Authenticate4U.com experiences?

[Fikaccnut]

This is speculation based on my knowledge of how A4U is run. Since Lesley uses brand specialists, it's possible that it did go to the authenticator for whatever brand you are waiting on and the person might be slow, on vacation or some other reason for not responding quickly.

While there are problems and Lesley is the first to admit it, sometimes she's also at the mercy of her authenticators and the speed at which they work. I know some of them are quick and respond to requests almost instantaneously and others, not so much.

And since good authenticators are hard to find, it's not as simple as "firing" the slow one(s) and finding another.

That's probably very true. Thanks [emoji4]

 

[soccerzfan]

This is speculation based on my knowledge of how A4U is run. Since Lesley uses brand specialists, it's possible that it did go to the authenticator for whatever brand you are waiting on and the person might be slow, on vacation or some other reason for not responding quickly.

While there are problems and Lesley is the first to admit it, sometimes she's also at the mercy of her authenticators and the speed at which they work. I know some of them are quick and respond to requests almost instantaneously and others, not so much.

And since good authenticators are hard to find, it's not as simple as "firing" the slow one(s) and finding another.

I think my problem with A4U isn't about the wait because believe me if I received an email saying my request will be fulfilled in x amount of time, I'll gladly wait, it's their lack of response and communication to let me know what's going on that makes me question their work ethics. I've sent a follow up email on Friday asking for status but still no response. I only want to know what's going on not that when the authentication will be done.
The issue that seems to bother everyone here that I kept reading isn't about their turn around time, its the fact that we have to chase after them on their social media such as fb to get them to answer their email? There's something wrong with that picture.

 

[vernis-lover]

This is speculation based on my knowledge of how A4U is run. Since Lesley uses brand specialists, it's possible that it did go to the authenticator for whatever brand you are waiting on and the person might be slow, on vacation or some other reason for not responding quickly.

While there are problems and Lesley is the first to admit it, sometimes she's also at the mercy of her authenticators and the speed at which they work. I know some of them are quick and respond to requests almost instantaneously and others, not so much.

And since good authenticators are hard to find, it's not as simple as "firing" the slow one(s) and finding another.

I quite agree. But the company should have Service Level Agreements with its authenticators so that requests are turned around within "x" days and that information should be made public in some format. So, for example, the Brand "A" authenticator doesn't work, doesn't have a family so can turn requests around the same day, add on a day for office admin and Brand A authentications take 48 hours. Brand "B" authenticator, however, is exceptionally busy and requires 3 days for a request, add on a day for office admin and Brand B authentications take 4 days.

I think if something like that were published then it would stop a lot of the complaints and follow-ups, leaving the admin side time to deal with server etc issues. If people were seeking a pre-authentication on a potential ebay purchase then such information also stops them wasting money as they know whether A4U will have time to turn the request around before the end of the auction or not.

I think waiting a few days for an authentication is acceptable. I think weeks is not.

I have no axe to grind either way but I think trotting out the same old excuses is getting tired. I don't doubt there are problems but so many technical problems in this day and age? There needs to be back up for the office when Lesley is out dealing with all these family members (it's the UK - put someone on a zero hours contract and use them when needed).

 

[Love Of My Life]

I quite agree. But the company should have Service Level Agreements with its authenticators so that requests are turned around within "x" days and that information should be made public in some format. So, for example, the Brand "A" authenticator doesn't work, doesn't have a family so can turn requests around the same day, add on a day for office admin and Brand A authentications take 48 hours. Brand "B" authenticator, however, is exceptionally busy and requires 3 days for a request, add on a day for office admin and Brand B authentications take 4 days.

I think if something like that were published then it would stop a lot of the complaints and follow-ups, leaving the admin side time to deal with server etc issues. If people were seeking a pre-authentication on a potential ebay purchase then such information also stops them wasting money as they know whether A4U will have time to turn the request around before the end of the auction or not.

I think waiting a few days for an authentication is acceptable. I think weeks is not.

I have no axe to grind either way but I think trotting out the same old excuses is getting tired. I don't doubt there are problems but so many technical problems in this day and age? There needs to be back up for the office when Lesley is out dealing with all these family members (it's the UK - put someone on a zero hours contract and use them when needed).

Exactly..
And if a buyer should be in a time crunch, not getting a timely response can be costly. Time is money
Just communicate as to what the issue problem might be & give the client the option to decide what to do.

 

[Fikaccnut]

BeenBurned was correct - the brand authenticator for my specific brand was away. Lesley got back to me this morning and the good news is that everything looks good! So I'm relieved [emoji12]

TBH I would be wary of using the service right now for time-sensitive requests (I was definitely lucky that it was auth but it could have easily gone the other way and I would have been out my money).

 

[BlueCherry]

I requested authentication early July. I got a reply requesting more photos then heard nothing more. All emails have been ignored. I raised a refund request through Paypal, that too was ignored so I chose to escalate to a dispute.

In the meantime the seller is totally p**d off with me after all the extra photos she took. It was a rare item I had been waiting for more than two years for and the seller doesn't want to deal with me now.

