HOUSTON – Blinged-out, bejeweled and bedazzled tumblers are all the rage for women all over the country.
However, several customers of a Houston-based business on social media complained they waited months and never got what they were promised.
"I got so intrigued by it, and so it was amazing seeing her glitter tumblers," Chrissy Landuyt, an online customer from Ohio, said.
Watching the Houston-based craftswoman on the Facebook page "Faith Flippin Tumblers," Landuyt ordered three of the woman's tumblers in November. The page has more than 15,000 followers.
"I paid $125 and was told that it would be here by Christmas, and so I proceeded to watch and watch and watch," Landuyt said.
However, after months of not receiving anything in the mail, Landuyt said she checked in with the woman named "Faith," who created the Tumblers.
"(She would tell me) 'I'm just so busy ... I'm working on it,'" Landuyt said.
Later, Landuyt said she wouldn't receive any response at all. She said she was eventually blocked after asking about the status of her tumbler in one of Faith's Facebook lives. It is a claim echoed by another customer, who also reached out to KPRC. Tiffany Finamore found the Facebook page and ordered from her home in Tennessee.
"She basically took my money," Finamore said. "I ordered November the 22nd and here we are in February and nothing."
Both Landuyt and Finamore said they were instructed by Faith to pay using PayPal under Friends and Family, a method which they later said they found out could not be reimbursed by PayPal. They said other customers also felt cheated.
"About 30," Landuyt said.
KPRC contacted the Better Business Bureau, which advises customers to be wary and do research on every business they give their money to.
"We are seeing a spike in complaints of receiving online retailer complaints like businesses that have popped up on social media," Denish Maxey, a bureau representative said.
KPRC attempted to contact the owner online and in person but has not been able to successfully make contact.
Andrea Crim, a former friend of Faith's, said she helped Faith set up the page in October 2018.
"I hope everybody gets their money back. Including myself," Crim said.
She said she started the page in October and helped with orders for two weeks. Crim told KPRC she then decided to cut ties with Faith and the business completely after they had a falling out. She said when she left, Faith was already backed up with orders.
"I think she just got so backed up and so unorganized that she just couldn't keep up with them," Crim said.
The BBB said anyone who experienced something similar could report it to the bureau at (713) 868-9500. BBB representatives said customers can also call the Attorney General's office.