Sarah Palmyra purchased the handbag from the Chanel store inside Harrods while visiting London with friends, but was devastated after unboxing the designer bag when she returned home
16:00, 16 Nov 2025Updated 20:18, 16 Nov 2025
Sarah had been visiting London with friends when they decided to purchase the bags(Image: sarahpalmyra/TIKTOK)
A woman was left devastated after spending £4,500 ($6,000) on her dream Chanel bag only to discover it was covered in pen marks after unboxing it when she got home.
Sarah Palmyra had been visiting London with her friends when they decided to head to the iconic Harrods flagship store to visit the Chanel boutique. The designer brand has a home on the first floor of the department store, selling their bags worth thousands of pounds.
In the viral TikTok video, she said: “We decided to purchase matching vanity Chanel bags. This was a pretty big deal because this was my second ever designer purchase for myself. This was ruined by the sales associate who was rude to us.”
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Sarah claimed the bag had pen marks on(Image: sarahpalmyra/TIKTOK)
Sarah claims the sales associate “kept acting like we were going to run out and steal the bags”, calling his behaviour “strange”.
But the group of friends decide to purchase the bags, and while they are being gift wrapped and boxed in the back, Sarah complains to the store manager about their experience.
After returning to their hotel room, Sarah makes a devastating discovery on her brand new bag.
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In a video clip she filmed at the time, she said: “I opened my Chanel bag. It has pen marks on it. There’s pulled threads. It was wrapped but it was kind of just thrown in. It doesn’t have any plastic wrap on the mirror.”
While her friends bag was in perfect condition, she claimed hers did not look like the same bag she had tried on in the store.
“I was surprised, horrified,” she added. “I had a plane to catch the next day so I immediately headed back to the Harrods store.”
She also pointed out a loose thread on the bag(Image: sarahpalmyra/TIKTOK)
But after returning to the store before getting on the plane to return to her home in the US, she was shocked to discover they would not offer her a refund or replacement.
In a video she secretly filmed at the time, the sales associate can be heard saying: “At the moment I can not do anything with the bag before running an investigation. I won’t be able to resell it like that.”
Sarah said the incident “ruined the entire experience” of purchasing her second ever designer bag.
After flying home, Harrods issued a response following the investigation. In an email, they told Sarah: “I can confirm that the item handled by our associates had no contact with any sort of ink either on its way to the wrapping table or during the packing. Unfortunately no refund or exchange are available at this time.”
Shocked, Sarah refused to accept the shipment of the damaged bag and got her bank involved who refunded her.
She added: “Thankfully it worked in my favour because I had video evidence of the damaged bag, but I never got an apology.”
Harrods and Chanel have been approached for comment.
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