Comments regarding House of Wesley

Mail order is always a risk. I have ordered from House of Wesley when I lived in IL, FL, and now GA. The plants were always as described. My latest order was 4 Hybred Willows. When they came they were small little sticks and I was skeptical of them growing much the first year. They grew at various rates from next to zero to amazing based on the amount I watered. The one that is watered every day is now a good 12' tall and 6' feet wide in less than 4 months. the one that doesn't get hit by the sprinklers has 2 leaves on it. the ones watered occasionally are about 5' tall. I was so happy with the growth of the one watered everday I am going to drip irrigation and watering the row of trees I am putting in along my fence line everyday so they will get big fast.

On June 11, I ordered 8 items, paying about $60 by credit card.

When they did not arrive by June 22, I called and asked that that order be canceled and that the materials be sent in the spring of 2011, when the planting season would be more appropriate. They said they would comply. I asked for writtten confirmation; They said they'd try.

I never got confirmation of cancellation, but I DID receive the plants! In JULY (mailed on June 30).

I called. "Elizabeth" said my cancellation had to be in writing; she also said the plants had been mailed on June 22 (despite the 6/30/10 on the package). She also said I would have to pay for the return postage!! This latter was NINE DOLLARS that I had to pay for THEIR mistake!

There's more, but you get the idea. Terrible customer service, terrible return policy, incompetent mailing department. I've asked them IN WRITING, of course, to remove my name from their mailing list.

Do yourself a favor and NEVER use the House of Wesley in IL!! Unless you want headaches!

Posted on February 22, 2007, updated June 28, 2010
Last year I ordered 6 Emperess Trees from House of Wesley. They came, but were not what I expected. They appeared to be dead sticks, and three were actually hollow. I put aside my doubts and planted them. As expected, they did not grow. I have just sent in my original shipping label and will give the company the benefit of doubt until I receive the replacements. If I get more dead sticks I will be on this site again. I am thankful for this site, since it has given me names of several other companies involved with House of Wesley. I believe 4 seasons was one of them. I have also sent the original shipping label into them for 18 blue spruce trees which are all dead. Half of those came and were covered in mold. To be fair, I did get four 3 in 1 crab trees from 4 seasons and they are doing ok. WISH ME LUCK! Either way (satisfied or extremely angry) you will see something from me in the near future.

I placed an order for 36 Hemlock Trees, 1 red clematis, climbing blue moon rose and mixed hybrid lily's. My credit card was charged the day I placed my order and it took me disputing the charge with my credit card company just to receive the order almost two months later, against my better judgment I kept the order and decided to go ahead and plant the half dead looking trees they sent me figuring I would give them a chance to live, after they kept repeating the phrase "remember we ship our items dormant". As of today the trees are dead, the clematis plant is dead and the blue rose bush is blooming red, the lily's are the only thing living. I called the company this morning to get a refund for the dead trees, I do not want replacement trees why should I go through the trouble of replanting 36 trees to have them die again. They will not refund my money, they insist that in order for a refund you have to return the items in 14 days, so much for giving them a chance to live. This company SUCKS and I will never do business with them again, I only wish I would have found this website before I placed an order with them. At this point I would rather cut my losses than plant more of their dead crap. Ripoff artists are what they are...beware and stay away from HOUSE OF WESLEY!

I ordered over $100.00 worth of flowers. They were all dead when I received them. DEAD NOT DORMANT. I returned all just as I was instructed to do so. I have not heard a word from this company! DO NOT ORDER FROM THIS COMPANY!!! I HAVE AND WILL CONTINUE TO TELL EVERYONE, STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY AND ITS PARTNERS.

I see all these negative comments and I am truly unsure why all the complaints.
I ordered and received as promised; normal delivery time. Dormant shrubs as described, and 12 unexpected nice strawberry plants. I soaked overnight the dormant Rose of Sharons, and I live in northern Colorado, and they are looking good; of course just small but they look very healthy! We do not have the best soil = clay, but worked it a little, water them everyday and everyday I see new growth.
I have already made another purchase for other ground cover and plants and can't wait until I receive them.
I think what the problem is with other people, is first they are impatient, secondly, I don't think they followed directions for dormant plants. I also did not receive anything near unhealthy or damaged in shipping.
Thank you House of Wesley! Happy to do business with you--prices are good too!!!

My order was for 3 Josephine Clematis and 3 Blue Light Clematis. I received 2 of the Josephine's and 3 Blue Lights. Also ordered 6 Jumbo Canadian Hemlock which arrived looking very dead. I wish that I had read the comments prior to ordering and I will never order from this company again.

