Stephenie Brown, Natures Herbal Health & Beauty, Sindy Coleman Beware of this consigner who will take your products and not pay you for them. Birmingham, Alabama

I am writing this on behalf of Dianne Early of Southern Suds. I have been a valued and loyal customer with Mrs. Early for over 6 years. I have NEVER seen or purchased ANY products that have not been fresh. My 3 children love her products as well and have never had any problems. I purchase her products for friends, their children, etc. and have never had any complaints or problems either. I am aware that Dearly Yours has every item that she uses printed on the label of her products. Nothing but natural ingredients. I like to say it's like Bryers Ice Cream...milk, cream, and sugar. It is that simple. So I am confussed as to why Stephenie Brown would make such a statement about an all natural product not having a shelf life...I know for a fact that Dianne Early only makes her products to order therefore they are fresh. However, when she used to make her products in bulk I still purchased them. My mother still has a soap in her bathroom from 4 years ago. She claims that it is too pretty to use. So I am very interested to see these pictures this woman claims to have. Once again, I give her products as gifts, the reciever's of these gifts usually become loyal customers themselves. I have asked some of them to come to this website and respond in her defense. I think that this Stephenie Brown woman is a terrible woman who resorts to petty name calling and childish behavior. FYI....why "behaviour" my family is European and I know for a fact that this woman is not. I was so ruffled by this womans accusations I tried to visit her store myself on several occassions. It is never open...never. Acctually, many of Dearly yours customers live here in Birmingham, AL and have never been able to visit this so called "high end boutique". Trust me people this it is not. I have been there and seen it, it isn't even located in "good" area. She claimed that people going to the Galaria Mall would have to pass right by her store to get to the mall! Untrue. You can not see her from Lorna Rd. easily, and she isn't on the main road for anyone to see her for that matter, you would really have to try and find her location. I am disgusted by this womans accusations towards Dearly Yours and I hope she gets what's coming to her! Be strong Dianne! This woman should be committed for her gross negligence with her tounge and actions. We all know the real truth. I wonder how many of this woman's customers would back her up? She shouldn't be allowed to claim herself as a business owner...does she even have a legitimate business? I know her website features stock photos...nothing real. Even the picture of that store, shope, whatever it is, isn't hers. I don't know. I do know that she doesn't know what she has bitten off! Sock it to her Dianne, legally speaking that is. If you ever need a witness for all of this, you know my information. Ridiculous. I can't wait to see what she responds to this...maybe I will get to be a crazy old troll who lives under a bridge and eats children, or uses your products to get them all sick with rashes and urinary tract infections (FYI. I am a nurse and this is not possible). Good luck Dianne we are with you dear!

This is the last rebuttal posted on this page in regard to Diane Earlys claims.  A new report will be generated to reflect or opinion and posted as a complaint filed directly against Diane Early of Dearly Yours Southern Suds. This report will include images of products that were in our possession and hopefully shed light on the truth regarding what really transpired in this situation. The following statement has however been written to include a previous rebuttal filed by Diane Early of Dearly Yours in her attempt to what we believe to further conceal the truth.

Diane Earlys statement: Like dozens of other independent bath and body companies, Dearly Yours products are handmade and homemade.  This fact is stated on our website.  Our customers love the personal care and attention they receive.  When they place an order with Dearly Yours, they know their products are made fresh and in small quantities to ensure the quality of the products.  Dearly Yours has been licensed to sell bath and body products since 2006.  We have many happy customers.I don't know who wrote the earlier post, because they did not sign their name.  Nevertheless, I would like to point out that Nature's Herbal Health & Beauty is grossly incorrect in their information, which they are claiming to be factual.  Furthermore, they are using this incorrect information in an attempt to deliberately damage the reputation of another's business.

Our Statement: Once again, this shows just how manipulative Diane Early can be when trying to twist and hide the truth. The real issue here is that she filed a false report on Rip Off.com claiming that we would not return her products to her. However, we have several emails indicating that we would return the products to Ms. Early as C.O.D. She adamantly stated that she did not want the products returned in that manner however due to statements that she made in the past claiming to have others watch our business, we did not want to allow  Diane Early nor her associates near us for fear of our safety.  We have taken it upon ourselves to return the products in this manner regardless to Diane Early's refusal to accept this method in an effort to rid ourselves of her fits and rages. Her emotions have wildly fluctuated to the extent that we considered her to be a dangerous threat to us and the people that work in and around our business. Diane Early even went to the extent of contacting our shopping center owner in regard to this issue! This resulted in even more reassurance from local authorities that Diane Early would be arrested on the spot if she trespassed on the property where our business is located for any reason. Her behaviours are in our opinion extremely excessive and possibly manic due to the fact that this issue is all about melt and pour soap!

