Devastated mom with cancer says ‘disgusting' wig maker ghosted her after $1,750 hair order — and stole the cash: ‘I really thought that he was going to help me'
After completing four rounds of chemotherapy, Corrina Walters, a resident of Lancashire currently battling Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), set out to purchase a wig to help contend with the loss of her hair, and 'gain some confidence and pride in [her] appearance again,' she wrote in a Facebook post.
When she still hadn't received the wig almost three months later, she took to social media to warn others looking to commission the cheat.
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6 Walters also said that due to her treatments, she's had to stop working to prioritize her recovery, and saved up her welfare benefits to purchase the wig.
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'Liam Collum is still operating and has knowingly continued to work with cancer patients and take their money, without providing the service he promised to individuals who are already going through turmoil,' she wrote in the same post, in which she detailed her experience.
Walters visited Collum, a hair specialist and wig maker, at a hair salon at the recommendation of a friend in March, and after settling on a style, color and length just a few days later, she placed an order for a 20-inch brown wig. The mother-of-three paid $1,755 for the human hair wig, and sent the money via bank transfer.
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Walters claimed that after she sent the payment, she was completely ghosted. After the waiting period exceeded the 6-8 week estimate Collum gave her, she began reaching out to him in hopes of tracking down her pricey wig.
6 Walters was diagnosed with AML five years after she beat breast cancer.
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6 Prior to losing her hair, Walters enjoyed styling her hair.
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One of her children even messaged the wayward wig maker's personal phone number in search of an answer, but even after going back and forth with the supposed hair expert, Walters was still left in want of her wig — and a refund, which Collum refused her.
6 The wigmaker was not pleased about his phone number being handed out.
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6 Walters still has not received the wig.
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However, because she wired the payment to the supposed swindler, her bank was able to recover her money.
After she had washed her hands of the wig maker, Walters decided to publicly share her experience, hoping to prevent any future scams.
'He knew I was in between treatments because he wished me good luck for my next round of treatment. It's evil,' she told Kennedy News. 'It's bad enough having the cancer.'
Walters said that she does have a few synthetic wigs — which are known to cause irritation and can look unnatural, according to some users — but added that she was especially excited for the custom human-hair wig because she wanted to curl her own hair, which she thought would help her 'feel normal again after everything.'
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After the exchange went public, the wig maker took to Facebook to make a post of his own.
6 'When I first realized what had happened, I felt stupid for believing him because I really thought that he was going to help me on my road to feeling normal again,' Walters said about the scam.
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He shared that due to several overwhelming personal issues, he was unable to respond to clients or attend to his business.
'I should have shown more respect and been open and honest. I am not sharing this information for sympathy but to offer an explanation for my silence,' he added. 'I recognize the position of many of my clients and know that my behaviour regardless of my personal situation is unacceptable.'
For many, choosing a wig can be extraordinarily difficult — especially when it comes to finding human-hair pieces that look natural and don't run buyers thousands of dollars.
Though Walters said she was devastated to have wasted precious time and energy on the hair hoax, she was glad her post reached a large audience, hopefully preventing any additional cons.
'It's disgusting what he's doing. There have been so many women now that have messaged me and commented saying that he's done the same to them and he just can't keep getting away with it,' she said.
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