I placed an order on 4/23/10. The catalog states 2-3 weeks for shipping. On 5/12 when I did not have the order, or any communication regarding the order, I emailed a request to track it. The response came 5 days later, saying House of Wesley cannot track orders. But in the meantime, I had attempted to call their long distance # (who doesn't have a toll free #?) and found that part of the order had shipped, and the remaining part was still being processed. The first part of the order arrived 5/15/10. I immediately put them in the ground, as the plants looked as though they were on the verge of death. I tried to call again and cancel the order (by the way, getting them on the phone takes some effort as the line is consistently busy) but they said it was too late to cancel. The remaining part of the order arrived 5/29/10. I should also note that every one of the plants from the first part of the order had died by the time the second part arrived. House of Wesley paperwork states their plants arrive in a dormant state. Though I am a novice gardener, I am quite sertain mushy and moldy is not dormant. I called again to find out what the procedure is to return the plants for a refund. The rep said it didn't matter what I ship them in because by the time they return back to them they'll be dead. I hate to say it but the plants were long dead before they arrived to me.

We probably need to pray for these guys. The mundane details of my experience with House of Wesley are consistent with the stories of others here. If you enjoy writing negative reviews, order from House of Wesley.

I purchased some things from their catalog two years ago. They arrived so pathetically dead that it was not possible for them to be alive when they were sent. I have spent two years writing to them (they make you jump through hoops, keep a copy of previous shipping packages, etc.) and getting the same dead junk. Their parent company is Burgess, and Burgess has purchased and/or started up numerous other companies that operate in the same way. NEVER ORDER FROM THESE PEOPLE. In fact, I would not buy from any of the Burgess affiliates for the same reason. Some of these affiliates include

Burgess Nursery
Owens Nursery
Four Seasons Nursery
Sunburst Nursery
Greenview Nursery

If youa re uncertain, look at the address. If it's from Bloomington, IL, STAY AWAY!!

Sent by mail an order in early May for some Blueberry & Asparagus plants with my credit card info for payment in full!
Called today 05/24 and was advised that they received my order 05/13 and normally it takes 2 to 4 weeks to receive my order from the time they get it. I was then advised that this season there were additional problems with shipping and it would be more like 6/17!
I order a lot on-line and always receive e-Mail communication to advise me of most every step along the way! Jen advised me that they are not set up to use outgoing e-Mail for their customers! They have a web site so e-Mail should be FREE and just may save a lot of customers!Guess I will not have that to worry about that next year! As far as I am concerned they should wave the shipping and overnight my order! I won't hold my breath!

I would not order from this place. They said that the flowers would ship in 2 to 3 days, in a week nothing had arrived. I talked to someone and they said the order was being processed. About 2 weeks later still nothing, i contacted them agian and they said that they did not recieve the order. They are a very poorly ran company with very rude customer service reps. do not waste your time or money.

They took the money from my bank account on April 1, 2010 and I FINALLY received the plants after 3 more emails asking where my plants are...on May 6th...the plants were TERRIBLE just shipped in a plastic bag. For the money, I could've gotten better plants at Lowe's or Wal-Mart...

NEVER AGAIN!

Something stinks in the House of Wesley. Do they buy distressed plants to ship? Do they have quality control in shipping? Do they care about their reputation? My plants arrived dead and mushy except for two burning bush twigs which are hard to kill any way. I took them from Florida to north Georgia immediatly and planted them. Hope springs eternal, alas. The Illinois Department of Agriculture needs to investigate this bunch. After reading many other complaints, there is something really wrong here. Where is consumer protection in Illinois?

My check to House of Wesley is dated 4 April 2009, so that is the date of my order. Many weeks later, when the plants finally arrived, I found that they were almost all of very poor quality and that many were already dead. Following is a list of the plants I received and a brief commentary on each variety: (1) 24 Creeping Red Sedum--12 of the 24 grew, growth is feeble; (2) 50 Evergreen Periwinkle--15 grew, growth is feeble; (3) 40 Gladiolus Bulbs--24 grew, growth is satisfactory, bulbs were only marble-sized; (4) 2 Giant Double Peonies--both of them grew, growth is very feeble; (5) 4 Humming-bird Vines--All grew, growth is very good (not surprising for this species); (6) 2 Colorado Blue Spruce--both were dead upon arrival and seem to have been dead already for many weeks; (7) 15 blackberry plants--only five of the 15 plants grew, growth is feeble; (8) 6 Huge Hibiscus--5 grew, growth is feeble; (9) 2 Scarlet Red Maples--both were dead upon arrival; (10) 2 Butterfly Bushes--both were dead upon arrival. Of the 147 plants in my order, only 67 (less than 46%) grew, and many of these probably will not survive the winter.
I did not file a complaint with the House of Wesley because I assumed I would get no further with them than the many others who have complained. My impression of the House of Wesley is that it is deliberately pawning off dead and inferior merchandise on trusting people like me and that it will go on doing so unless legal constraints are imposed. Companies like this, if left unchecked, will give the state of Illinois a very bad reputation in respect to the handling of injustices to consumers. I have filed a complaint with the office of the attorney general in Illinois.

