HALEY'S COUTURE / HERMES GALLERIA SOLD A FAKE $6,500+ HERMES BIRKIN!

HALEY'S COUTURE, also known as HERMES GALLERIA, is a company that seeks to scam and intentionally fool people into thinking that they are a legit and reputable Hermes reselling company, when in fact, it is all one BIG LIE.

First, Haley's Couture CLAIMS to have opened a boutique in the heart of Paris, right at St. Honore. Their address, as "signed" on their customer support email is "68 Rue Du Faubourg, St Honore Paris 75008, France." We have had a few people sleuth around, and there is NO HALEY'S COUTURE in Paris. The address they CLAIM is in fact the ROBERTO CAVALLI boutique!! Check it out on their website at www.robertocavalli.com and you'll see their office address is the same as Haley's Couture!

STRIKE ONE!! There is NO HALEYS COUTURE boutique in Paris!!

Second, Haley's Couture FIRMLY claims through customer support rep Kathryn Woodyear, that "that as a reputable and prudent reseller, we deal with only other highly well-known reputable resellers and/or Hermes when it comes to acquiring the birkin handbags. We have certain procedures and protocols in place. All pre-owned handbags are first looked at by Hermes - they match the leather, stitching, blind stamps, and other details as a courtesy. We have had it looked at by an Hermes representative at our local boutique and they have double checked every detail regarding this birkin. We only sell authentic merchandise."

BOLLOCKS!! By "local boutique", it is safe to assume that since their so-called "boutique" is located in Palm Beach Florida, we called HERMES PALM BEACH and spoke to the very kind Store manager, Miss Charlene to confirm HALEY'S claims. The Manager said "HERMES does no such thing. HERMES does not authenticate Hermes bags, purchased from another store or elsewhere. This is store policy".

STRIKE TWO!! Hermes has NEVER authenticated any of HALEY'S COUTURE's "Hermes" birkins.

HALEY'S COUTURE's owner Roslynn N. Gaiter Matthew is also the author of this book called HANDBAG of the FABULOUS, which details her quest to acquire a birkin. This book intends to also lure the potential customer into getting a bag from HER company. After all, if desperate enough, wouldn't you be more willing to put your money in someone who has somewhat earned a "reputation" or "credibility", since she has published a book on that subject? One would be inclined to think that she is already an authority on Hermes birkins, after having published a book about it!

Here's a quote (pg. 32)-- "If I submit the birkin to Hermes and it is found not to be authentic, do you offer a full refund?" And The author's answer is this "Deal only with reputable companies and individual sellers who will not give you the run around when asked this question. Getting a refund or exchange should not be difficult. All resellers will back their merchandise with a full refund if ever found not to be authentic simply because they will never have to offer a refund whatsoever."

And so we contacted the company to ask if they offer refunds if their birkins are found to be fake. Here is what the customer representative Kathryn Woodyear had to say " Thank you for contacting Haley's Couture. I would be more than happy to assist you with whatever you may need. We have been selling worldwide authentic luxury designer bags for over 5-years. We do not allow for exchanges or returns."

STRIKE THREE!! Did we read the book right? Don't reputable companies need to have that authenticity guarantee or money back-- that refunds should NOT be a problem if the bag is not found to be authentic? But HALEY'S COUTURE does NOT offer refund whatsoever!! Because they claim this-- "We have had it looked at by an Hermes representative at our local boutique and they have double checked every detail regarding this birkin. We only sell authentic merchandise."

Then of course while sleuthing, we found THIS same looking HERMES black birkin 35cm with white stitching on EBAY.
WORTH*AVENUE*ONLINE's HERMES BLACK BIRKIN 35cm WHITE CONTRAST STITCHING listing

So we emailed Haley's if they are the ebay seller WORTH*AVENUE*ONLINE, or if they sell on ebay. And before that-- wait! The listing says "Guaranteed genuine Hermès!" . In the author's book, which I quote on page 36 (regarding red flags for fakes) "The birkin bag is genuine Hermes... Genuine is a commonly used word many resellers on eBay will use fraudulently. The seller does not have to be responsible for declaring it as guaranteed authentic." By the author's own admission, the words "GENUINE HERMES" would ultimately mean, fake, because that word is often used fraudulently, as she says. So, that ebay birkin that worth*avenue*online is selling, is a FAKE!

But WAIT! We checked HERMES GALLERIA -- the mirror site of HALEY'S COUTURE (both are owned by one and the same-- Roslynn Gaiter Matthew), and HERE is what we pulled up. Note the title-- "THE HERMES GALLERIA... GUARANTEED AUTHENTIC OR YOUR MONEY BACK"

Ok... THERE IS A MONEY BACK GUARANTEE if Hermes birkin is found to be counterfeit (and yet, WHY are we being refused of a refund for that FAKE Hermes birkin they sold?)

Here's what's even scarier-- their OWN website uses the word "GENUINE" --- and we quote "We deem that only genuine products are sold at the Galleria."

We further prodded Haley's through customer rep Kathryn Woodyear, if eBay ID worth*avenue*online IS Haley's. Her reply, "Presently, we do not sell on ebay, only directly with clients through our store." THIS IS ANOTHER LIE.

STRIKE FOUR!! HALEY'S COUTURE IS EBAY ID WORTH*AVENUE*ONLINE!!!

