Coronavirus

Annah Hariri Exposé: Thousands Of Customers Accuse Fraud

A Muslimmatters Exclusive: Unfulfilled orders and on going sales, a once beloved modest fashion company is accused of scamming thousands of customers post COVID.

Published

January 3, 2022

Fatimah Waseem

Last updated 1/4/22 @ 5:30pm EST.

Amina Kapiat, a New York resident, was forgiving when Turkey-based modest fashion company Annah Hariri said her $200 order would be delayed by a few weeks.

But when weeks turned into a little over a year-and-a-half of delays, Kapiat started to ask questions. She heard nothing.

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Like Kapiat, hundreds of customers around the world — particularly in the United Kingdom and United States — say they have not received orders from a company that markets itself as fair trade and an ethical alternative to fast fashion.

In some cases, refunds on items — which have an average cost of $100 — were requested and never received.

“No dresses. No money. No response,” a customer who spent $700 on an order, told MuslimMatters.

The company was founded by Annah Hariri and her husband in 2012. Hariri, a convert of Eastern European descent, turned a dress-making hobby into a business with orders across the globe. The company also employs 150 refugees on its 300-member staff roster.

The issue has emulsified from a seemingly small subset of customers to a growing number of issues. The Turkish Embassy in London has been fielding some complaints — some of which were resolved when the embassy contacted the company.

Annah Hariri did not respond to multiple requests for comment from MuslimMatters on the issue. A former employee who asked to remain anonymous said issues caused by the pandemic have been resolved, but customer complaints suggest otherwise.

Nearly 2,000 unsatisfied customers from around the world formed a Facebook group chronicling a familiar narrative: Orders placed up to two years ago went unfulfilled. Despite reassurances from customer service that the order would arrive and was simply delayed to the COVID-19 pandemic, orders were marked as fulfilled or simply not delivered.

When issues first started in March of 2020, some customers like Samia Ali empathized with the company — which says it values fair trade and slow fashion — and agreed to wait for orders.

Ali, a New Mexico based social media influencer, continued to support the company publicly on her social media platforms, assuming that her order was taking time because of business woes that deserved some sympathy.

But when her order remained incomplete for more than a year, Ali said she notified her followers about long standing issues with the company.

“Unfortunately, due to continuous lies by Annah Hariri, me and hundreds of other women have lost hundreds of dollars. Annah Hariri continues to function as normal on social media platforms… I am disappointed, hurt and appalled by a company who continues to take advantage of vulnerable women without any protection from an entity that holds businesses responsible in the country,” she said.

Most credit card companies declined to offer refunds due to fraud because requests are made more than six months after the order is placed. Like Ali, customers waited too long to file a fraud claim with credit or debt issuers.

Some customers told MuslimMatters that they’ve been blocked from social media channels when they’ve called out the company for what they consider fraud.

As a result, customers are left with little to no avenues for respite.

Girls, don’t ever purchase anything from ANNAH HARIRI. Biggest scam, I ordered items almost a year ago and they have not even shipped them. I can’t even get a refund for my items or contact their customer service team.

— أ (@axpali) December 3, 2020

In August 2020, founder Annah Hariri said that the pandemic disrupted the supply chain. She moved to a new factory in order to implement social distancing safely, her thread-supplier stopped operating for 20 days due to a rise on COVID-19 cases, and the company that dyes fabrics threatened to close due to a lack of orders, prompting Hariri to pump out more fabric for the dye company.

Each disruption resulted in a two-week delay.

At the time, Hariri said 8,000 orders remained unfulfilled. A company update from May says that a number of countries — excluding the U.S. and UK — are experiencing delays.

“I know guys that you are sad and disappointed because of delays and I feel you and that’s why I’m here giving more details,” Hariri said in a Facebook video in the summer of 2020.

Note from the editor-in-chief, 1/4/22 @ 5:30 pm EST: The linked Facebook video has been removed from the Annah Hariri Facebook page. A different video from November 2018 on YouTube explains the company’s order fulfillment process (pre-pandemic.)

She said she was unwilling to stop receiving orders in order to fill the back log because of the negative impact on her staff, particularly refugees.

“This is the time where I’m tested,” she said.

Since then, company representatives have offered a hodgepodge of reasons for continuing delays.

In April, the company said it was “fully back on track and working hard to fulfill all the pending orders.” Some customers received partial orders in the last three to five months.

Others have criticized the company for continuing to mount an aggressive social media campaign for new dresses while orders remain unfulfilled.

Increasingly, more complaints from different countries are pouring in.

This Annah Hariri guy is not normal. Lati last year, no news, no delivery, nothing nothing. Na so so place your order before Eid I just dey see. Abeg how can I get my stuff from her?

— Roffy$ (@RofiahAyeola) May 22, 2021

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission encourages U.S. residents to report fraud or deception via its website.