In May 2008 I received an order from this company...many of the plants were dead or covered in fungus. At my expense, I returned the dead plants. I wanted a refund on my credit card but was told that they would only issue a refund certificate to be used within one year. In April 2009 I figured that I would use up the refund certificate. I went to their website and placed an order. I was unable to complete the order over the internet because I was using the refund certificate. I mailed the refund certificate along with a check for $1.88 to cover the total amount of the order. The check was cashed in May and I still have not received the order. It's now July 21. I've tried calling the phone number on the order form and no one answers. It is obviously too late in the growing season to plant these items. I believe that this company makes a lot of money by selling an inferior product that has little value. They then make it almost impossible for unsatisfied customers to collect any kind of refund. Most people just give up and walk away. I've contacted Lisa Madigan, Illinois Attorney General, Consumer Fraud Bureau to report this company's unethical business practices. If you have been burnt by them, you should contact her as well. The form is available on line http://www.IllinoisAttorneyGeneral.gov

I have been trying to get "live" plants from these people for a year now... they keep sending "dead" plants. When I call they are very nice but take months to send the replacements! Further, when any (not many) replacement plants do arrive they are molded/mildew and 'dead too'. I have wasted almost $100 with these people.

I will no longer buy ANYTHING from House of wesley!

I placed an order on March 31, 2009 anf was told it was shipped and delivered on May 20, 2009. I contacted customer service and informed them I did not receive the oreder. Well, here it is June 10, 2009 and still no order. Customer service has not done anything but trace the package and told me it was delivered. I cannot get any response at all telling me the order will be reshipped or if I will get a refund. I have sent numerous emails stating my dismay over how they are handling my complaint and all I get back is an email stating " we're sorry you feel this way". I would advise any one thinking of ordering from the House of Wesley, they not order from them because they have no concept of customer satisfaction nor do they try to resolved delivery issues concerning thier products. Stay away from the House of Wesley ! ! !

I've had some very good luck ordering plants from House of Wesley. However, their shipping procedures are terrible. They cannot tell you in advance whether you plants will ship via UPS/FEDEX or the U.S. Postal Service. We live in the country. We're 32 miles from the post office that services us, so we have a P.O. Box in the town where we work. Since House of Wesley could not tell us how the plants would ship, I asked that they go to the P.O. Box if shipped by U.S. Postal Svc but to the residence if shipped by UPS/FEDEX. They were mailed to the residence address. Fortunately, the package was small enough to fit in the local mail kiosk. If it had not been, due to our work schedule, we would not have been able to get to the post office until June 6th! You would think a company that ships so often would have a way of telling the customer how products were going to be shipped!

A year ago, I ordered 20 hybrid willows from H of W. They arrived in great condition - moist with little buds all over them. I was very impressed and I placed three more orders for an additional 180 trees. All 180 were dry with no buds. I followed the instructions - soak, plant, fertilize, water, water, water.... During the subsequent ten months, none of those 180 ever produced a single bud. I live in FL where we do not have problems growing plants; we have problems trying to keep the jungle from encroaching on us, but even in FL, dead trees will not grow. I followed the instructions EXACTLY for requesting replacements and received all healthy little trees that are thriving. I believe that while H of W could improve their packaging, they aren't a crooked organization as some people believe. They are dealing with plants and a rational person would understand that plants are fragile. I intend to buy an additional 800 trees from them, albeit only a few at a time.

I ordered from 2 different outfits. Come to find out they all revert back to Four Seasons Nursery.First order, Nothing grew that they sent me. I trashed it.Next order was shipped to me, but only half the order arrived. I have had no luck in trying to get hold of these people.They hide behind deception. Please folks! DON"T order from these people.

Last spring I was enticed by the beautiful catalog of House of Wesley into buying $70 worth of a variety of plants to start my new garden project. Plants arrived very small, in plastic bags. I planted all the plants and tended them for 2 months--no signs of thriving, except for 5 of the lilly bulbs I planted. By May, I gave up and pulled up the plants and went to a local nursery to buy plants for my garden. I have contacted the company asking for a refund and asking if they want me to return the plants. Have not heard from the company. I also contacted the lawyer, William Mueller, by e-mail. No word from him either in two weeks. Tried again today. From other posts it looks like the BBB has been contacted about this company but yet they are still in business. Please contact me if you would like to start a class action lawsuit against this firm.

