Hautelook - buyers beware UPDATE

[Nicsmom]

Thanks everyone for the great advice and support. I followed everything you said - contacted my credit card, reported them with the Better Business Bureau, and told this story in every online forum available. Hautelook contacted me yesterday and they are accepting the return. UPS is coming tomorrow to pick up the chairs and I hope to see the refund soon.

phew... It was a lot of work, but worth it. And I learned my lesson. Thank you all. Oh, and the Better Business Bureau rocks!

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I was looking for two occasional chairs for my home office and I found them at Hautelook. The website said that the chairs were made by a company called Gold Coast Furniture and that they would cost $600 each, full price, but they were selling them for $329. The chairs looked nice and I thought they were of good quality. And for $329 they were a steal. I tried to research Gold Coast Furniture but the only company with that name is in Florida and Hautelook claimed this was a company in Chicago. I know this should have been a red flag, but I thought it was a small local business in Chicago and maybe they did not have a website.

The chairs arrived yesterday and the boxes say Skyline Furniture. I researched this brand on the web and you can find them everywhere. This is very inexpensive furniture, and yes, my chairs cost full price what I paid for them. What makes me really angry is that I thought I was getting something else : a high end product (sort of) at a bargain price. I was not shopping for a $300 chair. And I find deceptive the use of another brand to prevent people from finding out what they are really buying. Oh, and they are non-returnable.

I emailed Hautelook as soon as I received them and I am waiting for a response. I will call them later if they don't reply. But I wanted to post this as a warning.

[liz]

That's very deceptive. Have you thought of contacting the Better Business Bureau? I know you won't probably get you money back though. I'm sorry.

[arivecchi]

That is really deceptive. I would post this in the Best/Worst cyber websites forum too.

[cuca_]

That is ridiculous. If you don't hear from the soon, maybe try disputing the charges with your credit card company. The product sent to you is not as advertised, as it is not the same brand and not discounted. Good luck!

[o_mom]

Do screen captures of the descriptions now before they change. Then dispute it with your CC that they sent you something different than what you ordered.

[Melanie]

That's awful! Keep us updated.

[Nicsmom]

Update. This is their response:

"Gold Coast Furniture [Collections]” is the title used for the event on our site and the styles are designed and produced by Skyline Furniture, Mfg. Skyline Furniture manufactures and produces for many online, as well as free standing retailers, including Amazon.com. The original pricing of $658 for the Armless Wingback Chair your purchased was provided to us by the brand, as well as all other product information, descriptions, etc. All product information that we display on our site is provided directly from each specific brand or manufacturer. With that said, since those chairs are not returnable, we would not be able to allow you to return them to us. We definitely apologize and have added $25 in Hautelook credit to your account for the inconvenience.

And this is my response :
"The whole changing of the name of the company for an event is deceptive: the customer cannot verify the quality of what he/she is buying beforehand if they are given a fake company name. Probably that is why you make the sale non-returnable, so that once we find out what we got, we are stuck with it. Also the pricing is a scam: check Skyline furniture anywhere and you'll see that they do not make $600 chairs, so the item was not discounted as you claimed. So we are buying from Hautelook a product we could have bought form Target at the same price. Oh wait, there's a difference: you can RETURN furniture items at Target.

You claim that all the information you post in the website is provided by the manufacturer. Do you not verify that information? Then what is exactly the service you are providing? I refuse to believe Hautelook is a vehicle for manufacturers to trick customers. But if it's not, then why refuse a return?

I do not accept your $25 credit. I find it insulting. If I cannot return these chairs with prepaid shipping I am reporting Hautelook to the Better Business Bureau and the Best/Worst cyber websites forum."

I'll wait and see what they answer and I'll try to dispute the charges with the CC company, but I'm afraid I won't be able to get my money back. This "sale" was about a month ago and it's no longer on their website. I just received the chairs a month after I purchased them. I'll keep you updated on what happens.

[Melanie]

Outrageous!!

[TwinFoxes]

I think that's really deceptive. That said, I'm not that surprised. It reminds me of "outlet" stores with their "compare at" prices. You know, a pair of $49.95 shoes "compare at $149.95". It totally sucks. And I agree that a $25 credit is insulting.

[HannaAddict]

Don't wait, start a dispute with your credit card company right away AND report them to the BBB, but they won't care at all. The only thing that will get any attention is having the funds from you CC reversed on them. I hope your CC company goes to bat for you. AmEx is worth their fee in disputes like this and some VISA companies are good too (USAA). What a scam, I'm sorry.

[MamaMolly]

Does Hautelook have a Facebook page? Might be worth posting over there, too.

[AnnieW625]

That stinks, but it's one of the reasons I am really leary about buying things from clearanced or discount sites.

[mctlaw]

Wow, that is really, really crappy. I haven't bought from them and I won't now.

[Nicsmom]

Another update:

I reported them to the BBB, spread the word everywhere on the internet, AND disputed the charges with my cc. I don't think anything will change, they won't take the chairs back and I won't see my money, BUT hopefully they will think twice before doing this again. Hopefully.

For now I am annoying the cust. service rep that took my case. This is her answer to my last email:

"The name of the company was not changed. The brand that produces the items was and is Skyline Furniture. The brand that makes the pieces and the title that Hautelook assigns to categorize those items under a sales event on the website are two different things.Though both are valid. "


And then she adds:

"With that said, we are definitely sorry once again for the inconvenience. We would not be receiving back the items that you purchased. Also, I do see that you went ahead and canceled your account with us so per your request, I have removed those credits for you!"
That's false. I did not cancel the account. I kept it just in case I needed an active account during the dispute. I sent her another email telling her so, and that they will be hearing back from my cc company and the BBB. Can you believe the nerve?

[Melanie]

I would be livid. I would think your CC will recover your money for you pretty easily, though.

[DebbieJ]

Wow, I hope you get those charges reversed by your CC. That sucks!

[♥ms.pacman♥]

Ugh that is really sneaky. I joined haute look a while back, I always thought they sold high end stuff ( I'm thinking gucci etc) on sale. The fact that they sold furniture that is also sold at TARGET for full price (under a different name) is really deceptive.

[Nicsmom]

Good news! See update.

[citymama]

Good for you, Nicsmom! Way to be persistent - I hope you get your refund ASAP!

ETA PS - I am NEVER going to buy from Hautelook after reading this. They messed up by not handling this well the first time the issue was brought to their attention. I had a problem with a purchase on Zulily some months ago and they remedied it immediately, no questions asked. There are differences between these companies.

[arivecchi]

YEAH! Good for you!

[liz]

Yay, that's great news!