It also seems that Diane Early has selective memory. This web page clearly shows  that we filed a REBUTTAL to the defamatory remarks Dianne Early first made on RipOff.com, not vice versa. Diane Early of Dearly Yours has made every attempt and utilized every method to "bully" and defame our business. This ranges from sending 2-3 harassing emails daily to us, to posting our name on internet forums  throughout the entire southeast region. Dianne Early has ALWAYS been defamatory and vindictive. She proudly boasted to us that she would continue to harrass us and claimed that she had lawyer friends that she could use to assist her. All of this was due to the fact that we would not allow her to come to our business after she had made threats to our safety.  Please note, that despite Ms. Early's manipulative attempts to make herself out to be a victim. She is not. She is much more crafty than the average 75 year old woman and she apparently has no respect for the truth. 

Diane Earlys statement:"Unlike other industries, cosmetics industry participants do not have to register their businesses or their manufacturing facilities with the federal government. Registration is voluntary, and estimates are that less than 1/3 of the operating cosmetics facilities in the US are registered under the FDA's voluntary registration program. While a few states require facility registration, the vast majority do not. In addition, companies do not have to obtain state or federal pre-approval before selling cosmetics. I take this opportunity to challenge Stephenie Brown, Sindy Coleman or Rapunzel to cite the specific regulations and rules to which they refer, so that readers are able to refer to this information themselves and draw their own conclusions."

Our statement : Diane Early is obviously playing a game often referred to as "preaching to the choir". She gets a kick out of having an audience and pretending to be something that she is not.  Lets make her statement a bit clearer to the average person and cut out the bull. What she really is saying is the following:" No, I am not a licensed manufacturer but the federal government says that I can volunteer to  register my business only if I want to. I dont want to so I havent. Since most other businesses like mine dont bother with registering, anyone reading this should understand why I have not registered mine either. The FDA doesnt even check the legitimacy of companies like mine before we are allowed to sell to the public. Therefore I can make anything that I want to and according to the FDA its ok." What Diane Early fails to say is that registering with the FDA is FREE! The companies that Natures Herbal Health and Beauty normally contracts products with DO comply and register with the FDA because they have nothing to hide and we require them to agree that they manufacture products under FDA GMP guidelines. We even had Diane Early sign the very same contract.  There are thousands of excellent bath and body companies that take their business and the health of their customers serious enough to let the FDA know who they are, where they are and what they are exposing the public to. Why wouldnt ANY company comply? What is there to hide?  The FDA has a responsibility to protect the interests and the health of the general public but unfortunately they cannot force home based businesses to do what is best for consumers. Everyone knows that the government is reactive and not proactive. It is a shame that anyone who claims to be creating products that are used on peoples bodies would rather take advantage of the fact that the FDA can only "ask" them to do the right thing but cannot force them to. The FDA only gets involved if a complaint is filed and that is exactly what has happened in this case against Diane Early. EVERY paying customer deserves the right to know that their health and wellbeing  is not being jeopardized just because someone decided to whip up a batch of soap in their kitchen without regard for rigorous sanitation procedures! Shame on you Diane for dismissing the fact that people deserve to get the quality of bath and body products that they pay for. Safety is first. This why the FDA is trying to take steps to gain better control over fly by night businesses who get away with injuring people by slipping through government loop holes.  

Diane Early had this same dismissive attitude when we told her about our customers claims regarding a bath product created by Diane in her kitchen. Diane Early has never shown remorse, however she did take the time to have a lawyer friend of hers  tell us that we would need to remove the statements from our website in which we were offering an apology to our customers for our association with Diane Early since the area that she used to create products sold to the public had not been inspected by the Alabama Health Department for safety. We did not create this product nor were we then aware that Dearly Yours was not a licensed business but we believe that we owe our customers the right to be informed. Dearly Yours products have been removed from our shelves and our customers have been advised to send any products that they may have purchased from us bearing the DEARLY YOURS  name to the FDA if they believe that they have suffered a urinary tract infection or rashes from being exposed to products created under this name.

