All she wanted was to be safe in the knowledge her elderly mom and 12-year-old daughter could stroll through Richmond Centre mall without being harassed.
A few weeks ago, Carla Rubin discovered three worrying items on the credit card bill of her recently-widowed and vulnerable, 76-year-old mom, Beverley, for whom she has power of attorney over her finances.
The items were luxury cosmetics, totalling nearly $600, bought from the Secret of Beauty kiosk in the south-east corner of the mall in December.
As well as the extortionate cost – way out of reach for her mom who lives in subsidized housing – the purchase was completely out of character for a woman who, apparently, has never used anything more than lipstick.
Single-mom Rubin spent several weeks chasing down the mall manager, the credit card company and the kiosk owner to complain about what she says were “high-pressure” sales tactics.
But it wasn’t until the Richmond News stepped in last week that the kiosk owner agreed to a full refund.
“All I wanted out of this from the beginning was for (the owner) to do the right thing,” said Rubin, of kiosk owner Zoe Zhong apologizing and finally agreeing to a full refund.
“My mom recently lost her husband, she had to sell her house and moved into new, supported apartment; she’s extremely stressed out and vulnerable.
“Lots of change and pressure going on in her life and she can barely afford basic dental care, let alone expensive cosmetic products, most of which she can’t even use due to her arthritis.
“All she remembered was buying hand cream for about $79. She’s in subsidized housing, why would she be spending even $79 on hand cream, it didn’t make sense. She said she wanted something better than the drug store.
“But these are not her words, I know her. This was someone else planting words in her head.
“This is her rent! This was a huge amount of money for her. I found the bag of products in her closet, untouched; it seemed like she forgotten about it.”
A flurry of condemnation ensued for the kiosk after Rubin posted her plight on local social media groups.
Rubin was initially told by Zhong that the commission had been paid to the salesman and there was nothing she could do, citing her “exchange only for 14 days, no refund” policy.
After being contacted by the News, Zhong said she wasn’t aware that Rubin had power of attorney, noting that the customer “has her own credit card, so I don’t think we’ve done anything wrong.
“We can’t take it back because it’s cosmetic. If she has mental issues, maybe she shouldn’t have a credit card?”
And, denying that her sales staff used high-pressure tactics, she added that Rubin’s mother “agreed to buy it; we’re not into scamming, as was suggested (on social media).
“We’ve been there for six months and this is the first complaint. We have lots of returning customers.”
Nevertheless, Zhong said she has “reminded” her staff to be “more gentle, be nice, and more professional.”
Manisha Narang, Richmond Centre property manager, told the News the mall had contacted the kiosk owner and asked her to get in touch Rubin.
Narang, via email, said that, since Rubin’s complaint, the mall had received one other complaint against the same kiosk client.
“My mom goes there for more than just shopping, she goes there to socialize, it’s part of daily life,” added Rubin.
“It needs to be a safe place.”
