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Dec.9,2008| Okay ladies, I purchase the black pair of these F21 Ruffle Platform because I was very pleased with what I received in the multi-color (which are real leather). However! When I received the black pair, as soon as I opened the box I knew that those shoes were NOT GENUINE SUEDE as they claim on their website, as well as on the box and the bottom of the shoe. I was like WTH, these are made out of that faux suede crap!
I took the shoes to my local XXI Forever and told them that the shoe was advertised as being genuine leather and clearly by touch and visual inspection it is not. I wanted to compare it to the inventory they had in their store and for sure, all of the ones they had on the shelves, were made out of the same faux suede material. I contacted F21 Customer Service. (Don’t know why I even bother to do this because I’ve dealt with them before and they are straight WACK!) They told me to send it back and they would refund my money but I refuse to waste $7 to $10 dollars attempting to send it back and waiting on a long line in the post office. They also refuse to pay for the return shipping after I told them it was false advertising. In the end I just decided to keep them because it was too frustrating to try and send them back and it was only $28 dollars so……I was like no need to get myself all worked up, even though I was still mad about their blatant, nasty attitude and unwillingness to help their customers. I don’t know why I expected any kind of decent customer service. They totally suck in that area! I just wanted to give you ladies a heads up in case you planned on buying the black pair. |
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awww sorry to hear about the situation! i didn’t even know f21 had “genuine leather” shoes
I tried not to get my blood pressure up about it since it was only $28 dollars.
Well was the brown pair real suede?
@ kor100 – yeah
@ Kim – it would be an exercise in futility
Thanks for looking out! I would email their corporate office, probably won’t help, but can’t hurt either.
Hi, I recently found your fabulous blog through a series of other fabulous blogs and thought I would say hi. As for the subject at hand – what’s up with F21′s website? I can never get it to load. Seems like they have a few things that are “broken.”
@ shante – Hi Shante, glad to have you here!! I don’t know, I haven’t had a problem getting on to their site lately. You might need to really refresh your browser or clear out your cache.
@ cherylp – I did not have a problem with the multi-colored platforms, they are great and I love ‘em because they were as advertised. The black pair – problem! I can still get a credit if I don’t want to send them back. I like F21 merchandise despite their horrible Cust. Srvc. and I always find things I want there.
By the way are you the “Cheryl” that was talking smack a few weeks back about my Charlotte Russe purchase? Welcome back! I don’t have a problem with you posting as long you don’t come up in here acting like you haven’t taken your meds.
…and THAT is precisely why I refuse to buy the cheap shoes at Forever 21 and other similar retailers.
I won’t say I told you so….
what i tend to do when i get nowhere with a customer service rep for any company is hang up and call again and try to get someone else.
the company i work for actually suggests that we do that when we call CS for customer issues and the person we get is not helpful.. kind of sad, actually, that the company is admitting to problems in their own customer service, but that’s out of my hands. when i find the good CS reps i always ask them for a number at which i can reach them too, for future issues.
sorry about the shoes :[ i rarely buy the F21 shoes online, i’ll only get them in the store because i NEVER know how they will fit or actually look on my foot.
just out of curiosity, will the brick and mortar store not allow you to return them since you bought them online?
@ cherylp – Yeah I can return it and get a credit at the brick & mortar but not a refund.
@ Ansha – So true! That’s not the first time thats happened to me, which is why I don’t like to shop catalog websites like Newport-News and the like. I can get a credit and purchase something else later on and I’m fine with that. I just wanted to let folks know who saw my previous thread and may have thought about buying those shoes that the Black ones are faux suede not real suede.
@ Tanyetta – OKAY!! I will go there. However the manager that works there is very sweet and I quietly told her my concerns and she was very nice in wanting to issue me a credit right away, but I told her I needed to think about what I was going to do. I was just too mad at the time. But I plan to bring them back to the store and have them put my credit on a gift card and give it to niece. I think she told me she saw a hoodie she wanted in there.
