Somebody's going on the Naughty List! An update on Blue Velveteen

I really can't even tell you how many subscription services I have tried in the last year. The list is huge, but for the most part, all my experiences with these companies have been positive. Very very rarely does a service receive a bad rating from me.... sadly,  today is the day I add a box to the naughty list.

There was a massive amount of anticipation this summer over a startup subscription service called Blue Velveteen. It was so pumped up... who doesn't get excited about a $10 per month beauty box? So of course I signed up for the pre - release and waited.

I received my box quickly in the early days of September. I loved the packaging and found most of the products included were pretty decent. It looked like the beginnings of an amazing beauty box and I shared my positive opinion with you all. Sadly, mere days after my review, the problems began to pour in.

It started with the fact that many of us did not receive as many items as others did. Then it escalated to box variations. Many bloggers received boxes slightly different from the paid subscribers did. I dislike that immensely because I find it very misleading and underhanded.

Towards the end of September,  Blue Velveteen's Facebook page was beginning to accumulate a number of customer comments and complaints. Tracking problems, missing items, some boxes still hadn't even been mailed to paid subscribers.  This was the beginning of a very bad thing. Red flags went up in my mind.

Around this time, an email went out to subscribers.  They apologized for the delays and then told us there had been an issue on PayPal and that if we wanted to receive a October box we would need to sign up again. They offered a coupon for the inconvenience and I know several people who gladly resubscribed in good faith. I, for one,  decided to stay away but I still kept an eye on things out of curiosity.

As October rolled along, things continued to snowball. No boxes, no refunds, no communication of any sort. Emails and posts went unanswered and customers began to get pissed (which is completely understandable). Where was the product? Where was the money? Where was...well.... anything? !

And so now it seems the other shoe has dropped. Blue Velveteen has decided to close their website. But not before deleting the negative comments on Facebook and issuing the same generic statement to everyone. The owner tries to smooth things over claiming to have been ill while simultaneously stating that the bad press she has received constitutes slander, harassment and cyber bullying. And to this I say, "WTF?!'

In what world does expecting to receive a refund or the product you purchased constitute cyber bullying?  Regardless of the being sick excuse, that does not help the customers who put their trust and hard earned money into your hands. It's the lowest of the low to make such a remark about your customers. Absolutely unprofessional and inexcusable!

To top it all off, the time line she has given customers about their refunds is 90 days. That is an unacceptable amount of time and it leaves the door open for that money to go bye bye (.There is a time limit on disputing charges!) My advice is to file a PayPal dispute asap if you were a subscriber. Don't put any more faith in this company than you already have!

There is also a Facebook group for those affected (Thanks to DDG reader Jenna S for the heads up about this btw!). You may want to check it out and see if it can help you figure out what legal recourse you may have. This is theft. It is a crime.  And it is wrong. It has been reported to the police and is being looked into so please know that this is a legitimate and serious thing and you are not alone in it! You can visit the Facebook group by clicking this link.

Be wary, my dolls. I think we can all agree that this has been an eye opening experience and for those affected, I wish you luck and hope for the best for you. I will most certainly stay on top of this and give you all any further information I hear!

*take note that this is a post based on my own opinions and understanding of the facts. It is in no way meant to be taken as a personal attack . Freedom of the Press is a right we all share and this post will not be removed from my site.