Bag Borrow or Steal review: fraud! plus worst customer service ever 31

Dear AVELLE/Bag Borrow or Steal Customer,

I am sorry that you had a negative experience with us. That is certainly not our intent. It is my job to ensure a positive customer experience for all, and we clearly let you down in this case.

Please allow me to explain a few things. In regard to the outlet return policy, you have 14 days from the date of purchase to return it. The philosophy being that if you don't like it, we want to encourage you to send it back as soon as possible so others may have the chance to buy and enjoy it. We hope that our customers recognize sooner than later that the item is not to their liking. We are always more than happy to help you find something that works better for you. We just want to process the return in a timely manner, as well. To avoid deceiving our customers, we post the policy in three different places on our site: FAQs, Terms & Conditions, and in your shopping bag, next to the picture of the item as you go through checkout. We purposely display it in all these places so that customers know when they're ordering it that it's a strict policy. We do this to be up-front and honest.

Regarding the condition of the merchandise, again I am sorry that the bag you received was dirty. All of our items go through a ten-point inspection process before being reshipped. Yes, our outlet section does contain 'gently loved' (used) merchandise. That doesn't mean we want you to receive a filthy item, but some wear and tear is to be expected.

I appreciate your concern about the authenticity of our designer items. We guarantee that every item in our collection is 100% authentic. Our inventory is acquired directly from the designer or through authorized distributors. Items should come with authenticity cards when applicable, including any and all authenticating markings or serial numbers. Should the authenticity card be missing from your item, a signed letter of authenticity is available upon request. We do not condone the purchase of counterfeit merchandise as it is illegal.

Again, my apologies for your experience with us. Please feel free to contact me directly with any further questions or concerns, or if you would like the letter of authenticity.

Sincerely,

Erin
Customer Service Manager
AVELLE, the New Bag Borrow or Steal
866.922.2267 x 1103
erin.ziedman@bbosmail.com

I tried to become a member and rent a bag from them, I got an error message @ checkout that said "your billing address and name does not match we can not authorize your credit card"...I tried 1 more time..and again the same error message. It was odd...everything was correct, there was plenty of $$ on the card. The nx day my credit card company calls me about suspicious charges on my card...2 charges to BBS! Funny... BBS told me they couldnt authorize my credit card...and not only that but they were going to charge the card 2x...WOW! This whole thing seems shady to me...I wont be doing business w/ them in the future...and BTW I told my credit card company to decline the charges...after all BBS said they couldnt authorize the card. :)

I myself have also had issues with this so called COMPANY. They contacted me via email about selling them gently used or new handbags. I decided to sell them a very expensive LOUIS VUITTON handbag. They sent me a label by email VERY QUICKLY. They seemed like they were in a huge hurry to get the handbag. Shortly after, I recieved delivery conformation on the bag. The bag has now been in their hands for over a week, and I haven't recieved my money, or anything. Not even a phone call or an email. I have contacted them over 10 times, and it just seems that I am getting the run around. I WANT MY MONEY OR MY BAG BACK, AND IF I DON'T GET ONE OR THE OTHER, I WILL PROSECUTE THEM TO THE FULLEST. This is rediculous, and I do not believe that this company is legit at all. I should have gone with my first instince. Its ok, because they are just ruining their business and they won't be around long at all. I have sent this woman about 10 emails and called numerous times and I can't get any info. This is not fair and I will NEVER do business with them again. And I definately urge you not to either. A total rip off! I will supply the email that was sent to me from her. After I submitted this handbag, she made an agreement with me to pay $460 dollars for this handbag, WHICH I HAVE NOT RECIEVED!

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ReplyReply AllMove... Flag this messageRE: status of submission formTuesday, February 2, 2010 8:09 PMFrom: "Erin Ziedman" Add sender to ContactsTo: "Sheena Almer" Cc: "bags@bagborroworsteal.com" Dear Ms. Sturgill,

Thank you for submitting information regarding your Louis Vuitton bag.

We have reviewed the information and would like to offer you a price quote of $460.00. This would be contingent upon inspection, authentication, and final approval once we have the handbag in our possession.

Please let us know if you would like to take the next step of sending us the Louis Vuitton, and we will e-mail you a prepaid UPS label.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,

Erin
Customer Service Manager
AVELLE | The New Bag Borrow or Steal
866.922.2267

I have to disagree with the negative reviewers as I have had great experience with Avelle and Erin in particular. I sold them a Chloe bag and received my compensation within one week. I deposited the check and had no trouble there either. As a result of that first good experience I just sent them another used handbag. I will check back on this board if the transaction isn't as good as last time, but I am hoping it will be the same. Also, I just have to say that my interactions with Erin have been excellent. She responded to all of my emails promptly and guided me through the whole process of selling my bag.

My two issues with this company are 1) I'm not 100% satisfied with the price quotes they give me for my bags as I feel they are worth a lot more than is offered and 2) I think all used handbags have to go through a cleaning process that deducts a small amount of money ($25-$40) from the total compensation you get back, which is not communicated until they already have the bags and I think is standard, no matter what the actual condition of the handbag is.

All in all though, I am very satisfied with the service this company provides.

-mecooney

I have to agree that BBOS/Avelle is a great company, I too have dealt with Erin and she has been great! I can tell you that they turned down one of my Marc Jacobs bags I sent in because it needed repair, so they do not take this lightly. They are totally legit - I've been a member for over 4 years, but they are fairly new at buying bags, so patience is key. When I emailed to ask about status I immediately received a response, they are also improving their site, now you can review your submissions when you log in to your account and the status, they even offered me a $10 credit for the items they didn't buy - I consider that to be great customer service.

I was about to rent from them today as a test for renting a purse for my anniversary later in the year. I picked a Louis Vutton because I own several and I wanted to compare the rented bags with the legit bags to make sure they weren't knock-offs and to see their condition.

I signed up and rented the bag and everything went smoothly and I was a tad excited because the bag I rented was one I had wanted to buy but they don't sell anymore.

Couple hours later I check my email and there is something from Avelle requesting my social security number. Excuse me? Thinking that maybe this was a case of phishing, I went to the website and called the customer service number. No I wasn't mistaken, they really did want my social security number. Apparently its the normal process for the company to run your credit to make sure that you aren't a thief. When I questioned why she just repeating that this was how they ran their business. I'm sorry but there is NO LEGITIMATE reason for a company like this to need my social security number and I'm very thankful we just bought a house so they weren't able to find me in their database.

Long story short I canceled my account and requested a refund. People I know that renting a bag can be fun and exciting but your identity is worth MORE then any bag they sell. Do not allow any company without a legitimate reason to request or get your social security number.

P.S I told her she could place a hold on my debit card for twice the amount of the purse to hold as collateral but alas that wasn't good enough, which leads me to wonder the real reason they needed the social security number. If a deposit is all you need to rent a car (which is worth THOUSANDS) why wouldn't it be good enough to barrow a purse?

I used to do business with bagborrow or steal, and I was always pleases with my purchases. I tried getting into the Avelle website and it wouldn't let me get through, now I am so glad.

I sent my authentic Prada bag to their warehouse on April 5th 2010 for sale. I have the reseipt confirmation from USPS that they received my handbag in their warehouse on April 9th. I never heard from them after that at all.

I called their customer service line 4 times, once every week to check on the status of my bag and when I will get my payment check. Each time a different person answer and always told me they will check it out and then email me, but I never heard from your company! Now they have my authentic Prada bag, and I didn't get any payment from the company. I feel so cheated!

NEVER SELL YOUR AUTHENTIC DESIGNER HANDBAGS TO AVELLE/BBOS!

Wow, I will NEVER do business with this company! Plus I think there expensive!

First of all, I think it's funny that this "Erin" person seems to be doing everything. It's a big company and I find it funny that everyone happens to be always dealing with the same person for different tasks.

Secondly, Erin lied. She said "Our inventory is acquired directly from the designer or through authorized distributors." This is not true as they buy bags from individuals who may or may not have sold them fakes. Whether they have the ability to authenticate is a different issue, but she didn't say that. She tried to make it seem like their bags are from LV or Chanel, which they are not.

I have sold avelle.com 2 Coach bags, and so far, it's worked out fine. I got the check for the first one last week, and I am expecting the check for the second one by next week. I am actually about to accept their quote for another Coach hobo of mine, and will send it out sometime soon.
I was wondering about their refurbishment for handbags. I need to have my white Marc Jacobs Sofia cleaned. Their fees seem decent, but I wanted to know how good they are. Has anybody had any experience with their cleaning services?

I have them refurbishing an almost brand new Miu Miu bag that I got an oil spot on. They initially told me that the "refurbishment" would include them "fixing" the "substantial" wear and tear they saw on the corners of the bag. The bag was a week old when I got the stain on it, so there was no wear and tear. In any event, it has been 4 weeks, and I still have not received it back, nor are there any notes on its "progress" when I called today to check, other than for them to tell me to wait about two more weeks. Six weeks to clean a spot (and I have no idea if it will even come out) is pretty ridiculous.

The other day I saw them offering in their "private sale" a Balenciaga mini "coin purse" for $220. That coin purse was actually a freebie that was given out at Bloomingdale's when I bought the new Balenciaga Paris perfume, and it came holding a travel size of the perfume. I literally laughed out loud when I saw it being offered for sale at $220; I had given mine to my 5 year old daughter to play with. Totally ridiculous.

