HOUSTON — It goes without saying—Texans love their state.
But scores of consumers claim one online retailer is taking advantage of that Texas pride, and taking them for a ride.
Lynn Allen is one of them. Wanting to add to her collection of handbags, she found one for $99 on the website ShipsFromTexas.
After receiving an e-mail confirming her order, Allen waited weeks for her handbag. She tried contacting the company several times, but never heard back.
“I think it’s a sham,” she said.
Tuan Bui said he got taken too when buying two handbags a surprise gift for his wife. He said his Texas pride is what lured him in.
“When I see ‘from Texas’ I said ‘oh ok, that’s exactly the company (where) I want to buy,” Bui said.
Not only did he not get his handbags, the company added shipping insurance charges and several unexplained fees for $1.60 each. They were all processed out of Vancouver, British Columbia.
“According to my credit card statement, it showed from Canada,” Bui said.
“That’s absolutely not from Texas.”
The Better Business Bureau’s Dan Parsons says his organization has received more than 70 complaints about Ships From Texas.
“This pisses me off, because it makes my state look bad,” Parsons said.
“Critckets, nothing,” Parsons said.
“And I guess we had a little bit of optimism because there was some evidence that they had an office,” he said.
That purported office has a Houston address on San Felipe St. in the Galleria area. But a visit to the fifth floor of the mid-rise office building resulted in more questions than answers.
“They’re using our address and we’ve tried to tell them I don’t know how many times to stop using it but we can’t get a hold of them,” said Todd Kubecka, Regional Manager for Avalon Suites.
“We get calls and complaints about them all the time but they have nothing to do with this address,” Kubecka said.
Consumers who said they were duped would like to know who is behind the online retailer and their whereabouts.
“I certainly learned my lesson.” Allen said.
“If we’re going to shop online, we have to protect ourselves,” she said.
Consumer advocates advise to only shop trustworthy sites and check their complaint history with the Better Business Bureau. They also suggest paying with a credit card or through PayPal, which offers more protection than a debit card.
Lastly, they say to beware of fake reviews. On ShipsFromTexas, a positive review from “Bella in Galveston” appeared on three other handbag sites.