Loot Crate Fiasco

Welcome back!  after quite a hiatus, the Nightly Unwind is back and we’re back with a doozy.  This might get a little lengthy, but let us know if you think our actions were warranted.

This story all begins back in November of 2018 when the Nightly Unwind was in full swing.  We ordered a Lord of the Rings Loot Crate (3 box set) from Loot Crate for our then twelve year old daughter for Christmas.  We knew that this was a pre-order and that it was to be shipped March 24 – March 31.  We wrapped up the confirmation email and our daughter opened that up Christmas day.  She wasn’t thrilled that she had to wait 3 months for her present, but she was really looking forward to it.

Fast forward to April 9, 2019.  We receive an email from Loot Crate saying we’re sorry, there was some sort of miscommunication…it’s supposed to be shipping out in MAY, not MARCH.  I was irritated, but I can understand that possibly someone typed maR instead of maY.  Mistakes happen.  I get it.  So we have a chat with our daughter saying that there was some confusion and now she has to wait til MAY for her Christmas present.

Guess what?  May came and went.  On June 1, 2019, we get another email from Loot Crate.  Hi again, real sorry, May isn’t happening, now the shipping date is June 10 – June 15.  Fun!  We get to have another chat with our daughter that she’ll be waiting 6 months for her Christmas present.  Now she’s all like, I understand, you just didn’t get me anything for Christmas, whatever.  It totally breaks my heart that she thinks this, or even entertains that idea.

Guess what again?  I logged into our Loot Crate account on June 15 and I see that they conveniently replaced “Jun 10 – Jun 15” with “Jun 10 – Jul 15” without as much as an email telling us that.  Now there’s no doubt in my mind that they changed juN to juL in an attempt to mislead us into thinking that we misread it the first time.

This prompted my first email to Loot Crate.  I told them to forward this email to their legal department.  I rehashed the whole story to them.  I told them that in November of 2018 they charged $160+ to our credit card.  That they’ve held our money for 7 months.  That we have nothing to show for it.  I tell them to familiarize themselves with Massachusetts General Laws 93A (unfair and deceptive trade practices).  What did I get back?  “Hi Looter”…we’re real sorry…we’re in the final steps blah blah blah.  This was signed by someone named Erwin “Looter Support Hero”.  Well, I had to respond to that.  Hey Erwin…stop with the cookie cutter automated response…I went into more detail, but it’s not important.

Anyways, I get another response from them a day later.  At least they used my name this time around, but the kicker of it was “Your crate will ship out by late July”.  Ohhh ok, so you have no intention of making good on the July 15th date you so conveniently snuck by everyone?

I have yet to respond to that email.  Instead, I took matters into my own hands and I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau yesterday.  While poking around and doing some research online before filing, I found that people that did the three payment payment plan are getting even more hosed.  Loot Crate has already charged them for the second crate without fulfilling the first crate.  In the complaint, I mention that this reeks of a Ponzi scheme.  What, Loot Crate couldn’t fulfill the first crate without getting another round of money in order to get the merchandise?

I know all this may sound petty, but we’re trying to teach our daughter that sometimes you have to stand up for yourself.  Loot Crate is nothing more than a big bully.  Telling us one thing with no intentions of coming through on their promises.

Conveniently, I filed the Complaint with the BBB yesterday, and this morning, there’s an email blast from Loot Crate saying “late July”.  Well hello!  Your website still says July 15!

Ok, well, after writing all of this down, I got a little pissy and wrote our dear friend Erwin another email telling him how lousy the company is and that we filed our complaint.  Here’s hoping the Better Business Bureau listens to the little guy.

We’ll keep you posted as to how this plays out.