Complaint Review: Strawberrynet

I rarely use my government issued debit card because of the high limit funds I have in account. I am weary of most websites in general and buy the vast majority of beauty supplies in general on one general marketplace online. The first attempt to make the purchase, we tried my husbands card first, it was declined by his bank, because they later explained after this debacle that this site was not "trustworthy". Unfortunately, my card was approved without this knowledge at the time. I bought a Chanel fragrance I could not buy as it was not available from my favorite online marketplace. As I said, I rarely use this card due to these type risks and this certain marketplace had my husband's cologne, but not my perfume.
The scents were an anniversary gift for the both of us, his bought on the marketplace and mine on strawberrynet. As soon as I placed my order, a suspicious charge to an unknown dating site I looked up after being called by my card issuer, was placed and my card was immediately put on safety measures and reissued immediately to me. The card issuer advised me to stay off of strawberrynet and that no other charges were deemed suspicious and thankfully they stopped the charges to a shady weird dating website. I am a 38 yr old happily married mum with a spouse and 7 children to raise, not to mention, been fighting an illness for the last 3 years. My husband was infuriated also, as you can imagine, and had mentioned that the strawberrynet site to him, looked like it had very insecure web checkout when he investigated.

This is not the worst of it. The strawberrynet "security team" sent me an email asking me for proof of my residence of my credit card and requested utility bills! Just so you know, this is absolutely NOT normal on e-commerce. Asking for personal information like that is not the norm at all. Asking for a different form of payment, yes. But they did not do that, they wanted to know more of my IDENTITY. They also said they would hold my order for seven days until I did so. I called the "customer service" number they provided, in Hong Kong, mind you, and of course it is not in service. I do believe I was targeted for identity theft. I will post the email they sent to me to prove that they asked of information I deem as inappropriate especially since there were no problems with charging my credit card. I have every reason to believe I will have to file for a charge back on a very expensive product. Here is the scam-like email I was given after my card issuer had notified me that they looked "suspicious":

On Jul 14, 2014, at 5:44 AM, "StrawberryNET" securitycentrestrawberrynet.:

StrawberryNET
The fresh cosmetic company
Dear P,

Thank you for your order. Please be advised that your order is currently on hold as part of a routine security check in order to verify you are the authorized cardholder. To release your order, please kindly e-mail a copy of a utility bill (such as electricity, telephone or gas bill) in recent 3 months so we can verify your identity and that your billing address is valid.

You can email us a copy at securitycentre@Strawberrynet or by replying to this email.

Please understand that this information is needed to confirm that you are the correct cardholder. By helping us confirm this you will help ensure our credit card system stays secure for you and other users.

Please note that if no reply is received within 7 calendar days from the date of your order the charge to your account for this order will be reversed and your order cancelled.

We apologize for the inconvenience and we look forward to your reply.

Yours sincerely,

Eric Sing
Customer Services
StrawberryNET

Skincare - Make Up - Haircare - Women's Perfume - Men's Skincare - Men's Cologne - New Products
Strawberry Cosmetics .

To note: they did say they would cancel my order after seven days if I did not provide them with a utility bill. This is the strangest and most untrustworthy company and after all I've been through, I will not ever again order from them and do believe they requested more personal information to further damage me and cause identity theft and possibly more damage. Thank goodness it was my government issued debit card because they are very keen and on the ball when it comes to fraud. I plan on a charge back even though I have emailed them back. A chargeback hurts their abilities with their bank in that the bank starts to investigate also whether they are doing wrong and will eventually terminate their charging abilities ( I own a large business).

ETA: I was asked to remove links and other symbols to do this review. Since this review, I have been again contacted by strawberrynet that they will refund my card in seven days. I must think because it is international banking that the refund is taking that amount of time for it to process. Regardless of the intended refund with no mention of again of asking for another form of payment ( remember though, my payment was accepted, it is just that they wanted a utility bill to insure that I reside at my billing address-shipping address, supposedly) This is ludicrous. They should have just immediately asked for payment they could verify (I've had the same card for five years) through the bank, it is not my belief that asking for more personal details such as a utility bill that may contain information such as payment information with said utility company, my account ID and number to access my utility bill information and also the name of my spouse, who could also be targeted. The only acceptable way I've volunteered a utility bill for any entity is through the government to update my information. As far as buying a bottle of fragrance, I will take that refund, eat the 13.50 I had to pay to expedite my new debit card to me, and thank goodness I wasn't charged for the suspicious and also scam appearing dating site charge, a site I've never heard of until this transaction happened, around the same time, apparently. Identity fraud opportunities are numerous online or merchant checkout is possibly not secure, not to mention, dealing with overseas products that may be questionable ( this is only a guess, it is not a fact ). However, I'm sticking with USA wholesalers, which are everywhere, and should have made that choice and paid the extra money for no hassle, premium product. You absolutely get what you pay for, but what you pay for should at least be honest.