“Speaking generally (and not about any particular company or entity) the FTC brings many cases every year against companies that it alleges have engaged in unfair or deceptive marketing and advertising,’ Peter Kaplan, the commission’s deputy director of public affairs told MuslimMatters.

Customers are encouraged to contact the commercial offices of Turkish embassies where the order is placed for assistance.

Other companies like Niswa Fashion, an Illinois-based modest fashion company, have also not been insulated by the pandemic, which has wreaked havoc on supply chains and brought businesses to the dust. Local USPS carriers have encountered significant delays.

A company representative for Niswa Fashion told MuslimMatters that despite challenges, the business prides itself in shipping timely orders and strong customer service that is responsive to all requests in a timely manner.

“We believe it’s important to try to notify and keep customers aware as much as possible and to respond to all inquiries so they are kept up to date about what is going on with their order for their assurance,” the representative said. “And that although a delay may happen, we’ll make sure to keep checking throughout the process as well.”

Speaking generally, Minnesota-based Shaykh Mohamed Hussein, who has expertise in Islamic finance and business affairs, noted that the Islamic principles of transactions should be maintained in good and bad times.

“The markets are cyclical but our principles cannot waiver. At core of these business practices is fulfilling our contracts and not causing harm. This includes hoarding in times of extreme need. If a business is structured in such a way that it cannot fulfill its promises in trying times, the model requires review. Challenging circumstances do not permit us to violate our mutual rights” Hussein noted.

Annah Hariri continues to market its 10-year anniversary sale actively on social media.

A countdown on the company’s homepage says a year-end sale ends in a few hours.

It resets the next day.

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Fatimah Waseem

Fatimah Waseem is the editor of a hyperlocal website with Virginia-based startup ARLnow. Her work has appeared in USA Today, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun and other national outlets. She received her master's degree in public policy from Northwestern University in 2020 and graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park with degrees in journalism and government in 2015. She lives with her husband and two boys in Virginia.

19 Comments

Zara

January 4, 2022 at 6:28 AM

WOW, Unbelievable. I shocked to hear this, she invested customers money and opened a new factory with new machines to produce her own fabric but forgot to mail peoples orders. Sounds fishy … This company has a lot of negative comments I dont know why people are keep buying from them.

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Saajida

January 4, 2022 at 11:55 AM

I first purchased from Annah Hariri back in 2016. The dresses were beautiful, properly tailored and excellent quality fabric. Early 2021 I placed another order, there was afew months delay. After numerous calls emails and reviews posted on Trustpilot, I finally recieved my dresses. They were very different from the ones advertised on the site. The sizing was all wrong, the fabrics and stitching of poor quality. The company agreed to send me another dress after my complaints. That dress arrived 2 sizes bigger and shorter than standard length. The company has defintely dropped its standards, i would not advise anyone to purchase from them.

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Amanda J

January 4, 2022 at 12:22 PM

Yup, had this problem in 2020, as did many of my friends. Ordered a dress in a “flash sale” and paid extra for guaranteed delivery by Eid al Fitr – and the dress didn’t arrive until after Eid al Adha. Customer service kept blaming COVID, but obviously it’s just poor business.

I’m so glad I bought it almost 80% off too, because it wasn’t worth $200 list price by any means. I’d pay $50 max.

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Jannah

January 4, 2022 at 1:28 PM

My sister ordered $200 worth of dresses and never received. She kept sending emails and they keep apologizing saying they are sending it. She feels bad because it’s a “Muslim” company assumedly But looks like they use these delay tactics so no one can get a refund through them or the credit card company.

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Anon

January 4, 2022 at 7:11 PM

Wow. I had issues with her way back in 2014, when a skirt I ordered looked nothing like the photo. Several friends haven’t received orders from pre-pandemic either.

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Asiah

January 6, 2022 at 10:19 AM

Yep. Lost 200 in March of 2020. They sent me one dress in the wrong size out of 4 I ordered. Because they had sent anything the credit card refused to issue a refund. I emailed back and forth with them for a year before giving up. This started before the pandemic was in full swing. Don’t buy from them!

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Asiya

January 18, 2022 at 1:39 AM

Why isn’t her Instagram page shut down? We need to notify Instagram of this. That’s how I found out about her company. The influencers promoting Annah Hariri dresses is what got me to buy fro her company. I trusted their reviews. Little did I know…Their website also does not mention of a backlog which is so deceiving!

