DENVER — Over the weekend, customers left comments on Facebook and Reddit by who were frustrated after receiving unauthorized charges from Certified Tattoo Studios. One customer contacted Denver7, saying he felt ignored, financially impacted, and dismissed" after being charged $427.58 by the business.
Chris Cimino visited the tattoo shop for a 4/20 flash tattoo event and did not have any future appointments. He paid $50 for the tattoo in April and noticed on Saturday a large charge for a service he never booked.
"I tried to call, probably about 20 times between all the different studios when it first happened. Giving the benefit of doubt... no one answered the phone," Cimino said.
The business posted on Facebook saying, it was "aware of a breach involving unauthorized charges processed through our payment platform." The post also said the issue did not originate from the team and they "are actively working with Stripe to reverse all charges and secure all systems."
Denver7 called and stopped inside two different Certified Tattoo Studios locations to ask how this all started and how many customers were impacted, but no one was available to speak with us. We also reached out to Stripe for comment and did not hear back.
When making the appointment back in April, Cimino explained the business had a "great booking system" as it was easy to create the appointment online when there was the flash special. Now he is frustrated, knowing his payment information was saved and then charged over the weekend without even stepping foot inside.
"They claim the phone lines were full. I got the text messages great, but they're very slow to respond to text messages. There wasn't much guidance, it's almost like you didn't care in a way," Cimino said.
Looking on Reddit, comments show other customers were impacted, with some claiming they received refunds. On Facebook, Certified Tattoo Studios shared refunds have already been issued. Along with the business owners saying they "are so sorry for the inconvenience and hope it is resolved soon."
However, Cimino told Denver7 he had not received any refund and canceled his credit card. He said there needs to be better accountability and better support for their customers.
"Don't have us saving our credit cards to apps and stuff," Cimino said. "Maybe find a way to secure the information on people's credit cards better, and just the money back in an expeditious matter, maybe something for our inconvenience of what happened. Because you know what? Like I'm going to think twice when I go to get a tattoo and I want a lot more tattoos."
If a data breach affects 500 or more Coloradans, Colorado law requires companies to notify affected Coloradans and the Office of the Attorney General. Click here to report a data breach.
For those who were charged by the tattoo business, Certified Tattoo Studios posted on its Facebook account to email info@certifiedtattoo.com