Yesterday evening I bought an Coach hampton satchel bag which cost about 220$
Later, I looked at the bag on another website and compared the pictures to the one on Avelle. I have made the WORST mistake! The stitching looks like total crap on the Avelle site and it said it had a tan lining. TAN LINING!? It was a black and white bag! I honestly have no idea what i'm going to do! I'm fifteen and I spent a summer's worth of babysitting jobs on a FAKE bag.
The first picture is a REAL bag
the second is the "Authentic" bag from avelle
[censor]!

Thank Goodness I looked up the con's for BBS! I will never ever even take a chance on this company! I'd rather save a $1, 000 even if it takes me a year to buy my LV bag. That way I'll know it's real. For everyone who has gotton burned by this shady company i'd do what someone periously mentioned and call the Attorney General for your state that you live in and see how you can final a suit agisnt them. The United States does not take fraud like this lightly. We all have to take a stand and show this company that we mean business, we will not be taken for fool's. I'm truely very sorry for the people that have gotton burned by BBS, I hope that you all get back what is owed to you. Best Wishes to everyone out there.

My God, I was planning to rent a bag from these guys, but I am very glad that I read these reviews. Thanks for the heads up, guys! I will not be doing business with Avelle/Bag, Borrow or Steal.
Layla.

I can hardly believe some of the comments written above. I have been a member of Bag Borrow or Steal for a couple of years. I have purchased several handbags from them - some of which I kept and some which I have returned. I have always received the handbags promptly and had no problems with the returns. The returns were because I didn't lie the style once i got it and had nothing to do with quality. All of the bags I received were extremely clean and in many cases looked brand new. I have never had a billing or credit issue. Whenever I have had questions via email or phone all responses were fast and appropriate. I always research prices before purchasing and although some seem pricey, it is usually because of the inital retail value of the handbag. Having had such good experiences with buying their used (and one new) handbags, I decided to check out selling some. Since I did not like the prices they offered I didn't sell to them (their response time was fast). They then started offering the cleaning service and I sent in two bags for cleaning. Although their was some initial confusion (because I sent two bags) and a couple of phone calls, it was straightened out. I chalk this up to this being a new service and they were still working out the kinks. The repair time was longer than stated on the site, but I received the two handbags today and both were cleaned and repaired beautifully. While the wait was longer than expected, it was worth it to get my bags back in such wonderful condition. I am sending in another one this week now that I have seen their work. I came online to find a place to write a good review and found this site with bad reviews and felt I to speak out in their favor. I love this company and will continue to buy from them.

BBS offered me $40 for my brand new Kate Spade handbag of which I purchased it for $295. The handbag is never been used. Price tag is still on the handbag. I attached 5 photos of this handbag to BBS. What a joke. BBS must of think I'm an idiot! DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THEM.

@ sad&angry customer - YOU ARE SO DUMB - Gucci bags NEVER come with authenticity cards... [censor]...

There Customer Service isn't great, I receive a bag that was suppose to be in like condition and it was dirty the handles were sticky and flithy. I connected Customer Service and no response.

I do agree with "More Than Satisfied Customer". I purchased many bags from Bag Borrow or Steal and overall I'm happy with them. I was surprise to read so many un-satisfy comments on this blog. Something I should be cautious going forward when buying more handbags from the site. I did return some handbags I didn't like and I got credit back (as stated in their policy) immediately. All the bags I received were clean and beautiful. Couple of them had defects (from over-used), but I could always return if I decided to and as I said earlier, no issues with returning the bags. As soon as I received the bags I purchased, I examined them and decided to keep them or not and the key is always returning them on the same day you received. Anyway, no one is perfect and I don't believe any company can 100% satisfy ALL their customers, so good luck to those are not happy with Bag Borrow or Steal. I hope you get your issues resolved quickly.

I have read all he negative comments and a few positive comments. I am looking at a Tiffany ring on their site. Its very expensive, but over 2K less than at Tiffany and Co. Its not for rent like the bags, but could it be a reproduction?

