Peppermint park in O magazine

#46
I signed on just so I can relay my experience with Peppermint Park. Purchasing anything from Peppermint Park is probably the worst decision anyone could ever make. I made the mistake of following Oprah on this one. I made my purchase on January 25, 2011. After a week and I had not received the bag, I called the company and the customer svce rep (very nasty) told me my bag was en route to them and will be shipped to me by weeks end. Another week went by - no bag. I called again and spoke to a "Danika Trosen" who said she would be handling me personally and I would get my bag by the following week or she would refund my money. Another week went by - no bag; no refund. I received the bag on February 28th (over a month later) and I believed my bag was a fake because it was a gucci sukey with a guccissima embossed handle. The bag was packed in pink and white crepe paper taped together with scotch tape and a dust cover etc... off to the side. I doubted the authenticity and returned the bag the following day for a refund. To make a long story short, after 10-12 phone calls and 5-6 letters, Peppermintpark.com refuses to refund my payment. They claim that according to their refund policy, they can only give me store credit because giving me a cash refund would compromise the integrity of their return policy. REALLY???? But what about the integrity of your store?

On or about March 18th, (nearly two months after my order) I spoke to Ms. Trosen, who kept trying to make me feel sorry for her by interjecting that she "just" returned from her oncologist, she said she would scan and fax me the receipts from the Gucci store in Florence where she bought the bags. She also said she would provide me with the name of the sales person she transacted with. She asked me to give her one day to contact the Florence store and put together the information. 11 days later, I had not heard from her. I called her today (March 29th) She said she is on a conference call and would call me before close of business. Of course I don't believe her.

As of right now, they not only have what I believe is a fake bag, but also my money. I have already sent a preliminary demand letter and will be filing a lawsuit shortly. If you do not want go thru what I am now going thru...I suggest that you STAY FAR, FAR AWAY FROM PEPPERMINT PARK! (My humble opinion)
 
#47
iongroove said:
I signed on just so I can relay my experience with Peppermint Park. Purchasing anything from Peppermint Park is probably the worst decision anyone could ever make. I made the mistake of following Oprah on this one. I made my purchase on January 25, 2011. After a week and I had not received the bag, I called the company and the customer svce rep (very nasty) told me my bag was en route to them and will be shipped to me by weeks end. Another week went by - no bag. I called again and spoke to a "Danika Trosen" who said she would be handling me personally and I would get my bag by the following week or she would refund my money. Another week went by - no bag; no refund. I received the bag on February 28th (over a month later) and I believed my bag was a fake because it was a gucci sukey with a guccissima embossed handle. The bag was packed in pink and white crepe paper taped together with scotch tape and a dust cover etc... off to the side. I doubted the authenticity and returned the bag the following day for a refund. To make a long story short, after 10-12 phone calls and 5-6 letters, Peppermintpark.com refuses to refund my payment. They claim that according to their refund policy, they can only give me store credit because giving me a cash refund would compromise the integrity of their return policy. REALLY???? But what about the integrity of your store?

On or about March 18th, (nearly two months after my order) I spoke to Ms. Trosen, who kept trying to make me feel sorry for her by interjecting that she "just" returned from her oncologist, she said she would scan and fax me the receipts from the Gucci store in Florence where she bought the bags. She also said she would provide me with the name of the sales person she transacted with. She asked me to give her one day to contact the Florence store and put together the information. 11 days later, I had not heard from her. I called her today (March 29th) She said she is on a conference call and would call me before close of business. Of course I don't believe her.

As of right now, they not only have what I believe is a fake bag, but also my money. I have already sent a preliminary demand letter and will be filing a lawsuit shortly. If you do not want go thru what I am now going thru...I suggest that you STAY FAR, FAR AWAY FROM PEPPERMINT PARK! (My humble opinion)
Click to expand...

I can't tell what pisses me off more...this BS website peppermint park that continues to get away with selling fakes or the morons at O magazine who gave this BS website a very high profile endorsement without due diligence.

Will someone please educate me and help me to understand how/why Prada or Gucci don't send them a cease and desist order? I know it is very hard for these fashion houses to track down everyone out there selling fakes...but geez, these woman who are running the site or shamelessly promoting the website and themselves everywhere. Their pictures are everywhere on the site and they supposedly have an actual store somewhere in Minnesota (the address is posted on their website). So seriously, how hard can it be to find them and confiscate their goods? What can we as consumers do to put these ladies out of business??
 
