BOX MONTHLY....SCAM!

Hello Ladies!

Today I want to let you know about a new monthly beauty subscription that I joined called Box monthly. I was contacted by the creator of the box to join; it was only $15 per month for supposedly $80+ worth of products so I made my payment on July 16th, 2012. I was really excited to try this because I like to help out new companies that are just starting out.

A week went by and I had not heard anything so I emailed the 'owner' of Box monthly asking when the first box would be mailed out. I was told it would be mailed out by the end of the week and that I would receive a tracking number. During this week I decided to check out her web page again and I noticed that the picture of the 'boxmonthly' sub box was actually a picture of the Sample Society Insiders' Choice Box. I knew it was that box because I had actually already bought that box previously, you can see it HERE. I thought that was very odd that she was using a picture of a box that did not belong to her, but I overlooked it as maybe a possible mistake.. I also noticed that the box price went up from the $15 (what I was paying) to $17. It had only been a week why did the price go up $2 I wondered.

Well the week went by and no information was given on the box being mailed out so I emailed her again. I got a reply saying that some of the boxes went out but mine was not mailed out due to a thunderstorm and that it would be mailed out this week by Friday (yesterday). I was a little annoyed just because I kept getting the run-around and like most people, I hate that. I just wanted to know when my box was going to finally be mailed, as it was already two weeks late.

So this week I was looking through the M.U.T. forum and I found a post with the title 'Box Monthly? Scam?'! As soon as I saw it my heart dropped, I thought great I got scammed, so much for trying to help a new company! As I was reading through I saw that a couple of girls did receive their box; although, all of them were completely different. There were 3 boxes, the first one had the promised Pureology precious oil versatile caring oil, a book called 'Be Yourself', an individual bag of nuts, an individual green tea fusion drink mix, a soft lips chapstick and a Jesse's girl eyeshadow. I thought this was really weird. It looked as if she went to the store and bought a bunch of random products and put them in a box. Other boxes included what they said were used hair clips (can I just say eww!), coupons printed off of the Internet,  and samples taken from other subscription boxes that the woman was subscribed to including Birchbox and the free Target summer bag! This is when I started getting upset. Why would anyone do this?! Other people also found out that the woman in question did not have a seller's license to start up the company in the first place, which is illegal! 

At this point I was just disgusted, I had sent a few emails to the owner this week and have not received responses from her. I went to go onto the Box monthly facebook page...GONE! Her website...GONE! She deleted everything, so I contacted paypal and they said that they would take action. It is not that I honestly care about the $15 that I spent, it is the principle of the fact that I DO NOT like being scammed. 

The point of this post is to warn other's to not make the mistake of what I did, look into what you are subscribing! I will update you with any information on what happens with paypal. 

Thank you for reading =]   

UPDATE:
I have received permission to post pictures of one woman's box that they received. This woman's box came in a very unprofessional box as well as had recycled samples from the Box monthly's owners own Birchbox and other boxes! One of the weirdest things about this box is that this is the only box that came with so many samples. I have only known of 3 people that actually got a box and 2 out of the 3 only received a couple of items, including a Jesse's Girl item that I was told by a Jesse's Girl Cosmetics representative did not participate in giving their products to this subscription. (I still have not received a box, refund, or even a return email)







ANOTHER UPDATE:
I guess it took filing a claim with paypal in order to finally get a response as well as finally getting a refund! I as well asked the Boxmonthly owner "I just want to know, did you ever mail out the subscription box to me?" I, surprisingly, got a reply "I had everything packed and ready to go then I started getting spammed on Facebook and written about on MOP. After that I stopped sending out boxes and refunded money instead of sending out more boxes. I also stopped taking in new subscriptions." (I copy and pasted from my email, I don't know what MOP is.. I think maybe she meant MUT)
But what I wondered, as well as asked her in a reply e-mail, is why wasn't I notified that she was not going to mail my items out even though she had stated in emails during that time that my items were on their way? Why did I not get my refund automatically refunded? Why did I have to file a dispute with paypal before I received any kind of reaction to any of the 3 emails I had previously sent that went unanswered? 
Would I have received a refund if I did not file a claim? I am thinking not or else I would have already received one as well as an email explaining what was going on.
Why not mail out all the boxes at once?

My only advice to everyone about this situation would be to do research on the 'business' you are purchasing from. I have learned from my mistake.
I just want to add that I am not trying to defame anyone, that is not my intention nor is it the reason I made this post; I made this post to hopefully protect other potential subscribers from being subjected to this 'business' that gives out recycled samples as well as items that were not given permission to be in the box.  

Also, if you want to, check out my Prairie Charms Bracelet GIVEAWAY! I promise it is not a scam ;) http://marinewife22.blogspot.com/2012/08/prairie-charm-bracelet-haul-and-giveaway.html