, I would not have resorted to contacting the BBB.  But no!  All they wanted was to send me more ink and have me pay.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  Zoe Officer

• Initial Complaint

  07/17/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We purchased ink cartridges from this company. They were on a reoccurring deal ( I was not aware of this) and ended up to be way to many. I called to have it canceled as we had more ink than we needed. I spoke with the company and explained we have in that would last for possible over a year. They mentioned we were on a contract for a certain amount and couldn't just not cancel. I told them as our printers are getting older we will *** not need this ink. That if we have to replace a printer I cannot guarantee it will be one that can use the same. Also, that we use more black than color and I have way to many colors. Kelly printing assured me that if that happens or if we needed another type we can swap ink out for another cartridge as we need. Last week I contacted them to swap color ink for black and was told because it has been over a year they are not able to. They never mentioned a time frame I would have to swap any of this out. Had *********** been upfront about that time frame I could have dealt with the whole situation differently that would have better benefited us both. Now I have more ink than is needed and still having to purchase more. This company is very shady and lack disclosing important information so they can make a sale. I have asked to speak with the original sales person I have dealt with and have yet to get a returned phone call or email.

  Business response

  07/19/2023

  We are refuting the claim that the customer was not notified of our exchange policy.  Our return policy, written on every invoice, clearly states ANY DEFECTIVE OR WRONG PRODUCT WILL BE EXCHANGED, FOR CURRENT VALUE, UP TO 6 MONTHS THE PURCHASE DATE. 
  Our first sale to the customer was in November 2021.  In September 2022, the customer called asking to exchange some of the cartridges she had purchased, but they exceeded the six month policy.   As she was a good customer, we agreed to go against our written policy for this one time exchange.  The reason for the six month policy is we will not resell these cartridges. They have reached a point where they are too old and could be defective.We have to recycle them so we lost money on this so called even exchange.  For good customer relations, we did it.  When we received the cartridges, they were not in like new condition.  The customer had written all over the boxes, leaving the only part we could reuse the box in unusable condition.  Instead of denying the return, we decided not to waive the obligatory restocking fee.  As this left a balance due on the exchange invoice, our accounts receivable department tried to collect on the balance.  To make our good customer happy once again,we allowed even more product to be returned in order to clear the invoice in full.  We did this all on good faith to retain our customer.  Now, nine months after the exchange, the customer wants to exchange some of those exchanged cartridges for black as she has used all her black cartridges.  This means, she expects us again to take a loss as we can only recycle them.  We did it for her once and feel that we have been more than fair.

  Customer response

  07/19/2023

   
  Complaint: 20332559
  
  I am rejecting this response because: When I spoke with the salesman over all of this the time frame should have been mentioned this deal  was a different because we paid for a full program in one month rather than spreading it out. So what should have had more time did not and *** said no matter what he would exchange the cartridges out as we needed them to prevent this issue right here. He knew it would be more than six months of being contacted and said this would not be an issue. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

  Business response

  07/24/2023

  We stand by our return policy that is listed on every invoice.  We know of no company that would allow a return policy as they are requesting.  It is unreasonable.

*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. ↩