Rotten and Bitter Forbidden Fruits at Farm Fresh Online

My experience of this business was hellish! It began during the first phase of the lockdown, when it was difficult to move around. A friend had recommended the service to us. We promptly sent a query to Farm Fresh Online on their WhatsApp number. They responded promptly with beautiful pictures of their fruits and vegetables and their banking details for payment.

We placed an order and sent them proof of payment on Tuesday 12 May 2020. They confirmed our order and delivery address, and said the goods would be delivered two days later, Thursday 14 May 2020. Meanwhile, on Wednesday, they sent notification that a chicken franchise had supplied them with fresh surplus chicken stock which they were selling for R50.00 each. We asked if we could add this to our existing order, and they said "Yes". So we placed the supplementary order and paid.

On the said Thursday morning they delivered a wrong and incomplete order, which lacked some of the items we had ordered. I promptly wrote to them, listing the 6 items that were missing, including amongst them the two chicken ordered. I asked that they urgently rectify the situation. They responded first thing the following day (15 May, 08h18). They apologised and promised to deliver the same day.

At 14h38, they send a message, asking for a little patience, alleging that their driver had been stopped by police demanding to see a health certificate authorising them to transport food during the lockdown, and that they had sent a manager to the scene to resolve the matter. I thanked them for the communication. At 14h25, they informed me that the drivers had resumed deliveries and that if they did not reach me by the end of the day, a fresh order would be delivered the following day.

Early the next day (Saturday 16 May, 08h26) they advised again that my order had been loaded for delivery the same day, and that the driver would call me an hour before delivery. They assured me that I was first on the list in my suburb to receive my order. "I'm 200% certain you will get it today", the WhatsApp message said. Again, I thanked them for the communication.

Lo and behold, the order was not delivered. So, late that evening, I sent them a lengthy message informing that that my order was again not delivered, despite their abundant promises to do so. I pointed out that this was an inconvenience to me (as we needed food during the lockdown) and that the chicken would evidently no longer be fresh by now. I indicated that I had ordered the chicken to cook for my wife and children on our anniversary as we couldn't go out during the lockdown and that I no longer had need for it as our anniversary was that Saturday. I "respectfully requested" that since they were having such difficulty in delivering the remainder of my order, they should rather refund me. I provided them with my bank details. I emphasised that in the circumstances, that I did not want to enter into any argumentation and humbly requested that they show me the respect I had shown them throughout this fiasco by simply refunding me.

On Sunday morning 17 May, they apologised, and explained that they'd been "having issues" with one of their delivery teams. They offered me a different, cheaper combo, which did not contain the items that were missing. Again, I thanked them for their consideration and declined the offer. "I would much prefer to be refunded as explained previously", I stated emphatically. They responded the next day (19 May) as follows: "Understood. You will refunded today".

a week came and went, and the following Monday 25 May (we were now on lockdown Alert Level 4) I wrote them indicating that I had not received my refund. I wrote: "Up to now, you will agree with me that I have been perfectly reasonable and indulgent [in my dealings with you]. I ask - again, kindly - and one more time: you have failed to deliver; plese, please pay my refund. It is the morally right thing to do, it is my legal right, and it is good for your own business." They responded: "I'm very sorry about the delays. I'll have my Manager ensure its done today and you get proof of payment." Needless to say this did not happen.

I realised then that I was getting nowhere with the person who manages the orders and googled the company online. I found their FaceBook page, the name of the manager/owner and contact details. I emailed him a complaint on 27 May, sharing my experience with his company and again requesting to be refunded. I complained that they were treating me atrociously, and that the reason I have been so patient was that I am Christian and therefore was just deliberately pursuing a harmonious path of resolving the issue, and that my patience must not be interpreted as idiocy or ignorance - and ignored. I warned that my appeal to my was my last engagement with the company, and that if I did not get a satisfactory response I would exercise my legal rights. I stressed that the matter was no longer just about the money I am owed (which was less than R200) but about the principle of justice, and that if I am ignored, I would not hesitate to expose their unethical practices so that the public could be protected from people like them. I indicated that such measures as I may take, in addition to civil and criminal litigation (as I now thought this business was a scam designed to defraud unsuspecting consumers) would include writing this review on hellopeter, informing the WhatsApp group where I got the recommendation of this business, and getting my story to be published in local community newspapers where Farm Fresh Online runs its business, reporting the business to the National Coronavirus Command Council for exploitative and illegal business practices in the midst of a deadly pandemic, starting a hashtag #BoycottFarmFreshOnline, etc. I suggested that surely he would not want to risk the consequences on his businesses reputation and brand.

Despite this, I received no reply. Surely, a business that can ignore all of this is either staffed by incompetents at its head, or has lost its moral compass and any right to serve the public? Hence this review.

Thus, the story above - which I have told as objectively as possible (and I have all the communication to back it up) - speaks for itself, and is a loud review in itself which requires no further elaboration. It is a resounding rebuke of the practices of this business. It is my firm view that corrupt organisation and individuals, as well as unethical business which rob the poor, do a great deal of harm in our society and should be held accountable. I strongly believe, based on my experience, that Farm Fresh Online is one such business and it should thereby not receive the support of the public. Or that those who continue to do so should be aware that they may become victims at some point. For my part - as I said - it is about justice. And, like Pharaoh in the biblical story of Moses, Farm Fresh continue to do evil and harden their hearts, I will invoke the next of the remaining 9 proverbial plagues exemplified above, until justice is served. Indeed, although the fruits and vegetables from Farm Fresh Online look beautiful on the outside, like the forbidden fruit of the garden of Eden their taste is bitter to the heart and fruits and vegetables themselves are rotten to the core because of the character of the people who sell them and the way they treat those they think are powerless to act.