Do not be fooled by Diane Early's pseudo-intellectualism.Since Dearly Yours is NOT registered as a manufacturer in the state of Alabama  and since Diane Early  admittedly has chosen to not comply with the FDA's request that she inform them of her manufacturing procedures, we believe that people should be aware of the possible risks associated with purchasing products from a "non"-registered manufacturer whose facility has not passed inspection by local nor federal authorities. We also point out the fact that upon investigating the legitimacy of Diane Early's business we were repeatedly informed that she DID NOT have a business license in the state of Alabama. This was confirmed several times by the Alabama Business License Division.  Since the terms of our contract were  that Diane Early follow GMP Standards http://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/GoodManufacturingPracticeGMPGuidelinesInspectionChecklist/default.htm,  her failure to do so also directly violates the terms of our contract.The United States Food & Drug Administration also requires that those who manufacture products where the safety is unknown, include a warning on the label indicating such. There is no such warning on Diane Early's Dearly Yours products.

Diane Earlys statement: "Now, Ms. Brown says that she will return my products, C.O.D., and that I must also pay for her time and travel???  Our executed contract clearly states that termination of the contract can be made at any time, by either party, and that shipping for return of the products will be split 50/50 between the parties.  It is mind boggling to me that Stephenie Brown, or anyone, can simply re-write a contract that has already been written AND signed.  Ms. Brown, here is my first insult towards you... you are delusional."

 
Our Statement: Diane Early is once again, playing a head game. She was fully aware of our attempts to send her products back by C.O.D.  We have two recent emails where she clearly states that she does not want them sent in that manner and in one email she even states that we couldnt send them that way because we no longer had them to send! Talk about delusional! If her attorney knew about this serious inconsistency in her statement, he would doubt her credibility himself. We can only wonder how foolish Diane Early will feel when her products are delivered to her just as we stated they would be. They didnt sell because people in Alabama know that we can offer them better quality than what Diane Early created under Dearly Your product line.  We proudly do business with companies that create high quality items that do not fade in color, nor have an appearance of rancidness and mold as the items that Dearly Yours products appeared to have. We also customarily do business with professional soap makers that create bath and body products that contain the highest quality of ingredients . In our opinion, Diane Earlys products were  not of this quality and as we will show, they reflected lower than average standards for hand made bath and body products.

As far as the contract is concerned, No Ms. Early. This is not about us being delusional, This is about you not fully understand the terms of the contract. We highly suggest that you reread and have your attorneys read the contract fully. The contract states that "shipping expenses" will be split 50/50. Pay closer attention to the "s" on the end of the word expenses. Expenses is plural therefore it is indicative of more than one expense as it relates to us having your products shipped back to you. Real business owners are very familiar with the expenses that are associated with running a business. Perhaps since you do not venture further than your kitchen you are not aware of the fact that travel and time are both legitimate charges that fall under the scope of "expenses".

To further demonstrate our concern regarding the heath and safety for customers who risk using products manufactured by businesses that are not licensed as manufacturers nor have passed inspection as such, full large size images will be made available via our Rip Off Report posted with a new topic featuring Dearly Yours Bath and Body Products. Anyone interested can then form their own decision as to whether Dearly Yours products manufactured in Diane Earlys kitchen are safe enough for people to expose themselves and their children to. We also would like to reiterate that all remaining Dearly Yours bath products have been shipped back to Diane Early respective of a 50/50 shipping expense"s" split. If she choses not to pay her percentage, the products will be shipped back to us and disposed of based on our discretion as they will at that time considered to be abandoned. 
 

Like dozens of other independent bath and body companies, Dearly Yours products are handmade and homemade.  This fact is stated on our website.  Our customers love the personal care and attention they receive.  When they place an order with Dearly Yours, they know their products are made fresh and in small quantities to ensure the quality of the products.  Dearly Yours has been licensed to sell bath and body products since 2006.  We have many happy customers.

I don't know who wrote the earlier post, because they did not sign their name.  Nevertheless, I would like to point out that Nature's Herbal Health & Beauty is grossly incorrect in their information, which they are claiming to be factual.  Furthermore, they are using this incorrect information in an attempt to deliberately damage the reputation of another's business.

Unlike other industries, cosmetics industry participants do not have to register their businesses or their manufacturing facilities with the federal government. Registration is voluntary, and estimates are that less than 1/3 of the operating cosmetics facilities in the US are registered under the FDA's voluntary registration program. While a few states require facility registration, the vast majority do not. In addition, companies do not have to obtain state or federal pre-approval before selling cosmetics. I take this opportunity to challenge Stephenie Brown, Sindy Coleman or Rapunzel to cite the specific regulations and rules to which they refer, so that readers are able to refer to this information themselves and draw their own conclusions.

