Cute smocked outfits are supposed to be the fun part.
You preorder early, picture the sibling photos, and wait for the bows, ruffles, and matching sets to show up before the holiday. What no one expects is to spend months chasing a children’s boutique for outfits that never arrive — and then watch the owner get arrested over and over again while the whole mess unravels.
That is the bigger story surrounding Thomas & Turner Boutique in Belton, South Carolina, where owner Pamela Brooke Schronce is accused of taking preorder money from customers and not delivering the clothing they paid for.
And for a lot of moms, the part that still stings most is Christmas.
The Holiday Outfits Never Showed Up
The frustration seems to have boiled over when customers started realizing they were not just dealing with a delay.
One of the women who pushed the story into the open was Katherine Hinzman, a kindergarten teacher and Thomas & Turner customer, who said Schronce had taken money for preorder clothing and never delivered the goods. At the time of her first public post, she claimed she and others were already out more than $30,000.
@katherinehinzman Story time on how a small town business has scammed me and others out of $30,000 and counting! Don’t stop at Thomas & Turner Boutique in Belton, South Carolina!
♬ original sound – Katherine Hinzman ✨
Then more women started speaking up.
That is what changed the tone. This was no longer one mom saying her package was late. It was mothers comparing stories and realizing they were all describing the same pattern: money paid, months of waiting, and no outfits.
For parents who had ordered matching Christmas clothes for their kids, the loss felt bigger than a simple refund dispute. It was money, yes, but it was also family plans, holiday photos, and those small traditions parents spend weeks trying to make special.
Store Credit Only Made People Angrier
What seems to have pushed many customers over the edge was Schronce allegedly refusing refunds and offering store credit instead.
That might have calmed people down if the replacement orders had actually arrived. But according to the women speaking out, even orders placed with that store credit still were not showing up.
That is the kind of thing that makes people feel trapped. Your original money is gone, your replacement order is also missing, and you are being told to stay inside a system that no longer seems to be producing anything at all.
One customer, Kristen Metcalf, said she was even removed from the boutique’s VIP group after complaining. She also said she lost more than $250 on Christmas outfits for her daughters — outfits she said were supposed to be especially meaningful.
Then the Arrests Started Piling Up
This is the part that turns boutique drama into something much more serious.
According to Fox Carolina, Schronce was arrested 13 times in 10 counties between January 1, 2026, and March 2, 2026, as customers sought refunds and fraud complaints kept mounting.
That number alone explains why the story spread so fast.
What makes it even wilder is that just a few months earlier, Schronce had posted proudly about Thomas & Turner winning a Best of Your Hometown Award for best children’s clothing store.
Now the website no longer works, the store appears closed, and Schronce’s attorney says she is looking forward to her day in court.
@kristenfmetcalf Documenting my experience + the growing number of unfulfilled orders being reported. Consumers deserve transparency. #smallbusiness #andersonsc #childrensboutique #scam #buyerbeware
♬ original sound – KFM 🍒🪩🦋🫧
For the moms who say they paid and got nothing, though, the story is already painfully clear. They thought they were buying special outfits for their children. Instead, they say they ended up funding a boutique that kept taking orders long after the trust was gone.
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