Description

Elizabeth Barragan, the owner of Barragan Final Touch reached out to me on 11/28 via text to my personal phone number a day after I placed an order for a cement lavadero online. I paid in full with a credit card for the Jumbo Lavadero and site stated it included the base and free delivery. About a week after I placed the order Elizabeth texted me again on 12/6 asking if her brother could drop off the product on 12/7 as he would be in my area. However, she asked then if I could cancel the online payment because the processing site charged her $70 and it was too much and she wanted me to instead pay her brother in cash when he arrived. I told her I would try and see if that was possible and reached out to my credit company who advised against paying her anything in cash. I was informed that I would get a temporary return but that if she were to provide evidence that she delivered product I could be charged again if she decided not to return the money to my credit card company when they reached out to them. I told her that she had to return the money before I could receive a permanent refund and she said to me on 12/7 that she would return the payment on her end and insisted that her brother drop off the product and that she could wait. I told her I rather wait until payment is returned but she said it was no problem and that she was willing to wait until I received my money back. A week passed, and I called the credit card company to check if she returned the money, but nothing. She then reached out again on 12/21 and said she had not yet received the money from me. I responded on 12/22 and said I had not sent it yet because I called my bank and they informed me that they had not received the payment from her yet. Elizabeth then proceeded to send me a receipt as proof that the return was made. I told her I would confirm with the bank, when I spoke to them they asked when she did the return, and when I asked her she acted like she did not know that info and that all she got was that receipt and joked that she was not very tech savvy and gave me the runaround when directly asking her when she processed the cancellation. However, the receipt clearly showed she initiated the return that same day on 12/22 and not on the 12/7, like she promised. I then directly pointed it out to her letting her know it was done that same day, but she brushed it off by saying it was done so the bank should receive the money soon. I told her I was not willing to wait 10 days, per bank, for that payment to process. I told her that I no longer wanted her product and that she could pick it up. Another issue with this whole thing was that when they dropped off the product on 12/7, her brother told me to choose a color and I asked him if it was the jumbo size and he said yes. After he dropped it off I got a hold of a tape measurer and measured it and noticed it was smaller than the jumbo they advertised. They dropped off the standard and were planning to charge me $500 for it. I told Elizabeth, and because I wanted to avoid another inconvenience I said I would keep it but wanted to know the cost difference, since it was smaller. She charged me $100 less ($400) but then noticed that online in Tiktok and other socials, she was advertising the Jumbo at a lower price amounting to less than the $500 I paid and the standard was even cheaper than the $400 she was charging me. She was having a sale on all products so everything was even cheaper, but was charging me full price even after all the inconveniences and errors they made. Their goal seemed to be to double charge by collecting the cancelled payment from my credit card company and once I received the temporary credit charge me again through Zelle or Cash. Since most people believe they received their money back when they get a temp credit it is very easy to fall for these tactics. My credit company even asked to transfer me to the fraud department because her behaviors where fraudulent, but I gave her the benefit of the doubt when she promised to return the payment on 12/7. I realized that she was engaging in fraudulent activities by double-charging me when she reached out to ask for the money a day before actually processing the return and only processing it after I told her the bank had not received the payment. She also claimed that the site overcharged her for online payments, yet the site is still up and running and continues to accept online payments. I assume she targets people this way and double charges anyone who is not well informed of these fraudulent tactics and does not challenge her behaviors. I have a lot of proof to attach, but was only able to attach one item. I have text messages from Elizabeth, screenshots of credit company confirming payment was not returned and pictures of the incorrect product vs what was ordered, receipt of purchase confirmation from the business with description of item as well as screenshots of their socials and advertising done there vs what the business charges online. I can provide additional documentation upon request.