By Mark Rodriguez
Now that Meowbox.net is officially closed, and Meowbox.com took over to make sure there are no other sites with similar names... sadly I ended up losing out. It's kinda rubbing salt into the wound here, but I figured if you guys are curious.... here's how the story ended. Read my last article for more context, but long story short, Meowbox.net is a sub box for cat lovers that ended up ripping us off.
While many tried to contact the Better Business Bureau, sadly they were no help since they were unable to actually find the business. People continued to complain and voice their frustration on a new Facebook group about the scam and warning people to NOT sign up for it because yes... the site was still running and inviting new suckers to subscribe.
It just so happened I was going to Las Vegas to visit my bro and hang out with my old friends again, Sweet Pete, Lan Moore and the like. Paige reminded me that while I was there, I could take the chance to go to my Credit Union to see what they can do which would probably have better results talking to them in person rather than calling them from PA. Sadly, while they tried to do the best they can and I was able to print out all sort of receipts and the BBB complaints, they couldn't do anything since the purchase was made way past 60 days. Again, for those that haven't read the last article, I purchased a 3 box gift set in April and since I did get the May box, even though it was late, I had no reason to think I was gonna get ripped off within those 60 days yet.
So to really cinch this, Paige called me to tell me that the site is officially closed and I guess Meowbox.com is coming in to kinda/sorta clean up the mess. Kinda/sorta as in they offered to ship free boxes to people that were ripped off in August to make up for what their .net namesake failed to deliver.... and that's it. So those that were gypped earlier on, they state 'it's up to Meowbox.net to either refund the money themselves or ship the remaining boxes', which of course they won't. They pretty much got away scott free with all our money.
It really bites especially since this was meant to be a gift, it probably wouldn't hurt so bad if I was just buying it for myself. What got me is that there was no way to know it was a scam. Lots of customers can vouch for them that for at least a year they were legit. It wasn't until now that they decided they screwed enough people and it was time to 'take the money and run'. And due to that year of good service, there are several review sites giving them good reviews, I found some reviewing and comparing both sites and Youtube unboxing videos, all showing that at the time they were the real deal. So there was no warning at all, and in fact it literally feels like I am the ONLY person that blogged about this scam.
I guess it's the risk one takes whenever you buy something online. Like I said... no telltale signs whatsoever. Nothing looked shady or out of place. It just as easily could have been Lootcrate, Nerd Block or Shirt Punch that all of a sudden after a year or so of faithful service decide to up and vanish with the money of their loyal followers. I am, of course, not saying anything bad against Lootcrate, Nerd Block or Shirt Punch of course, those were just examples. I'd say buyer beware.... but wow, there really was no warning.
Well that's my story. Sucks it didn't have a happy ending, but that's how life works I guess. Just remember, any time you buy something online, there's a small risk you take, no matter how reliable or reputable the site seems to be.
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