I ordered 12 ice plant and 6 arrived totally rotten and dead. So I requested a replacement of the 6 dead ice plant. By the way ice plant does wonderfully in Southern California.
The 6 replacement ice plant arried today June 18, 2008 and the plants were 3" tall, with a 1/2" wide by 1-3/4" high root ball. 2" of the bottom part of the plant was already dead on 5 of them. 1 plant was totally dead. Only one plant was green. The remaining four were brown and yellow, totally limp and in a few days will also be dead. You're making a mistake if you order from this nursery.

Ordered 4/20/08 - for "2-3" week delivery. Charged on 4/24/08 before product was shipped. Assumed producted shipped on date my cc was billed. Called May 12 - "shipping this week." Followed up by e-mail 5/19 - product not available, awaiting product ordered - advised HOW to cancel my shipment. Shipment was not canceled. E-mailed again explaining that I could not accept delivery this late due to travel schedule and customer service repeated order would ship "soon." Called again to cancel order and told order shipped - advised it was too late, referred to my e-mails and cust. service was rude and ignorant claiming they shipped as per my order and not their problem, they said to return items if I'm not happy. Had to dispute charge with my credit card - Chase Visa immediately refunded me the charge. Beware - low prices are a gimmick, this company is a rip off artist.

I placed a order in April, finally received it and everything was dead, called them, they were rude, hateful, and just plan a pain in the bottom, got a run around, so I filed a formal complaint with the BBB and most likely won't do any good, but I feel better, If anyone buys from House of Wesley they better check them out first, and then decide to go somewhere else.

I have had a horrible time just trying to get my plants. I ordered them well over a month ago, and have called several times over the past couple of weeks and they keep telling me they are going to be shipped out "within a couple of days." I did receive one plant which according to them was shipped out over three weeks before I actually got it. And it looks pitiful, I received what I considered a little stick in a bag of dead leaves. It was completely dried out and mostly dead. I kept it just because I don't think it's worth the effort to deal with them to send it back. And like some of the others my debit card was charged within 2 days of my order. So, they've got their money, and I'm still waiting. I'll keep calling and hopefully get them before planting season is over. But I will NEVER order from them again.

negative so for I ordered seeds in early march said they was going to ship them in a couple of days haven"t seen them yet I called they said 2 to 4 weeks still nothing I hope I get them soon .pray for me flagpole

I received an order from House of Wesley today and was very disappointed with it. I received great gunnera, in a plastic bag with no protection or moisture control, it was also put in my mail box which I think damaged it more. One of the tubers(out of 3) was rotten and the other 2 were damaged, with new growth smashed and broken off. I also received a "free" iris tuber which was a smelly disgusting slimeball! I called customer service immediately and the guy was very somber and had no idea about their shipping policies, also with no apologies. I'm mailing them back and I also have elephant ears coming that were shipped seperately. I hope they will be in better shape if not they will go back as well.

I was very satisfied with this company and the plants when received. If I were giving stars, they would get 4 out of 5 from me. I did receive one broken tree but only the very tops, and the sedum is not quite the size I expected(but then sedum only takes a tiny bit to take over a flower bed anyway). If a person were to actually read all the information, they would see what I saw, and that is that NOTHING gets shipped before April first, and then in the warmer places first. I was very satisfied to see my order delivered promptly on 14 April, 2008. I did place my order in January, but knew I did not want anything delievered that early in the year. The prices were excellent, quality of goods was average, and overall, I will definitely order from them again. We ordered a hardwood maple from this company (or one of it's affiliates) 25 years ago, and when it arrived, my father looked at the pitiful 6 inch tree (counting the roots) and called the company. They sent an immediate replacement. In the end, the pitiful 6 inch tree is now a fabulous specimen, and the nice large replacement (over 2 feet tall) did not survive. That means, you take your chances with anything you do, especially with living things. I am happy to take that risk again and again with this company.

It is absolutely the worst plant co I've ever delt with and I am buying plants on daily basis at work. They lured me the second time - they were the Four Season Nursery before- and I had to admit that I fell for the same tricks again. Stay away from this place as far as posible. It may be border line illigal what they are doing. I order bunch of plants and all of them were in horible shape. In addition, 3 items were listed on the label but missing in the package. Now, I remember I had the same problem with the Four Season. I sent them the label with complain and nothing happened - then, of course, I completely forgot about it and that what they are counting on!!!! The service is the most rude I've ever encounter!!!

