Citizen Action Needed Against the Rip-Off Shops

Hardly a week goes by that we don’t hear another sad story about the cosmetics shops on Duval Street. Last week it was the shameful incident of cosmetic shop employees harassing and belittling a visitor from New York and her son who lives with cerebral palsy.

Thousands viewed the shocking Facebook testimonial, which can be viewed on the Key West Rip-Off Rapid Response Team Facebook page.

The stories of seniors spending thousands of dollars and deeply regretting it shortly thereafter have become notorious.

The travel websites are littered with complaints about Key West cosmetics shops. Locals and visitors alike hate the aggressive soliciting these shops practice. You can’t walk down Duval Street without being harassed. Pity the folks who work on Duval who have to listen to these never-ending come-ons many times a day!

Google “Dead Sea salt scam” or “Wikileaks cosmetics scam” and you’ll discover a worldwide industry that uses manipulation, deception, fantastic claims and undocumented labor.

The citizens of Key West can’t tackle a global business network but we can fight back and effectively end these abhorrent business practices right here on Duval Street. Locally, we can join together in a citizen sidewalk picketing campaign and stop this blight on our city.

The Key West Rip-Off Rapid Response Team is a small local consumer advocacy group that has operated since the spring of 2015. Our little group has been successful in getting some victims their money back – more than $70,000 at this point – but that’s only a tiny number in a huge pool. Most victims are too embarrassed and ashamed to come forward. The few victims that we did help recover money for tell heartbreaking stories about their experiences.

To recover victims’ money, we have picketed shops several times to help them get refunds. The refunds are always reluctantly made in an attempt to stop picketing in front of their stores.

We have signed best-practices consent agreements with several of the cosmetics shops only to see them broken. These shops have not only broken their agreements; they continue to break city code and continue to harass pedestrians every single day.

Our city’s cosmetics shops continue to ignore the clearest and most important part of city code by applying cosmetics without first informing the customer in writing of the total cost of goods and getting their signature BEFOREHAND!

The Rip-Off Rapid Response Team is now asking good and able citizens of Key West to join the fight. Let’s take Duval Street back with a small group of concerned and determined citizens!

You can join this historic fight against the rip-off shops by volunteering just 90 minutes a week. Picket signs, a brief training session, and informational fliers all will be provided for you.

Join us on Facebook at Key West Rip Off Rapid Response Team or email [email protected]

For more information call Bruce Mitchell for the Key West Rip-Off Rapid Response Team, 740-707-3634