To describe them as unprofessional is generous.

 

[Love Of My Life]

I requested authentication early July. I got a reply requesting more photos then heard nothing more. All emails have been ignored. I raised a refund request through Paypal, that too was ignored so I chose to escalate to a dispute.

In the meantime the seller is totally p**d off with me after all the extra photos she took. It was a rare item I had been waiting for more than two years for and the seller doesn't want to deal with me now.

To describe them as unprofessional is generous.

Why should your seller be pissed?
Taking extra photos is part of doing business. Unless your request for photos was above & beyond reasonable ,the seller should have no problem complying with your request
Why doesn't the selller want to deal with you now? Are you questioning authenticity?

 

[BlueCherry]

Why should your seller be pissed?
Taking extra photos is part of doing business. Unless your request for photos was above & beyond reasonable ,the seller should have no problem complying with your request
Why doesn't the selller want to deal with you now? Are you questioning authenticity?

The item had no tags and no proof of purchase so I wanted peace of mind. She guaranteed authenticity and said I could have my money back if the item was proved to be not authentic. I said I would prefer to check before I purchase because there were customs duties involved and she was fine with that and even recommended caroldiva but she was away. I think what annoyed her in the end was the fact that she messaged me regularly for an update on whether her item was deemed authentic and was I ready to purchase and each time I had to tell her I hadn't heard anything back from authenticate4u. Perhaps she thought that it was me messing her about.

 

[Love Of My Life]

The item had no tags and no proof of purchase so I wanted peace of mind. She guaranteed authenticity and said I could have my money back if the item was proved to be not authentic. I said I would prefer to check before I purchase because there were customs duties involved and she was fine with that and even recommended caroldiva but she was away. I think what annoyed her in the end was the fact that she messaged me regularly for an update on whether her item was deemed authentic and was I ready to purchase and each time I had to tell her I hadn't heard anything back from authenticate4u. Perhaps she thought that it was me messing her about.

I can understand her concern, but after explaining the cicumstances, she should have been a little more tolerant,IMO

 

[V0N1B2]

I can understand her concern, but after explaining the cicumstances, she should have been a little more tolerant,IMO

Why? OP stated she hadn't actually purchased the bag yet. If she was "holding" it for her pending authentication, she may have lost out on a sale by someone who wasn't waiting weeks for an authentication. I would have been miffed too.

 

[Love Of My Life]

Why? OP stated she hadn't actually purchased the bag yet. If she was "holding" it for her pending authentication, she may have lost out on a sale by someone who wasn't waiting weeks for an authentication. I would have been miffed too.

That would have been a chance that the buyer had to take. The seller very easily could have said,I have been patient long enough
waiting for your authentication to come through & at this point, if it sells, it sells.
Big Cherry was keeping the seller posted on the status of the pending authenticity..
We can agree to disagree here....

 

[BlueCherry]

I can understand her concern, but after explaining the cicumstances, she should have been a little more tolerant,IMO

Tolerant would have been nice but she chose to withdraw the item from sale and ignore me when I suggested I authenticate elsewhere.

 

[BlueCherry]

Why? OP stated she hadn't actually purchased the bag yet. If she was "holding" it for her pending authentication, she may have lost out on a sale by someone who wasn't waiting weeks for an authentication. I would have been miffed too.

That would have been a chance that the buyer had to take. The seller very easily could have said,I have been patient long enough
waiting for your authentication to come through & at this point, if it sells, it sells.
Big Cherry was keeping the seller posted on the status of the pending authenticity..
We can agree to disagree here....

The item was on an auction listing with a buy it now price for 30 days so she wasn't holding it for me personally. Anyone could have bought it at any time. I did reply to each message she sent to me with an update, be it I've heard nothing or I will chase A4U again. I think the last message I got was "I can't believe this hasn't sold". With no tags and no proof of purchase I guess selling an item is a little more difficult. I get the impression I was the only interested buyer and with authentication she would have made a sale. But I did think it strange to just withdraw it from sale.

 

[Love Of My Life]

The item was on an auction listing with a buy it now price for 30 days so she wasn't holding it for me personally. Anyone could have bought it at any time. I did reply to each message she sent to me with an update, be it I've heard nothing or I will chase A4U again. I think the last message I got was "I can't believe this hasn't sold". With no tags and no proof of purchase I guess selling an item is a little more difficult. I get the impression I was the only interested buyer and with authentication she would have made a sale. But I did think it strange to just withdraw it from sale.

You likely may have been the only buyer interested but also your seller could have had it "authenticated"on her own
providing the information that you were looking for & perhaps in a more timely manner than you&
she would have had the "sale"

 

[Marseancat]

Aww crap.. This thread has me super confused now.. I bought my 1st LV piece an insolite wallet, came with receipt, dustbag, box .. For piece of mind I had ****************** look at item and they said its fake.. I opened a dispute today with PayPal... Find this thread and some say it's a dodgy service, so I just sent In to a4u for second opinion and now I'm worried I won't get an answer.... This is becoming a nightmare... Think il just save longer to buy new!,!