Louis Vuitton's CSI Handbag Division Won't Let Customer Return $700 Purse
Kristie wanted a specific bag, in a specific size, and ordered it directly from Louis Vuitton. They sent her correct item, but in the wrong size. They had sent her the Speedy 25, which costs $25 less and is quite a bit smaller. The company sent her a pre-paid shipping label so she could return the bag and they could correct their mistake. Two weeks later, she received the same box back, with a letter informing her that the bag had obviously been used, and they wouldn't accept the return.
How did they know it had been used? They found a hair inside the purse. Whose hair? What color hair? They refuse to say.
She wrote about the situation:
WTH???? It was the WRONG bag to begin with so how in the heck could I have USED it???
I called Vuitton.com and the rep told me that they had inspected the bag and found a piece of hair in it and so they were unable to return it. I explained to them that the bag was the WRONG one shipped to begin with AND the brass looked tarnished. I told them I had not even unfolded the bag when I realized it was the 25 instead of the 30.
The rep said, "Well, there was a hair in it so obviously it was used by you and we cannot refund your money. Maybe you can just sell it on your own."
So now, I am out $700.00 plus shipping for the WRONG BAG. They also said not to bother with disputing it on my credit card because they took a photo of the piece of hair in the bag, proving it was used and not within their "return standards."
I told them that they were the ones that sent me the wrong (and USED) bag to begin with so how was I responsible for it? The rep said that they NEVER would have sent out a bag that appeared used (Yet they sent the wrong one in the first place) so I was the one that used it. I am just livid right now.
Later, the company backpedaled more, insisting that they never sent her the incorrect bag, and that she had used and returned a Speedy 30. Right now, Kristie has initiated a chargeback on her credit card, and is sitting with the wrong bag in her closet...still unused. Because it was the wrong bag. Selling it on eBay would mean taking about a $300 loss, which she finds unacceptable.
vuitton.com's HORRIBLE service *rant* [Purse Forum]
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Comments:
Please, please, please people, do not start ranting on how the OP shouldn't have bought a purse that expensive, or that you have no sympathy for her because of it, or that it was her first mistake, or sweeping generalizations about people, and how they have money, and if you had the money, you clearly wouldn't spend it on anything cause you're obviously so above everyone else...
Have I covered all the bases here?
assuming she has the purse still in her closet and the receipt or order that she placed stating the style of the purse, this should be pretty open/shut in that they sent her the wrong purse. If they did send her the wrong case, I don't know how any claims of it being used will stand up...
Well, these have to be handled by someone from material to customer's hands. How do they prove that it wasn't from someone who handled it along the way? Is there a hair inspection station? Do they have documented proof that there was no hair before they shipped it? I don't understand how these luxury companies stay in business treating their customers like thieves.
@pecan 3.14159265: I think you left out how she should have just bought a knockoff on Canal St. and donated the difference to charity.
That reminds me of something that happened to my friend one time. We were at Del Taco and she found a blonde hair in her soft shell taco. I told her to talk to the girl working there for a new one. The girl working there looked at her and said "you've got blonde hair" which my friend replied "so do you." She got a replacement taco in the end.
@cabjf: ::trying to be more realistic than negative:: They have your money....why do they have to be nice to you? They will claim anything NOT to return it. No matter what happened or didn't happen, they do not want the return.
Would Lord & Taylor take it back? Do they still offer their open return polices?
If not, maybe CostCo...
The padlock on that bag makes as much sense as a deadbolt on rice paper door.
I hope her chargeback works because this is ridiculous. If they had found makeup dust, I might be convinced. But a hair could have drifted into the bag during inspection! Of course I'm cynical, so I feel they probably planted the hair in the bag.
If you are not going to allow returns, don't have a return policy. Just be open and upfront that you are unwilling to take back any item bought through you and let the consumer decided if the risk is worth their money.
This looks like just another attempt to backpedal around their return policy by using the smallest (literally in this case unless they dna matched some bacteria to the OP) detail possible.
I hope the OP can use a copy of her original receipt and the claims from the company to receive a successful chargeback.
Same as the jeans, she wasn't originally asking for her money back. No, she just wanted the item she ordered and paid for. Why do luxury companies think this is the time to anger their customers?
The chargeback process will easily take care of this. The fact that there is a hair in the purse is irrelevant. They sent the wrong purse. Period.
End of story.
Do not pass go, do not collect 700 dollars Louis Vuitton!
Keep ANY and ALL documentation that proves that they sent the wrong purse. If you have an email that says one model number, keep that -- you'll be sending it to the credit card company to prove they sent you the wrong item.
@MichaelLC: I don't think Lord & Taylor sells Louis Vuittons. She might want to try an actual Louis Vuitton store if there is one nearby.
I have no idea what these companies are thinking. I know that 'luxury' has become a diluted concept, and designers are spending a lot of time putting their names on t-shirts instead of producing quality, high-end products, but stuff like this really makes no sense. Luxury goods don't stand on their own anymore, and people who decide to spend their money this way are expecting at least minimal customer service. Why not be like the Ritz Carlton and really impress them? Seems like really short-sighted management.
