Better Business Bureau

MAAK Industries sells pet merchandise, including flea and tick control products, often in 6- and 12-month supplies, vitamins, leashes, toys for dogs and cats, etc. Their website advertises free shipping worldwide and other discounts, such as an additional 15 percent off on all products, plus an additional $20 off on orders over $499, and up to $15 off your order for joining their customer list.

Although none of the 41 MAAK customer complaints we've received tell us how they heard about the company in the first place, those we've asked say they found the company by looking online. The company's website gives a Texas location and a Phoenix fax number, but our records for them include a Yorba Linda address.

The subject of almost all complaints is that customers didn't receive their orders. Although MAAK clearly states that you should allow seven to 21 business days to receive your order and that you may not change your order once you've placed it, regardless of whether it has been shipped or not, customers still become dissatisfied. A Kentucky complainant, for example, who was attracted by MAAK's offer of free shipping, contacted the company 25 days after placing her order, only to be told they'd never received her payment. A week later, though, she found her check had been cashed. By then she'd placed the same order with another company, so she again contacted MAAK to see if she could cancel. MAAK said no, the order had already been shipped, yet after another three weeks she still hadn't received her merchandise. She's never received it, nor has she been able to get her $32.95 back.

"I guess their free shipping is cost free to them," she says, "since they never deliver what you order."

A Missouri customer who ordered $260 worth of supplies never received them and emailed and called the company several times. She got no help from them, and had her credit card company credit her payment back to her. More than a month later, she received a box by certified mail, with postage paid for three ounces. The box contained only bubble wrap and a bill. The charge had been made to her credit card again, two days earlier. The company's only response was "order shipped and received." Other complainants report similar experiences.

An Indiana woman who said she was amazed at how cheap MAAK's prices were decided to stock up on a topical flea medicine for her three puggles and ordered for a friend as well. She found that when she added the products to her online shopping cart, they were less than shown in the ad. She doesn't complain that she never received her order, but that six months later the company apparently discovered they'd made a pricing error and withdrew additional money from her checking account with no notification to her and no permission from her. Two days after the withdrawal, she received a letter informing her that because she "knew about the pricing error and took advantage of it," they were taking the additional monies to make up the difference.

The company's response? "We have honored the prices as stated on the site." This customer, who ended up paying over $800, asks "Which price?" and says the company is "hiding and covering up the fact that they changed the information."

Some complainants who received orders say they were shipped from such places as the United Kingdom, Australia, France and Iran. They believe the products are counterfeit and may not meet U.S. standards.

Kim's advice: Don't get caught. Take the same precautions you would take making any Internet purchase:

• Get a reliability report on the company first. If we've received complaints from others, you can learn from them. You can also find out how we rate the company. In MAAK's case, we give them an "F." And if we have customer reviews for the company, you should find them helpful.
• Pay by credit card. It's easier to dispute the charge than to get an obstinate company to make a refund.
• As always, read the fine print. At the end of MAAK's Terms and Conditions, for example, are disclaimers stating that MAAK acts as a third party processor for payments made via their website, and that all products are dispensed and shipped by licensed veterinarians. They say they have "no control over the quality, safety or legality of the items advertised, the truth or accuracy of the listings . . ." They also say they cannot "ensure that a buyer or seller will actually complete a transaction."

  MAAK also disclaims any warranties, saying that all products are provided "as is."

  You may also have to read between the lines. For example, MAAK reserves the right to refuse or cancel orders placed for a product listed at an incorrect price, and they will, they say, issue a credit to your credit card account in this case. But they don't cover the case where the customer underpaid because of their error.

• Finally, if anything about the company seems just too good to be true, start by placing an order that costs no more than you can afford to lose.

Kim Burge is the Better Business Bureau's Director of Trade Practices