I experienced a situation similar to another complaint on this site...I went through the process to rent a Prada bag, provided all information requested, and I even took the time to read their ENTIRE Terms and Conditions page, which indicated I might be asked for a deposit. After reading all of this, I went through with my purchase, secured the bag with a credit card (which was charged 30 seconds later for the full amount of the rental) and received a confirmation email stating I should expect the bag on February 8th, five business days later. Everything was going as expected, until the next day when I received an email from Avelle stating the bag I rented had a required credit check, and their attempt to pull my credit had been unsuccessful using the information I provided. I was to call their Customer Service number and provide them with my Social Security number. You realize that's illegal Avelle, right? You can't pull a copy of my credit report without my express consent. Your "Terms and Conditions" page says ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about credit inquiries needed to rent bags. The reason you couldn't find me with my address information (thankfully!) is because I recently moved. And it will be a cold day in hell when I give you full access to my identity to rent a damn purse (which I already paid for!) As of this moment (ok, give me 5 minutes to finish this sentence and navigate to the website), I am filling a complaint with the BBB. And I see I'm not alone, 21 other people have filed complaints against Avelle in the last 36 months. Do business with this company at your own peril.

i completely disagree. i ordered a chloe bag for a month and didn't read the reviews on the site until after, probably not a good idea. anyways, after reading all of the complaints, i was nervous to receive the bag. well i got it today and i have to say i'm impressed. its in "like new" condition like they said and is beautiful. its definitely real and not a fake. i own only real handbags and i'm pretty confident i could tell the difference. i am super excited to use it and if i love it that much after a few weeks i may just have to "steal" it. :))

I have been a customer of Avelle BB&S for a little under a year now, in general I think their a reputable company; with any company there are going to be satisfied an unsatisfied customers. I only have two small issues with Avelle. The first is the conditions of some of the bags are not clean. I've purchased two bags on two different occasions and when they arrived they had stains on them. I called to inform them and they told me to send the bag back with the Avelle sticker attached for a full refund. It worked, I sent the bag back and I got my card refunded, no problem! The second issue is I wish when you have a bag on the wait list and it becomes available that they'd let you know, and give you xxxx amount of days to respond back as to whether or not you are still interested in the item. Other than that, my experiences have been positive. I would highly recommend Avelle to my family and friends, I've never had a problem with communication; everytime I"ve called the 800 number and someone always answers in a timely fashion and takes care of me. I'm a big fan of Avelle and would recommend them over and over again.

I'm so happy I read these reviews. I will never do business with this company and I'll be sure to spread the word about what a scam they are. I know for a fact they run a credit check on every customer and they probably sell the customers information to different credit services.

BagBorroworSteal sent me 15% off promo codes a few days after I put something in my check-out bag but didn't check out. I tried using it. It didn't work. I did a Live Chat with a customer service rep. She said, "Did you use one in the past?" I said yes, a few years ago. She then left the chat room without telling me -just left me sitting there typing, "hello? hello?"

I emailed customer service asking about the 15% off code and they just ignored it.

BTW, I have bought items from them. Among them was a "gently used" D & B bag that arrived with a giant exterior stain. Another was a pair of earrings from their clearance site that I later learned was priced at full retail.

Avoid this company. There are others that do better business.

BBOS emailed me a 15% off promo code a few days after I put something in my check-out bag but didn't check out. I tried using it. It didn't work. I did a Live Chat with a customer service rep. She asked, "Did you use a code in the past?" I said yes, a few years ago, when I was sent one. She then left the chat room without telling me -just left me sitting there typing, "hello? hello?"

I emailed customer service twice asking about the 15% off code and they never answered.

BTW, I have bought items from BBOS. Among them was a "gently used" D & B bag that arrived with a giant exterior stain. Another was a pair of earrings from their clearance site that I later learned was priced at full retail.

Later on this company.

they do not give code numbers of the bags, this is outrageous. they describe the damage but no pictures, this site is very shady, please stay away from it.
BAG BORROW STEAL, YES THEY STEAL.

I just recently sent one of my LV bags, they got it 3 1/2 weeks ago and I never heard from them so I emailed and they said " we are evaluating your bag and it's being processed, we will email you when it is complete" I replied, Either send me my money or send me my bag back" I received an email informing me it was being shipped that same day, so when it arrived yesterday it came "MINUS" the LV lock and key. I immediately emailed them and made this known of course giving them the benefit it was an error! This was before closing hours...I still have not heard from them! Those ###tards better be on the fast forward move with shipping me my LV Lock & key. STAY AWAY from this company. Bad, bad, bad!

I am sorry to hear about the bad experiences. However, I have nothing but GOOD things to say about BagBorrowSteal. I purchased used Coach from them. The bag was clean and cheap. Competing on fb for purses, I just do not have the time for. The customer service reps are ALWAYS respectful win I call. And when ever I HAD an issue.

I bought a bag from this company, the $1, 200 was taken out of my account in minutes. I paid for overnight delivery, I took the day off so I could be home to sign for the bag. Well, I arrive home this evening and have an email from them stating they need additional information and if I don't call them they will CANCEL my order. But wait, you have my full and correct address and payment in full. I'm a new customer! Why did you not call me? You have my phone number. You have all my information and my money and all I have is a rude threatening email. I had to get my bank involved in this shady transaction. BUYER BEWARE, THE REVIEWS ARE TRUE. Praying I get my money back.