DH bought me a dodgy hairdryer!! AIBU?

It's a totally real company I've ordered from them before!

I second this! You can even get them refurbished directly through Shark with the warranty for even less. I had the Dyson but find the Shark Flexistyler (simialr to the one linked) 100 times better.

Yeah, the website was clearly not written by native English speakers. I looked through it and don’t see where they are claiming that you can return it to the US. They just vaguely say that you have to return it to them at your expense. I’m almost certain that it will come from China and that is where you will have to ship it back.

Also, reviews on TrustPilot clearly not from native english speaker(s?) "I have medium-length hair and a lot of hair. Hair dryer can be blow-dried within 6 minutes. The wind is really strong. I like it very much" "The hair dryer's stylish appearance and perfect color matching make it a pleasing scenery in the bathroom."

definitely scam website "recently launched its new motto: "Vortehair - make you hair health". Bad grammar total giveaway, also there is an ACTUAL dyson rival called 'VorteXhair' (uk.trustpilot.com/review/vortexair.co.uk). Try and cancel if you can, asap, but sadly i feel your chances of getting the money back are close to nil. Contact your bank.

Can't admit he's wrong then?

Dropshipping companies are not the best to deal with as you have nowhere to return and they don't honour cooling off periods

And even Amazon isn’t foolproof

And you’re contributing to this thread how exactly? How other people organise their finances, joint or otherwise is none of your business.

Aw lay off the DH! Going on what OP has told us he tried to do a nice thing and has made a silly mistake. He’s not deliberately tried to risk OPs safety with dodgy electrical goods. He thought she deserved a nice present and was prepared to go over budget thinking he was getting a bargain. Naive, but well intended.
Ive fallen for these “scams” before even after checking Trustpilot. It’s one of the pitfalls of online shopping and none of us are perfect.

@Itsmahoneybaloney thanks - and yes, one of many lessons learned on this!

Never pay with PayPal- always use a credit card directly.

Who are now part of Nationwide although theyre still merging. Phone back and say you want to make a section 75 claim and explain its a fraudulent website. They can't refund you whilst it's pending but can make a note on your account and once the transaction has gone through fully they can refund you and go about investigating the company etc.

@diddl well yes, I do see that this is the bigger issue :(

It's not about being duped by a glossy website.

Even if it was a decent hairdryer £160 is just too much at this time!

Let’s all give the man a break. He’s been pulled in by a very good looking but dodgy site with fake reviews, for a product which is probably all over FB and Insta.

I know, because it happened to me last year with another hair styler. It did turn up, but it was plasticy and the brushes were rough. I didn’t dare use it.

I had tried to cancel it literally 30 mins after buying and the ‘customer service’ just tell you that it’s already despatched (from god knows where) but you can contact them to return when it arrives. THEY DO NOT THEN LET YOU DO THIS because apparently you bought it on limited special offer which meant no returns. Despite me sending them screenshots of their web pages which said nothing of the sort, I got nowhere.

PayPal also wouldn’t refund me.

I am a clever, IT literate person but the stupid Instagram pretend posts sucked me in. I am still so angry with myself for wasting £60.

just looked at the website. It sort of looks legit on first glance but if you take a closer look at what is written it is very odd indeed. Check out the "about us" page, Just odd.

There are some reviews on there but they are all by influencers (if they are indeed real at all!). The link to trust pilot doesn't work, you can find them on trust pilot but three very strange very recent reviews.

I'd sit down the DH calmly and point out all the red flags. But make it clear that you appreicate the gesture. Hopefully (?) he will realisee it's a piece of sh*t when it arrives (or doesn't).

In future he is better just sticking to amazon and websites tied to actual (british) shops where you can always take stuff physically back. TBF shopping online outside trusted websites really is a minefield these days.

I’d be cross in your situation but take it easy on your solo if it was done with good intentions

i never buy anything from Facebook links etc. almost always looks dodgy.

you never know the hairdryer might arrive and might be allright. Admittedly unlikely. If it doesn’t then back the credit card people but if the company operates outside the UK it might be that they can’t do anything

Yikes. They're on Aliexpress for £26!

Super Hair Dryer 220V Leafless Hair dryer Personal Hair Care Styling Negative Ion Tool Constant Anion Electric Hair Dryers - AliExpress

Of course...

But you have to return at your own cost, which when you attempt to do so you'll find it is a return to China, at an eyewatering cost.

And they won't refund until it arrives back with them and they've checked it out... which will take them months/never...

And by the time you come to realise you're never getting your refund, it's outwith the time frame your CC company will do a charge back for, and/or the company have changed names and disappeared and popped up as someone else, somewhere else, so they can't.

That is of course if a hairdryer ever arrives - chances are it will be nothing ever arrives and by the time you realise it never will, again the company has done a bunk and its outside the timeframe the bank or CC will take action in.

They're on ebay for £149. The make is Bartoni.

He's an idiot.

You should buy him an equally stupid man thing for his birthday. An electronic golf ball cleaner or somesuch.

OP- have you cancelled your card yet? I think it's really important if your husband has used a dodgy website.

Assuming it's not a fake website (which I think it is) and you actually receive the hairdryer, will you even be able to use it in the UK? I can't see anything about voltage and if it's made for the USA's voltage, plugging it in here will blow it up.

I also didn't see an option to choose a UK plug and one of the Instagram "influencer" photos on their website shows it has a US plug.

Surely distance selling regulations mean you can return the item regardless of reason and get a refund ? If the company refuse to accept the return under the above clause then the cc company should be able to action a refund....

it's plastic and metal that smoke and stop working in the worst-case scenario.

Er or electrocute you would be much worse than smoking.
If it's got an earthed plug and/or the relevant markings then it's likely to be ok, but there's a chance it'll be downright dangerous and not suitable for for sale in the UK

So DH has bought an expensive (rip off) gift for his wife to make himself feel good….

its Going to be the elephant in the room… every time op looks at it will think that’s a weeks food shop…