Saturday, April 3, 2010

The purchase and attempted return

My sister and I bought a flat iron from a Corioliss kiosk at the Westfield Topanga Mall on March 28, 2010. We were promised a 5 year warranty and, indeed, the box said it came with a 5-year warranty. This Corioliss kiosk did not sell anything by the brand Corioliss, it sold Herstyle and NuMe products. The flat iron was said to be part of the NuMe Professional Collection and said to go to NuMestyle.com to active our 5 year warranty. When we got home, I went to the website to find that the warranty was only for 3 years and there was no "Professional Collection."

The kiosk did not have the return policy obviously published, nor did they inform us that their policy was exhanges only. The receipt had a stamp saying no refunds, but according to law, they MUST accept returns within 7 days if the item is unused. So began our adventure.

We knew it was going to be difficult to get our money back, but we didn't realize what assholes we'd be dealing with. When we got to the kiosk, the salesperson whose name was on my receipt and who initiated the sale was working and told us we had to wait for the owner for anything to be done. He then told us that maybe the owner was at one of their other kiosks in the mall. My sister stayed at the "Corioliss" kiosk while I went to check the other one. While my sister was waiting, she tried to talk to the sales person who subsequently became aggressive and started cursing at her. She called me so we could meet at the mall management office.

As soon as she left, the salesperson called the owner who picked up his jacket, apparently emptied the cash register and split. By the time we came back, his coat was gone. I firmly but politely told the salesperson I wanted my money back, informed him of the law and informed him of the fraudulant warranty. He said he wasn't authorized to put money back on credit or debit cards. I said that we'd wait, at which point he walked away on his phone (calling the owner, I assume). He walked by us again, calling my sister a "fucking bitch" then stormed away saying if we saw the owner to tell him he, the salesperson, "fucking quit."

We kept standing there and workers from another kiosk came over to ask what was going on. We explained and they were very sympathetic, saying how they saw the salesperson harrassing people every day and how they had friends who wouldn't even walk by that part of the mall. They witnessed him cursing at us and being very unprofessional.

During this time, my mom was busy contacting the mall and was put in contact with a mall manager who clearly had quite a bit of power. The salesperson came back with security which was great, we didn't have to get them ourselves! We explained to the security guard, then another security guard came up, followed by a couple heads of security. The mall manager called the security guards and told them that the salesperson was to give us a refund. The salesperson again said that he didn't have the codes to put money back on cards, but then I informed him (again, only this time there was security there) that I had paid in cash. He opened the cash register which conveniently had no money left in it!

We've been told that the owner will be back on Monday and we will be able to get our money back then. However, I am sure the only reason we are succeeding is because of the scene we made and the pressure we put on the owner/salesperson. Our parents are lawyers--we do not mess around. We will take them to small claims court if we must.

The salesperson was unbelievably rude, interrupting constantly, even attempting to interrupt when security wanted to have a private conversation with us. He gave us attitude, cursed at us, lied to us countless times. These kiosks are wide spread and I have yet to hear of a reputable one (referring to Corioliss/Herstyler/NuMe--I know some malls have kiosks for Chi or ISO, I don't think those companies are at all involved).

STAY AWAY! If you've been scammed by this company, be sure to leave a comment, as we might try to get a class action lawsuit together and make sure these people stay out of our malls.

26 comments:

  1. To the Persons who posted this listing:

    Hi My Name is Jackie Kelly and I am the Executive Director of NuMe. We are the manufacture of the product line called NuMe. We are a valid company with many happy customers and I am sorry to say that you are not one of them.

    I have noted the mall in which you purchased your Iron from and will personally investigate to find out if they do have a sign clearly posted on no refunds as you are quite right about this being the law.

    We are the manufacture and distributor of the NuMe line and we sell wholesale to individual companies who then resell them. We unfortunately can not control their individual policies in regards to refunds and exchanges, but do try to correct such abuse when we get wind of it.

    I have also reviewed our website to ensure that there was not an error there and there is not. The website has been under construction since Feb and in the warrantee section there is a place holder that states that we offer a one to 5 year warrantee with all of our products, this would of course be applied to the items that were purchased. If you purchased a Proffession Collection Iron it does come with a 5 year warrantee. The website also refers our customers to our 800 number as well as the email address one can write to activate the warrantee with. I can see how there was a misunderstanding on how long of a warrantee did come with your iron. The sales representative did not however give you false information as to how long of a warrantee came with the iron that you purchased.

    Please accept our appologize for any incorrect treatment that you may have experienced with this mall cart and their staff. I can assure you that this is not the norm and we will do every thing in our power to see that this does not happen again.

    I invite you to call me to sort this out, if you have not recieved a refund at this point as we will be happy to assist you in this matter.

