NSW Fair Trading has received a total 1,042 complaints against luxury handbag retailer Cosette since the government agency launched an investigation last year.
This includes 1,031 complaints regarding ‘representation of quality’ and six complaints labelled ‘quality of goods’.
Despite the ongoing investigation by NSW Fair Trading, Cosette continues to operate as usual.
A majority of the complaints cover the retailer’s online website, with 234 arising from its store in The Rocks.
The incoming complaints have also slowed since the initial media storm in July last year, with complaints in January hitting a total of 39, slightly up from 27 in December, but lower than 70 recorded in both November and October.
Complaints against Cosette had peaked in August at 412, with 297 in July and 127 in September.
Various reviews over the last month on Google indicate that some buyers are having their bags authenticated by third-party authenticators, who are then labelling their bag as inauthentic.
A recent estimate in late November last year put the total value of the complaints at around $1.89 million when the the luxury retailer had just over 950 complaints.
In a statement to Ragtrader, Cosette rebuked the counterfeit complaints, calling them a response to unfounded claims made by the media.
“Cosette stands by the quality of its products,” the statement read. “An investigation by NSW Fair Trading is ongoing and Cosette continues to provide every support to NSW Fair Trading to complete its investigation in a timely manner.”
With the number of complaints over 1,000, NSW Fair Trading confirmed complex investigations such as this can take months to complete, requiring interviews with relevant parties, gathering of documentation and records, and seeking advice from technical experts.