"Let me start by saying that I have used this company in the past and have been very pleased until this year. I ordered a Britax carseat back in February and was not told until I emailed them that the seat was on backorder and finally received the seat a month later. I should have known something was up then. I ordered another carseat from them on July 22, 2010. I have contacted them twice thru email without any response. The phone associated with the company on paypal is of course disconnected. They refuse to communicated thru paypal as well so I have a claim pending thru paypal. I essentially paid cash for the car seat so I feel like this company has essentially stolen $270 from me!!!! Not happy and I am still without an extra carseat!!!! Want to file a claim with the better buisness bureau but need an address to do this...any one have one for them???? DO NOT BUY FROM THIS COMPANY - THEY ARE STEALING PEOPLE'S HARD EARNED MONEY WHICH CAN BE DEVASTATING IN THESE HARD ECONOMIC TIMES!!!!"

"I decided to order through hipmonkey.com because I felt that she was trying to keep babies safe after tragically losing her own. I placed an order for a Britax Marathon CS on June 13th. My credit card was charged by the next day, and I waited a few days to email to see when I might be able to expect the seat since the charge was already on the card. She emailed back the next day saying it would be mailed the following day and she would email me a shipping confirmation #. I never heard another word from her. I attempted to contact her (again, by email, since there is no phone # to contact!!) and she never acknowledged the next two emails. I then went to the PayPal Resolution center and emailed her through that. Still no response. After waiting 6 more days, I filed a claim, and got my card reimbursed 10 days after that! I wound up ordering a Britax Boulevard CS from albeebaby.com, and got the seat within 4 days of ordering! Unfortunately she doesn't seem to mind that many, many other babies are in danger while waiting two, three months and more for their seats. You cannot charge someone's card and have them wait in limbo with no contacts! Ridiculous!"

"iam so disgusted right now! i ordered a britax marathon on early Monday morning (2am), it was in stock and should have shipped that day and taking two days to get her (that was per the website. well i recieved an order confirmation email that still stated the my iteam was in stock, so i became a little worried when by tuesday i still hadnt received a shipping confirmation. i went back to the website and it had the product listed as out of stock, but i know that my product was available, because when i tried to add the out of stock car seat it wouldn't allow it into my cart. i know it must sound like im being a bit hasty in getting so upset, but after reading all of these reviews, i cant help but think that it'll be over a month before i get it. ive emailed christine twice and sent in two "tickets" but havent had a response to any of them. i just want to know whats going on! im on the verge of calling my bank and claiming that it is a fruadgulant company and having my money reissued. i dont know what to do!!! except inform everyone i know to avoid this website by all cost!!!

EYork,
mom of a daughter that needs her carseat!!! "

"This is a nightmare. I ordered a Britax carseat in March. My credit card was charged but no carseat arrived. Ever. I finally got a response to my email inquiry and learned of the backorder. Which was fine had I known. BUT my card should not have been charged. My carseat arrived and I learned that it was the wrong one (my mistake, not theirs). The Britax Frontier is for 2 year olds and my daughter is 14 months. SO, I have been trying to return this item. According to the website, you can't return an item without contacting them, first. They are not returning any of my emails or phone calls. They also have a policy that returns are within 30 days. I don't know what to do b/c I am not able to reach them and coordinate the return shipment. I have hated my experience with Hip Monkey. My neighbor told me to use them and what a mistake this has been. What do I do? This carseat is over $200!!! I need to buy the right one but not until I get this credited. I can't complain to my credit card company b/c I did receive the item. It's just the wrong item. UGH.

I am so disappointed."

"I had all the same problems as most of the recent reviewers of this company. I was very frustrated with the same lack of response to my inquiries. When I noted that the CEO had finally responded on this site I accepted her explanation and waited a bit longer.

From the time I got an email indicating that my item had shipped there were no further problems. I received my car seat today, 3 weeks after I placed the order. I got the correct item in perfect condition. The price was great and it helps a good cause.

As other reviewers have suggested a notice on the web site, or an automated response would have solved most of the issues. I'm certain it would have led to many fewer emails for Christine to have to go through. In my case, all I wanted was communication. I could accept the delays from the manufacturer, and some delay caused by the employee problem. I feel certain that there are many others who feel the same way. Just find a way to let us know what is going on.

I'm on the fence as to whether I'd use them again. As long as I don't need an item right away I might try again. I hope they will get better again once they get past these recent problems. I still like the idea of helping out a worthy charity."

