My husband put in an order on Nancy Bernardine's website, Bernardine Fine Art Jewlery, on December 17 for a $500 custom made ring. Though we knew it could take some time to make it, after six weeks with no follow-up in any form from Nancy, we started to get concerned and inquired.
He left several phone messages and after no response, emailed her. No responses came. On January 31 he received an email from PayPal pointing out that the information contained did not originate with them but instead came from the vendor, Nancy Bernardine. It said that the package was shipped as of this date and it gave an originator's number and the USPS. The number was not a tracking number so he could not obtain status information on the USPS website. This sent up a red flag, yet we patiently waited until February 10th for the package.
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By now, disgusted and insulted, I requested that my huband cancel the transaction with PayPal. But I left one more voicemail message on Nancy Bernardine's telephone requesting her to contact us immediately because I wanted an explanation. There was no response.
On February 11th, I went to my post office to inquire. They ran it through their computer and said that they found no record of a shipment. It is a bogus number and they cautioned us that we were likely being scammed. At that point, my husband bypassed PayPal and went right to the credit card issuer to initiate a request to credit back the charge to our account.
I now understand why Nancy Bernardine finally responded through PayPal to my husband's email and the timing of her response. After sixty days, she is entitled to keep the credit card payment. So she skillfully attempts to keep customers on the hook long enough for her to earn her payoff for the ring she never made and the package that will never arrive.
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