THE GOLD LEAF CO.
Complaint 13388 Details

Sandra Langman called me to announce this fabulous Christmas gift product which would be a good seller in a hospital gift shop. She said that a popular Canadian magazine would be doing a Christmas Hostessing article featuring some of these items and that they wanted to include retails outlets where these would be available.
Our hospital gift shop would be the only source in our area. The only catch was that they would need payment in advance to insure this feature. I received a lovely portfolio with pictures of these lovely items, along with the price list showing that we would receive a discount on our order. Our shop is run by the Auxilliary which are all volunteers, including myself, and our budget couldn't handle this $685.00 order at the time, so in my eagerness to help our fundraising efforts, I sent my personal cheque. Being new as a buyer, I thought they would be as honest as I am.

Nov.4/10 they sent a FAX to the hospital stating that Sandra was ill and unable to complete her season....the office would be closed.....she would be in touch when she returned at the end of November. When I didn't hear from her, I tried calling only to find out the phone & FAX #'s "were not able to receive calls".

Nov. 29/10 a second FAX arrived saying that I would be notified the week of NOV.6 - 10 via registered letter addressed to me at the gift shop. It was very curt, adding "NOTE: THIS IS THE SECOND FAX SENT TO YOU. THE FIRST FAX WAS SENT ON NOV. 4"

Jan. 3/11 After hearing nothing from her, I sent a registered letter to remind her of the broken promises and my desperate need to have my money returned. On Jan. 6, I received another FAX stating that a money order for $685.44 will be sent on Jan.24/11 via registered mail to me at my home address. I finally received a money order purchased Jan. 26 for $300.00, with a message written on it that "Balance of $385.44 will be paid to you by March 30, 2011."

Apr.13/11 I sent another registered letter which was never accepted, and returned to me unopened.

That was my hard-earned Christmas money....I doubt that I will ever get it back. Worst of all is that this experience has really damaged my faith in humanity.

Linda Boot
Merchandise Buyer, RVH Auxilliary Gift Shop
Renfrew, ON