"I ordered a car seat with the understanding it would be shipped within a week as stated on the web site. The exact quote from their web-page next to the picture of the car seat I ordered is as follows: “Temporarily Out of Stock - Place your order now to take advantage of our limited time sale and your seat will ship within 1 week.” It didn't ship and I made two attempts to reach someone in sales by their email "form" on the web with no reply. I attempted to call them with a phone number that VISA provided to me. It turned out to be a disconnected line. If VISA can't reach them then who can? I wrote Hipmonkey an email canceling the order and asked VISA to reverse the charge. I missed a sale with our local baby store that is proven reliable (goores.com), so I ordered the identical car seat at Diapers.com, which arrived within 48 hours with no issues!

I think Hip Monkey should stop taking orders for stock they don't have on-hand because babies shouldn’t have to go without a SAFETY devise just because a retailer can’t keep their promises. And there is no excuse for not promptly returning contacts from a paying customer. Also, under Hipmonkey’s “Policies..” section under “Credit Cards” the website states: “your credit card will be billed upon shipment of your order.” This was not true! My credit card was charged within two days upon receiving the order with no shipping date in sight. Two weeks after I canceled the order I received an email informing me the order is being sent. I called FedEx and informed them we would not accept delivery because the order was canceled and they agreed to send the package back to the shipper.

"

"I just read Christine Miller's response dated 4/27/2010 regarding the Britax issue. However, I ordered an IN STOCK Naturepedic Crib Mattress and have still not received any email regarding the shipment of my order. I have left two voicemails and three emails and have not received any sort of communication. I was charged on the 19th, but don't even know if it has been shipped out yet. I really wanted to order from HipMonkey to help out the foundation, but our baby's due in a couple days now and I still don't know if/when I'll get the mattress. Please contact me immediately so that I do not have to dispute the transaction with my credit card company."

"Christine,
I placed my order on 4/7 and my card was charged on 4/9. It is now 4/28 and still no car seat or reply to emails. I have tried contacting your store but the number ***-***-****) has been disconnected. It seems that you are replying to folks that posts to this site so I will attempt to contact you here. Please provide status on the shipment or a tracking number. If the item is still on back order today---PLEASE CANCEL MY ODRDER AND REFUND MY CARD. You have 24 hours to respond. If I don't receive a response I will be disputing the charges with my bank. The unfortunate thing for me is that I can't afford to buy another car seat unitl I get my money back. I have had such a horrible experience with your store.

J. Wells"

"I ordered a Britax Frontier 85 on 4/8/10, my credit card was charged the same day, today is the 27th and I have still not even received an email that is has been shipped. I have a child who can no longer leave the house because she is too big for her current car seat and she can not move up into her sister's seat until her sister receives her new car seat. I have emailed hip monkey and received only one reply stating they would be in the following week and that was only a few days after placing the order. After further attempts to contact the company failed to illicit a response I contacted my credit card company. They informed me that if I had not received my merchandise 30 days after placing the order then at that point they would credit my card and take care of the matter by getting the money back from hip monkey. I hate playing this waiting game but feel I have no other option. I would have just cancelled the order but I do not know that hip monkey would receive or even acknowledge a cancel order email/ticket. So I sit and wait for either a car seat to magically appear at my doorstep, or for 30 days to pass so I can order from someone who actually has it in stock when they advertise that they do. I suggest others also contact their credit card company and also place the amount charged by hip monkey in "dispute" as I have done if they are having trouble with their orders. "

"I am in a similar boat to everyone else. I ordered a Britax Roundabout 50 back on March 7th and was told the order would ship within a week. When that didn't happen, I e-mailed and was told a shipment was coming in the following week. Again, another week and a half passed with no shipment. I e-mailed again and was PROMISED that I would receive a car seat from the next shipment, which was to arrive in 2 weeks. That was 3 weeks ago. I have since e-mailed 3 times and have gotten no response. My credit card was charged on March 8th. Never mind the fact that I haven't received the promised car seat, I am beyond frustrated with the lack of communication and inability to contact the company. My son NEEDS to move to a new car seat and it really angers me that no one will even respond to my e-mails. I too was drawn to this company because if its charitable contributions, but now wonder if I have been had by some sort of a scam. I'm at a loss of what to do next besides contact the proper consumer groups and my credit card company.

Also, I saw that the president has responded to some of the complaints below and promised a car seat from the 4/26 shipment. Has anyone received any tracking information about their order?

UPDATE: I received my car seat today. Thank you, Christine. I'm sorry to hear about the difficulties you are currently facing with staffing and hope things begin to run more smoothly for you, however I don't think your response was an accurate assessment of the situation.