@AliyaBabasaur: Hell, you can fly kids here from third world countries (getting them out of the developing countries to lessen the risk of malaria also) to carry your crap around for less than that.
would it be possible for her to go to a store to return it?
Assuming she lives in the U.S., a LV store shouldn't be too hard to locate. Perhaps dealing with these people in person would be easier than on the phone. I've found the sales people to be pretty helpful.
@oneandone: You are right. In this economy when every article is encouraging the American consumer to cut out needless spending, do you think the 700 dollar purse is going to make the cut in every consumer's mind?
But if they know that their money also promises them exemplary service and support, that might make the difference where people spend their ever dwindling "fluff" money.
@IphtashuFitz: @AliyaBabasaur: Have you purchase a house? Do you wear clothing? How about a car? Go to the movies? Have you purchased a computer?
If you have purchased these items I do not think you have that much to say.
I'm no designer girl and would thus never buy a purse that costs almost as much as my monthly mortgage payment but still, the company didn't hold its end of the bargain. Its that simple. She wanted and paid for one thing but got another.
If I ordered a replacement hood for my '92 Bonneville in dark green but the salvage yard (yes, one can order used auto parts through a nationwide network of junk yards) sent me a silver hood for a '93 Grand Am and wouldn't take it back, I'd be pretty mad too. It would have been just as important to me as that purse was to her.
@IphtashuFitz:
I don't get it either, but does the fact that YOU wouldn't spend that on a bag mean nobody else should either?
Is it OK to scam the weathier-than-you?
@pecan 3.14159265: A+. Her money, we aren't here to judge what she spent it on. She is a customer, they are a company and she has every right to be upset that she didn't get what she paid for.
People are quick to say "You get what you pay for" well, she paid top dollar and by darn, she deserves her bag.
@IphtashuFitz: Is it any worse than spending tens of thousands of dollars on a sports car that will only be driven 15 times a year?
@AliyaBabasaur: Yeah, but they don't look as good hanging off your shoulder unless your Angelina Jolie.
@IphtashuFitz: I agree with both sides here:
1) That's an insanely expensive purse. You could get the same purse at Salvation Army for $10 after another yuppie uses it for a month and gets bored with it.
2) The company should refund the money, as it cheated her out of it.
This may sound devil's advocate-ish, but I wonder how many returns LV deals with on a regular basis. I know there are women that would have no problem ordering a bag like that to wear once, and then return.
@LegoMan322: why yes, I do live in a multi-million dollar home, wear $2000 suits, drive a Ferrari, and I own my own multiplex theater.
IphtashuFitz's point was that the cost of the bag was excessive, not that the OP had a bag to begin with.
@mdoublej: I'm not sure how much renting goes on with high luxury goods. I mean, it's $700 that you're got posted onto your account. And LV bags have suede and leather interiors (they smell heavenly...the purse equivalent of the new car smell), so any wear and tear from a day will be pretty noticeable. If you want to do that kind of thing, hook yourself up to a service like Bag, Borrow or Steal.
@aguacarbonica:
Does this also mean that you are not allowed to look at the inside of the purse before you return it? If you take the paper out to see how large the inside of the bag is and then decide to put the paper back in, does that mean it's now "used"? I just don't get it. I will never buy Louis Vuitton now! (O.K...so I never was gonna, anyway)
@cabjf: unfortunately a lot of bad customers force them to act like this. i bet a lot of their returns are due to someone buying it just to use once, and then returning it. while this lady is probably being truthful, for everyone who is they probably have to deal with 5 or 6 that did use the product and just don't want to pay for it.
That's pretty gross that they sell bags with hair in them!
I don't understand how a single hair = used item? What if she opened the bag to look inside and a hair fell in? Does that mean it's used? LV are a group of idiots if they think the CC company will side with them.
@pecan 3.14159265: So true. All thrift stores have become wise to the value of real collectibles, vintage items and luxury goods. They even keep the fake LV and Chanel bags in their locked cases now...
@LegoMan322: Right, and then word gets out that their customer service is horrible and no one buys from them anymore. At least that is how the free market process is supposed to work. Now it seems that brand names can be a strong enough pull to negate poor customer service.
@pecan 3.14159265: The only problem is that she'd still be out the extra $25 she spent to get the correct bag in the first place - if they would take it back at all. Good idea, though.
@AliyaBabasaur: You could immunize nearly 1000 kids in the developing world against malaria for $700... so yeah, I don't get it either.
That is exactly what I was going to say.
This is Consumerist people. That Krisite bought a $700 purse is her business. But it doesn't preclude her from seeking fair treatment from Louis Vuitton. Who, you'd think, would provide better than ususal customer service. I guess not.
I normally don't advocate it (okay, I lied) but if the company isn't being reasonable, perhaps it's time to consider buying a fake?
Of all items, these purses are one of the most counterfeited products in the world.
@CaffiendCA: She is not trying to return the bag, she's trying to get the one she actually paid for.
Whoops, that was supposed to be directed at mdoublej.
Knew the overpriced bags were a scam, but this is a new low.
We just say something similar with the $184 jeans. Most clothing/accessories companies will claim that the product is used no matter what happened to the product.
They just do not want to return it. Simple as that.