Oh my dear gals, I just need a shoulder to cry on !
So here is the story - about 2 months ago my girlfriend who lives in Paris sent me a gift - LV sunset blvd clutch, via Fedex, the tracking updates stopped when the package arrived into the US. A few days later I received a letter from US Customs stating that the purse was seized and they had reasons to believe it was counterfeit . They said the purse's marked value was $50. My friend said that she just wanted to save me some $$$ on the import duties ( she did this without my knowledge - I've read multiple stories about US customs seizing designer purses so I know better , oh well she didn't ...) . And yes the purse was a 100% authentic, she's extremely well off and she bought it in a boutique (the one on champ elysees) and kept a receipt.
Anyway in the letter they said that if i believed that they made a mistake I should write a notarized claim or smth like that , appear in court in DC with all the supporting evidence - or just give up any rights to the purse and have them destroy it. As hard as it was to do this and with my gf permission I gave up any rights. I was surprised that they didn't list any other options like show the proof of purchase and just pay the import duties.
So today I received a letter from LV criminal enforcement department !
Saying that they've been informed I tried to import a fake LV purse blah blah, that they wanted me to know that such behavior is punishable by law, that the trademark owner can institute a civil action for trademark counterfeiting , seek my imprisonment or have me pay up damages up to $1 000 000, blah blah ( I will attach the letter ). LV demanded the purse to be seized and I was not to interfere in the process and that they want to get a written confirmation of my compliance with the demands.
And now it's time for me to spill my guts :cry::cry::cry: I feel so humiliated.
I am actually insulted by the fact that someone might think that I have to do something with the illegal counterfeiting. I have never purchased a fake purse and never will, I am a loyal LV customer. What if they put my name on some kind of a oh she imports fake LV's list ? I just picture myself buying another purse and SA looks up my account and bammmm ! i am on the list ! I know it's just me overacting but still I have to change my name before I dare to buy another purse under my current name , I know , I know that's ridiculous ...I am just upset
It's great that LV does something about counterfeits but ... what about Canal st. in NYC ? It's infested by fakes ! I mean I am such a small fish, and get that kind of a letter... What about all those website where they sell hight quality replicas ? Shouldn't they concentrate on something more big ?
They used such words that made me feel like a criminal ...
One more thing - english is not my first language as you might have noticed,I've been speaking English only for 3 years so please forgive my grammar , anyway I am not so sure how to respond to their letter - should I explain the situation or should I just say that I understood everything and will comply with their demands? I have 10 days to respond , so I have no idea what to write.
Any way I just wanted to spill my guts to someone ...
So here is the story - about 2 months ago my girlfriend who lives in Paris sent me a gift - LV sunset blvd clutch, via Fedex, the tracking updates stopped when the package arrived into the US. A few days later I received a letter from US Customs stating that the purse was seized and they had reasons to believe it was counterfeit . They said the purse's marked value was $50. My friend said that she just wanted to save me some $$$ on the import duties ( she did this without my knowledge - I've read multiple stories about US customs seizing designer purses so I know better , oh well she didn't ...) . And yes the purse was a 100% authentic, she's extremely well off and she bought it in a boutique (the one on champ elysees) and kept a receipt.
Anyway in the letter they said that if i believed that they made a mistake I should write a notarized claim or smth like that , appear in court in DC with all the supporting evidence - or just give up any rights to the purse and have them destroy it. As hard as it was to do this and with my gf permission I gave up any rights. I was surprised that they didn't list any other options like show the proof of purchase and just pay the import duties.
So today I received a letter from LV criminal enforcement department !
Saying that they've been informed I tried to import a fake LV purse blah blah, that they wanted me to know that such behavior is punishable by law, that the trademark owner can institute a civil action for trademark counterfeiting , seek my imprisonment or have me pay up damages up to $1 000 000, blah blah ( I will attach the letter ). LV demanded the purse to be seized and I was not to interfere in the process and that they want to get a written confirmation of my compliance with the demands.
And now it's time for me to spill my guts :cry::cry::cry: I feel so humiliated.
I am actually insulted by the fact that someone might think that I have to do something with the illegal counterfeiting. I have never purchased a fake purse and never will, I am a loyal LV customer. What if they put my name on some kind of a oh she imports fake LV's list ? I just picture myself buying another purse and SA looks up my account and bammmm ! i am on the list ! I know it's just me overacting but still I have to change my name before I dare to buy another purse under my current name , I know , I know that's ridiculous ...I am just upset
It's great that LV does something about counterfeits but ... what about Canal st. in NYC ? It's infested by fakes ! I mean I am such a small fish, and get that kind of a letter... What about all those website where they sell hight quality replicas ? Shouldn't they concentrate on something more big ?
They used such words that made me feel like a criminal ...
One more thing - english is not my first language as you might have noticed,I've been speaking English only for 3 years so please forgive my grammar , anyway I am not so sure how to respond to their letter - should I explain the situation or should I just say that I understood everything and will comply with their demands? I have 10 days to respond , so I have no idea what to write.
Any way I just wanted to spill my guts to someone ...
Attachments
Last edited: