Purchased some eyeshadow brushes in July of this year and the wood has peeled off with the paint. Do not buy. Now Mecca will not exchange them even though they have my receipt.
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Hi @lissimmo, thanks for the warning, and sorry to hear you weren’t able to get a refund or replacement. You may be able to seek a remedy under the Australian Consumer Law if you’re willing to make a complaint to Fair Trading.
If you have any photos, please fee free to add them to this thread.
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So Mecca won’t kiss and makeup? (Sorry; couldn’t resist the pun.)
I don’t understand what you mean about the wood peeling off with the paint. Does this mean that there is something under the wood, and the wood was a veneer? As suggested, it would be very helpful if you could post a photo or two showing what is occurring.
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Here you go. You don’t expect paint to start falling off after 4 months and then the vendor not offering to replace after such a short time. Mecca are renowned for charging $$$ for their products
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You have a brush that is still functional although not as pretty. It cost a few dollars, say $5? You have asked for a replacement and been refused and now you want to take it further.
How much time and energy were you thinking of spending on this problem? Is is it really worth it?
Yes, it seems quite a failure. To seek further action to achieve a replacement might be more costly than the worth of the item, but warning others off may save others suffering a similar fate. Thank you for providing a photo of the damage and warning others. It is a failure of Mecca to adhere to the ACL if the damage was a result a manufacturing defect, the way the lacquer/paint has come off it appears that the coating did not adhere (perhaps a preparation fault).
@syncretic, what I understand is that @lissimmo is providing a warning, after a failure by Mecca to not provide a remedy under ACL rights. Some Mecca brushes amongst their other products cost substantially more than $5.
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It wasn’t $5 actually. Isn’t this site about warning people against certain products! Your comment was not helpful at all!
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@grahroll Thanks this is exactly what I am doing. Mecca charge a fortune for their products and to be told they won’t exchange an item (this won’t be applicable to just my brush btw) its not acceptable.
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Mecca’s response;
Hi Lisa. Thank you so much for your response. We have a very flexible return policy, whereby with proof of purchase, you have 90 days to return the product for a full refund, a store credit onto a MECCA gift card, or an exchange. However, as the brush was purchased on the 15th of July, this is now well outside of our return policy. Further, as we cannot comment on how this was stored or cared for, we are unfortunately unable to assist you with a return or exchange request. You can read more about our Returns and Exchanges policy online here: http://mecca.com.au/returns-and-exchanges.html. If there is anything else we can assist you with, please do not hesitate to let us know. Best wishes, MECCA
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You could make a complaint to the ACCC. They are usually non responsive to complainants, they are quite opaque as to when they will take action. A complaint however does add to their database and if they see it as a worthwhile warning to others they may start investigating and proceeding to Courts. No harm is occasioned by supplying your evidence and the response you received from Mecca to the ACCC, your Fair Trading Office may also be able to assist you but they are usually very weak in terms of what actions they can take. If you do decide to take sterner action your Civil and Administrative Tribunal usually require that you have tried through Fair Trading (by whatever name they are in your locale eg Consumer Affairs).
The policy response you received is only in regards to a change of mind, they note that the policy does not affect your Consumer guarantee rights under Australian Consumer Law. The difficulty you face in getting their attention in this regard is proving that the damage was their fault and entirely not due to your handling and storage of the item.
From the link they provided
“ CONSUMER GUARANTEES
Our products come with the consumer guarantees found in the Australian Consumer Law which cannot be excluded, including guarantees that the products will be of acceptable quality. The consumer guarantees are not affected by our change of mind policy above.
In the unlikely event that you receive products from us that do not comply with the consumer guarantees, we will provide you with a refund or exchange based on the below:
- If we consider that the product has a major failure under the Australian Consumer Law (eg. the product is unsafe, does not fit the description or is not fit for purpose), you can return it and receive your choice of a refund or an exchange, and compensation for any other reasonable foreseeable loss or damage.
- If we consider that the product has a minor failure under the Australian Consumer Law (eg. the product’s packaging is cracked but does not affect the safety or use of the product), we will provide you with our choice of a refund or exchange.
Where a product is damaged through misuse, accident or abnormal use, the Australian Consumer Law or any manufacturer’s warranty may not apply, and MECCA may choose not to provide a refund, exchange or repair (if applicable).”
You could start going formal with them by writing to them outlining your case. The ACCC and CHOICE both provide form letters in assisting you framing your request/complaint.
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That seems to be what the company is alluding to in their response.
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I actually have just had it stored in a cup in the bathroom and hardly use it. I find it quite rude they are alluding to the fact that its my fault. I have spent quite a lot of money with them over the past 6 months.
