Saturday, January 29, 2011
Refund Process-Followup
I received a response to my email to Glittersniffer Cosmetics. I will summarize it as I am sticking to my pledge not to repost full communications with them without express permission. It was not granted in the email and I now have no way of obtaining it, as explained below.
GlitterSniffer Cosmetics states that had it not been for the blog and the Facebook page that people would have approached them for a solution. They have also disclosed that their Paypal accounts are, indeed, closed. They state that the second Paypal account was reported unnecessarily, possibly out of spite. GS had the money to continue giving refunds, but now that the accounts are closed it will take 180 days for Paypal to return any money left in both accounts and a decision on how to proceed will be made at that time. The time frame for refunds is now 6 months due to the course of action chosen by some people.
I have been asked to cease communications with GlitterSniffer Cosmetics and am complying with that request, though I do feel that GS has been given a very open forum in regards to this situation, so their reticence to continue a free flow of communication is troubling to say the least.
This response does leave me with more questions than answers, however. Prior to the blog and FB page creation there was not a set recall policy. Some people were told to send photographic evidence of their purchases, others to make a Paypal claim, still others to send the products back. The recall list of pigments had to be asked for time and again. It's still, to this day, listed as being provided "as requested". Only after an extensive Q&A conducted on the GlitterSniffer Complaints Facebook page were many questions answered and an official recall policy posted to the GlitterSniffer Cosmetics website.
People were told to file with Paypal. They did, providing all necessary information in the process. It was only when refunds were not issued, or flat out denied, that people began making phone calls to Paypal. Paypal had every right to know when their TOS was violated and to act accordingly to ensure their consumers' protection. It's what good businesses do. And if the funds were in hand to make the refunds (whether provided by a private investor or by selling more products), why were claims still being denied? Why were only selective refunds issued? Why were some of those refunds, mine included, not issued according to the official policy?
The plain fact of the matter is that had GS Cosmetics simply followed every rule and guideline when they started business, from using FDA approved ingredients, FDA approved labeling, shipping the exact products that were ordered, shipping in a timely manner, respecting Paypal TOS, and meeting all commitments to their consumers in good faith NONE of this would have happened.
It is, quite simply, not the consumers fault for any action taken to recover their funds, and the onus of the situation and its attending fallout lies with GlitterSniffer Cosmetics, and GlitterSniffer Cosmetics alone. To suggest otherwise is disingenuous. Why now is the fault being laid at the feet of the people who purchased in good faith and did not get what they were sold? Where is the personal responsibility here?
These questions must remain rhetorical as I do not expect an answer to any of them anytime soon, as GS Cosmetics no longer wishes to respond to anything I have to say. It is, as always, my hope that they will turn this around. I will be watching in anticipation of a good outcome for everyone involved.
GlitterSniffer Cosmetics states that had it not been for the blog and the Facebook page that people would have approached them for a solution. They have also disclosed that their Paypal accounts are, indeed, closed. They state that the second Paypal account was reported unnecessarily, possibly out of spite. GS had the money to continue giving refunds, but now that the accounts are closed it will take 180 days for Paypal to return any money left in both accounts and a decision on how to proceed will be made at that time. The time frame for refunds is now 6 months due to the course of action chosen by some people.
I have been asked to cease communications with GlitterSniffer Cosmetics and am complying with that request, though I do feel that GS has been given a very open forum in regards to this situation, so their reticence to continue a free flow of communication is troubling to say the least.
This response does leave me with more questions than answers, however. Prior to the blog and FB page creation there was not a set recall policy. Some people were told to send photographic evidence of their purchases, others to make a Paypal claim, still others to send the products back. The recall list of pigments had to be asked for time and again. It's still, to this day, listed as being provided "as requested". Only after an extensive Q&A conducted on the GlitterSniffer Complaints Facebook page were many questions answered and an official recall policy posted to the GlitterSniffer Cosmetics website.