When I ordered the car seat, your site clearly said that the chair was currently out of stock but orders placed would be SHIPPED WITHIN ONE WEEK. That is the reason why I placed the order. If it had said "Backordered until further notice" I would not have placed the order. Even if it was out of stock, your site clearly promised a delivery time of "within one week". Also, I can imagine your frustration at reading negative reviews at this particular time, but understand that this is the only way any of us have been able to get any information. If you had responded to any of my e-mails I would not have posted on this site. It just became clear to me that this was the only way to get any information. I didn't even look into this site until after I was unable to contact you for 2 weeks.

I'm quite sure you are running a terrific business and foundation and I truly wish you continued success. Thank you for fulfilling my order. I hope that this situation will resolve itself quickly for the rest of your customers."

"I ordered the Britax Advocate CS on April 8th. It was not back-ordered, so I was expecting to receive my car seat in 3-10 business days (as stated on the website.) It has now been 13 business days. My credit card was billed on April 9th. On the website however, it specifies that credit cards will NOT be charged until the item has shipped. I have written an online "ticket" on their website, inquiring about my order. I received no reply. So I wrote an email to their customer service email- nothing. I feel very frustrated with the lack of response. It is not professional. I was very excited about ordering from a charity-type company, but will not do it again. I wish this company would have been open and honest about how long it would take to ship. My item was IN-STOCK so I expected it to be shipped in the time line the company itself specified. I want to cancel my order and receive a refund, but I haven't been able to contact them at all. I pray I haven't lost my money. "

"I just want to say that I am glad to get a response and definitely understand your predicament. As I stated before I had such a good experience the last time that I was suprised to have any issues w/this order. I look forward to receiving the product and I hope that things w/your business smooth out soon.
I really like being able to purchase from a website that donates to a foundation like you do.

I placed an order almost 2 wks ago and have tried to contact hipmonkey via their website 3 times w/no reply. I placed an order for 2 carseats that were labelled temporarily out of stock. My credit card was charged right away and I have received no word or carseats from them yet. I am very disturbed by this...especially considering I have purchased two carseats from them in the past w/excellent service. The only reassurance I have had is through this review website and reading the other reviews and responses. I truly hope this is just a problem w/the company being shorthanded and overwhelmed. I really do need carseats ASAP but at this point would be happy just to get a call informing of the status of my order!!"

"It looks like I am not the only one in this position. I ordered the Britax Advocate CS on April 7th. I realize the item was marked out of stock... I specifially sent a message to inquire about how long it would take for these to become available again. I was told 1 week. I was under the impression this could possibly take up to 2 weeks. I have ordered nearly 3 weeks ago and cannot wait any longer for a car seat as my daughter has outgrown the car seat we are now using. I have tried to send a message 4 times via the message system in my account on their web site. I have not received any response. The last attempt was this evening and I wrote to cancel the order. I too was charged for the item 3 weeks ago. I understand things happen.... I do not feel it is right to charge for an item until it has shipped. I will be disputing this transaction with my credit card company. I have never had any problems ordering online until now. I realize Hip Monkey is having some staffing issues and this is unfortunate... I hope they are able to find some help so they can provide customers with sufficient service and communication. Thank you for hearing my concerns. "

"I placed an order for a Britax Diplomat (onyx) on March 27, 2010. My credit card was charged on March 28, 2010. After a week with NO notifications about shipping, I emailed the company to know about my order, and NO answers. two weeks after same thing, I sent other email, No feedback. Therefore, I sent by regular mail (04/19/10) the proof of my order & my payment on it, requesting the shipment of the Carseat or my money back, TO: Hip Monkey 3708 Business Park Dr Amarillo, TX 79110.
AND STILL WAITING FOR ANY TYPE(KIND) OF ANSWER.
I need the carseat ASAP, since, I have twins, and I have only ONE car seat. PLEASE!!!

Christine Miller, if you cannot fulfill my order, please refund my money, I do not have more money to spend on it, for a 3rd one car seat.
I did the order in hipmonkey because of your son and your non-profit organization. Please be honest and responsible with your customers that believe in your words (story).
I don't want to think that this is a fraud.

I really appreciate if you send me an email or a regular mail letter explaining whats going to happen with this, My order # AB-9926.

Thanks a lot,

M Mora


"

"The car seat has now shipped. I will update when it arrives. I wish Christine had simply alerted all customers to the Britax delay on the front page of her website and that an estimated shipping date would have popped up there or on the page when you try to order the carseat. She could also have sent out the response she posted here to all customers awaiting carseats (one form letter instead of trying to answer 500 individual emails) as then people would not panic. Also, perhaps the company should consider waiting to charge credit cards until items are shipped. Then customers are less likely to panic and worry that they have been scammed."