That really sucks. Sorry to hear about the bad customer service.
But you know, I’ve fallen victim to this false advertising too. In fact, you find it often even on websites like Amazon and Overstock.com!
The problem is worse when you’re dealing with store brands like those at F21, because you can read about that particular shoe on another website to see whether or not it’s as advertised. For example, if I’m looking up a Dolce Vita brand shoe on Amazon, because it’s a general brand sold everywhere I can Google it and compare the descriptions on different sites. I’ve found out about real vs. faux leather shoes this way quite a few times!
But when you’re dealing with a house brand like F21 or Target, then all you have to go on is the website’s description. Which may or may not be accurate.
(
Is there any way you can resell the shoes at a consignment store or someplace like that?
I can see you walking up in there looking fierce with a nice nasty look on your face! They were NOT ready for you!
Sorry this happened to you!
Forever 21 bet not mess with Budget Chic she will put them on BLAST!
I know it can frustrating, especially when you’re anxiously waiting… and all you want is for the post to deliver!!!
The dissapointment isn’t fun… sorry babe.
Excellent post nonetheless, good to know.
xxx
Dunno if your credit card company does this for you…but whenever I have a dispute with a merchant (i.e. the product was never received, poor quality, etc.) and the merchant has a bad return policy and/or a nasty attitude, I contact my credit card company and file a dispute. I explain what I’ve purchased, what the problem was with the product and let them know that the merchant isn’t refunding my money. I’ve had to do this twice and every time, the card company has refunded my money. I know you’re going to keep the shoes, but this is just something you might want to keep in mind. Hope this helps.
And I love your site.
Are you sure the other pair is genuine suede too? The website does say that the upper is 100% synthetic i.e. faux suede. It’s the outsole that’s 100% leather. That’s probably why they can say the shoes are ‘genuine leather,’ because part of it is.
@ Lillie – yep, because their is a certain way that suede acts when you rub your fingers against the leather and the upper sole on the multi-colored one is suede. Their website description is confusing.
Hi there-thats terrible service-their returns should be free and you should get your money refunded in full via the stores too, sorry for your terrible experience!
That is cheeky!
Hello and I love your blog
I checked the F21 website for the shoe description and the leather that they are referring to is only the outsole. The outsole is the part that touches the ground, most likely the back heel anyway.
So they probably aren’t falsely advertising, because they do describe the upper (the shoe holding your foot in) as synthetic.
But I do agree with you that for $28 its whatever.
@ closecolumnist – yeah, it kinda weird because their description and the terms they use don’t make alot of sense, but no worries as you stated. I plan to return the shoes this weekend for a credit on a gift card and give it to my niece.
That’s nice of you.
It’s crazy that before buying shoes from them you need to analyze which part is leather, synthetic, or something else like it’s a science project.
BTW- Nine West still has shoes up to 50% off with free shipping on orders over $25!! I ordered these:
I am ADDICTED to ankle strap, open-toe platforms like you lol.
@ closetcolumnist – your link is not showing up?
Try voicing your complaint on planetfeedback dot com, i’ve been very successful getting companies that have wack customer service to comply.
http://www.ninewest.com/Lisco/2978211,default,pd.html?cgid=2915396
i have a vest from F21 with faux fur trim…or so i thought. my mom and sister are convinced it’s real fur, and i think they may be right. im afraid its dog fur or something
so yeah, i think they falsely advertise what their clothes are made of sometimes. maybe the cheap manufacturers lie to them? who knows…
Boo! Bad customer service is the worst – it’s definitely one of my number one pet peeves!
Haha I don’t think anything from Forever 21 is real. They have cheap prices for cute clothes and they usually aren’t the GREATEST quality even though I love the store myself.
@ Fashion Archives – Ya right about them. I really love forever21, so I kinda put up the the so-so quality, for the cute little trends. They are still my favorite store! Just gotta deal with it cause am addicted!