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Khadija

January 27, 2022 at 8:09 AM

I also made an order last year which never was fulfilled. Finally I asked for a refund, which of course I never got. I contacted them so many times and finally gave up. They are scamming thousands and there is zero accountability. It’s shocking

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Muller A

February 1, 2022 at 12:03 PM

Assalam Alaykum all of you!
Finally found somewhere to talk about AH (excluded social media)
Since July 2020 I’m waiting my 2 orders, they blamed at the beginning the covid, after they moved after after…then no more reply, I leave a review on trustpilot and after 1h they asked me my order#! Thru that website I didn’t find to answer…any I Co tenue with my email and nothing! 500$

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Abigail

March 1, 2022 at 2:52 PM

Yup, US customer ordered in August of 2020. $200 in the hole. No dresses, no refund. They’ve nuked all of their customer service emails and seemingly deleted my account on their site and have stopped responding to any correspondence at all. I haven’t even received one dress. Horrible experience.

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Noor

March 8, 2022 at 2:20 PM

I think she is a crook and her business has unfortunately become shady and unethical. She even has the audacity to claim she is being abused and that we are heartless and greedy. I too was a loyal customer before Covid and I have many beautiful pieces I paid full price for. I thought I could trust them when I placed an order in the summer of 2020. Out of a six dress order, I only received one that was in the cheapest, shiniest, and ugliest material I have ever seen 3 months after my order, then complete radio silence. I tried every avenue I could to speak to them and naively gave them the benefit of the doubt. Unfortunately, that meant that the time frame for me to claim fraud passed and I couldn’t even cancel and get my money back. To add insult to injury, I even moved countries recently, so I’m 100% sure I will never receive the rest of my order. I’ve left it between her and Allah. I will not forgive her and I will meet her on the day of judgment. Let’s see if she can run away then. حسبي الله و نعم الوكيل

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Rania

April 21, 2022 at 4:50 AM

I have had a very bad experience. I have ordered 3 dresses in June 2020 but only received one. Now the company, despite numerous emails have blocked me and are refusing to address my concerns. I feel other buyers ought to be notified in case they also lose money like me.

I have been blocked on their Instagram page and Facebook and no one is prepared to help me. I left a review on Trustpilot and Annah Hariri contacted me for my order number but I haven’t heard from her since then.

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Reena

April 21, 2022 at 8:50 AM

Assalamu waalaikum, I am on the same boat as most of you. Placed an order in Mar of 2020. Received part of it for EID immediately and ended up placing another order for Other occasions for the year and ended up spending $200 for the orders that are still pending. I have been following via emails comments etc., I was little aggressive in the beginning but recently I lost hope and the frequency has decreased to once every month or two. I recently noticed that their comment option for instagram is now available earlier it was disabled For some of the posts or was limited. I ended up posting my concerns there. My comment was deleted at first and then I posted another comment and also sent another email. Just today I got a response to my email saying they can give me store credit as the times were different when I placed my order (I guess it’s the pricing as it was $54 then and its $99 now) and also that the items that I placed order for are out of stock. At this point I would like a refund on my credit card and not do any business with them. But hey I will take whatever I get. It’s better than losing all right.

It’s a lengthy post but hoping that it helps you all to get your money or money’s worth.

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Kaoutar Bennani

May 4, 2022 at 2:17 PM

I’ve just received my order on monday. BIIIIG disapointement about the quality of the products. I tried to contact the company no answers ! I let a comment on their instagram and I was ejected from the page.I wanted my money back which is my right in the country where I live. I tried to exchange the products no answers too!!It was a big investissement because I decided to wear hijab. If no response from the company It’s gonna be a Lawyer and justice!!!! So big international problem for the company.
I’m ashamed and not proud at all from a musmlim women who gives a bad examples. She’s not really the person who she pretends to be via her instagram.

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Aspirig

May 31, 2022 at 10:33 PM

I never received my order from 2020. I sent over 20 emails at first they said they were out of stock
But I saw they are selling the same dress online again without sending my order
An unbelievable set of people who claims to be Muslims, are shameless
I hope they are dealt with for putting 1000 customers in grief

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S.A

July 25, 2022 at 4:34 PM

Alhamdulillah, glad to see awareness by Muslimmatters to prevent others from falling prey to this bogus company. We need to report them to Instagram as well!! Sadly, too many have been scammed, myself included!

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Ramatou Ganda

March 5, 2023 at 11:43 AM

Order US94348 Placed October 6, 2020 Never fulfilled. Shows as fulfilled online. Never received a tracking number. Never delivered. Very upset

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ANISSA A

July 6, 2023 at 4:04 PM

Still have not received order placed in September 2020 or refund as requested several times in 2021. No reply. Very disappointing.

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Ariel Schmid

April 16, 2024 at 7:16 PM

I purchased an abaya from this company, and after purchasing it, read the reviews online and was very worried it would be a really bad experience. On the contrary, it was great! I got a shipping confirmation the day after my purchase, it arrived in 10 days, and the quality and material was as described. And yes, the sleeves were sewn on the right way. Felt the need to write this review to counter all of the terrible reviews online.

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