Hayward woman claims florist didn't make funeral delivery

HAYWARD, Calif. (KGO) -- Sending flowers is one of the most common ways to pay respects at a funeral, but can you be sure your flowers made it to the service?

Hayward resident Kathy Chandra showed 7 On Your Side photos of her older brother Mehendra enjoying family gatherings even as he struggled with illness.

"He had three boys and how close he was, he would do anything for his sons. He was such a devoted father," Chandra said.

When Mehendra died in February, Chandra and her sister wanted to show how much he meant to the family.

"We were going to send a nice big spray," Chandra recalled.

She searched online for flower shops in San Jose and found Amy Florist. There she found the perfect spray.

"It's called Field of Lavenders. It's very pretty," Chandra said. "I ordered it five days prior to the funeral."

She added a loving message, paid for the flowers and received a confirmation from Amy Florist.

"Then I show up to the funeral home on the day of the funeral on Sunday and I don't see the flowers," Chandra said.

She looked everywhere. The flowers never made it to the funeral.

Chandra had to tell her family. "It was more than flowers. It was just showing our love and this was our last respect, tribute. I was upset. I was really upset," she said.

Amy Flowers didn't answer their phone when Chandra tried to call. She wondered what would have happened if she hadn't been at the service.

"I would never have known that they didn't receive the flowers," Chandra said.

After being contacted by Chandra, 7 On Your Side discovered that Amy Florist is not a flower shop in San Jose. It's a company in Southern California that has an F rating with the Better Business Bureau, with many customers saying they never got their flowers either.

However, after Chandra disputed the charge, Amy Florist did refund her $152 right away, and the company emailed 7 On Your Side saying those flowers were indeed delivered a day ahead as requested, but could have been misplaced.

The company said in a statement: "There are many reasons why someone might believe that flowers weren't delivered at a funeral. It could be they were delivered to the flower room and the funeral staff failed to move them to the funeral service."

Chandra says she'll never have that day back, but her brother's ashes will be scattered in his homeland of Fiji, along with more flowers.

State law bars florists from using a city name unless they have an address there. That's to prevent online flower companies from luring customers who want a local florist.

Amy Florist says it doesn't use a city name in its business title and has a network of florists in each city.

The best way to prevent a similar situation is to make sure to look for a physical address if you want to make sure it's a local florist.