This is probably the WORST company I have ever used! I have struggled to get VIABLE plants for the money I've spent and, after at least FOUR attempts to meet their guarantee standards, I still have not received the items for which I paid. I am in the process of contacting the proper consumer protection agencies to resolve my problems with House of Wesley!

This company has been way more of a hassle than it has of value! I, honestly, would NEVER deal with them, again, and I have already discouraged several friends and family members from ordering from them!

Respectfully,

Gizz Davis

In 2006, I first ordered plants from House of Wesley. All of the plant material arrived in poor condition - most of it dry and others had mold. When I contacted them for replacement, I got the ridiculous shipping label requirement, even though I had kept a copy of the original receipt. Fortunately, I was able to identify a location where the shipping label requirement was not made clear. They eventually agreed to issue a merchandise credit.

In 2007, I ordered new plants and received moldy plants once again. My total bill was for approx $3.50 more than in 2006. When I requested credit for the plants (after again not growing), I was told that the warranty was only for one year, so they could only issue a credit for the additional $3.50. Technically, I didn't get a full year of warranty though because the first order needed replacement within a short timeframe, and then I had to wait until the next planting season to even get new plants. So if they count the time that the products are in our possession, it certainly will not equal a year.

The bottom line is that they have terrible replacement policies, and poor products. I would never order from them again. What a terrible mail-order experience. BUYER BEWARE!!!

Ordered plants in April -- received plants 2 weeks later -- most did not grow - rose tree was dead -- just thrown in bag and shipped -- after 3 calls -- and 2 sets of letters etc -- only received a merchandise credit -- because it took so long on their part!!!
get what you pay for -- good come on prices BUT
Lousy merchandise and worse service
no refunds etc.
BEWaRE!!!

I placed an order from this site early this year and they delivered it to the wrong address. When I called them, I was told to go to the address and ask for the plants - it was an apartment building with no way to leave plants or contact anyone. When I contacted HoW again, I was told that they plants were sent and that they would not refund me my money or send replacement plants. I had my credit card company take back the money I paid (around $59) and today got a threatening letter from these people telling me they are going to turn me over to collection if I don't send them the money. DO NOT ORDER FROM THIS SITE!!! It's just a call center. No one cares about you or the plants.

In trying to exercise my "guarantee" on a couple of dead toothpicks I foolishly bought from HOW last year, I have been given the run around both during my initial purchase and now while trying to get replacements. I think a class action (merchantability) suit is indeed in order. I also think folks should contact all affiliates and associated seed companies (Burgess, etc) HOW claims to be connected with to explain their problems and the negative impression HOW gives to their respective companies.

This year as always I recieved several seed and plant catalogs one in particular caught my attention, it was the House of Wesley. I thought that the prices seemed fair for what was pictured so I decided to give them a try. I ordered over the internet, and imediately recieved e-mail comformation of my order however it seemed like forever before I recieved my plants (several weeks) when I did get them they appeared to be dead, totally dried out, however we followed all the directions an waited, and waited, and waited, and the result was out of aprox. 412 plants only about 30 actually grew, the rest did nothing. I have contacted the company, and was treated politely, but am dissapointed
that I can not get a refund, if it were 10 or 15 or even 25 plants that did not grow I would be happy with replacement or credit, but it is very late in the planting season here in florida and very hot for new starts they offered a credit for use in the fall also but I am afraid I will get more of the same dead very very small plants.

I placed an order on 4-23-07, was charged 4-24-07, have never recieved any plants. Tried to cancel by email (sent on to right dept) and by mail 5-18-07. They started "processing my request on 5-21-07 and are still processing 6-11-07. They never responded to the Better Business of IL. My credit card company is trying to get money back. I did see on the BBB that William Mueller is their secretary/attorney. I found his web site and have tried writing him today for answers. Maybe if we all try him we can get some answer or atleast fill up his inbox and make him look into it. I found him at http://www.lawyers.com/Illinois/Bloomington/William-A-Muelle... It has a spot to send him email. It is worth a try.

Like so many others I ordered plants from The House of Wesley that: a. never grew, b. were inadequate and inferrior in size to be able to grow, c. replacement plants arrived equally small and already dead.

Thank you for this service. I will not waste my time in attempting to get an adjustment from this company. Far too many have reported that difficulty. I simply will rely on your recommended plant suppliers in the future.

Angry in Oklahoma

I wish I had found this site before I ordered, purchased some 80 plants which they never shipped until I pulled some teeth, They sure charged me for them though. Sadly many of them did not live nor did they ever really take off. How do they stay in biz?