    Additionaly I would ask that you remove our name from your suggestions that we are a scam as we are not. Perhaps the cart you purchased it from was out of line in the way in which they handled you and failed to answer your questions and give you a refund when requested. We however are not this mall cart or the same company in any shape or form. Again we are the supplier and the products are purchased from us wholesale and resold to the public. One bad apple does not make all apples bad. One bad Business owner does not make all business owners who sell our products bad and nore does this mean that we are bad. and with this I kindly ask that you review my request to remove our name from your clams of scam.

    In any case we are happy to assit you in sorting this out.

    Sincerely,

    Jackie Kelly

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    Replies
    1. Are you the same company as HerStyler?

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    2. is a high-tech company which integrates R&D, design, production, and marketing in the field of hairdressing equipment. Established in 2008, flat iron manufacturer

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  2. Please advise wha I should do if I want a refund. I paid $200 for the iron and got the shampoo, conditioner, serum for "free". I haven't used any of it and was an impulse purchase. I shouldve never got it. Please help.

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  3. i bought a corioliss classic pro and conveniantly 6 months later one of the blades stopped working. i went back to the mall and the little stand changed its name to hersyler so they wouldnt take it back or fix it. we called the number on the box and it was a number that didnt work. we went to the website and it doesnt work. you get past the first page and it says the website is down for maintanence. i am very pissed about it and would like my money back but thats obviously not gonna happen.

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  4. Wow im glad My corioliss flat iron has not let me down in the five years Ive had it, and still heats up and straightens just as perfectly as the first day. Love this iron and if it ever fails me I will buy the same one again.My hair is healthy and beautifull thanks to My faithful corioliss flat iron.Love it,love it,love it.

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  5. I was pulled in by one of the associates at a kiosk selling NuMe. The showed and demonstrated a NuMe flat iron. I was hesitant to buy but after he brought the price down to 100 I finally gave in. I was really upset about the impulse buy and when I got to my car I looked in my bag and realized that in my bag was in fact not a NuMe flat iron but a HerStyler flat iron. I successfully got my money back after going back to the cart and demanding a refund, even though it was posted that they did not give refunds. I informed the salesperson that they had performed a bait and switch which was against the law and that I could call the cops if they liked. They were happy to give me my money back.

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  6. Wow! I am so glad I found this site. I was in the mall today and was given a demo of the Nume flat iron. I was very imperessed by the results. I think she said it was about $160. I explained that I already have a Chi that works really well. Long story short, she tried to sell it to me at a "special price," that she could only give me TODAY. She brought it down to $100. I didn't feel like that a $100 purchase would be justified, if I already have a flat iron that I use and have been satisfied with for over 3 years. I felt really awkward with her sales practice, because she kept getting really close to me...like she was telling me a secret. I kept backing up, because she was in my personal space. I don't know if that behavior is a part of her culture, but it made me very uncomfortable. Also, I asked her to sanitize the flat iron and comb. She said it had already been done, but I don't trust publicly used tools to be clean. Nonetheless, I did not make the purchase and I am glad I did my research. They also have a no refund policy. If a product is so great, why do they have to have this type of polilcy?

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  7. My husband offered to buy me the NuMe Fashionista hair straightener for a Valentine present last Saturday for $139. I thought I got a good deal for a Corioliss product but when I got home to register for the warranty, something made me suspicious so I did more online research and found this site, among others. I contacted both Corioliss and NuMe, and they both denied being affiliated with the NuMe kiosk at the Avenues Mall in Jacksonville. Both companies also denied being affiliated with each other. I went back to the mall today, 3 days from date of purchase. I asked him again if the NuMe product is a Corioliss product. He said yes, NuMe is a Corioliss product as indicated in the sales receipt indicated. I asked the salesperson if I could exchange the NuME Fashionista (still in the unopened package) for another Corioliss product with the 30 minute automatic shut-off that I found online. Of course, he couldn't, he did not have it. So I told him that I contacted both Corioliss and NuMe and brought bought companies' emails independently confirming they are not affiliated with the kiosk. The salesperson then said that NuMe and Corioliss are one and the same, and in fact, they are owned by two brothers. I have no way of confirming this. Since he is misrepresenting the products, I offered him nicely and politely that we could settle this amicably if he would just refund me the amount my husband paid, and he gets back the still unopened product. He then threatened to call the mall security to get me, then he called mall customer service. He got very rude. Security did not come, so I went to Simon's Property mall customer service to relate the incident. Nothing has been done yet and I have not received a refund. I read the comment by Jacqueline Kelly/Executive Director of NuMe above and disagree that this is just "one bad apple..." There seems a trend at misrepresentation, questionable sales tactics, and verbal abuse by salespersons at NuMe kiosks and based on this thread, NuMe has been made aware of it, which makes me wonder... Just how many bad apples are there selling NuMe?

