Several parents are warning a popular children’s hardware store has allegedly scammed them, whose owners have relocated to Alberta and are accused of theft and fraud in Quebec.
“They robbed me for $400 and I’m still waiting for my money. The more we delve into this questionable company, the more it is not normal. All because we wanted to get crafts for our kids,” Sarah claims, discouraged.
Screenshot of the Craft-Day Box company’s Facebook page
The Facebook account of the Craft-Day Box.
The Journal spoke to five parents like her who have all been victims of the craft day boxing business. They asked that their surname be withheld for fear of reprisals. Some have even been threatened by Marie-Claude Vendette and Steve Routhier, the couple who run the company.
“This has to stop,” thunders Fanny, a resident of Lac-Beauport. We see it going on and that they are still taking money from other parents without their consent. After that, they block us on social networks and we can’t do anything to denounce them.
Photo from the Craft-Day Box Instagram account
Marie-Claude Vendette, one of the two owners of Craft-Day Box.
Photo from the Craft-Day Box Instagram account
Marie-Claude Vendette and Steve Routhier, the couple who own the Craft-Day Box.
Unauthorized Transactions
The concept of the Craft-Day Box is very simple. With a subscription, the customer gets a do-it-yourself box in the mail every month for about $43.
Marie-Claude Vendette and Steve Routhier, 29 and 28 years old, always used the same trick. Boxes sent to customers are not delivered by post and no tracking number is available. Other parents receive packages with missing craft items.
Screenshot of the Craft-Day Box company’s Facebook page
The company Craft-Day Box has repeatedly apologized on its Facebook page for the numerous delays in delivery.
Dissatisfied with the situation, customers ended up terminating the contracts with Craft-Day Box. In this case, the owners take between $40 and $500 from their former customers’ cards without consent.
“I’m thinking of poor parents who can’t afford it!” laments Ann-Sophie, who lost $500 this way. The mother of the family tried to get her money back but was only met with threats of legal action from the owners.
CRAFT DAY BOX / FACEBOOK VIDEO
Result? Customers like Ann-Sophie end up being blocked from the company’s Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok, and even email accounts.
According to the Consumer Protection Office (OPC), at least three reminders have been filed against the Craft-Day Box on this subject.
Screenshot of the website www.opc.gouv.qc.ca
The Consumer Protection Office has already registered three complaints against the Craft-Day Box.
Arrest warrant filed
Marie-Claude Vendette and Steve Routhier do not appear to be choirboys judging by the criminal charges against them.
According to court documents, an arrest warrant was issued for Steve Routhier in May 2022, which the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) says is still valid.
He’s in this situation because he’s suspected of defrauding a couche-tard in Lac-Beauport out of more than $5,000 between 2016 and 2018.
Not her first flight
Marie-Claude Vendette and Steve Routhier, parents of four, are also accused of theft. The lovers allegedly stole more than $5,000 worth of furniture from the apartment they rented from their previous owner in Lévis in 2021.
In this case, too, the couple must answer on January 20th.
Note that the same owner sued the duo in June 2021 in the Administrative Housing Tribunal for unpaid rent.
The two lovebirds don’t seem to be lacking in money. Last November, Marie-Claude Vendette boasted on Facebook that she had bought two new vehicles worth at least $170,000.
Screenshot of Marie-Claude Vendette’s Facebook account
Marie-Claude Vendette boasted last November that she bought two vehicles worth at least $170,000. “My hard work paid off after all these years of not being able to have anything in my name,” she wrote on Facebook.
they disappear
However, Craft-Day Box owners moved away from the troubles they were causing in Quebec in 2021. They now live in Edmonton, Alberta, where they run their controversial company.
Le Journal tried to get an interview with them, but Marie-Claude Vendette and Steve Routhier emailed our representative to claim they had long since sold their business. “There is neither Mrs. Vendette nor Mr. Routhier,” they affirm.
The problem is that in several videos and photos shared on Craft-Day Box’s social networks in December 2022, we can recognize and see Marie-Claude Vendette’s ring. The same accessory we’ve seen in other sequences released by the company in 2020 and 2021. The couple ended up ignoring our request and forwarded our request to their criminal attorney.
CRAFT DAY BOX / FACEBOOK VIDEO
“We have no statements or comments to make to the media about the case,” Me Alexandre Langlois, who is representing the duo on the above charges, said in an email.
The two hardware store retailers also deactivated their website and all of their social network pages on Monday.
fake accounts
Parents who have been victims of Craft-Day Box say they have been bullied on social media after publicly denouncing the company on Facebook.
“They deleted all of our messages on their site before blocking us,” says Nadia. After that they wrote me privately and with fake accounts controlled by Marie-Claude and Steve to insult me. I slept badly for a month. That is why the site is credible and there are no negative comments. Customers are more easily scammed that way.”
In fact, our representative spotted at least two fake accounts posting a variety of positive messages among the company’s Facebook posts. The first is an inactive user who stole journalist Martin Leclerc’s photo on Twitter.
Photos from Facebook and Martin Leclerc’s Twitter account
Many fake Facebook accounts post positive comments on the Craft-Day Box Facebook page. According to company victims, it would be Marie-Claude Vendette and Steve Routhier who are hiding behind these users. Here we can see that a fake Facebook account stole journalist Martin Leclerc’s photo.
The second profile belongs to an alleged Éloïse, who is a doctor at CHU Sainte-Justine. All images of his inactive profile come from a royalty-free image database.
Photo Nathan Dumlao and screenshots from Facebook
Many fake Facebook accounts post positive comments on the Craft-Day Box Facebook page. According to company victims, it would be Marie-Claude Vendette and Steve Routhier who are hiding behind these users. Here we can see that a fake Facebook account took Nathan Dumlao’s photo from a royalty-free image bank to create the account of a mysterious Éloïse.
Address and wrong number
This is not the only information that raises eyebrows about this company. Your phone number on their website is invalid. The address of her accounting office is also incorrect, as it leads to a Jean Coutu in Terrebonne.
Screenshot from craftdaybox.com
Craft-Day Box posted a fake phone number and address on its website.
“We are not aware of this company and their fraudulent activities have not been reported to us and have had no impact on us. It’s all very sad,” confirms Brigitte Marchand, pharmacist at the institution concerned.
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