Description

I was traveling back to the US from vacation in Cabo San Lucas Mexico on 6/29/2025. I was approached by a woman as I was walking by a cosmetic shop in the Cabo Airport. I had extra time so I entered the shop to look at what kinds of products they were selling. I decided to buy an eye cream that she had applied to my face. Then she brought over a colleague to further “assist” me. She said he owned the shop and I was very fortunate that he is an expert and would make the best recommendation for my skin type. I was hesitant but agreed to talk with him as I still had plenty of time before flight boarding time. He introduced himself as William and owner of this shop and another in Beverly Hills. He asked for my passport and boarding pass telling me it was for duty-free purposes and he would track my flight boarding. He started this long dialogue about this product that he referred to as a medical device that uses LED Infraredlight and heat therapy to reduce signs of aging. I had read about the process and was curious so I let him demonstrate on my face. He kept leaving for several minutes and returning and I soon realized he was stalling. He still held my boarding pass and passport. I told him I needed to leave so I could get to my gate for boarding and to return my passport and boarding pass. He kept saying “you have plenty of time…I have your boarding pass”. He then applied a substance to my face saying it was a good hydration mask for my travel. He left again. I got up to look for him but didn’t find him. I finally told another woman employee in the store that I had to go and I needed to get my passport and boarding pass from William. He came back saying he would give me a great price which was $8950. I said I could not afford this. He lowered the price, again a stall tactic. At this point, I am distressed over time and just want to get out of there. I told him I would buy it and I need to leave now. He started adding a bunch of products (creams and serums) which I didn’t request or ask for. I signed what he told me was receipt, warranty and another document which would allow me to get a sales tax refund. I didn’t have time to read any of it and reasoned that I would dispute the charge with my credit card company and return the product after I got back home. I nearly missed my flight which had already started boarding. I reported the incident to Chase Bank as fraud the next day but it hadn’t yet posted. I called Chase Bank again the next day and filed the fraud claim over the phone as the charge had posted. They gave me a conditional credit for the full amount of $6728 on 7/1. They explained they would reach out to the merchant and it could take a few weeks to make a final determination. On Monday, 7/14/25 I saw they had re-charged me the same amount $6728 effective Fri., 7/11/25, I called Chase Bank on Mon., 7/14 to discuss the fraud claim further. I escalated to a supervisor who told me they had reached out to the merchant who confirmed no returns and since I signed the receipt, there was nothing they could do to help me. She stated that due to VISA rules & guidelines I had no recourse. She suggested I report to BBB.