I would like to point out that at no time in my original post did I attack or defame Ms. Brown or her company.  I stated the facts as they happened, which I can prove with written documentation.  In sharp contrast, Ms. Brown has called me a liar, a stalker, a fraudulent company, has said that I have threatened her, that I have written "violent" emails and has made numerous other absurd and false accusations against me, all of which are, actually, a violation of Rip Off's posting policy.

I think that any reasonable person can compare our very different styles of presenting our "sides of the story."  I stated the facts in a cool, calm, reasonable manner.  The rebuttal was poorly written by someone who is angry, hurling insults and who clearly has a vendetta against me and my company.

It is true that I have contacted Ms. Brown a number of times asking for the return of my products, or their retail value (which is $539.66). All of this was done prior to my posting these facts with the Rip Off Report and before I was finally forced to file a formal complaint against her and her company with the BBB, which is currently pending.  Ms. Brown has refused to return any of my products.  She also refuses to return the products of another person with whom she consigned, and who also terminated her contract with Ms. Brown.  This behavior appears to be a pattern for Ms. Brown.  She cannot, or will not, explain her refusal to return our products.  She has made no attempt to explain their apparent disappearance.

Now, Ms. Brown says that she will return my products, C.O.D., and that I must also pay for her time and travel???  Our executed contract clearly states that termination of the contract can be made at any time, by either party, and that shipping for return of the products will be split 50/50 between the parties.  It is mind boggling to me that Stephenie Brown, or anyone, can simply re-write a contract that has already been written AND signed.  Ms. Brown, here is my first insult towards you... you are delusional.

Lastly, I would like to call attention to the products which Stephenie Brown alleges caused an infection to one of her customers.  Ms. Brown sold four of my products in December of 2009.  Why is she only now (in April 2010) coming forward and making this wreckless, unfair and false accusation against me?  Ms. Brown is clearly retaliating against me for filing this claim against her. 

This is a fraudelent claim posted by
Dianne Early the owner of Dearly Yours AKA Southern Suds
3749 Cricklewood Drive. Montgomery, AL. 36109.
1-334-279-5935 and 1-334-652-2295.

I worked as sales assistant at Natures Herbal Health and Beauty and my name was mentioned in this report along with Ms. Browns. I basically handled everything that came throught the internet and finding consigments was one of the things that I did. I was the only person that briefly spoke to Diane Early which is why I am responding to this report.  Before I explain to anyone who is reading this what the REAL truth is regarding this issue, I think its important that I first identify the person who filed this claim. She was obviously too cowardice to identify herself but for the sake of truly informing people about what really happened here, ALL of the details should be known. The person who filed this claim anonomously name is Dianne Early dba as Dearly Yours AKA Southern Suds located at 3749 Cricklewood Drive. Montgomery, AL. 36109. Business numbers 1-334-279-5935 and 1-334-652-2295. She frauduelently identified herself to me and Ms. Brown as a bath and body product manufacturer located in Alabama in September of 2009. We soon found out that not only was she not a licensed manufacturer but she also was no longer licensed to conduct business in the state! We were not aware of this until a customer filed a complaint in our store after her daughter used one of Dianne Earlys/Dearly Yours  bath products that we had sold to her. Apparently the bath product was manufactured in a non sterile environment because this customers 5 year old child ended up getting a rash that extended from her vagina to her rectum and a urinary tract infection after using Diane Early/Dearly Yours bath product. You can find out more information here on our website http://www.naturesessenceofbeauty.com/Home_Page.html. To further explain this incident, we will gladly respond to the claims made by this "manufacturer" one by one.   

Diane Earlys Statement: After several email discussions, I agreed and we signed a formal contract. From September to December, I sent Stephenie Brown (d/b/a Natures Herbal Health & Beauty) $558 worth of products. I told her that some products have a shelf life and told her she should remove any products from her shelves if they started to look faded, etc.