And here is the proof!!
FIRST LISTING OF HALEY'S COUTURE ON EBAY!

In it it says "This is our first time joining the eBay Team and we are thrilled to offer you the fabulous and insanely popular "GOT A BIRKIN?" tee. One of the many offered from our Trendy Tee Collection, we have now made our eye-catching collection available for the first time on Ebay. Please direct all questions to our email address: info@haleyscouture.com"

So we emailed Haley's again, this time another customer rep is answering our emails. Someone who claims to be customer service director, named Daniel Osorio. We gave him the info that HALEY'S IS WORTH*AVENUE*ONLINE, and his email reply said "What the owners and their respective associates and affiliates do outside of the store is their business. From our standpoint, we do not operate on Ebay as a company, we deal only with clients directly through our store. Irregardless, your transaction was with Haley's Couture, the store. Therefore, we have no authority over what is sold on eBay. Our customer support extends to clients that contact Haley's Couture. If you wish, please contact the Ebay members that you are inquiring about directly if you would like further information regarding them."

And here's more information that would scare the living daylights out of you potential clients of Haley's! THEY HAVE BEEN ON EBAY SINCE DECEMBER 2004!! And they got banned. And they returned with a new eBay ID!

HERE'S MORE PROOF THAT THEY DO EBAY!!
Haleys*couture became palmbeachdelights on EBAY

And they have actively been sending emails like this one below, which lured us. A preowned Hermes birkin for $6,500? What a deal, if it is indeed authentic, right? Alas, this was the very same birkin that you will see below that was purchased. It's a 35cm black Hermes togo birkin with white contrast stitching, year H, stamped C.32

As it turns out, it is a VERY GOOD FAKE HERMES.

Yes, it is THEIR birkin. In fact, they even sent a thank you card along with the purchase (nice touch IF the bag was authentic!!). Heck, the lock is so scratched up. It was probably bought, along with the authentic dustbags at eBay. Check feedback of worth*avenue*online-- they had bought the REAL HERMES trimmings!!

So, we have notified Haley's Couture about the fake bag we received. Repeatedly asked for refunds. They skirt around the issue a lot. Said that there are procedures to be followed etc. Said that their owners are still not back from their vacation yet. Yada yada yada.

And countless emails later, NO. The money we have paid them has NOT YET BEEN REFUNDED. Haley's wants us to send back THIS birkin in question. In Daniel Osorio (their so-called customer service director)'s own words, "by you deciding to keep the birkin, simultaneously request for a refund and not allow for any further investigation by our company, we cannot further help you" (email dated July 27, 2006). And we are supposed to believe that money will be refunded after the bag has been sent back? Are you kidding? This may be a very expensive fake Hermes birkin, but no one is turning this gold mine (yes, gold mine-- think of how happy Hermes would be to get a hold of this fake bag and be able to NAIL the ones who are selling the fakes!) over back to the bag demons without a refund first!!

So. Now what do you do with a birkin that 's worth over $6,500 and is a VERY GOOD Hermes copy that came straight from Haley's Couture? You turn it over to HERMES headquarters if they still refuse you a refund, and you point HERMES to the direction to HALEY'S COUTURE for having sold it to you.

Let the company file the lawsuit against them. What they are doing is illegal. What they have done is consumer fraud, and on a larger scale, allow the sale of counterfeit designer merchandise!

Roslynn Matthew (the author and owner of HALEY'S) has noted that she had met a mom who was having her fake birkins custom made in Italy and we quote, "Just as easily as this mom has fakes custom made in Italy, all the unsuspecting buyer has to do is run into one of these fraudulent sellers and be fooled. They could literally spend thousands on a bag worth maybe $10. That is why this book is so incredibly important. It is my personal mission to arm men and women everywhere on how to prevent themselves from being duped by devious sellers." (Introduction of the book)

People, we have stared straight into the devious demon's eyes-- we got ourselves a $6500+ fake "Hermes" birkin which only probably cost $20 to make. Do note it's a VERY GOOD fake. All the "identifying marks" of a real Hermes birkin are present on this bag! It's all in the details!!! Look, even the zipper pull has the word "HERMES" on it. But look closely. The zipper base of a REAL Hermes birkin DOES NOT look like the zipper base of this HALEY'S BIRKIN.

Meanwhile, look closely at THIS photo above. THIS is the photo of an authentic HERMES birkin bought straight from HERMES Toronto last November 2003. This all- black birkin is blindstamped G for year 2003.

And here's another photoIf this HALEY'S BIRKIN were real Hermes, would Hermes have such sloppy handiwork that they can't even cut the leather right to conform to the shape of the metal plate on the strap? The stitching on the strap is sloppy too! And what's with the stamping using a shiny foil-like metallic ink that gets rubbed off???

We will be posting more comparison photos of HALEY'S FAKE BIRKIN against a REAL HERMES BIRKIN purchased STRAIGHT from the HERMES boutique in Toronto in the next few days. We will also be posting the email correspondences of this company to us in our quest to extract the refund.

Here's what's even scarier. The owner of HALEY'S COUTURE WILL BE COMING UP WITH A NEW BOOK SOON.

BUYERS BEWARE OF HALEY'S COUTURE! PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THIS COMPANY. WE CANNOT ALLOW CONSUMERS TO BE DEFRAUDED!!!!