Shortly after we arrived in Nevada on December 15, I saw a Facebook ad on December 18 for a fantastic carry-on bag. It was advertised on a video by Lori Grenier from QVC and Shark Tank, so I didn’t question its validity for a second. I placed the order but noticed I didn’t receive a confirmation email.
I didn’t question not receiving an immediate email confirmation from QVC simply because it was so close to Christmas, and I trusted QVC. I hadn’t made a QVC order since 2011 and wasn’t concerned, thinking it would arrive sometime in the 3½ months we’re in Lake Las Vegas, leaving on March 31.
Tom asked me if I had ever received the bag a while ago, and I explained I had not. I’d assumed that with the high demand for this nifty bag, I’d undoubtedly receive it within 60 days and still wasn’t concerned. The cost was only $40 for the item with shipping.
However, in the past day or so, I started thinking about this item. and decided to contact QVC. I wanted the item more than I wanted a $40 credit. Alas, after speaking with QVC this morning, I discovered they had no record of me purchasing the item. The last purchase they showed for me in their system was in 2011 before we began traveling the world.
The supervisor I spoke to explained that they’ve received many calls from customers who purchased this same item and never received it. After a little further research I found a comment page on Facebook with hundreds of people complaining the ad on Facebook was a scam.
I realized getting this resolved was only through my credit card company since QVC had no record of the purchase and obviously couldn’t offer me a refund (or the item). However, I had a copy of the transaction on my December credit card statement. It didn’t show as if it was from QVC. The entry was from some arbitrary company, Sarry. Maybe they meant “Sorry,” sorry that I fell victim to their scam.
Even when I went through the December statement in January and didn’t give the charge another thought, after speaking with QVC this morning, I called the credit card company. After the call, they credited my account for the $40 and will handle the resolution afterward.
I learned a lesson I will implement going forward. I will no longer buy any products from Facebook ads. If I see something I want to buy, I’ll go directly to the website and purchase it from there, or better yet, from Amazon, which has almost every product you can imagine. I haven’t had any problems dealing with Amazon. If there was a problem, they quickly resolved it to my satisfaction.
That’s not to say that all products offered on Facebook are a hoax; I’m sure many are legitimate. But, after spending about an hour this morning dealing with this, I prefer not to waste my time trying to resolve such an issue.
Nonetheless, I would have loved to receive that carry-on bag. It was perfect for me. I can do a little research to see if I can find something similar from a reliable source.
Be well.
Photo from ten years ago today, February 7, 2014:
So sorry you got scammed. Another one to be wary of is major clothing retailers especially Chicos Talbots. Lots of fake websites for them.
Just a quick tip on finding something similar.
– Take a screenshot of the item.
– Crop out anything extraneous.
– Use Google lens to search for item.
I have had good success with this. Often find item elsewhere for lower price. Often find more than one similar item at different prices in Amazon. Of course check extras, shipping, etc.
Cheryl, thanks for the great tips. We’ve been outside the US for so long, its good to be reminded of possible scams.
Thanks for writng.
Warmest regards,
Jess & Tom
Happened to me just before Christmas. I thought I was ordering from Pendleton, as I was just in their store and bought a hat. My order was for a couple of items on sale; $40 total. I waited, waited some more. Checked my statements and was billed the same day. After w months, I called the number on my statement, no such number. Called my credit card company and was credited. Can’t even trust tried and true companies. Scammers have so many ways to “get u”!
Peggy, thank goodness for credit card companies working out these situations and giving us back the money we spent.There are lots of scams these days. I will be more careful going forward.
Hope you both are well.
Love,
Jess & Tom