ComplaintsforWyld Blue - Aspen, CO

• Initial Complaint

  05/13/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On 31Dec2023 around 4.30pm, my wife, Kimilla, purchased a Marant sweater for $978.98 from Wyld Blue store in Aspen. Kimilla & I left the store, attended an event, the garment was not worn, nor removed from its packaging. The following morning, Kimilla opened the garment bag discovering signs the garment had been used & damaged, a sleeve stain, a distinct perfume smell on the collar, loose stitching on the tag & loose threads on the knit. Kimilla attended the store Jan 2nd (closed 01-01-24) to return the sweater. The assistant advised a refund wasn't possible, nor a replacement in Kimilla's size and to keep the sweater until the issue could be resolved with the Director via the online shop. On 01-06-24, Kimilla returned to the store, returned the item with the purchase receipt inside the bag and requested a full refund. The refund was refused. Further attempts to resolve the issue were made via emails, instagram private messages and phone calls during the 2-week period after the purchase. A 15% refund was offered & rejected by my wife. Direct emails & texts were made with owner, Sahsa Benz but the matter was not resolved. Ms Benz advised the store policy of no refunds, yet authorized a partial refund offer. The matter is still unresolved & no further communications have been received from the store. I filed a complaint with COAG. COAG advised to file a complaint with BBB. Wyld Blue has the garment, & Kimilla's payment. We feel that the sales process was deceptive in offering a used item for sale as a new item. Further misleading communication was provided stating a no refund policy and then offering a limited refund. The staff commented to Kimilla and myself when in store, they felt a refund was fair & reasonable, however the owner Sasha Benz wouldn't provide a refund, providing her legal representative to contact for dispute resolution. Kimilla would like to be refunded in full. We live in Australia, my AUS phone is +61478114087. My US phone receives sms.

  Business response

  05/13/2024

  Hello!

  On behalf of Wyld Blue, I will be of help to deal with this matter. I was the direct point of contact for when this originally was brought to our attention months ago! To start, our policy of no refunds after purchase is written on our website, framed at every register, and labeled on every recipet. This policy has been the same since we opened, and we haven't had any ongoing issues like this one, with it. 

  Kimilla tried on this sweater in store at our Aspen location before purchasing it. The item was taken from back stock, NEVER previously owned by anyone or given back as a return. The customer was aware of the policy rules, and even suggested she bought if for the event that evening. We have video footage of the entire encounter including her wearing it in store for some time. If there was a strong smell of perfume or stains beforehand, she would have been able to identify that as she wore it in store. 

  We did what we could as a small business and offered a partial refund for her, which she never accepted. We also offered an exchange of equal or greater value like we give to all our customers who aren't happy with their purchase. We tried multiple times to resolve this! 
  
  We can still honor the partial refund like we were willing to at the beginning of all this but them filing a complaint about our standard policies which they have clearly broken is unethical and not warranted for the BBB.

  Customer response

  05/13/2024

  Hi Clay, 

  Thank you for the reply from Wyld Blue. 

  What would you recommend we do to make an offer of settlement for this issue?  

  A partial refund contradicts their policy.  It was 15% which is not acceptable. Given the time and costs involved to file in a local court we would accept a refund of 85%.  

  The garment was returned and may well have been sold to someone else by now.  Kimilla returned to the shop and looked through almost every item to find a replacement none of which were suitable.  The shop assistant advised Kimilla that this was their last piece in that size and it was the display piece she purchased not a stock piece. The video evidence will support this.  

  Should they not be accepting of the 85% refund then we would like to proceed with binding arbitration / mediation. 

  Thank you.

  Kind regards,

  Andrew Grace

  Customer response

  05/19/2024

  Complaint: 21697422
  
  I am rejecting this response because we do not agree with the reply. 

  However to finalise the matter, a refund of 85% being $850.00 as a one time offer (without prejudice save for costs) to settle by way of payment to the credit card that was originally used for purchase, would resolve the matter.  

  Should the matter not be settled, then a claim will be made in the small claims local court.   

  
  Regards,
  
  Andrew Grace

  Business response

  05/20/2024

  We are disappointed to see that we, as a small business, will have to take a big loss for something we aren't at fault for. To reiterate, the sweater was tried on by Andrew's wife and walked around in store. It wasn't until after they were home and the garment was most likely worn that "perfume scents" and "damages" were brought to the shops attention. As a business we know where our policies stand and we are always going to back them. 

  However, this is an extreme inconvenience to our team as they are busy with their other ongoing daily tasks. We are happy to get the sweater back to you guys with a discounted price by 20%. If you choose not to go this route, we will refund you 70% back to the original form of payment. This is our final offer. 

  Customer response

  05/20/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me provided the amount is $700 USD. 

  However the Visa card that was used to purchase this item was hacked during her travels and is no longer active. 

  My wife has a USD bank account to receive a transfer of $700 USD. 

  If this is agreeable then we can provide the domestic US bank details by email directly to the respondent. 

  We would request that the payment transfer receipt be provided within 24 hrs to complete the process. 

  Thank you for the resolution of this matter. 

  Regards,
  
  Andrew Grace

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