Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Sephora's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  Sephora

  350 Mission St Fl 7 San Francisco, CA 94105-2275

• 

  Sephora

  525 Market St Fl 3 San Francisco, CA 94105-2711

• 

  Sephora

  355 Stanford Shopping Center Palo Alto, CA 94304

• 

  Sephora

  6801 Northlake Mall Drive Charlotte, NC 28215

• 

  Sephora USA

  13350 Dallas Pkwy # 1250 Dallas, TX 75240-6688

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/28/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I placed an online order with Sephora on 11/4/22 (it was cologne for my son as a Christmas gift). It was the wrong cologne so on 1/3/22 I initiated an online return which Sephora accepted and sent me an email confirming the return. I then took it to Fed Ex and had it shipped back. On 1/5/23 I received an email from Sephora stating "Just confirming that you've initiated your return. We'll be back in touch once it's received at our warehouse and will issue your refund within 10 business days". I have both emails from them. On 1/26/23 I still had not received the credit back to my credit card so I called customer service (spoke with a manager named ****, he would not give me his last name. I was told I would not be receiving a refund because this item was a final sale. **** was extremely rude to me and did absolutely nothing to try to rectify the problem. I asked if I could at least get a credit or gift card for Sephora in the amount of my return which was $61.26. I was told there was nothing that could be done. When I placed the order and received my order confirmation it never said final sale. If this item was non-refundable why was I able to initiate a return on their website, why did I receive an email stating I would be refunded within 10 business days and if the item was unable to be returned why wasn't I contacted to be informed of that or have the item shipped back to me? These are questions I asked **** and he had no answer for me so now I am out the $61.26. I asked to speak to his manager and he told me that was not possible. I find this to be highly upsetting and quite frankly poor customer service. I would like to receive a credit back to my credit card or a store credit/gift card. I am attaching the emails I received from them stating I would be issued a refund within 10 days and also my order confirmation which does not state this was a final sale.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/02/2023

  Dear ****,

  To best assist you with your concerns, weve sent you an email to the address used in submitting your review.

  We look forward to speaking with you directly.

  Sincerely,

  Sephora Client Services

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/27/2023

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have a $100 gift card that ********* says that they activated the card. You people are saying that the card was never activated. I need to know what happened to my money. When I tried to use the card it says invalid. I have the card and the receipt I can send you pictures of if you email me something. I'm out $100 and I have a unhappy lady friend who is also unhappy. So between you guys and ********* please let me know what happened to my money. Thank ***************************

  Business Response

  Date: 01/29/2023

  Dear *******,

  Were very sorry to learn of your experience with the gift card you recently purchased.

  As you mention in your complaint, the card was purchased from a ********* location and not directly from Sephora. Please know that Sephora partners with third-party companies, which enables our gift cards to be more widely accessed by clients and sold at third-party locations. These gift cards are created and processed through these vendors who directly handle any issues for cards they manage.

  For assistance with your gift card concerns, we encourage visiting the location from which it was purchased with your receipt, so that store can partner with the third-party company for a resolution.

  We hope this information clarifies.

  Sincerely,

  Sephora Client Services

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/30/2023

   
  Complaint: 18942429
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I don't agree that no one is responsible for this error 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

  Business Response

  Date: 02/03/2023

  Dear *******,

  Thank you for the opportunity to further address your concerns. We apologize that you feel no one is willing to assist you; this is not what we want for our clients.

  To confirm, as your gift card was purchased from *********,you would need to contact them directly by phone, or visit the store in person for assistance. They would be able to confirm if the card was not activated properly and resolve right away if needed. Alternatively, there may be contact information on the back of your gift card for the third-party company that distributed the card; they may be able to assist in activating your card or advise you further.

  Please know that Sephora does not have access to the details of your third party gift card purchase, nor are we able to manually activate your card or provide a refund for your ********* purchase.

  We apologize for any disappointment this issue has caused and we hope this has helped to clarify next steps.

  Sincerely,

  Sephora Client Services

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/10/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/26/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I purchased a Dyson Blow Dryer from Sephora ($400+ item) as a gift for my grandmother. Upon receiving the blow dryer, I realized it was too heavy for her to use. I returned the item and Sephora received the item and credited my account. Per their return policy, I could either get store credit or the amount refunded back to my credit card. I asked for them to refund my credit card so I could purchase a different gift for. Since then, I have been fighting Sephora to refund me and they have been unresponsive. This has been going on since the end of November and I feel like I have no better options. I need help getting my money back please.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/30/2023

  Dear *******,

  We are sorry to learn that you have not received your refund and that your experience in attempting to resolve this has caused frustration. Please be assured that your feedback will be relayed to our leadership teams for review and consideration.

