ComplaintsforChicago Microblading Studio

• Initial Complaint

  07/10/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I went in for microblading services (a tattoo of the eyebrows) and was unhappy with the service (that happens, so that's not my complaints. But I feel disfigured, I'll add a photo.) I'll skip over the horrendous customer service portion. Mostly what I am contacting you about is behavior that I believe to be illegal in nature.- The **************** ***********************) posted images of my face (and my full name) on social media without my consent (images taken on private property.) I have not signed a release granting her permission to do that, and nowhere was the use of images mentioned anywhere in the contract. I asked repeatedly that she please take them down and she refuses.- She stored my full credit card information (including full name, exp date & CCV, which if I'm not mistaken is not allowed) without my knowledge or consent. Yes, I paid for the deposit online with my card, but nowhere did it say "payment will also save your card for future use, do you agree?" Nothing of the sort.- She charged my card on my behalf for the balance. Nowhere in the contract that it address how & when the balance will be paid, nor did I authorize payment to be made on my behalf. There is no signature from me on that transaction.- She used an image I took myself without consent (copyright violation)- And finally, the kicker, she tried to blackmail me into removing my online reviews. She said the images (that she is not allowed to use) will "stay on there forever" unless I remove my reviews.So enough. This is a HIGHLY unethical business owner. How many other people removed their reviews?! You can't do that. You can't share other people's names and images online without consent, you can't save their credit card information, you can't use it on their behalf, and you can't blackmail people into removing a TRUE recounting of their experience with you because you don't like it. Maybe provide the minimum amount of customer service and that won't happen.

  Business response

  07/11/2023

  I am sorry to hear ******** is unhappy with the result after the nano brows. (professional permanent makeup procedure) . 
  
  Right after procedure, eyebrows are swollen and they will appear to be thicker and darker than suppose to. Once swollen go down , all scabs peel off, brow will look less intense , softer and look more natural. I explained to her but she didnt want to listen and asked me for refund 1 day after the procedure. When I refused, she wrote 1 star nasty review on Yelp and many nasty comments on my social media platform trying to defame my business. 
  
  According to our policy, I wouldnt move forward eyebrows tattooing procedure  until I get clients approval for the shape I **** which she did. 
  According our policy and terms and conditions that she agreed to, we are allowed to save card information when client booked their appointment online when they pay their non refundable $100 deposit. Also, she agreed to pay her balance due with the card on file after the procedure. 
  According our policy and terms and conditions that she agreed to, all treatments are non refundable but she still asked for refund 1 day after while her brows are freshly done and swollen which I denied. 
  
  According to our consent form she agreed to, brows may look slightly uneven right after procedure due to swollen and will be adjusted at touch up session if necessary. I informed her that I am happily do. 
  
  According to our terms and conditions she agreed to , we are allowed to use before and after pictures for marketing purposes without showing full face to protect clients privacy. I did not show her full face on any social media plat form.  In order to protect my businesss reputation, I responded her nasty review with before and after pictures. Because I believe people can see the truth and come to their own conclusions. If I did a terrible job on her eyebrows, why would I post pictures? I believe many professionals in permanent makeup industry will agree with me that I made her eyebrows look way better than her brows before the procedure. 
  
  Thank you for your kind attention. 
  
  ***********************;

  Customer response

  07/15/2023

   
  Complaint: 20293698
  
  I am rejecting this response because of the inaccuracy of the claims by the business owner as well as the fact that she continues to use my images in public without a signed release from me. The reason I filed a complaints was not because a refund was refused. She may keep the money actually. It was because she posted my images publicly without consent, refused to take them down, provided poor customer service (calling your client crazy is not customer service), stored my credit card information on file without letting me know or without my signing off on it (see screenshots of her contract), and charged it on my behalf. I did not initiate that payment nor did I signed for it. Then she attempted to blackmail me into removing the review. I did not defame her business, I provided a factual, verifiable account of my experience with her business. I have screenshots of everything that is in my review. I am allowed to leave a review of my experience. Thats not defamation. But further, after DOZENS of requests to have my images taken down (again, images that she had no release for) and the attempt at blackmail, yes, that is when I finally filed a BBB complaint. I believe people need to be warned about her business practices.
  
  I can provide screenshots of:
  - Her attempt at blackmail to push me into removing my review
  - Similar reviews by other people
  - A post by her with my image, FULL NAME (and a sassy #norefunds)
  - A message where she calls me crazy
  - Her contract (which makes no mention of image used, storing of credit card information, or payment initiation by anyone but me)
  And more.
  
  I did not file this because she wouldnt give me my money back. I did not file this because of the poor quality of the work (its pretty terrible.) I filed this because this is a woman who believes she is above the law, that she can do whatever she wants, and can bully clients. To this day my images are still on her social media pages. NO, you MAY NOT share images of people without a signed release (and even less so with their FULL NAME.) NO, you MAY NOT store credit card information without people agreeing to it in your contract. NO, you MAY NOT initiate payment on peoples behalf, (and even less so when thats not in your contract.) NO you MAY NOT blackmail people into removing a review of their experience with you simply because you dont like it. YOU. ARE. NOT. ABOVE. THE. LAW.
  
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************************

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