To warn you not to use this awful company

Do a charge back with your bank if you used a debit card, similar happened to me and I got a full refund through my bank

I’m glad you’ve noticed this too

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002vyk6?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

It’s a scam but they’re mainly after your data, they don’t care that much about your money.

No, they definitely should not ban them. The more awareness the better. Scroll past if you're not interested.

(And I'd wager there are a lot more threads about Keir Starmer and the football).

It was coming up as a legit website amongst shops like all Saints, Hobbs etc when I was googling a specific item

Yup, I googled "pink boho maxi dress" and the sponsored results had several scam dropshipping sites:

York Fashion
Hudson and Clarke
Alba Muse
Emilia Rose
Lune London
Montleigh

They are everywhere.

We’re getting about 2-3 threads a day about “insert company name here London” being a scam. It’s getting tedious and I wish MN would ban these thereads.

Thread on Style and Beauty about spotting these sites (it's not hard if you know what you're looking for).

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/style_and_beauty/5544308-spotting-scam-websites-before-buying?reply=153032722

Key things : Trustpilot. Reverse image search / Google lens. If you don't know what those things are and how to do them, you better learn.

Trading Standards are not interested as they have no power over these businesses which are all Chinese.

Similar experience, I never order from companies that pop up on fb now.

I never buy from anyone online without checking trustpilot first .

@EnjoythemoneyJanei completely agree, and using places like Mumsnet helps raise awareness.

Threads on this subject are started regularly, OP, and unfortunately the company you’re calling out won’t exist for long - it’ll be a scam based in China with a European (or in your case Canadian) address that is likely nothing more than a rented PO box.

The websites churn very quickly, spamming social media and shopping feeds, making a quick killing, then disappearing. The same companies will pop up again almost instantly with different names and new branding, along with false addresses for non-existent physical shops, some backstory about how long they’ve been in business, and a load of fake glowing reviews.

Beware the ‘business closing’ ads as well - usually with some schmaltzy story of how a long established small business/family concern sadly needs to close its doors, and is therefore selling off all its lovely jewellery or clothing at knockdown prices.

They avoid Trading Standards because they do actually send out the items - it’s just that they’re nothing like the clothes pictured (usually badly made from very cheap fabric and of slightly bizarre size and fit). They never specify fabrics in the listings, and make it appear that returns are UK-based (though it’s never explicitly stated). Virtually everyone tries to return the clothes, only to find they have to go back to China, which will cost almost as much as the value of the items.

Unfortunately it’s not until it happens to you that you become aware of the scam - and then you can see them almost everywhere you look and realise how easy they are to spot. When you know, you know!

As PPs have said, Trustpilot is your friend and one of the few reliable ways of vetting online companies. The only upside is that you’re unlikely to get caught out again.

@SomnambuleI admit I felt like a numpty to be conned, but lessons learned all round. But what’s also really annoyed me I have 3 pieces of junk that someone may decide they like when I drop them off at a charity shop, but in all likelihood will end up going into an awful waste dump somewhere in the world. Such a waste of precious resources. I’m not an ‘over shopper’ and usually wear out clothing rather than think of items as disposable fashion.

People honestly need to get back to shopping in brick and mortar stores. This is the third type of warning I’ve heard this week!

I had a similar issue with a company pretending to be UK based, but were actually based in China. I wanted to return the damaged items I received and just gave up in the end. I was either speaking to an AI bot or a wind up merchant. I eventually got a refund by requesting a ‘charge back’ on my credit card, as advised by a nice poster on MN. The item was less than £100 so I couldn’t make a section 75 claim. I always check Trust Pilot now.

I chargeback regularly (but only when someone is ignoring the law ofc!). Gives me great pleasure frankly as the retailer gets charged an admin fee by the bank. You should try to get a refund first by contacting the company but that's often futile with overseas companies.

I posted about something similar a few weeks ago but I ended up with a very satisfactory resolution thanks to my bank. Here’s the link if anyone else is interested and/or ends up getting scammed by rogues.
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5533105-sharing-my-good-news-story?reply=152487524

You just need to raise a chargeback via your bank the instant they refuse to refund as per your legal rights. Don't put up with this nonsense or waste your time.

If unsure if a business is legit I now usually ask ChatGPT. It checks and gives summary of reviews too.

Although tbh, I generally just aim to buy a few decent / fairly expensive items per year - endures good quality, great fit and last years. No headache from shoddy retailers.

Ugh. It's so frustrating. I want to be able to shop at new places and maybe support a smallish business. But there's always the worry of something scammy like this. The website does give the impression that it's a UK business. And a picture of a shop, where they don't have branches.