  We can confirm that your refund of $364.65 has now been correctly processed to your **************** card. This is the price you paid for the item after your selected promotional discount was applied. Please note,it may take several days for the refund to post to your credit card account. Should you have any questions about the time frame, we recommend reaching out to your bank directly.

  Please feel free to chat us on Sephora.com or call us by phone at 877-SEPHORA ***************) if you have further questions about your refund. We have included notes on your account so that any Beauty Advisor who may assist you will be aware of the situation.

  Once again, we are very sorry for the inconvenience that this delay has caused. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to correct this.

  Sincerely,

  Sephora Client Services

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/30/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. However, theyve told me before that they would refund me and they havent and *** had to follow up many times with no response. Can you please keep this complaint open until I actually receive the refund?
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/21/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On Sephora website, it stated if I signed up for their credit card and used it, I would receive 20% off my purchase. When I tried to use said card, their website said my temporary card was unable for use. Now, I've opened an unnecessary card and it's on my credit report.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/24/2023

  Dear *******,

  To best assist you with your concerns, weve sent you an email to the address used in submitting your review.

  We look forward to speaking with you directly.

  Sincerely,

  Sephora Client Services

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/26/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/20/2023

  Type:Delivery Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My package was lost from Sephora the tracking was not updating since 12/5 12am *** advised me to file a lost package claim I did and they told me to contact the seller for a reshipment. And Sephora does not want to reship the item. I have taken a screenshot to show them that I filed a investigation with ***.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/23/2023

  Dear ****,

  We are sorry to learn you did not receive your order (#***********).

  Upon further research, we see that this package was returned to sender by **** We regret that there are few details as to why the package was not able to be delivered. Because we can confirm that you did not receive your order in this case, we have issued a refund for the full value of the order. If you have not already, you should receive an email with the details of your refund shortly.

  We apologize if the service you received from our ****** Services team did not meet your expectations and that they were not able to assist you more immediately. Our system was not allowing a refund to be processed due to the many other instances where we have assisted with reported lost, missing, or incomplete orders on your account.

  Please know that we welcome you to continue shopping with us online, but if you place orders to this or other addresses, this will be at your own risk if delivery is verified, until we have determined that you are reporting an acceptable pattern of order issues.  We also encourage shopping in store to avoid any additional order issues. Sephora at ****** *** Valley in ******, ** seems to be closest to you.

  Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to resolve this issue and to address your concerns.

  Sincerely,

  Sephora ****** Services

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/19/2023

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My problem is two fold. Firstly, on 1/4/23, I tried to placed an order via my Sephora app & use 2 of my $10 credit card rewards. When I checked out it, an error code came up. I thought I entered the *** code incorrectly. I tried again, but this time the app wouldn't allow me to use my rewards, stating that they had already been used. I called the number on the back of my Sephora card & that is where we realized in speaking with the rep, that I had never activated my card. We did that & the rep advised the $20 rewards would be back to my account in 3-5 days. Waited & placed order again on 1/9/23. However, the rewards were not reflected. Went ahead with order because I needed the items. Received email stating that the order was being processed. Then I attempted to get the rewards issue resolved, but have had NO SUCCESS. I have sent 2 messages via their website, called on 1/10/23, 1/13/23, 1/15/23 & 1/19/23. Each time the rep ****** that the issue is resolved & that I should see the rewards on my account in a few days. It has NOT HAPPENED. I have asked to speak with a manager, but they are NEVER available. The agents are very rude & say, well you can just call back. Yes, I want to waste more of my valuable time. Nothing has been resolved regarding the $20 rewards which is supposed to be a credit card perk. Then to make matters worse, I never received my order. I attempted to log onto my account to check my status, but unbeknownst to me, my account had been locked. I called the number listed & the agent told me that they suspected fraud & canceled my order & locked my account- UNBELIVABLE! I stressed to the agent how infuriating this was since I thought all issues were resolved when I had the card activated & answered all of their security questions. Totally flummoxed that no one even BOTHERED to reach out to me. How would I ever know? 10 days later & order is canceled. Rewards issue still **************** I get to wait 5 days before my account is activated again.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/24/2023

  Dear *****,  

  To best assist you with your concerns, weve sent you an email to the address used in submitting your review. 

  We look forward to speaking with you directly. 