Our Statement: Very interesting how Diane Early tried to throw in a "casual" mentioning of how she told us that we should remove products that looked "faded, etc". Most people know what faded may refer to but just what does  she mean by "etc" ? Perhaps her "etc" refers to mold or bacteria growth because unfortunately one of our customers suffered the consequences from that!   Bacterial growth is not noticable by just looking at a product so there is no way that we would have known that the products sent to us by Diane Early were contaminated by bacteria! This is obviously a weak attempt for her to cover up a mistake that has left her open to being sued. Diane Early signed a contract that REQUIRED her to agree that her company manufactured products according to Federal Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines for manufacturers.  She claimed to be a bath and body product manufacturer but according to the Alabama Health Department she is not! Her manufacturing facility was never inspected nor is she even registered as a manufacturer! The worst part is that at the time this issue took place, we found out that she wasnt even registered as a business! There is NO listing for a Dearly Yours listed as a licensed business entity unless she has all of a sudden filed for a business license to try to cover herself. If anyone wants to check this out for yourself, just ask the Alabama business license division to tell you what date the business was registered. You will find that she is either not listed or was recently listed. It is also clear that any one reading this should know that a product should not spoil or go bad in just four months which is the time that Diane Early claims that she sent products that were to be sold to the public (September to December). What kind of "manufacturer" creates products for sell in a retail store that expire in just 4 months? That just doesnt make sense and a REAL manufacturer would not do that. NONE of her products had an expiration date on the label which is required by the FDA. The customer whos daughter recieved an infection, purchased the product BEFORE Dianne Early told us that they may not be suitable for customers. 

The most money that we made for consigning these products was $4 for EACH product. We would never risk selling a product that could harm a customer for a $4 profit! Diane Early claims that her items were valued at $558 which is a blatant lie obviously concocted by her attempt to make this story seem to be more credible. If her products were worth that much why wouldnt she file in small claims court to have it settled? Perhaps its because according to the state of Alabama, she is a fraud! We invite anyone reading this information to contact the Alabama Zoning Department for further information. They will tell you that they DO NOT have a manufacturer for bath and body products listed as Dearly Yours nor Southern Suds which is the other fake name that Diane Early uses. 

Diane Earlys Statement: On March 3, 2010, I sent an email to this effect to Stephenie Brown (d/b/a Natures Herbal Health & Beauty). We had a disagreement regarding the terms of the contract, and an exchange of ugly emails ensued.

Our Statement: Once again, Diane Early is leaving out some very important details. She did contact us requesting that we send the products back, but she became very concerned when we told her that a customers child had gotten infected by one of her products! We told her that we would be sending her products to the FDA because the mother of the child had threatned a law suit against us. Diane Early was obviously in fear of being sued and tried to shift the blame on us by stating that we somehow knew that her products were contaminated and should not have sold them.  She became enraged when she realized that we were going to send her products to the FDA and as she mentioned, ugly emails DID ensue. But to our surprise the emails from her quickly escalated to violent threats that she sent to us as early as 1am in the morning! She was repeatedly asked to retain an attorney and have her attorney to contact us as we would be notifying our insurance company about this issue. She stated that she would retain an attorney but that she would NOT stop harrassing us. Her continued threats were turned over to the police department as well as Internet cyberstalking division. We were advised to allow her attorney to contact us and to not respond to her. She never had an attorney to contact us but she did threaten to have people watching us. When the police were advised of this statement, it was considered to be grounds for menacing, stalking and harrassment and we were informed that anyone that appeared to be doing any of these things (including Diane Early) would be arrested on the spot. 

Diane Earlys Statement: On March 10, 2010, I formalized the termination of our contract and sent Stephenie Brown (d/b/a Natures Herbal Health & Beauty) a written letter via email and certified mail. She refused delivery of the certified mail letter. I stated in my letter that she was to return the products within two weeks (according to the terms of the contract)

Our Statement: We NEVER recieved a letter from Diane Early requesting her items. We did recieve countless threatning emails when she realized that we would be informing the authorities about what she had done. She was also informed that we would be sending one of her products to the FDA and that the remaining products would be sent back to her by C.O.D. She demanded that we NOT send her products by C.O.D. and that we allow her and/or a friend to come into our store and pick up the remaining items.  Since she had made violent threats in her emails and exhibited behaviours that were considered by the police department to be potentially dangerous, we once again suggested that she allow us to send the package to her by C.O.D. She would then be responsible for paying all shipping expenses which will include time and travel on our behalf. We have never met Diane Early and are not aware of her mental state, but due to the fact that she has made violent threats and that we may be involved in litigation regarding the damages that she caused to one of our customers, we prefer to rectify this situation by shipping all of her boxed items to her by C.O.D. No further rebuttals will be responded to via Rip Off Report due to the fact that we were told that the only way to have this fraudelent claim removed was to pay the owners or partners Rip Off Report. We consider this to be a form of extortion and will not allow ourselves to be further victimized however a report regarding Dearly Yours will be filed to indicate this companys fraudulent status.