#48
iongrove, krue,

I really feel your pain. I'm going to have to send a rebuttal to the Attorney General, etc. Basically they have replied to my complaints with them and stating that it is the real deal and not fakes. So, I'm going to have to prove it. Danika Trosen is also the person I was dealing with and conference calls seems to be the thing she uses to get off the phone and NEVER returns your calls or emails. Right now, they have my money and bags too.

This is turning into a nightmare to deal with. I feel embarrassed by this whole thing. I'm not usually so stupid. O Mag really messed up with this one. The only reason I'm posting about this at all is because I wanted advice initially and now because I don't want anyone else to get ripped off. I wouldn't wish this on my worse enemy. Losing hard earned money is heartbreaking.

Bargainista, still no reply from O Mag huh?
 
#49
I recently bought a Prada bag from Peppermint Park after reading about the great deals in O Magazine. I thought that Oprah would never endorse such a website if fraudulent. When my bag arrived it looked very fake and had rotting fabric by the zipper. There is no way that the bag was real as when I did some research on sites such as Neiman Marcus, Saks, etc...I found the style was not even close to the classic Prada bags still being sold with same name. I am going to Chicago in the next week and going to take my bag into the Prada store for confirmation that it is a fake....more to come later. I would not suggest purchasing anything from that site. You only get a store credit which I found out after asking for a refund.
 
#50
Good luck Winner2. Please don't forget to post an update:smile:

I wanted to add that I don't believe they open their showroom anymore. When I took a closer look at their business, it seems that they only "open" their showroom on specified dates and are no longer doing so. Thus, I don't think they really have a "store front" in any way now.
 
#51
I filed a complaint with the Minnesota Atty General citing the state and federal laws of which I believe Peppermint Park is in violation. Hopefully, the AG begin to get an influx of complaints and will take greater action. If not, then I will file a civil action and a complaint with the FTC and DOJ. It's not even about the money anymore opposed to the principal of the whole thing. If only Danika Trosen acted more civilly and refunded my money, she would not be in this sitch! I am doing everything I can to escalate nationwide knowledge of these scam artists. So if anyone has ideas, i will consider it.
 
#52
Newbie2 said:
iongrove, krue,

I really feel your pain. I'm going to have to send a rebuttal to the Attorney General, etc. Basically they have replied to my complaints with them and stating that it is the real deal and not fakes. So, I'm going to have to prove it. Danika Trosen is also the person I was dealing with and conference calls seems to be the thing she uses to get off the phone and NEVER returns your calls or emails. Right now, they have my money and bags too.

This is turning into a nightmare to deal with. I feel embarrassed by this whole thing. I'm not usually so stupid. O Mag really messed up with this one. The only reason I'm posting about this at all is because I wanted advice initially and now because I don't want anyone else to get ripped off. I wouldn't wish this on my worse enemy. Losing hard earned money is heartbreaking.

Bargainista, still no reply from O Mag huh?
Click to expand...

No Newbie2...no answer from O magazine. Again, I am not expecting one. I am thinking of sending off another letter but feel like a it's a waste of my time. O magazine isn't intersted in hearing my concerns but rather only wants to hear how the magazine has inspired them and changed their lives etc. etc.
Iongroove, while thankfully I was not a victim of these scam artists, I too feel like these guys need to be called out. But I also want a retraction from O magazine from endorsing them in the first place. I am sure there are a lot of people out there (and here on this site) who bought from Peppermint Park because they thought it was safe given it was endorsed in O magazine. I think a letter writing campaign to O magazine would be a place to start in getting out the word that Peppermint Park sells fake purses.
 
#53
Bargainista, I agree with you. I don't think you're going to get a reply. But it didn't hurt to try. I hope they're bombarded with complaints too.

Iongrove, I filed a complaint with the AGO and she responded that they guaranteed the authenticity of the products they sell. She didn't seem to care about an inquiry from them.

What I don't understand is, how are they guaranteeing authenticity? It's just her word. She offers no real proof that the bags are authentic and totally disregards whatever you say about the bags! I am going to report them to ICE tomorrow.
 
