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bagsidentity's OFFICIAL ONLINE SHOPPE is at UNDER MAINTENANCE. just a gal with a passion for bags. i wanna share my hobby to all who enjoy having a never-too-many bagS & the convenience of online shopping, all within a few clicks away... happy online shopping! bags shown here are all 100% authentic & brand new with tags. they are purchased directly from COACH, KATE SPADE or GUCCI stores/outlets by my friends who are staying in USA. for enquiries, please email me at bagsidentity@gmail.com disclaimer: i am not affiliated with COACH, KATE SPADE &/or GUCCI in any way & not their sales representative or an employee; i just love their patterns and am giving others the opportunity to have their quality items at discounted prices ;P

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

a lesson learned

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3028652120904&set=o.266748423389306&type=3&theater
the article can be found here

http://cyberita.asia1.com.sg/mekoniaga/story/0,6879,205372,00.html


i first wrote this at my facebook on 12 jan 2012. i guess i forgot about keeping a more permanent record of it here at blogspot. hence, here it is. late but better than never.
http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=210134115742630&id=359886441937




today is wed 11 jan 2012. my factual account of my side of the story.

hamidah has been a regular client of bagsidentity since aug-sep 2011. i am unable to pinpoint exactly when she bought the first bag from me as she identified herself as hamidah or ida. i have a few clients named hamidah. her contact number was also new to me then. however, i didn't pay much attention to it as i'm always glad to be of service to bagsidentity's clients.

over the course of the following several months, she bought several bags from me. each time, she would either internet bank transfer to me or cash-on-delivery. 

each time, she would get her brother or husband to collect the bags from me. sometimes, she would say that she needed the bags immediately as she was going to johor bahru to pass the bags to her cousins. i assumed that she had a large family, especially when she said that she had cousins in malaysia. 

each time, upon confirmation of her orders, her brother or her husband would collect the bags from me on the very same day that hamidah/ida placed her order with me. throughout all these while, her orders were either via smses or phone calls. she was sweet and polite over the phone. her husband and brother seemed to be nice guys too. i thought she had such a wonderful husband who always helped her to collect the bags from me. i also thought that she had such a helpful brother who always collected the bags on her behalf whenever her husband was unavailable. sometimes, both of them (her husband & brother) would arrive in the same car to collect the bags from me. i really thought she had such an awesome family.

on 21 dec 2011, usually, i only passed the bags to her husband/brother upon receipt of payment (hamidah/ida would usually smsed me to inform me that she had transferred to me already). however, on that particular day, she didn't transfer the money to me but her brother was already at my doorstep. since she had always been prompt in paying me & had been a regular client, i didn't insist that her brother should pay me on the spot. i passed him 4 coach bags worth sgd1352. when her brother had left, i smsed her to inform her that her brother had collected the bags from me. she replied that she was currently on her way home & would transfer to me when she got home. it was about 11pm+ then.

a day passed and she had not transferred the payment to me. when i smsed her, she replied that her father-in-law had passed away & she was attending to the funeral wake. i sent my condolences to her & told her that i trusted her & that she could pay me after the funeral wake. i told her to take care of herself during the trying period on the passing away of a loved one.

two weeks passed and i didn't receive any news from her. i smsed her to check with her how she was. basically, it was radio-silence since 21 dec 2011.

feeling sorry for myself, i posted a note on my facebook wall on 4 jan 2012, briefing describing my agony. i didn't post any descriptions which would identify her as i trusted that she might indeed be in some kind of trouble.

on 5 jan 2012, i posted more descriptives with regard to what happened to me. more people offered suggestions to me. in my posts, i repeatedly mentioned there must've been some miscommunication/misunderstanding some where. if hamidah/ida was indeed in some form of financial difficulties, i was willing to hear her out & offered a mutually agreeable solution, e.g. instalment plans.

on sat 7 jan 2012, i was at mega flea market 6 at expo hall 6b. a malay lady walked by my booth with her sister & mother. they commented that they had ordered a similar bag as what i had displayed in my booth. however, she mentioned that it was scam. she told me that the scam was posted on the new paper and berita harian.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150664340743906&set=o.266748423389306&type=3&theater

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3037588624261&set=o.266748423389306&type=3&theater

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150564968190491&set=o.266748423389306&type=3&theater

i told her how i could emphatise with her as my trust was also betrayed by a regular client who "took" 4 bags from me without paying me. i told her that my client's father-in-law had passed away. she commented that my story sounded familiar. she asked me for my client's name. i told her it was hamidah. she asked if it was hamidah othman. we took out our mobile phones to check her mobile phone number. it was spot-on! only then did reality set in. i was cheated!

soon after that, another malay lady commented that my bags were similar to what she had ordered before. my heart leaped. i asked her if it was hamidah othman. it was jackpot again.

shortly later, a third lady came to me to inform me that she was also a victim.

i was devastated. 

by then, many kind souls provided more leads with regard to her whereabouts. the comments and photos in the group of fellow victims at facebook provided more clues & information. some people got their money back. of course, deep inside me, i wished i were the one.

i smsed hamidah/ida & her husband periodically. no reply whatsoever.

a reporter from berita harian phone-interviewed me on 10 jan 2012.
the article can be found here.http://cyberita.asia1.com.sg/mekoniaga/story/0,6879,205372,00.html

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3028652120904&set=o.266748423389306&type=3&theater

i told the reporter that now that the scam was uncovered, my speculation of hamidah/ida's story was as such:
i might be one of her many suppliers. her husband & brother were her runners. i told the reporter that i was very upset that it was family of swindlers. i told her that i felt that my complete trust in her was betrayed. i also told her i still hope that hamidah/ida would attempt to contact me so that we could come to a mutual agreement.

my last resort was to lodge a police report.

today, 11 jan 2012, i received a phone call in the afternoon from a guy who identified himself as hamidah's husband. he told me that he would be transferring sgd1352 to my bank account. all the details which he had were correct. about 10mins later, he called to inform me that the transfer was completed & he offered to give me a transaction reference number. i told him that i would check my bank account later. when i asked him what happened, he said that he had no comment.

when i checked my bank account (in fact, i went to check again now; just in case my eyes were playing tricks on me in the afternoon), the money has been returned! i was overjoyed!

i smsed hamidah/ida and her husband, thanking them for the money returned.

--------------------------------------------------------
it was an episode which i would never forget. this will definitely change the way i deal with business in future. apologies to all my regular clients. henceforth:

no payment = no order
no trust whatsoever; it's strictly business.

hamidah/ida, if you are reading this, i'm not sure what exactly made you want to cheat others of their money. whatever your reason is, i know that you/your family has been trying to refund other victims (from the posts published in the victims page). i still want to believe in the good in you, okie? (i hope others will not get mad at me for making such a statement, especially if you are still waiting for your refund.) turn over a new leaf. 

this has definitely affected the local online shopping scene. i stress again, all my designer bags (coach, kate spade & gucci) are ready-stock in singapore, purchased with hard-earned cash from the usa, 100% authentic, all new with price tag intact (price tag in usd, not sgd). i welcome you to visit my home in serangoon gardens for cash-on-delivery, if you feel more secured this way. drop me an email to bagsidentity@gmail.com to arrange for one on weekday evenings :)

for now, i'm just thankful & grateful that the entire episode is over. i hope everyone gets their money back. i hope all the other victims will get their money back soon. i knew how the agonizing wait felt like. i hope no one will ever need to experience this ever again.
ET

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