Cosmetic Complaints from 1 Jan 2016 thru 31 Dec 2018LETTER TO THE EDITOR / KEY WEST CODE ENFORCEMENT RECORDS

Cosmetic Complaints from 1 Jan 2016 thru 31 Dec 2018

In a recent article that ran in another publication (not KONK Life), two cosmetic store owners professed complete innocence to ripping off customers, apparently with a straight face.

Maor Illouz protested vigorously that his stores at 119 Duval and 211 Duval, have never done anything wrong. “When the Rip Off Team picketed my shop for a day or two,” he is quoted, “I had no idea why they were here …There had not been a complaint against my store.”

A simple fact-check proves otherwise.  Documentation provided by Key West’s Code Compliance Department reveals that in the last three years the two stores have been cited 17 times for code compliance issues, consumer complaints, or Better Business Bureau complaints.

Then there’s Daniel Layliev.  You remember him: He’s the helpful store owner who escorted one of his customers to her hotel room with $3,010 worth of skin care products.  “We’re very law-abiding citizens,” Layliev claimed.  However, Code Compliance records state that 120 Duval Street has been cited for eight violations that include code issues, consumer complaints, and a Better Business Bureau complaint.

The two proprietors profiled in the article are not alone in claiming their stores are innocents in all this.  At city meetings, cosmetics store owners and workers take the podium one after another claiming “My store has never had a complaint.”

But, once again, a quick fact-check reveals otherwise.  Over the same three-year period referenced above, the City of Key West’s Code Compliance department recorded a total of 82 violations and complaints for the various cosmetics stores operating in range of wide-eyed cruise ship passengers. (Note that this tally doesn’t include the complaints that are not formally recorded, which are  believed to be many.  Also, for comparison, we randomly selected a spa that sells cosmetics items at the other end of Duval Street to examine; we learned that this business has not had a single complaint!)

Here are the facts: Every cosmetic store operating on lower Duval or Front Street that we are aware of has been cited for violations and / or received consumer complaints. Every single one!

Many of the store owners use the same tricks to deflect public scrutiny and stay one step ahead of enforcement: It’s a dizzying shell game in which they change the name of the store; claim someone else owned the store when the problems occurred; claim the swindled customer was manipulated by the police; or claim the charges are untrue or rooted in bias.  They might as well just claim that the dog ate their homework

Don’t believe their claims!  Whenever a store owner pleads innocence, remember: Facts matter!

Craig Jolly

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