More Sketchiness Revealed About Retailer That Charges Customers $250 For Threatening To Complain

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Yesterday we told you about Accessory Outlet, the online retailer that claims to be “the #1 Mobile Accessory wholesaler in the United States” but which also charges a $250 fine for customers who even make the threat of publicly complaining about a bad purchase or requesting a chargeback from their credit card company. We want to update you on some additional shady things we’ve learned since then.

First, a reader pointed out to us that the Better Business Bureau A+ rating touted all over the Accessory Outlet website is bogus, since the actual BBB website not only lists an F grade for the company, but also reveals that the BBB recently sent Accessory Outlet a cease-and-desist order on “all unauthorized use of the BBB name and logo on its website.”

“THIS FIRM IS NOT CURRENTLY A BBB ACCREDITED BUSINESS with the Better Business Bureau Serving Metropolitan New York,” reads the notice. “As of August 19, 2014 this firm has not replied to BBB’s requests and continues to advertise the BBB name, logo, and incorrect rating on its website.”

So that’s one of the site’s badges disproven. Three to go.

We then checked with Angie’s List to see if the site ever gave Accessory Outlet its Super Service Award. A rep for the company told Consumerist that it’s impossible for Accessory Outlet to have received this award since there are no reviews for it on Angie’s List. So that’s another bogus badge:

Then we looked on the buySAFE registry to see if we could verify that Accessory Outlet was certified by the service as it claims to be, but nothing turned up. Then a rep for buySAFE confirmed to Consumerist that Accessory Outlet is not certified and is using the badge without permission. So that’s three out of four…

Likewise, a search of the Trusted Shops database turned up nothing for Accessory Outlet. And this morning a rep for the service, which does not certify sellers in the U.S., confirmed that this was a fraudulent use of the Trusted Shops badge. So that’s four up, four down:

And that photo on the Accessory Outlet site of the well-lit, well-stocked showroom full of phone accessories? Consumerist reader Ricardo found the source for that image. It’s a photo of a Samsung store in Korea.

Accessory Outlet apparently just cropped out the top of the below photo so that you don’t see the signs written in Korean:

We sent a comment request to Accessory Outlet before writing yesterday’s story, but have yet to hear anything back from the company.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist