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In a recent TikTok drama, a woman named Emily Downey blasted Lidia Leann, also known as Lidia Lee, a supposed small business owner, over a bad customer service experience.
Dubbed the Pursegate drama, Downey first detailed the account of her exchange with Lee on a Tiktok video on August 13. Downey elaborated that she wanted a fringe bag by Louis Vuitton, which she couldn’t find on TikTok, but luckily came across a Facebook group called Westernique LLC that was selling the bag.
Downey placed an order for the LV purse from the group for $55. Nine weeks later, after the bag failed to reach the interested buyer, Downey reached out to the group's owner, Lidia Lee, asking for a refund. However, Lee refused to refund the order, claiming that Downey was not entitled to a refund.
Following their unsuccessful exchange, Downey shared a screenshot of the receipt in her video. She said that she placed the order on June 10, but there was no indication or notification about the order’s shipment for over two months.
Finally, on August 9, the business owner, Lidia Leann, posted on the group stating that the bags were going to be shipped in a few days. Emily asked in the comments when the buyers would be getting tracking information on their emails, to which Lidia responded that they would receive an automated email, and if they didn’t, they had to message her directly.
But when Emily did not receive any email or other tracking notification by August 12, she asked for a refund, which led to a thread of emails sent back and forth between the two. Lidia was exposed for allegedly scamming people online and also threatening and harassing Emily. YouTuber @greenisnotnick made a video on the drama, leaving netizens shocked.
Lidia Lee threatened to sue Emily Downey in the Pursegate TikTok drama
Downey also posted a couple of other videos about the Pursegate drama that ensued between Lidia Lee and her. Lee declined Downey's plea for a refund and stated that, according to the group rules, no refunds will be given unless the bags are damaged during shipping or past the turn-around time.
Downey told her that it had been 45 business days since she placed the order and she still had not received it. She called Lee's customer service "disgusting" and said that she would get a refund through her bank. Lee threatened to sue her in response, and after that, their emails got heated.
While Downey did not use any vulgar words or expletives with Lee, the latter continued to send her random emails containing slurs and threats. In one email, Lee even threatened Downey that since she had her address, she would go over to her house and harm her.
Downey then did some digging on Lidia Lee and found out that she had been arrested before for identity theft and had a mugshot. Some other buyers who were also allegedly scammed by Lee reached out to Emily Downey to share their experiences.
A few days later, Lee posted a screenshot on TikTok showing that she had shipped the bag on August 14 and that the item had reached the buyer on August 15. But Downey made a video and said that she did not receive packages containing the LV purse.
Seeing all these videos by Downey, another small business on TikTok, @lavintagepetitemaman, who runs a vintage boutique, reached out to the former and sent her the Louis Vuitton fringe purse along with some other accessories and a bodysuit. Downey received the items from the boutique and posted a video on it, which she called a "Pursegate update".
"I'm still supporting small businesses and I don't want them to be hurt from this," Downey stated.
Netizens react to Emily Downey-Lidia Lee TikTok drama
People were appalled by Lidia Lee's approach to her customers and they condemned her as it was almost evident that she was probably scamming all her buyers. Some also pointed out that before Lee would sue Downey, Louis Vuitton would sue her for making dupes.
Lidia Lee had apparently deleted her TikTok account after the Pursegate drama, but she was commenting on Emily's video from other accounts with different names. She was also called out as a scammer by people in the comment section of her Facebook group.