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  8. I was first given a demonstration of the NuMe hair straightener back in November, but decided not to buy it then. A month later I went back to the mall kiosk, spoke with the same salesman, who was nice enough to do another demonstration for me even though he knew I didn't buy it the first time. My hair is very hard to straighten or curl, so I am very wary of expensive products that have only let me down in the past.
    However, I loved the results so much that I bought it anyway, and I've used it pretty much everyday since then. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my NuMe straightener. My sister-in-law loves it too, and borrows it almost daily.
    I had no problems with the kiosk, the salesmen, or the straightener. I do agree that the salesmen are somewhat pushy, but isn't that the case for every kiosk?

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  9. I sent this message to the Westfield Mall in Chicago Ridge:


    I bought my pink Corioliss Profix straightener from a kiosk at the Westfield Chicago Ridge Mall. The name of this kiosk actually was called "Corioliss". I was promised a lifetime warranty. I bought my product on 9//12/2009 and the plate just broke on 5/6/2011. I attempted to exchange my straightener and the original kiosk that I purchased it from is no longer there. There is a new kiosk at the mall now selling hair straighteners under a different name. They swear that they are not affiliated with Corioliss yet they were willing to offer me a "discount" ($90) for a new straightener if I turned in my broken one. Where can I exchange my straightener now? FYI...I previously bought a HerStyler from the same kiosk (which was called Elite Extension By HerStyler) in the mall and when that broke, I was given the Corioliss for a $40 "upgrade". I originally paid $179 for the HerSyler 11/3/07. I am disgusted with this company's business practices and if I am not compensated, then I will seek further action from a higher authority. Who do I need to contact from Westfield in order to track down this company? Do you allow businesses like this to stay in your malls? I did internet research and found other horrible experiences from other customers who shopped at this kiosk in Westfield malls across the US!! I have saved both of my original receipts. I am now very hesitant to ever shop at any kiosks in your mall.

    I will update if I receive a response!!

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  10. FYI, I am not actually a 3rd grader...but I teach 3rd graders and this is my only google account!!

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  11. We have the same problem here in canada , I can relate to everyone of the negative comments ! Its so weird how they are all the same !

    I sent them this letter :
    To whom it may concern,
    I am an extremely unsatisfied customer, who recently spent 402.50$ on 16 inch hair extensions at the Herstyler Kiosk. In the mall, the convincing manager successfully sold me the Elite Extension that she claimed to be an amazing price. I got home, did research only to find out that you can buy the exact same product online for 1/3 the price. And due to the terrible lighting in the mall , when I got home I saw all the split ends and missing patches of hair in the extensions and decided it definitely was not worth all that money and wanted to return or exchange it. I was never told I couldn’t return it .
    The exact same day , I went in and she told me I couldn’t return it , because she gave me a discount ( which is stupid because people get much lower discounts them I did , all the time) . However, she did say I could exchange it for ONE item, and the highest price item was 80$. It took a lot of effort for her to even understand that much because she “could not understand English”
    I was an idiot pushover, and am extremely disappointed in myself for believing that the extensions were really nice, soft, and long-lasting. I am also a student, who worked very hard to earn that money over Christmas break working minimum wage and is extremely sad that this company would scam me like that.
    I would like you to know , if I do not get proper refunds/exchanges for my money , this scam will no longer go unnoticed , and I will go out of my way to put you out of business , making it known that you rip off your customers , by lying about prices ,warranty and quality.

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  12. Reminds me of the incident I had at my local mall at a MicaBella kiosk. It took me a couple of months but eventually I DID get a refund. It's long story, up on my blog, but suffice it to say I stay away from ANY kiosk since it's all a bunch of rip off products

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  13. That's insane! I purchased a herstyler at my local kiosk about 4 years ago. since then, hair kiosks have come an gone from that mall all with different names and colors or hair tools. i remember i payed $100 for my flat iron and got a "free" hair serum too. The guy told me i had a 5 year warranty and all this crap. Not true. So i just gave up trying to get the warranty. I still have my flat iron, I've dropped it a few times Ans the corners of one of the plates have chipped but it still works great. I wouldn't recommended ANYONE purchase anything from these shady kiosks after my experience here (which wasn't nearly as based as others have posted here). Just save your money for good tools from good and friendly companies with good return policies.

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    Replies
    1. okay, so I was sucked in by how great the product straightened my hair, but I have several questions. Mine are Lionesse Flat Irons from the HerStyler company. The retail price on the box says $300, but we were offered a "deal" of 2 for 1 so I paid $300 for 2 of these. I did not see that the receipt said NO REFUNDS because my daughter paid for them. What can I do now because I was way overcharged from what I see online? Also, to ITALIA, why do you say that it is not true that it comes with a 5 year warranty? Did you try to use it?

