(FORT WAYNE) – BBB Serving Northern Indiana is warning consumers against buying from JoGoddess Hair. The Fort Wayne-based business has received a pattern of complaints from customers receiving empty packages after ordering products online. Consumers also report long shipping delays and unresponsive customer service. Losses range from $195 to over $300.
When working to resolve the complaints, the BBB approached the company and was told: “If consumers experience an issue with their package, they should file a claim with the delivery carrier. Once they leave our location, they are no longer our responsibility.”
Due to this pattern of complaints, and JoGoddess Hair’s failure to offer a solution to resolve the complaints, the company’s accreditation was revoked on Sept. 3.
“All accredited businesses agree to uphold the BBB Standards for Trust, which include delivering products as promised and making a good-faith effort to resolve customer complaints,” said Marjorie Stephens, President and CEO of the BBB Serving Northern Indiana. “Being an accredited business is a prestigious position and not every business qualifies. When businesses engage in unethical practices, that honor and privilege can and will be revoked.”
A North Carolina consumer placed an order on July 23 and started installment payments through a third party. She reached out to both the retailer and the third-party payment processor on July 31 concerning delivery of her products. When the payment processor advised her to work with JoGoddess Hair to cancel her order, she found that her order could not be canceled per company policy, but her shipping and tracking info would be available on Aug. 3. The tracking info was not updated until Aug. 9, and the order did not ship until Aug. 24. The package arrived empty, but the consumer could not dispute it through the payment processor because JoGoddess Hair submitted the tracking number as proof of shipping. “This experience has been one of the most unprofessional experiences of my adult life,” she said in her complaint.
A Michigan consumer left a one-star review about the lack of customer service. After attempting to reach JoGoddess Hair by email, she messaged their Facebook profile. The company then gave her a different shipping and processing time than listed on the confirmation email. A few days after the new date, she sent another message about her order and found she had been blocked by the company on Facebook.
“Poor customer service is completely unacceptable in an ethical marketplace,” Stephens said. “Shipping issues can happen, but patterns reveal a much deeper issue.”
The BBB offers the following tips to shop safely online:
Buy from reliable retailers. Shop businesses you know and trust online. If you’ve never done business with a company, review their business profile at BBB.org. Pay attention to customer reviews and complaints. Don’t be fooled by a bargain advertised on social media. If the price is too good to be true, it probably is.
Check the business’s contact information. Even if the company website or social media profile looks legitimate, make sure they’re willing and available to answer questions. Incorrect email addresses, continually changing shipping times and unfriendly customer service are red flags of an untrustworthy business.
Pay carefully. Credit cards are generally the safest way to pay for an online purchase. If a problem occurs, you have some consumer protections offered by the credit card company to dispute the charges. If a business only accepts payment options like PayPal, Venmo or CashApp, that’s another red flag.
