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Online retailer allegedly stiffed hundreds of customers

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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Shelley Lee said it was a disappointing Christmas for her daughter after Lee paid an online retailer for a custom jacket that never came.

She ordered the item from 'On Demand Gear' and said the excuses as to why the jacket never arrived sound like a broken record.

"This seemed like any other website I've ever ordered from," Lee said.

Hindsight is 20/20, and Lee wishes she could reverse her December 6th purchase.

"[My daughter] was so excited. She kept calling. Did you get it? Did you get it?" Lee recalled.

"This thing was important to my daughter and that they basically ruined her Christmas," she said.

Lee said emails to the company were initially ignored, and an automated voice message directed her to email them. Eventually, she received generic apology emails that stated orders are backed up and in process.

"I probably have four or five of 'em that they sent, and it's the same thing every time," Lee explained.

It turns out she's not alone. There are now hundreds of complaints online from other people who also paid for a product months ago and never received anything but the same generic response.

"It's not a lot of money. It's a hundred dollars... but to me that's a lot of money," Lee said.

FOX 17 called the business number. The man who answered initially hung up. When we called back, he completely ignored what we were saying and kept trying to solicit money for a questionable law enforcement charity - Police Association of New York.

"The police organization is the largest organization in the state comprised of over 45,000 police officers," the man stated.

On Demand Gear may have been based out of New York. FOX 17 is in the process of emailing the New York State Attorney General's Office with this information and links to the hundreds of complaints.

FOX 17 also suggested Lee to contact her financial institution to see what steps, if any, can be taken to recoup her money.