Whimsical Wears still hasn't come. What should I do?

[Buffys Mommy]

I wasn't part of this coop, but feel horrible for all of you who were victims. I was scammed by someone on ebay and it makes me so mad to see moms screwed. Here was an e-mail I received from someone else scammed by the same person.

File a complaint with the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) - The IFCC is partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National White Collar Crime Center. The IFCC will review and evaluate complaints and refer information to the appropriate local, state, or federal agency. Every complaint that is referred by the IFCC is sent to
one or more law enforcement or regulatory agencies that have jurisdiction over that matter. You can file a complaint with the IFCC at:

http://www.ifccfbi.gov/index.asp

I don't know if it will help at this point, but...

I can't believe anyone in business would refuse to send a finished product just because of comments on an internet board.

Tammie
Momma to Sarah Michelle 10/13/03

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_emerald_18m.gif[/img][/url] 18 months and counting

[Truska]

I just typed up an email to send to Kim at the address that I had used to Paypal her the money for my bag, and it came back undeliverable. So, seeing as how I had been at her site last week, and remembered that while it was closed, the page still had a bit of info, and an email. I went to get it, and the page has changed, and now this is what is states:

"Dear Valued Customers,

I would like to thank you for all the well wishes and kind thoughts you have sent me in the last few months and working with me on getting your orders or refunds out to you.

Over the last few months I have spent much time reflecting on my family and my business, and the direction I wished to take both of them. For three years I ran a very successful small business from my home, but at a price I am not willing to pay again. While I loved what I did and enjoyed working with my customers, I know that my family needs to come first and that my children should not have to compete with my customers for my time. As many of you know I often would work late into the night and would wake early in the morning to start it all again. With four children and a husband I know that I could not return to working like that again.

Many of you have asked if I will reopen. I get letters and calls daily asking when I will work again or have diaper bags available to sell, the answer at this time is that I do not plan to reopen Whimsical Wears, our internet store or our eBay store. I am expecting a new baby in June and I plan to devote my time to her and our three other children. This is where I need to be now and I feel at peace with this decision.

According to my records, all orders have been shipped or refunded, as have any repaired items. Please note that I am not responsible for items once they were shipped from my home or left the post office. I have made a reasonable effort in helping locate any lost packages or making refunds to customers according to the policies on the website and eBay store.

Thank you for a wonderful three years of business.

Sincerely,

Kimberly Wright-Knowles

Owner, Whimsical Wears

[email protected]"

This wasn't how it looked mid-last week, I know that for sure.

I am still going to send my email to Kim, at the address provided, but don't necessariy expect to hear anything back.

I'm going to post it here as well, on the off-chance that Kim sees it. If nothing else, I'll feel like I tried.

Thanks for everyone's info and support, and if I'm out of line at all here, I apologize.

~Jenn
************************************************** ********************

My email to Kim:
Hi Kim,

I was part of the BBB co-op of last August. I never ended up receiving my bag from you. It was in Amy Butler fabrics, with numerous "extra" options (inlucing cosmetic case), and I paid you via funded paypal last August 26th, 2004. Around the end of October, you let me know that the bag had been sent out, and that it was now out of your hands if it didn't arrive. It has never arrived. I'm sorry, but I fully expected it to be sent out with insurance, as I was never offered that option. Had I been offered and declined, I would understand, and this would be completely my fault. But, because it wasn't offered, I assumed that that was standard. Apparently not, and I'm now without a bag (that I must admit I was looking quite forward to, as this was my first foray into custom/personalized diaper bags, and had only heard wonderful things about you, and your customer service/craftmanship), and without my $62USD.

I undersatnd that you haven't been well, and for that, I am very, very sorry. But to simply say that it was shipped, and is now out of your hands is completely unacceptable. If you're not going to send the bag, I would appreciate a refund. That seems fair.

If you're wondering why I’m only now contacting you about a refund, well, it's because I posted an ISO looking for a WW bag in similar fabrics on the babybags swap group, explaining that my bag had been lost in the mail. I was pointed to a couple of threads on the BB boards, detailing that mine may not be the only bag that was *lost* in the mail. While I realize that I'm in Canada, I've never had any issues receiving anything.

For the record, the bag was purchased by Jennfier *****, and to be mailed to ****. My new mailing address is Jennifer ****. My paypal address is: ****. Oh, my previous email was: ****

Please respond, as I'd appreciate knowing what is going to be done about this.