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I would respond to them with four points.
- The goods are not of merchantable quality as per the ACL definition if the coating has peeled off after four months, and had you been aware of this you would never have bought it.
- You are not in the habit of storing the goods in paint stripper, or anything other than a simple container. Send picture.
- You are a regular customer, who spends money buying goods from them. You are quite prepared to take your buying elsewhere.
- This is a topic on Choice with a complaint about an apparent refusal by a seller to deal with an obvious quality issue.
The link is Mecca makeup
Send it to them.
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Thank you @lissimmo for taking the trouble to alert the community about Mecca’s poor response to you. I hope you do take on board the good advice on this thread and follow-up as a matter of principle if nothing else.
Mecca is popular because of its loyalty programs which give away boxes of free samples, birthday gifts, one free makeup per year done by an artist, etc,.
Of course none of these are really free, the loyalty programs start from level 1 when you spend $300-$600 per year, up to a top level of spending over $3.500 per year (as from their recent websites).
A loyalty card is also required with personal information which goes into their client file. They’ve got customers email address, birthday date etc.
How safe is the data?
I have avoided them so far preferring to shop wherever I wish, now that I’ve got a good knowledge of what I’m looking for in terms of ingredients and colours, just not worth paying so much more to help them sustain all of the gimmicks 
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Never had an issue with Bobbi Brown. Now I get brushes etc from a sustainability store.
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haha @Gregr Love your point number 2 which is so true. I got a response today, see below. I am still going to send your points as I’m guessing they thought they could get away with it;
Prolonged Use, I only had the brush for a few months and used it maybe 4 times in that period.
I am so sorry to hear about what has happened to your MECCA MAX Smudge Shadower Liner Brush and in addition, any frustration or inconvenience this has caused.
The images that you have provided do not appear to indicate a fault of the packaging itself and it looks as though it may be associated with the wear and tear of the brush, which can occur with prolonged use or how the product is stored. Other factors such as humidity and oil/makeup residue may also contribute to this type of issue.
On this occasion as a gesture of goodwill, I would be more than happy to arrange for a MECCA e-GiftCard to the value of the MECCA MAX Smudge Shadower Liner Brush to be emailed to you, for you to use toward your next purchase. If you would like for me to go ahead and process this for you, I kindly ask that you please respond directly to this email so that I can promptly arrange this.
Thank you for your time and patience and I look forward to hearing from you.
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Thankyou. I wouldn’t say they ‘give away’ anything. I’m with their loyalty program and on my bithday I had to spend $50 to get a free gift. Foundation which you can buy at Priceline for $20 is up to $100 at Mecca. They are a rip-off.
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The worst Shonky in the nation - The ACCC - #50 by PhilT and after States it well. There is Paramount concern for profits in some MP offices and those who put them where they are…fooled us
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Hi and welcome @Ratha
As it wasn’t my brush, I have no idea of the cost the user paid. The cost of a brush can start at around $10 and rise to around $200, most are moderate at around $30 to $40. Sets can be very expensive. The problem being that a product was purchased and it appears to have a defect. What the user paid for was a new and in good condition product and it appears they received a sub-standard finish on the product. Under Australian Consumer Law they have rights and obviously felt that their rights had been poorly dealt with. Finish of a product is unimportant to some, to others it is part of the appeal of the purchase reasons behind buying a product.
Mecca sells themselves as the best in beauty as stated on their website…is the product living up to that stated standard, whether functional or not…
“ MECCA brings you the BEST in global beauty across three unique beauty concepts: Mecca Cosmetica, MECCA MAXIMA and MECCA.
Together, we offer an exclusive edit of over 100 brands, exceptional service and beauty expertise, each within a unique store environment tailored to how you choose to shop beauty.
Curated LUXURY beauty
THE CONCEPT
A high touch, high service beauty boutique supported by a curation of the world’s most luxe beauty brands. From artistry colour to high tech skincare to the most exquisite fragrances from across the globe.”
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It’s easy to say that the brush is ‘still functional’ even if the paint has come off the handle of the brush, but makeup brushes need to be regularly well washed and rinsed, especially those used around the eyes, and we can see from the photo that the wood has been exposed. Exposed wood absorbs water and expands and will deteriorate quickly. How long do we think such a brush would stay functional? The cosmetic company should not try to minimise the fault as they are surely aware of all the consequences, this is not just: oh well, the paint has come off…big deal…
It is disappointing that Mecca has dismissed the claim, it reflects poorly on all of their claims as @grahroll has rightly pointed out.
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