#54
iongroove said:
I signed on just so I can relay my experience with Peppermint Park. Purchasing anything from Peppermint Park is probably the worst decision anyone could ever make. I made the mistake of following Oprah on this one. I made my purchase on January 25, 2011. After a week and I had not received the bag, I called the company and the customer svce rep (very nasty) told me my bag was en route to them and will be shipped to me by weeks end. Another week went by - no bag. I called again and spoke to a "Danika Trosen" who said she would be handling me personally and I would get my bag by the following week or she would refund my money. Another week went by - no bag; no refund. I received the bag on February 28th (over a month later) and I believed my bag was a fake because it was a gucci sukey with a guccissima embossed handle. The bag was packed in pink and white crepe paper taped together with scotch tape and a dust cover etc... off to the side. I doubted the authenticity and returned the bag the following day for a refund. To make a long story short, after 10-12 phone calls and 5-6 letters, Peppermintpark.com refuses to refund my payment. They claim that according to their refund policy, they can only give me store credit because giving me a cash refund would compromise the integrity of their return policy. REALLY???? But what about the integrity of your store?

On or about March 18th, (nearly two months after my order) I spoke to Ms. Trosen, who kept trying to make me feel sorry for her by interjecting that she "just" returned from her oncologist, she said she would scan and fax me the receipts from the Gucci store in Florence where she bought the bags. She also said she would provide me with the name of the sales person she transacted with. She asked me to give her one day to contact the Florence store and put together the information. 11 days later, I had not heard from her. I called her today (March 29th) She said she is on a conference call and would call me before close of business. Of course I don't believe her.

As of right now, they not only have what I believe is a fake bag, but also my money. I have already sent a preliminary demand letter and will be filing a lawsuit shortly. If you do not want go thru what I am now going thru...I suggest that you STAY FAR, FAR AWAY FROM PEPPERMINT PARK! (My humble opinion)
Click to expand...


Hmm. "Danika Trosen" sounds a bit like "Deanna Troi" the popular character in "Star Trek: Next Generation," no?
 
#55
Hi i'm new here. I had the same problem as you. I purchased the exact same purse. You probably got the purse i returned. As soon as i saw it i knew it was fake. I packed everything up. Called them and mailed it back same day. I spoke with Danika too. I beleive she is the VP. She was very rude! Told her it was fake! Told me she goes to italy and purchased the purse herself and said she is also going to contact the seller! Exact same thing as she told you. This was back in sept. Of last year. I payed thru paypal and her assistant refunded me by mistake which is actually a good thing because she told me they only give store credit. Which is a b*sh*t! Why would i want a store credit if all the items they sell is fake! Anyway i got my money back thankfully. Cancelled my membership right away. I guess i got lucky. Learned my lesson. Hopefully they get shut down ASAP!
 
#57
Btw they also claim the give back to the community thru charity. No charity name mentioned. They are bunch of liars. Taking advantage of people! I don't get why O magazine even featured them. I wonder how they sleep at night!
 
#58
Elliespurse, I have reported them to IACC more than 2 weeks ago and recently to ICE. Hopefully more people will do so and they will launch an investigation sooner. I have also reported them to IC3, and the FTC.

Annmac, you are so lucky!! I wished you posted something, anything sooner. If I found anything at all negative about this site I would not have even bothered to purchase from them (not blaming you in anyway). I hope the BBB, FTC, IACC, ICE, IC3, even O mag get more complaints.

Iongrove, is also trying to get her money back. I'm not on Facebook, but a friend said they got another negative review. Might not be a bad idea if you are on the site to leave a negative review to warn others.
 
#59
I dont' have a Facebook account either otherwise I too would post a negative review (even though I have never bought anything!). I see someone else has posted a negative review and I am guessing it someone from here judging from the comments!! Good for you whoever it was! I just wonder if the Peppermint Park people can delete it from their boards ( I really have no idea how facebook "works")
 
#60
BurberryGirl013 said:
So I am a new member here. I joined actually just for the Peppermint Park deets!

I too was concerned, so I did a little research :smile:. I sent my Prada tote and Gucci Medium Sukey TO the Fashion Editor at O Magazine (I have a friend who works in the Editorial world in NYC) demanding they investigate. O Magazine had my handbags sent to Prada and Gucci Control. After a few weeks, both of my bags came back autheticated with a green light.
Click to expand...

I have never heard of any editorial doing something like this. The idea of demanding a fashion editor to investigate my friend's bags makes me laugh. Unless there is a lawsuit or potential story involved, they would flip the bird at me if I tried this stunt, even though I'm in editorial for a reasonably respectable British fashion magazine. We barely have the time to deal with staff writers' questions for goodness sake. (Thank heaven for editorial assistants.)

Sorry but your story has some holes big enough for a herd of elephants to gallop through. I believe readers here should take your story with a handful of salt. I'll apologise if I'm proven wrong, but I'm certain that the chance of this happening is 0%.

Apologies for derailing this a little, but I couldn't let that seemingly questionable claim go by without me saying anything.
 
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