Undelivered luxury bags: Reseller says it lost $100k to scam

Luxury bag reseller WestCloset, which failed to deliver bags after customers paid for them, said it lost almost $100,000 in an investment scam, making it unable to refund its clients.

It was responding for the first time to a report in The Straits Times on Tuesday that at least five police reports had been made against it over the issue. The cases over the past three months include one in July where a woman said she paid $29,900 for a Hermes Birkin bag that never arrived.

The police had said on Tuesday that a 33-year-old woman linked to the case had been arrested.

In the statement sent to ST on Friday night, a spokesman for WestCloset said: "Yes, we do owe money to those people mentioned (in the ST article)."

He added: "We were also being scammed into an investment plan which added up to an amount lost of almost $100,000."

WestCloset said its deposits with suppliers had been forfeited over late payments and it had lost money to a new dealer overseas, but did not provide details on these issues or the scam.

The spokesman said WestCloset has paid back sums owed to almost half of its clients, adding: "We have contacted every single client that we owe money to in order to make settlements amicably.

"But... our clients could not agree on our repayment plans. We do understand our mistake, and we are finding ways to repay our clients."

He said WestCloset has been in operation since 2012 and noted that it was doing well before the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Our director, Ms Rizky, was in hospital often due to her medical condition and stress of this business," he added. Ms Ringga Dwi Rizky Irianto, an Indonesian, is the director of WestCloset, according to a search with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority.

"We also want to say that we are not running away and have engaged a lawyer to settle this matter amicably," WestCloset said, adding that it will continue its business.

On Wednesday, WestCloset announced on Instagram that its physical store at Novena Regency would be closed until further notice, but said it is still accepting orders online through its website.