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LuLaRoe Changes Policy, Waldwick Consultant Down Thousands

***NOTE: THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED WITH RESPONSES FROM LULAROE*

Chiara Agudelo of Waldwick and thousands of other LuLaRoe consultants are afraid the company has scammed them out of money.

Chiara Agudelo of Waldwick and thousands of other LuLaRoe consultants are afraid the company has scammed them out of money.

Photo Credit: Chiara Agudelo/Daily Voice

WALDWICK, N.J. — There were two things about LuLaRoe that Waldwick's Chiara Agudelo loved about the company when she signed on as a consultant in September 2016.

One: the ability to work from home in the fashion industry, allowing her to be available for her two children.

Two: its "happiness-guaranteed policy," she said, complete with its reimbursement policy for consultants looking to jump ship — 90 percent buy-back from LuLaRoe.

In April, the company announced it was adopting a 100 percent buy-back policy indefinitely.

And that was great news for Agudelo, a Fair Lawn native, who says she had been struggling to sell merchandise since October 2016.

But earlier this week — just a few days after Agudelo sent a resignation email to the company — LuLaRoe changed that 100 percent buy-back policy. Agudelo said the company changed its policy, to a 90 percent buy-back policy, and consultants are required to pay for their own shipping and send merchandise back in its original packaging.

UPDATE: LuLaRoe told Daily Voice this has always been the case.

"When onboarding with LuLaRoe, every independent fashion retailer signs a written policy that includes a subsection '3.16.3 Returns on Cancellation of the Agreement,'" LuLaRoe said.

"This agreement outlines the return process, and notes that 'Upon receipt of resalable products and sales aids, the Independent Fashion Consultant will be reimbursed 90 percent of the net cost of the original price(s).'”

The company also said it did not eliminate the policy, rather it was reiterating a long-tern written agreement that each retailer agreed to upon signing up.

"We had temporarily provided a waiver on some of the policy requirements between April and September 2017," the company said.So now, Agudelo and thousands of other consultants are looking for some sort of restitution.

Agudelo is frustrated. She's mad But most of all, she is disappointed.

"I feel let down," Agudelo said.

"LuLaRoe had this happiness-guaranteed policy, and if it didn't work, they'd take the merchandise back. "I feel as if I was led to dupe others."

Agudelo — who sold the apparel to circles of friends and members-only Facebook groups —paid the company $6,000 when she signed up last year.

The merchandise has been piling up in her basement, and she recently made the decision to resign as a LuLaRoe consultant. 

She says under the policy, she will suffer a $7,500 loss.

Agudelo told the company in three separate emails that she would be resigning. She says she has not received a response from LuLaRoe confirming her resignation.

DAWN'S STORY

Dawn Valentine of Clifton became a consultant in October 2016. She took pride in the life she created with the company — friends, a VIP group and more.

Valentine, a school teacher, wasn't looking to resign, but says the policy change and inconsistency in general within the company has pushed her to her limit.

"So many people have been getting jerked around and stand to lose thousands," she said. "It just all makes me sick."

She fears that if she doesn't off-board immediately, she'll have a more difficult time in the future.

"I want to resign because of this — because of what they are doing to girls," Valentine said. 

"And," she added, "I'm afraid the worst is yet to come."

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