  Sincerely, 

  Sephora Client Services 
  

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/18/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I am a rouge community member and receive perks from the program based on the amount of money I spend. One perk of being part of the community is being able to review products Ive purchased. Ive posted a total of 84 reviews. For the last 4-5 months I have not been able to post reviews due to a technical issue: a message that reads cannot be posted at this time. Please try again later. Trying again does not work. It is not an issue with the content of the review.I reached out to customer service initially and was told to wait 3-5 business days. I waited 2 weeks and no response. I reached out again and told to wait. I wait weeks. No Response. I then called and was told that there was no record of my original ticket despite the email chain and representative name. New ticket opened. Please wait 4-5 business days. I wait 2 weeks. No response. I reach out again. Please wait 72 hours. I wait a week. No response. I reach out again by phone. Apologies its been escalated. Etc. I have been waiting 3 months for a response with at least 10 emails and 3 phone calls. Ive provided screen shots, written descriptions. .Each time Im told to wait. This is not a professional or ethical manner to treat a customer. Im not sure why ********************** would want to blow off a customer this way. Please see the correspondence and you will find the absurd trail of this inquiry. Im seeking a resolution to the issue - that you will fix your technical issues preventing me from posting reviews as part of your beauty insider community and a direct response from someone in a supervisory position. I do not want a wait this many days response. What is going on with my account? What is with the poor, aloof service? How is it possible that this could even become a customer experience without it being escalated to the team who can address the matter directly? I have seen numerous posts on Reddit where other customers have shared they are receiving the same error message. Please resolve and respond.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/18/2023

  Dear ***,

  To best assist you with your concerns, weve sent you an email to the address used in submitting your review.

  We look forward to speaking with you directly.

  Sincerely,

  Sephora Client Services

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/24/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/17/2023

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  January 16th. 2023. As a loyal customer (VIB Rouge) for consecutive years I often get promotional emails from Sephora and today I was on the website to purchase the Fresh Soy Cleanser which was on promotion for just about half price. The large size was out of stock so I had added the smaller size to my cart. Like always before making my purchase I add one of the current promotions, samples etc. The website displayed the promotion with any purchase over $25 and the item I was trying to purchase was $23 so I continued to shop and add items to my cart. The promotion would not add and was giving me an error, incorrectly saying that I need to make a purchase of $45 or more so even though this was upsetting I took it as an opportunity to stock up on other items. Attempting to finalize my order and pay Im refreshed back to the cart saying the item is out of stock. This was really upsetting for a few reasons and is a common occurrence when shopping on the Sephora website as the items in cart arent reserved, theres no timer, its basically a lottery system where you hope your order goes through. Perhaps I would have been able to make my purchase as intended if not for the incorrect information regarding the promo. After one hour of altering and adding items and promo codes it was all for nothing as the item was out of stock. I contacted an agent via chat and she offered me a less than generous $5 credit so I can purchase said item at full price later. They also offered to send out the sample free which I thought was nice but the irony was that it was also now out of stock. Another 1 hour was spent looking to see what they could do or send but everything was out of stock. I suggested that since it was all out of stock I could choose a reward item and the agent said I would have to use my points then. So why offer a solution you cant deliver on and waste my time further. She even abruptly ended the chat. Customer satisfaction and experience just keeps going further down.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/19/2023

  Dear *******,

  To best assist you with your concerns, weve sent you an email to the address used in submitting your review.

  We look forward to speaking with you directly.

  Sincerely,

  Sephora Client Services

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/16/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I purchased a kit on October 21, upon it being delivered I used it twice, realizing this product wasnt for me I sent it back.Now Im being informed that theres no return and no refund can be issued. This was sent back in the middle of November with still no update

  Business Response

  Date: 01/17/2023

  Dear ********,

  We are sorry to hear that you did not receive a refund for the Pureology Hydrate Sheer Holiday Trio 2022 set that you returned. 

  Upon further review, we do not show that a return was initiated in our system for this product, nor was a return label requested by you through your Sephora.com account, under the corresponding order number, ***********.

  We ask that you please reject this response within the BBB portal and reply again with the tracking information that you used to return the product (carrier name and tracking number). Once we have these details, we can further research what may have occurred. 

  Thank you for bringing this to our attention and we look forward to your response.

  Sincerely,

  Sephora Client Services

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/15/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Comenity and its negligent and deplorable practices have ruined my credit score. They sent the card to the wrong address making it difficult to make payments. They charged me an additional late fee even after my account was closed without initial notice. Sephora has done nothing and I blame them for pushing a credit card with a negligent and terrible bank.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/19/2023

  Dear Chi,

  To best assist you with your concerns, weve sent you an email to the address used in submitting your review.

  We look forward to speaking with you directly.

  Sincerely,

  Sephora Client Services