Middle Sackville bakery warns of online refund scam threatening negative reviews

Advertisement 1 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Breadcrumb Trail Links HomeAtlantic CanadaNewsNova ScotiaHalifax Middle Sackville bakery warns of online refund scam threatening negative reviews Helm Pie Bakery owner said the scam left her feeling 'personally attacked.' Author of the article: By Emma Breton Published Sep 22, 2026 Last updated 31 minutes ago 5 minute read Co-owners of Helm Pie Bakery, Charmaine St. Peters and Janet Anthony pose for a photo in their Middle Sackville bakery. The bakery was recently the target of a refund scam. Helm Pie Bakery Article content On Saturday, Charmaine St. Peters, co-owner of Helm Pie Bakery, received a call from her staff that there was a complaint about quality. Article content A customer told staff he was going to write a negative online review but wanted to give the bakery a chance to rectify the situation. Article content Article content St. Peters didn’t realize yet, but she was likely being targeted by a scammer. Article content The man said he found a hair in a butter tart he had purchased weeks ago. He told staff the two dozen tarts he stored in a freezer were purchased for a party for his wife, who had cancer. Once they found a hair in one tart, he said, they threw out the rest. Article content Article content The bakery owner’s first reaction: “I need to contact this person immediately and rectify the situation.” Article content Customer relations are a vital part of running a small business, and St. Peters said negative reviews have a significant impact on a small business. Due to that, St. Peters said, she was initially willing to do anything to fix the customer experience. Article content “We’re a very small bakery in Middle Sackville. Everything we do is handmade and we take so much pride in our baked goods that we need to make sure that our customers are happy,” said St. Peters. “So, that’s what I was trying to do with this customer.” Article content The Helm Pie Bakery in Middle Sackville was recently scammed out of $40 and was at risk of losing everything, a co-owner says. Helm Pie Bakery Article content She said she remembers thinking, “I will give him his money back. I will offer him new product. I will do whatever I can to make sure that he realizes that this is a one-off.” Article content She offered him a refund. When he said he couldn’t go to the bakery, she offered to send him the money. Once he accepted the e-transfer, St.…