People were told to file with Paypal. They did, providing all necessary information in the process. It was only when refunds were not issued, or flat out denied, that people began making phone calls to Paypal. Paypal had every right to know when their TOS was violated and to act accordingly to ensure their consumers' protection. It's what good businesses do. And if the funds were in hand to make the refunds (whether provided by a private investor or by selling more products), why were claims still being denied? Why were only selective refunds issued? Why were some of those refunds, mine included, not issued according to the official policy?
The plain fact of the matter is that had GS Cosmetics simply followed every rule and guideline when they started business, from using FDA approved ingredients, FDA approved labeling, shipping the exact products that were ordered, shipping in a timely manner, respecting Paypal TOS, and meeting all commitments to their consumers in good faith NONE of this would have happened.
It is, quite simply, not the consumers fault for any action taken to recover their funds, and the onus of the situation and its attending fallout lies with GlitterSniffer Cosmetics, and GlitterSniffer Cosmetics alone. To suggest otherwise is disingenuous. Why now is the fault being laid at the feet of the people who purchased in good faith and did not get what they were sold? Where is the personal responsibility here?
These questions must remain rhetorical as I do not expect an answer to any of them anytime soon, as GS Cosmetics no longer wishes to respond to anything I have to say. It is, as always, my hope that they will turn this around. I will be watching in anticipation of a good outcome for everyone involved.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Thank you for this blog post. I'm honestly surprised paypal has allowed this to go on for as long as it has. I am hoping people on the GS page will come across this blog post and refrain from ordering via Google checkout.
ReplyDeleteI really hope it does not take as long as 6 mo for the money to return. I do not believe that statement 100%; if GS honestly wanted to refund her customers, it would have happened by now, the people who reported her account shouldn't be the ones being blamed for the delay (even if they waited until refunds were completed, she would be scamming others in be meantime.) I don't think GS will ever understand they did something wrong to begin with..
Amber- Thank you for reading and commenting. I too hope that refunds are forthcoming in a more timely manner as GS is continuing to sell on Artfire, with numerous listings posted tonight. Any funds they receive should go directly to refunding their customers and not be dependent on the Paypal funds. That would probably be the best course of action for GS should they really be committed to making this right.
ReplyDeleteI apologize for the spirited nature of the post, but I continue to believe that no fault lies with the consumer in this situation and that fact needs to be reiterated time and again until GS realizes that they are responsible and no one else.
I also agree with Amber. The customers should NOT be blamed for any part of this. If Glittersniff had done things right, none of this would be happening in any part.
ReplyDeleteThank you for keeping us updated, GSC and I take this as good news. I totally understand any amount, up to 6 months, 180 days, however long it takes for the refunds that Paypal, whoever needs time to take proper actions.
Wow, just another excuse for her to not refund people. I swear after this it will be something else...this is the reason I don't trust her, and the reason why my recalled pigments are not getting sent back to her (I made this decision...on my own I may add since gs is implying that we are brainwashed from this fb page and blog.) I would get back about $120.00 if I did send em back, but something tells me ill send my stuff back and get NOTHING from her!
ReplyDeleteMegan- Thank you for your comment. I agree. The "blame the victim" mentality shown is beyond the pale. Had everything been above board in the first place then GS would never be in this position. Their choices are what resulted in this debacle. The customers are just the innocent victims.
ReplyDeleteAlexandria- I completely understand the lack of trust there. GS actions thus far have done nothing to change the damaged trust. I will say that I was refunded without having to return my products, and I know Paypal has not made some people send them back and issued a refund anyway. Perhaps, should you wish to, you could explore that. Thank you for commenting.
"may have been done out of spite"... i don't get this. Her husband's account was most likely reported because it was indeed attached to her. She keeps saying people linked her to it, it wasn't involved, etc. etc. But if you went to purchase anything, after HER account was shut off, it sent your money to that account. It even had it linked to her website because I attempted it once to see what would happen. I also saw screenshots of it. So to purchase something off of her official website and have her husbands paypal address be the one where the money goes, doesn't that mean it WAS linked?
ReplyDelete