Brand owner reveals how she discovered a customer was allegedly trying to 'scam' her: 'Stop trying to rip off my small business'
Kayla Thomas (@reaktapparel), who owns the activewear brand Reakt Apparel, is resonating with other small business owners after discussing her experience with a shopper who allegedly tried to scam her out of free clothing.
According to the Australian-based TikToker, the “juicy” story happened after a web order came through from a local customer. Shopify allegedly immediately flagged the order as having some potentially “fraudulent characteristics,” but when Thomas looked further, she dismissed any concerns. Not only did she go to the same gym as the customer, but she discovered they also shared mutual friends.
Assuming it was “probably fine,” Thomas processed the order, consisting of three crop tops. She then packed the items and delivered them herself the next day without a second thought.
But later that night, the small business owner received a surprising email from the customer.
While the woman said she “loved” the crops, she claimed that one had been missing from the order — something Thomas was immediately skeptical about.
“I’m thinking, ‘How is that possible? Like, did I make a mistake?'” Thomas shared in the clip. “I was literally second-guessing myself.”
After retracing her steps and double-checking her inventory multiple times, Thomas says she was “100% sure” she put the item in the bag.
“But from a business perspective, I’m like, ‘Who would lie about this?’ and ‘Maybe I did make a mistake,” the TikToker continued. “So I thought, ‘You know what, for the sake of a crop I’ll send her another one.'”
Thomas apologized and assured the woman she would send the missing crop top over ASAP. But when the customer replied asking for a different colored top, something didn’t smell right.
So, she decided to do some more digging and quickly connected with a friend who said she regularly sees the woman working out and knows she often tags the gym in her Instagram stories.
It didn’t take long for Thomas to track the customer down on Instagram, send her a friend request and spot the crop top in a gym photo.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Thomas said in her TikTok. “There she was that same day, wearing the back crop that was apparently missing.”
What’s more, the customer allegedly tagged Thomas’s business in the post, too.
In another video, Thomas said that she “liked” the woman’s Instagram story and emailed her back to say that after re-checking her inventory, she was sure the customer had definitely received the “missing” crop top.
Then she doubled down.
“If you wish to change to the white twist crop you will need to return for an exchange,” Thomas informed the woman. “Please note all exchanged must be unworn and in brand new condition.”
After several hours without a response, Thomas went one step further by reaching out in another message.
“Love the crop! Glad you found it,” wrote Thomas. “Please stop trying to rip off my small business and any others you may be trying to do this to. Running a small business is hard enough as it is and while we appreciate your support with your purchase we don’t appreciate you dishonesty.”
While the customer insisted she’d already emailed back about finding the top, Thomas replied that nothing like that ever came through her inbox.
It wasn’t long before the woman ghosted her, leading Thomas to believe she had no remorse for what she did and was probably trying to pull off similar scams with other businesses.
In response to the viral post, many other small business owners said this kind of thing happens often.
“This happened to me a few times,” one person shared. “I now record every single package I send out so that doesn’t happen anymore.”
“I set up a security camera on our packing station, so we could go back & check if it was an error on our end or a scam customer,” someone else added.
But at least one person said this is what drove them out of business altogether.
“Gave up my online business,” the TikToker shared. “Too many people think it’s OK to try to scam small businesses.”
Thomas seems to know that these kinds of run-ins are par for the course when owning a small business. But that’s also why she’s using her story to warn others to “always trust your gut instinct.”
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