The Perfume Emporium have stolen my money

A question about : The Perfume Emporium have stolen my money

Hello I wonder if someone can advise me...

On 21st March I ordered some perfume from from The Perfume Emporium the total amount was Ј46.49, I received an e-mail on 24th March to say my order had been dispatched, I still hadn't got my order by 1st April so decided to send an e-mail this is the reply I received :-

Hello,

I am very sorry that you are still awaiting your order. I am upset that Royal Mail still have not delivered. I can confirm to you that your order did leave us on the 24th March.

I have called Royal Mail to see if they have an update and unfortunately they have asked that we wait up to 15 working days after it was dipatched until we can ask them to investigate this further.

Hopefully, you will receive it much sooner than this and I apologise for the inconvenience caused.

Regards
Chris

I still hadn't got my order by 15th April so I sent another e-mail and got the following reply,

Hello,

Although I appreciate the frustration, as set in our terms, we are unable to replace or refund an order until the 15 working days since dispatch have passed. This is because your order could still be delivered.

Please contact us again if you are still awaiting your order on the 16th April. We will either send a replacement or offer a full refund.

I am sorry once again for the inconvenience this delay has caused.

Regards
Chris

Still hadn't got anything the next day so I sent another e-mail on the 17th April and got the following reply;

Hello,

Unfortunately Royal Mail have asked that we process a claim for the loss of this order.

We can now either resend this order or refund your card.

Please let us know what you decide.

Regards
Chris

So I asked for a refund and a reply and confirmation that they have refunded my credit card and since then I've heard nothing at all, I've since googled the perfume emporium and there are loads of bad reviews describing exactly the same situation as my own.

Any advice on what I can do next would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Best answers:

• Under the Distance Selling Regulations (which cover the purchase of most goods bought online from a business), unless otherwise notified, the contract should aim to be completed within 30 days (unless notified in advance of any expectation of it taking longer, or advised along the way of any expected delay).
  Regardless, at any time prior to receipt of the goods you can request the order be cancelled & ask for a refund.
  As you have now chosen to receive a refund they now (unfortunately) have 30 days to provide your refund.
  As you have been contacting them by email, I would probably send a confirmation email, putting in writing that due to failure to deliver you have cancelled the order and have already requested a refund back to your card (as of the date of your last email) and that as per the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000, you expect to have received that within 30 days of that date.
  If you have still not received a refund in 30 days I would consider a final letter, threatening further action as a result of their failure to meet their obligations.
• Give them a bloody chance
  Nothing they have said is unreasonable and it takes time to process a refund.
• OP - I hardly think it is fair to say that this company has stolen your money when throughout, they have communicated with you and have offered a replacement or a refund. It is possible that your parcel is still at your sorting office and the postie hasn't put a card through. Perhaps drop them a reminder email tomorrow asking them when you can expect your refund to be made (it may have even been done but just not hit your bank account yet).
  As LinasPilibaitisisbatman said, do give them a chance!
• okay maybe "stolen" is a bit harsh.... but have a look at the reviews on ciao (I wish I had before I ordered), I do feel that I've been fobbed off and yes they have been in contact throughout until I asked for a refund, (I've sent seven e-mails that haven't been replied to) since then I've heard nothing.
  I have already contacted the local sorting office and they've got nothing, surprise surprise.....
• Have just been in the same situation as yourself. My advice to you is don't let up - I hassled them constantly with e.mails. It took 2 months but I did eventually get my refund. I also had all the "Royal Mail have lost it", "will need to leave it for so many days" etc etc. Obviously none of this is true. They need to be investigated by Trading Standards.
• I hace heard of quite a few people with this problem xx
• Hello
  I have recently had the identical experience and the emails I received virtually word for word the same. They took my money on 15th April. To date no goods received and I am still waiting for a refund. Royal Mail was blamed etc etc. It is now 14th June and although I receive email responses, there is a distince lack of action.
  Quote:
• I'm not surpised to see so many people writing about theperfumeemporium; they don't appear to have done anything but steal money since at least October last year.
  I have done a fair bit of research, and Trading Standards are going to struggle to get hold of this guy as the address on the site, and the address the domain is registered to are both false.
  There is something we can all do though. Both his payment system company and his hosting company are respectable organisations, and will not want to be associated with a thief, yet his hosting company have only had two complaints about the site and are "continuing to monitor it". If everyone who has a complaint writes to abuse@unitedhosting.co.uk (his hosting company), and support@sagepay.com (the company that processes payments for him), he will soon find himself with no way of taking payment, and no place to host his website.
  None of us are likely to get our monies back, so let's do something positive and stop this crook from ripping off more people.
• I'm in the same boat - I understand I'm never going to see my money again, unfortunately, but I'm making sure I complain about this ! I've followed PhilC2709's advice and sent email complaints to both abuse@unitedhosting.co.uk and support@sagepay.com - unitedhosting have got back to me to letting me know they are monitoring the situation ... Trading Standards next ... I've asked for a refund from this fraudster, but won't hold my breath So annoyed at myself for falling into this trap - I'm normally so careful about this sort of thing
• Hi all, i see the link to the perfume emporium in Martins bargain perfume section on this site, purchased online but have yet recieved nothing ! been fobbed off with emails stating wait 8 working days etc this isnt looking promising, if i recieve no reply iam going further. maybe if all the people who have had money taken and received nothing can get together we can take this further together
• Hi matwallisuk, thanks for the response. I still have not received my refund, nor my "lost" perfume, and judging by the number of complaints not just on here but out on the web (you should check out, there is definately something fishy going on. I do understand you have to investigate, but please do so quickly, as I know more people are just going to get suckered in by this. Check out the reviews on ciao.co.uk/theperfumemporium_co_uk (i would put the link, but the site won't let me!)
• When did you place your order joelleski?
  The perfume company has been a client of ours for some 2 years without complaints, only recently have their been 3 or 4 at most, and this was explained to us as due to a sack of parcels going missing. The shop explained they have to wait a full 15-30 days in order to declare an item "lost" and receive compensation to provide a refund to you, we have also seen that the original complaint seems to have been refunded now, so I am wondering if you just need to wait a little longer?
  Our client is giving us full co-operation and providing us full details. I know it must be frustrating as a consumer who has not received goods, but at the same time we all have to remain understanding and not just assume this is a scam. The site has been operating for some time, with a full bank merchant facilities etc, and if it was a scam it would have been closed down by now. Its important to keep a level head and see if things come together within the time limits stated in their terms, they are not technically doing anything wrong for us to shut the site down, until they break their own terms.
• Hi joelleski, i looked up the perfume emporium on ciao.co.uk as you stated and and having exactly the same experience as the OP on that site all emails from "chris" please can every body reading this concur they have had exactly the same emails from "chris" heres what the OP WROTE ON THE CIAO SITE
  I did not recieve my "PERFUME. Its a fraudulent website.I got a reply from Chris with typical and stupid excuses.The first excuse was that perfume emporium had been posted with ROYAL MAIL and I had to wait eight days before I received my delivery. After that I had to wait another fifteen days as they had lost the item. Then I had to wait as a claim was supposed to have been made to Royal Mail for losing the package.Then I had to wait as an investigation was made and so it went on.
  I was also told eventually that a refund will be made but to this date I have not recieved my mone back yet.DO NOT BUY FROM THIS WEBSITE ITS A SCAM.I WILL BE REPORTING THEM TO THE NECCESARY AUTHORITIES.
• My only point is that when we look at this with a non-biased view, you only ordered 11 days ago, and your already posting complaints across the internet. If something has legitimately gone wrong here, such as Royal Mail losing your package, then it will take longer than 11 days to sort out.
  Either way please keep us updated once the 15 days in their terms have passed:
  "Orders not recieved, which were dispatched by Standard Postage, will not be deemed 'missing' until 15 working days have passed, therefore no resend or refund will be offered until after this period. "
  You should expect acknowledgement and a refund in the next 4-5 days?
  Thanks,