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  14. im a person that have been selling all those flat irons... and pepople like that sales person make me sick... but since i know how to sell without putting any pressure on the client i almost never get any refunds...
    and ill tell you guys more, those flat iron really do work as amazing as they are in the deomnstraion, even if the warranty isnt for lifetime which i can understand that makes you upset, its not the fault of the compenis who make them, its a problem of some business owners that dont inform theyre employees on how to treat a coustmer right.

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  15. I was scammed by the Tacoma Mall for a HerStyler Flat iron for $289 and then charged me $80 for the shampoo/conditioner set, serum, holder and so on. Needless to say I was walking and he grabs my hair and starts touching it saying how beautiful my hair is and then proceeds to ask me what I do and I told him I straighten it and then it proceeded from there. Gave me the introduction how it's better than my previous straighter and healthier for my hair. I used a GHD and apparently this straightener was way better....WHAT A JOKE!!! and of course No Returns! Wow I've never felt stupider for falling for this JOKE!!! Why is this scam stuff allowed in the malls?

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  16. well....i can't denied that i'm not the only person who undergoes an impulse purchase and I'm sure i won't be the last one! I got the Herstyler flat iron with $100, which according to the lady, it was $300 at the original price. back to day when this shit happens, she was getting closer and closer to me and told me that i could get a super good deal of $100 of the flat iron. she was starting to touch my hair without my permission. I felt very uncomfortably but she was just being very hyper. and i felt I would be very rude if i just go away. But if i have the chance again i would "just go" undoubtedly. I have notice that they all use the same sale practice to push people give in. I believed they must have trained for this, if not, I won't believe a normal salesperson would do this in the public place.
    one weird thing: they used the lionese flat iron to do my hair for the demonstration, but what i got is the Herstyler flat iron. I asked if they're the same, and she said they're the same they just change the sticker very often. I don't know if she lie on me or not. but i feel terribly cheated.
    I WANT A REFUND. I WISH THE COMPANY WOULD NO LONGER ON THE MARKET AND PAY THE PRICE OF CHEATING THE CUSTOMERS.

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  17. I was bamboozled by the HerStyler Kiosk at Yorktown in Lombard, Il. It was a moment of weakness and I fell for all the flattery and deals. I got home and was so upset with myself when I realized I spent 2 weeks grocery money on flat irons and shampoo. I went back to return it all to no avail. I called their "customer service" number, which I was sure was the person who had sold the products to me the day before and of course she was no help. I want to put up signs all over so that this does not happen to anyone else. I am using the products but none of it was needed, and I feel sick about it.

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  18. Dear LAIDBACKSKATER, I am so sad, Today I needed a different day, A day to feel better. I went to the mall and the lady at the kiosk talked to me into a curly iron. she said it was 120 but she could sell it for 79 plus free stuff. after I left I saw it online for only 20. I feel scammed. I attempted to get money back and she said owner will be there tomorrow. That I can come back and do my hair for 6 moth, money warrantied for 3 years.........how can get money back?

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  19. Hello and fast forward to May 2017... not sure if this site is even updated or anyone reads these anymore, but I am another one of those unfortunate suckers.

    This is concerning the Mirabella/Corioliss kiosk in West Edmonton Mall. I was here on vacation with my son and got sucked in!

    Long story short, very uncomfortable high pressure sales tactics, many lies about the product...(I bought a Jose Eber flat iron)

    I spent $200 on this POS!

    Lies by "tony" the salesman.

    1) This flat iron had a "gem" plating and not those cheap "ceramic" like all the other competitors. I open the box and see on the instruction manual....100 percent ceramic!


    2) Lifetime warranty and the company even offers free shipping to send it back if it is defective. Limited warranty and costs $24.95 USD to ship to the warranty Center and another $24.95 USD to have it shipped back to me.


    3) This could be used to replace my hair dryer as I can use it wet or dry. Once again, another lie. The manual says to use only on DRY hair.


    4). Patented Jose Eber uses only infrared heat versus outer heat to curl/flat iron the hair. Apparently this means it only seals the cuticle with ZERO damage instead of other irons which depend on outer heat that "fries" the hair.

    4) with this "Patented Jose Eber infrared heat, that once the hair is curled or straightened, can resist water and keeps its style until your next wash. He even used a spray bottle to demonstrate, which I find out from other consumers is not "water" but unscented hair styling product. So of course it keeps its style during demonstration!

    I am hoping this can at least save one person from getting scammed like I was...since I was out of town when I bought it, I have no recourse to return.

    I attempted to contact the manager but never heard back. I was even willing to send this back via FedEx to get a refund.

    Fine print...these mall kiosk stores...no refunds, only exchanges.

    Based on other comments on this forum, I see I'm not the only one being high pressured into purchasing inferior products under false pretences. Unfortunately I purchased with a debit card so I cannot even go to my credit card company to challenge the charge.

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    ReplyDelete
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