ComplaintsforMaterial World

• Initial Complaint

  08/19/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Started Membership in June or July of 2021.Agreed to fee of $49 that would be applied as credit to spend on items. No expiration on credit. Credit was allowed to build up toward purchase of higher value/priced items. Material World was then "bought" or "acquired" by *********** apparently. Membership fee of $49 has apparently been changed to being a "styling fee" good for only 30 days - I never agreed to this and this was not the policy/agreement when I signed on. I have bought multiple items and had to return them because they were misrepresented in their quality, design or sizing. When returning the items the full price is not being credited - only the amount after the $49 fee is. When you order an item and it does not work out I have learned it is costing me $49 each time - this is called stealing.Now *********** Membership fees are advertised are $9.00 per month - NOT $49! They are not honoring the terms of the original agreement which was at the $49 per month fee with the $49 turning into credit that does not expire. All items if they did not work out and were returned would be fully credited to my account. If I was only paying $9.00 per month then I would understand that "fee" would expire after 30 days - but not refunding a person in full for an item that does not work out is insane and fraudulent.These are absolutely not the terms I agreed to. The "styling" services have been terrible and the stylist are not adhering to my request - therefore there is nothing to meet my needs to buy every 30 days. On top of that - they are not sourcing anything themselves anymore, they are simply trying to resell clothes from other online retailers without disclosing that. They are literally trying to sell me items from the same online retailers I buy from for far more money - all of this is unethical.I am looking to receive full refund my returns and a refund on all of my "expired" $49 fee's as per my original agreement.

  Business response

  09/21/2022

  Hi *******,
  
  
  *********** is a personal styling service and once signed up for the service, you are assigned a personal stylist who sends you recommendations from our inventory based on the Style Profile/questionnaire you'll be asked to complete at sign up.
  
  Each time your *********** subscription renews, you are charged a monthly subscription fee of $49 and, in turn, issued a $49 subscription credit which is valid for 30 days. This credit automatically applies to your first order for that billing period to give you a discount of an equivalent amount.
  
  Since this subscription credit lasts for 30 days, if you return an item within that 30 day period, your subscription credit also gets reinstated so that you can use it on another item of your choice. Once your billing date rolls around, any existing credit you had from the previous billing period expires and a new credit gets added. In other words, your subscription credit does not roll over.
  
  We've always been very transparent on how the service works and information regarding the 30-day expiration of subscription credits can be viewed from the "Payment" section of our FAQ page which you can view by going to *************************************.
  
  Additionally, in order to determine if you were in fact given contradictory information regarding the information above, our team reviewed the texts that were shared between you and your stylists. There were a total of **** messages shared since the date of your signup on 6/17/2021; however, I am afraid that we did not find any evidence to suggest that you were advised that your monthly subscription credit would not expire. 
  
  As it relates to the $9 subscription fee, the lowering of the subscription fee from $49/month to $9/month was done only as a limited promotion targeting new customers and this was actually not intended to be a fixed rate. Our terms of use regarding this variation in the subscription fee were also updated at the start of the promotion to reflect this.
  
  Your enrollment on *********** happened prior to this lowering of the subscription fee. At checkout, you also gave consent to be charged at a rate of $49/month. All subsequent subscription fees that have been charged to your account are in accordance with the agreement you made when you signed up for the service.
  
  While we will not be able to retroactively apply the lowered rate to any subscription fees that were paid in the past, as a gesture of good will, we've issued a refund of $147 on the subscription fees paid for the last 3 months. We kindly ask that you allow at least **** business days for this refund to reflect on your bank statement.
  
  In addition, if you wish to cash out the $75 in shopping credit that's presently on your account, we'd be happy to send payment via Paypal. Simply send an email with your PayPal email address to ****************** and we'll complete the transfer on your behalf. 
  
  
  Thank you,
  The *********** Team

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