Thank you.
~Jennifer
************************************************** ********************
ETA: The email on her website doesn't work either. That email was also returned.

[LD92599]

Jen:

I'm sending you a PM w/ possible more info.

Laura
mom to William
3.5.2003

LKibala at optonline dot net

http://homepage.mac.com/ld14m

[jamsmu]

Well that sucks, Jenn. I can't believe how lousy the whole situation was for you. Sounds like she was tipped off to this discussion and tried to cover her butt with that letter.

There is absolutely no excuse.

I'm so sorry you were "burned."

[Truska]

>Sounds like she was tipped off to this
>discussion and tried to cover her butt with that letter.

I kind of had the same thoughts, unfortunately.

Laura, I'll look for your PM. Thank you.

Sorry, I guess I should let this thread die, eh?! Sorry!

[AAHHmom]

While I realize that she says she is not responsible once packages leave her house. If the tracking number she gave you is invaild she has no proof what so ever that she shipped your bag.

[Truska]

>While I realize that she says she is not responsible once
>packages leave her house. If the tracking number she gave you
>is invaild she has no proof what so ever that she shipped your
>bag.
>
>

Unfortunately, there was no tracking number, as it's optional when shipping to Canada, and I didn't specifically request it.

Well, here's my update...I heard from Kim (one of the several addresses worked, even though it showed as "Undeliverable"), and, well, she's offered to refund half of my money. I'm inclined to take it, simply because, up until a few days ago, I had completely written it off. It's only that to these boards, as well as the Yahoo group that I found out about some possible issues.

Thanks, everyone! While it's not the bag (which truly would've been ideal!), or a full refund, I'm content.

[jasabo]

Jenn, can I ask why she's only refunding you half your money? That's a very strange way for her to "resolve" the issue. You'd think she'd either stick by her story that she mailed it and refuse to refund you money, or admit that she never mailed it and refund all your money.

I know it's not even the money that's the issue for you, but terrible customer service like this just bugs me to no end.

Lisa - mom to 22 month old twin boys

[Truska]

>Jenn, can I ask why she's only refunding you half your money?
>That's a very strange way for her to "resolve" the issue.
>You'd think she'd either stick by her story that she mailed it
>and refuse to refund you money, or admit that she never mailed
>it and refund all your money.
>
>I know it's not even the money that's the issue for you, but
>terrible customer service like this just bugs me to no end.
>
>Lisa - mom to 22 month old twin boys

Good point, Lisa. To paraphrase what she wrote (not sure if it's fair to post her email):
~she hadn't heard from me in 4 months (I have a pretty valid/personal reason, and I just kind of hibernated for awhile), so she didn't know if I had or had not received the bag (she last heard from me in December)
~insurance was optional on all orders, not her responsbility to provide it, clearly stated on her website
-one of the reasons she didn't ship to Canada or overseas was because of the lack of tracking abilities (I personally ship to the US all of the time, and can get a confirmation number, so I know if it's been delivered)

Simply, we're both out time and money. She does not know for sure if the package arrived, and must blindly trust that it didn't (as she hasn't heard from me in 4 months), as I must blindly trust that it was in fact, shipped out. Apparently, she shipped out hundreds of orders, and some were returned to her home or lost. All customers either received their finished product or a refund (when she was able to have a DC number, which wasn't possible when shipping to Canada).

Apparently, I should've contacted her sooner.

While I'm still not thrilled with this (in re-reading it, it's the fact that I should've contacted her sooner that I have issues with...yes, I should've, but I just wasn't up to dealing with diaper bag issues when I had other stuff going on that took *major* precedence, sorry), do I have a valid reason to push further? Sorry, I'm not good at making these decisions, so any thoughts are appreciated!

[jasabo]

Thanks for clearing that up. I can understand why you would have let it fall down your priority list...in the big scheme of things, it's not that big of a deal. But it still doesn't sound like she provided you with good c/s in the beginning, which has been a complaint from others too. I should say that I ordered one bag from her during the first group sale about a year ago, and I was very happy with the bag and her c/s, so I was really surprised when so many people had problems with her (just didn't want it to sound like I have a grudge against her or something :) )

It's probably not worth your time and all the hassle to push it any further just to get an additional $20 or $30. I would probably just take what I could get and chalk it up to a lesson learned.

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience.

Lisa - mom to 22 month old twin boys