Mike was traveling more than usual so he decided that we needed the Ring device. The Ring is a doorbell equipped with a camera. It rings when there is activity  within the eye of the camera. To me, the Ring is just another “big brother” device watching our every move. When we first set it up, it was over-sensitive and would go off with a slight breeze. The Ring also became a secret agent for Mike. I don’t usually order things online, but due to the lockdown I was forced to.  In the past I could just sneak in the packages without the local police knowing about it. Now nothing escapes Mike. During the pandemic I was shopping online because my favorite retailer was selling items for 70% off! So I purchased some merchandise; who wouldn’t at that price? The problem with pandemic shopping is you can’t hide anything!  I came across a retailer on Facebook called loveforjesus. They were closing  and all their wonderful Christian merchandise was on sale. Their product line was really appealing: shirts with the word faith written in the form of a cross,  jewelry with crosses looped through an infinity silver necklace, and bracelets.  How can you go wrong with the closeout price?

Order Placed

On March 20th, I placed an order totaling $41.67 and paid through PayPal. On March 22nd  I received a confirmation with an order number. The email stated that they were getting ready to ship the merchandise and would follow up with a tracking number. It also stated that due to the COVID-19, the shipping would be delayed by an additional seven days. This was the first red flag. On April 8th I received another email; this was to inform me that they were forced to switch shipping companies. “The new shipping company is charging more, but don’t worry, we will pay for that. For all the inconvenience, we would like to offer you 20% off the already reduced price.” This was red flag number two. I logged onto their website and did some Mother’s Day shopping. This time the total was $50.37 for Jesus t-shirts for my daughter Sonja, and daughter-in-law Jenny. I was so pleased with these purchases, and Mike was going to be so elated with all the money I saved.

Mother’s Day Debacle

Each time the Ring device would go off, I thought it was my order from loveforjesus. I started to get a little worried, so I ordered back-up Mother’s Day gifts for the girls from Nordstrom Rack. I emailed loveforjesus and my email came back with Mailer-Daemon (I always thought it read mailer demon). I was beyond outraged, and I had all the time in the world to fight. I sent another email and received this:

Ciriza7 Apr 28, 23:33 -05 I find that your company’s lack of professionalism is what troubles me the most. Where are my two orders? Even if they were coming from a slow boat in China, the merchandise should have already arrived. Please refund my money. Lynda Ciriza

I got the bank involved, and the money was quickly reimbursed into my account. The bank will deal with these cyber heisters. Nothing angers me more than using the name of God in oder to gain revenue.

Sonja

I was to embarrassed to share this with Mike but if Sonja got wind of this, she would take it to high heaven. I only wish I had not mentioned that I had ordered some Jesus t-shirts for her. I knew she would remember because she said, “Oh, no thank you.” So I had to tell her that the Jesus t-shirts never came in. Then came the interrogation, “Where did you order them from?” My reply was short and sweet, “What does it matter, they never came in.” PLEASE DO NOT TELL ME YOU ORDER OFF OF FACEBOOK! she sounded off. “So what if I did! Did you pay for it?”I answered.  Mom, you are never supposed to order from accounts on Facebook! Did you check their reviews?” “What do you mean?” My next thought was, why would I need to check the reviews on a company that was named after our Lord “loveforjesus“? Sure enough, Sonja was right. When we checked the reviews they were mostly complaints, and many customers referred to them as scammers.

Mike

Mike manages all of our finances, and though I have my own credit cards, he still pays them.  I had to tell him about the fake Jesus company. “Did you give them your credit number?” He asked. Even though I’m still writing checks, this was an electronic exchange payment. “Yes, how else do you pay?” I answered. Then came the lecture. “So now they have all of our information?” Mike was upset, I wanted to tell him that at least they don’t have our first born, but I dared not. After almost 49 years of marriage you’d think he cut me some slack.  It never matters because whatever it is that I’ve gotten myself  into, Mike will fix it. This is a constant.

Mikos

My family never lets me get away with anything. After Sonja made this a topic of conversation on Mother’s Day. Mikos added, “Mom, are you still hiding packages from Dad? Will that ever change?” “I guess not!” I replied, with a sarcastic look on my face.

PayPal and Facebook

Are not these two conglomerates reputable? PayPal was the first to wash their hands of this, stating that since the bank, and not me, came to them, it was my problem. Even if I had attempted to contact them, I’d still be placed on hold. Facebook does have a headquarters phone number, but they handle themselves via cold media: no contact, no bond, and no human voice. In the meantime the merchandise never arrived.  I still reserve a little ray of hope that loveforjesus will come through, but I’m not holding my breath.

loveforjesus broke the second commandment:

Exodus 20:7 New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

⁷ You shall not invoke the name of the Lord, your God, in vain. For the Lord will not leave unpunished anyone who invokes his name in vain.