Frustration Grows Over Fees From National Floral Services

WELLS, Maine — Some local florists are warning consumers they might not be getting what they pay for if they order flowers through a national service like 1-800-FLOWERS, Teleflora or FTD.

Local florists pay a membership fee to those companies, and in exchange, they get sent orders that are made from around the country. But some florists say the national services are charging them bigger and bigger fees in addition to their membership dues, and depending on which service takes the order, customers can lose a good portion of their money to processing fees, too.

Some local florists we spoke with say they're dropping those national services now, and consumers should know they can get the most for their money by contacting a local florist directly.

Michelle Rose-Larochelle, owner of Blooms in Wells said, "Make sure that they have a physical retail location. That's the best thing you can do. What's their retail location when it takes you to their website. If they don't have their retail location on there or a local contact number, think twice about what you're going to do."

To read the rest of the story, please go to: WLBZ