JewelMint--Biggest Scam EVERRRRR!

I'm writing this post because I know several of you out there love cute jewelry (I know I do!) and especially when it's at a good price.

Which means, you may have stumbled across JewelMint.com (and if you haven't, this is your warning).
{via}
I thought it was a cool site. You have to become a member to see what items they have. I think I originally linked to it from something that I saw on Pinterest. When I first got on there I saw a lot of things that I liked and I got suckered into their Buy 2 for $29.99.

I found a cool white and rose gold watch and a set of 3 bracelets, so I decided to go for it. Somehow it came to be about $45 instead of the $29.99 that was advertised but I was okay with it because the watch alone was worth that to me.
super cute, right?
I got my items and was happy....until about 2 months later I got an email saying that I had $59.98 in my account online at their site. And when I noticed that, I saw a weird charge pending on my credit card for $29.99 from JewelMint. A charge that I hadn't authorized!

When you look at their email when you purchase something, and you read their SUPER fine print, it says that as soon as you sign up you get charged a monthly membership fee of $29.99. Sneaky!

After I called to try and get a refund (at the very least for the charge that was pending on my credit card), they refused and said that I had the "credits" for up to a year and could use it to purchase other items. Which would be fine except I didn't want anything else.

So, I sucked it up and looked on the website to try and use up my credits. I found two sets of earrings for $24.99 each so I bought them. And after that my credits were STILL on the site, and a new charge had been added to my credit card. NOW I find out that I can only use those credits (MY credits, that I PAID for on MY credit card) on things that are exactly $29.99. Otherwise, it's an additional charge to my card.

Getting fed up with them, and their lack of willingness to work with me and even cancel the last charge, I called my credit card company and disputed the last charge.

That was in June sometime and that one month was resolved. 

Cut to last Thursday and I get an email from JewelMint about some things that they think I'd like. I click on it (because, what the hell, I still have $59.98 in "credits"). I try and log in and it tells me that my account has been cancelled. 

Did they give me a refund of the "credits" that they had charged? No.
Did they TELL me that they were canceling my account? No.
And, if my account was cancelled, how were you still able to send me an email? Interesting.

I wrote them and requested a refund since I still had money in my account and had never been notified of it being canceled. I was written back and told that they cancelled my account because I had complained to my credit card company and that they were refunding me $29.99.

So, what I wanted in the first place was all of my money back from them, and they wouldn't do it, until I disputed my charge with my credit card company. (So, if you're stuck in this situation like I was, follow those steps and you WILL get your money back....eventually).

Basically, the moral of this story is....DON'T buy from JewelMint, ShoeMint or any other of the Mint sites that are associated with this company. They will screw you over any which way they can. If you look up the reviews for the site, ALL that's out there are complaints. 

Don't fall for the same trap that I did!

19 comments:

  1. Eeeek! Thanks for the tip! Sorry you had to go through that :(

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for the heads up! I'm sorry that you had to deal with it!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I hate all the monthly subscription companies! I signed up for JewelMint for the same reason,but always make sure I go in before the 5th and "skip the month", this way my card doesn't get charged. I want to cancel the membership with them, except I have to CALL and I can't be bothered with that! I did get a cute pair of earrings last month and they instantly tarnished :( Your story is motivating me to make that phone call though! I'm sorry their customer service was so sucky and you went through all that!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you SO much for giving us the heads up. Good Lord. What a scam, indeed! I will definitely be avoiding any site with 'mint' at the end now, lol!:)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ah man, what a load of $#@$^@#$. Seriously?
    We have so many scams in South Africa that we have to be careful with EVERYTHING!
    Let's hope karma gets them!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yikes! Thanks for the warning!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ugh that's horrible! thanks for the tip!

    ReplyDelete
  8. what a horrible experience... what a damn scam! glad you're putting this out there so people can be informed! sorry you had to go thru that. so frustrating!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh my goodness! That is terrible! I have thought about going through them because they have cute cheap jewelry! So glad I didn't! Thanks for the PSA! :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. What the heck?? I've had something similar happen with another site many moons ago. Thank goodness for good credit card customer service!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Ohmigosh! thats horrible! I would be so stressed out. That's why I'm a little iffy about online shopping. I prefer to be old school and go to the actual store. But I'm glad they returned your money! and thanks for the warning :)


    Ox
    Simplycamylla.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wow, what a shitty company. Thanks for the heads up!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks for the warning!

    ReplyDelete
  14. OMG! This is SOO annoying!! Something similar happened to me a couple years ago from some Christmas ornament site - lol Some online companies are SO sneaky!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hello!

    I just wanted to take the time to explain how JewelMint, Shoemint, Stylemint, and Intimint work. After the first credit card purchase that does enroll you in our preferred membership where you can either "skip the month" or a monthly store credit is placed into your account. Skipping the month is very easy! You would just have to log into your account and click "skip the month" in the top right hand corner between the 1st-5th. Once you click that link and confirm the skip, you are not billed anything! There is never an obligation to pay and essentially the membership can be completely free.

    If you wanted to read further into our membership it is explained in a paragraph disclaimer directly under the "purchase" button at checkout, on your confirmation email after your first purchase, our promotional emails as well as our FAQs, Terms of Service and How it works page.

    Other benefits of our membership include a personalized showroom based on the style quiz our customers take at sign up. Keep in mind, that all products are available for purchase. You do not have to solely pick from your showroom selection. We also offer Mintsider rewards points after each purchase you make on our site.You receive 10 points for each dollar you spend. These points can be redeemed for free merchandise. Similarly, customers can rack up Style Points by reviewing a product, becoming a member, pinning a product etc.

    In regards to returns, all Mints offer prepaid return labels. If you were not satisfied with your purchase, you would just need to contact customer care and they would be happy to assist you with the return or exchange.

    If anyone ever has additional questions or concerns please feel free to contact customer care at: jewelmint 888-258-3339. Have a wonderful day!

    Sincerely,

    Jewelmint Support

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for the explanation. Nothing I said in this post was untrue. The specifics of the membership are VERY hidden on the website, and if everything can be "virtually free" why not MAKE it free? Your company likes to dupe people into subscribing for something that they will get charged on. Nowhere in this explanation was it mentioned that things have to be bought in $29.99 increments either, which is another shady aspect, when you already have money in your account but can't use it without it being in certain amounts.
      I appreciate the further explanation. I still recommend that people steer clear of this website/chain!

      Delete
    2. Hi Jenn,

      JewelMint is set up as a monthly subscription site, so in order to shop with us our customers would have to maintain their account. I completely understand that this membership is not for everyone and we as a company are constantly trying to improve. The explanation of credit usage can be found in our FAQs, but we have listened to our customers' feedback and actually now offer a way to break up credits at checkout. Therefore, the increments do not have to be exactly $29.99. The reason why it started out that way is because the majority of our pieces were that exact amount. Most pieces still are at that price point, however to accommodate the varying prices of our growing collection we implemented that new feature at checkout. We appreciate your input and suggestions, Jenn. Please let us know if you have any other concerns!

      Best,
      JewelMint Support

      Delete
  16. I just learned about this "subscription" the hard way. If JewelMint wants to be totally transparent about their system, they should be more upfront about the way it works. I'm not happy; I feel like I opened Pandora's box and can't close the lid.

    ReplyDelete

I LOVE hearing your thoughts and comments--so, make my day and leave me some lovin'!