Style Theory only alerted woman 8 months after her Hermes bag went missing? Miscommunication, as it turns out

What's worse than having your designer handbag (possibly) stolen? Only finding out about it months later.

According to beauty blogger Francesca Tanmizi, her Hermes bag, which she had been renting out via Style Theory was said to have "disappeared" in March. However, the fashion rental startup only alerted her on Nov 25 and lodged a police report on Dec 3, Tanmizi told AsiaOne, furnishing screenshots of her communications with the company.  

Tanmizi also took issue with the valuation of the bag, pointing out that the amount she would be compensated was far below the resale value of the bag on other online platforms.

As it turns out, it was a case of miscommunication. 

The company had discovered the loss of the bag in April and lodged the first police report in May, Style Theory told AsiaOne today (Dec 8). The report made on Dec 3 was the second police report on the matter, it explained. 

Bag has sentimental value, says owner 

Tanmizi had signed a contract with Style Theory in February this year, agreeing to rent out her Hermes Toolbox 26 in exchange for a monthly fee.

As part of the Style Theory subscription service, users pay between $99 and $129 monthly to rent up to two bags. Each user is limited to renting one bag at a time and can lease each bag for a maximum of two months.

Tanmizi's bag, which retails at $11,970, was a gift from her aunt. But she had not been using it as she did not want to risk it being damaged by her baby, she said.

She hadn't scrutinised Style Theory's valuation of the item, she admitted in a Reddit post on the situation. 

"I'm clueless when it comes to branded bag prices and never considered selling it since it's a gift from my aunt whom I'm really close to, so I never looked at how much it cost and trusted their valuation."

Missing for months

But she received a rude shock last month when an email from Style Theory informed her that her bag was missing.

Puzzled at how the bag could have gotten lost, Tanmizi wrote, "Supposedly someone renting it just disappeared with it. But this is Singapore on lockdown. The bag is supposedly microchipped. I have no idea where it could disappear to."

Assuring that the company would "work with the various authorities to recover the lost property" in the month of December, Style Theory's email added that Tanmizi would receive the full valuated price of the bag if the case remained unsolved by the end of the month.

The company also said that it would be "proceeding to file a police report accordingly".

However, the valuation of $4,730 was not much consolation for her.

Expressing her regret at agreeing to the figure back then, she wrote, "I'm looking online now and I'm seeing much higher [prices]. I'm really an idiot.

"I just want the bag back because it's a gift and knowing I'm getting ripped off on top of losing an important gift just stings more."

According to designer handbag news portal Purseblog, the median resale price of a Hermes Toolbox is US$3,349 (S$4,464.89).

However, prices for a preowned Toolbox 26 in Blue Saint Cyr (the colour of Tammizi's bag) range from $5,350 to $7,000 on local luxury retail platform Reebonz.

On Style Theory, preowned Toolbox bags — albeit in different colours — are listed from $5,810 to $8,990.

The next plot twist came on Thursday (Dec 3) after Tanmizi heeded the advice of netizens and asked Style Theory to furnish the police report for the case.

Although Style Theory complied, she was dismayed to find out from the report that the date of the incident was listed as March 2020. 

According to the Style Theory employee who lodged the report, the person renting the bag has remained uncontactable since then. The company suspects that the bag has been stolen, the employee added.

The report was only lodged on Thursday after she had asked for it, Tanmizi said. 

The first police report was made in May: Style Theory

In response to AsiaOne's queries, Style Theory clarified that the police report listed the date of the incident as March as that was when the renter had first received Tanmizi's bag. 

In actual fact, the bag's disappearance was noted in April, when the company attempted to contact the renter to arrange the return of the bag, it said.

It was then that they realised the renter had changed their contact number. The company was also unable to charge the monthly subscription fee to the renter's credit card. 

In accordance with Style Theory's standard operating procedure in such cases, Tanmizi continued to receive her monthly rental payouts as the company investigated the matter. 

After trying unsuccessfully for a month to reach the renter, Style Theory contacted the police in May and also engaged a licensed debt recovery service to recover the bag.

In November, Style Theory reached out to Tanmizi to offer her the $4,730 payout as "neither the police nor debt recovery service was able to retrieve the bag or provide any updates on the case after six months."

Clarifying Tanmizi's concerns on the timeline of events, the company explained that the police report it had shared with her, dated Dec 3, was the second report on the matter.

Addressing Tanmizi's gripes about the valuation of the bag, the company explained: "All consignment contracts signed clearly state the bag's valuation amount and that the amount represents the maximum amount that Style Theory is liable to pay out in the event of loss or irreparable damage."

The valuation is derived based on the item's material, condition and popularity, it added.

"Valuation is completely free and non-committal, and consignors have the right to reject the valuation or payout amounts, and schedule a free return of their bag without consigning."

The company also clarified that its bags are not microchipped, but rather, equipped with radio frequency identification (RFID).

The RFID tag allows it to identify the bags stored in its warehouse but does not allow Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking. 

Working on 'expedited process' for similar cases in future

Additionally, Style Theory rubbished online speculation of them reselling the bag.

"We treat our agreements very seriously and will not list bags for sale or rent without consent from our consignors; in the same vein, we honour the agreement and agreed fees," the company stated.

"While rare, it is never easy for consignors when their items are lost or damaged — as it is for us. Just like other sharing platforms, we are constantly working to improve the way we balance risk while driving meaningful change within our respective industries and making sure we protect our community of consignors who are behind us."

Style Theory is "currently working to put in place an expedited process" for future instances of loss, it confirmed to AsiaOne.

This includes filing a police report within a month after suspecting fraudulent activity on the part of its renters and extending payouts to consignors within a month of the police report. 

Style Theory remains in contact with Tanmizi and is responding to her queries within business hours, the company said. 

kimberlylim@asiaone.com