A customer who claimed their jewellery never arrived was left rather red faced after she sent a complaint photo to the company.
Amani Zubair, from Birmingham - who owns jewellery brand Tresor - received an email from an unhappy customer who claimed her £26, 18-carat gold plated signet ring never arrived, taking a photo of an empty box in the hope of a refund.
When Amani examined the photo, she was shocked when she spotted the ring was actually on the customer's finger.
When she pointed out the 'missing' ring was on her finger, Amani says she was promptly blocked, with all her emails now undeliverable.
"This customer had ordered a two-faced signet ring and we received an email from her saying 'I've received empty packaging'," said Amani.
"We thought 'we wouldn't do that. That's not a mistake we'd make, especially if there was only one thing in the order'. We thought it might have fallen out, so we asked her to show us the packaging.
"We received a picture of her hand holding the packaging bag, and she's got the ring on her finger. It was one of our designs so we knew it was ours.
"We were just like 'What? Is that not the ring on your finger?', and that's when our emails stopped going through.
"We were so confused on how to respond. We didn't want to be horrible to a customer, but there was also nothing else we could really say.
"I think she was trying to get a free ring out of us. It happened in November but we still laugh about it now.
"We laughed at the fact that it happened because we were so shocked. As a business owner, you expect this from some customers but you don't expect them to catch themselves out."
Unfortunately, it's not the first time Amani has had to deal with this situation.
"It happens quite a lot, we'll have people say 'the package hasn't turned up', even though the tracking says it has," Amani continued.
"Sometimes we do get stuff wrong, because we're only human, but we have noticed a lot of people trying to get a refund or a free ring sent out.
"Everything we send gets tracked and signed for. We get the rings manufactured, but the rings are all our own designs. We put so much work in behind the scenes that people don't see.
"So when we see somebody trying to get a free ring, you do think 'Seriously? For a £20 ring? You're really going to do that?'
"It also creates the fear for my employees who think 'Oh god, have I done something? Am I going to get a b***ocking?'
"I definitely see the humour in the situation though. We've had all sorts of stuff. We've had it happen two or three times where a customer will say 'I ordered this months ago, and it hasn't come'.
"We'll ask for their details and when we check the details, they'll be fake. They never actually ordered anything, and they obviously just thought to message to try and get a free ring.
"They must not realise that I can see that no order was made from their side."
Despite only starting the business in March 2021, Amani has gone on to receive investment from Lord Sugar.
"These sorts of complaints used to annoy us. In the beginning, when it was just me, I would argue back," she said.
"The vast majority of our customers are so lovely, and I love all the Instagram posts people do with our rings."
Featured Image Credit: Kennedy News and Media
Lucy Devine