Flowers are a great way to celebrate a birthday, cheer up a sick friend, or simply brighten someone’s day. Your local florist is just a phone call away, or so you think. Some unscrupulous telemarketing firms are posing as local florists, charging you higher fees and taking business away from legitimate florists in your town.

Here’s how the deception works. A telemarketer takes out a bogus listing in the white pages of your telephone directory. The company may use your town’s name in its own to make you believe it’s local. Or, the name of a legitimate local florist may be listed with a different local phone number. For example, Greenville Florists.

When you call, you’re unknowingly forwarded to an out-of-town telemarketing operation. The telemarketer takes your order and credit card information for payment, and forwards your order to an area florist. The telemarketer pockets a processing fee and usually a percentage of the sale as well. You don’t realize you’ve been scammed until you get higher than expected charges from an out-of town company on your credit card statement, or learn that the flowers weren’t delivered as ordered, or were never delivered at all.

How to Protect Yourself
Follow these tips before you order your next pot of posies:
* Ask neighbors, family, friends, and co-workers for recommendations.
* Deal only with shops that list a street address with their phone number. If you’re asking directory assistance for a number, also ask for the street number and address. If there isn’t one, consider doing business with another florist.
* Check out the florist you’re considering with the local Better Business Bureau and consumer protection officials in your area. Or, if you’re ordering flowers from a local shop in another city or state, contact the consumer protection officials there. Ask if they have any unresolved consumer complaints on file. Also ask them to verify the street address.
* Ask the florist to itemize the charges. In addition to the price of the arrangement, most florists charge a delivery fee and taxes if you live in the same state.
* Ask the florist for directions to the shop. If they hesitate or refuse, consider this a red flag, and avoid doing business with the florist.

When a Rose is a Ruse: What to Do If You’ve Been Scammed
If you placed an order through a wire service, a toll-free number, or a local florist, call the toll-free number of the florist and describe the problem. Many wire services will work with the filling florist to fix the problem or refund your money.

If your arrangement was never delivered, and you paid by credit card, you can dispute the charges with the card issuer.

The FTC works to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To file a complaint or get free information on consumer issues, visit ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              1-877-FTC-HELP      end_of_the_skype_highlighting (1-877-382-4357 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              1-877-382-4357      end_of_the_skype_highlighting); TTY: 1-866-653-4261 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              1-866-653-4261      end_of_the_skype_highlighting. Watch a new video, How to File a Complaint, at ftc.gov/video to learn more. The FTC enters consumer complaints into the Consumer Sentinel Network, a secure online database and investigative tool used by hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.

Source: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt036.shtm

Sending and receiving flowers is a wonderful experience. The brilliant bouquets, and exquisite scent that fills the air shows the person receiving the flowers that you really care. Receiving flowers in wonderfully decorated vases with bows and ribbons is an expression of love that can be displayed in no other way.

In the past, it was difficult for someone to send flowers if the person lived in another state or across country. The service was not reliable and often there was no guarantee the bouquet you chose was the one delivered.

Today, with the Internet as an ever-growing oasis for business, the florist industry has joined the online community. Doing a simple Google search will yield you over a million websites dedicated to providing beautiful floral arrangement, it may be confusing when trying to find the Best Online Florist.

When florists first joined the online community, their services were very limited, however as time went on, they flourished just as the bouquets they created. Today there are more than a million online florists that can, not only, deliver your arrangements nationwide, they can deliver it worldwide.

Best Online Florist should offer you a great selection of brilliant floral arrangements at reasonable prices. They should have wonderfully creative websites that offer many different choices of flower arrangements for any occasion.

Sending flowers for a special occasion is a wonderful way to say you care, however, if you are not sure what type of flowers to send consulting a Custom Floral Designer can assist you in sending the appropriate flowers. You should also be able to speak to a Custom Floral Designer if you have any questions.

Another thing that you should take into consideration when you are trying to find the Best Online Florist is their delivery charges. Some companies charge a lot of money for delivery and the areas are limited. It is important that you check with the online florist to make sure that the flowers will make it to their destination.

There are many different occasions to use an online florist; Mothers day, birthdays, Valentines Day, these holidays are the busiest holidays of the years for florists. Sending flowers is not restricted to just women; send flowers to men has become an increasingly popular trend.

Shopping online is a relaxing experience that can be done from the comfort of your own home. Finding the best online florist can be as easy as taking an afternoon and leisurely browsing through as many shops as you need to find the perfect bouquet.

The Best Online Florists offer exceptional customer service, and because florists are linked to each other through a vast network of shops and suppliers, they are able to find flowers that are both rare and exotic.

Finding the Best Online Florist is not a hard thing to do, it all depends on what type of bouquet you want and what your idea of the perfect florist should be. Being able to shop through pages and pages of different bouquets will give you an idea of what type of florist you are looking at and what they can offer you.

Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/internet-articles/finding-the-best-online-florists-415820.html