I have had multiple mishaps with the Ulta website and Ulta stores. The first time I placed an order on Ulta, I didn’t know so I used my international credit card and it went through just fine. However the next time I tried to purchase online I was notified that my account was blocked (and I didn’t get any emails about this at all). I contacted the customer service and they said it was because I wasn’t allowed to use an international credit card. So I told them that it won’t happen again and they unblocked my account. The next few times after that I could purchase everything just fine and I made sure to use my US card every single time. But then came the 21 days beauty sale and suddenly my card was declined for no apparent reason. I tried multiple times because I put in incorrect information (even though that would be impossible since my laptop memorized the card). I figured I would just go to an Ulta store and purchased it in store. Unfortunately when I went the product was out of stock, but it was still available online so the employee suggested that she could place the order online and have me pay in store. But then my account was completely blocked and even though I charged my card right in store it wouldn’t process (the employee was very nice but there was nothing she could do). I ended up calling customer service to ask what was wrong and she basically told me that they blocked my account because I tried to charge my card multiple times. BUT THE ONLY REASON WHY I TRIED TO CHARGE MY CARD MULTIPLE TIMES WAS BECAUSE IT WAS DECLINED FOR NO REASON!!! And they never gave me a proper answer why it was declined in the first place. They said they could unblock it but it would take up to 3 days (which was completely unacceptable and so unfair with all of the promotions going on) so I just gave up and went home. My next problem with Ulta is about their exchange policy. I purchased a blush in store and I got a little discount thanks to my points but I didn’t open it (obviously) until I got home and it was completely shattered (totally not my fault). So I figured I would just go to an Ulta store and exchange for one that is not damaged. When I did, the cashier told me I needed to pay extra money since my points would not transfer and I now had to pay full price. I asked where would my points go then and she told me they would go back to my account. I said well then I’m just gonna use the points I got back but then she told me the points would not be in my account until at least 3 days later. I was so mad but I ended up just paying extra since it took a lot of effort to go all the way to an Ulta store (there’s none near my place and I had to take an uber every single time) and it would be pointless to just return the blush after going that far. BUT WHY THE HELL SHOULD I PAY EXTRA FOR AN EXCHANGE?! I LITERALLY HAVE NEVER SEEN THIS POLICY ANYWHERE!!! I was on the phone with my friend and she was so confused as to why I had to pay extra when I was just exchanging a product for the EXACT SAME ONE. Safe to say I’m never gonna purchase from Ulta again. Better off buying from Sephora anyways.
