I've been scammed by a retail website

[SebastianTheCrab]

Quite upset. It had a .co.uk web address so I stupidly assumed it was
legit. I didn't know the brand but it was for alternative clothing where a lot of the brands are quite niche so thought I'd give it a go and buy a handful of items (enough to qualify for free shipping). I spent over £100.

They emailed me the next day to say an item was out of stock and did I want to choose something else. When I said 'no thanks' they replied being very insistent I should choose something else. I said no again and said just refund me for that item and send the rest.

They didn't reply so I googled them and they came up on Trustpilot showing they're based in China and according to previous reviews I'll either never receive the items and/or the refund or I may possibly receive half my order covered in mould with a customs charge to boot.

I've called the bank who say I can try putting in a Visa dispute on Monday but obviously it's not guaranteed. Trying not to let it ruin the rest of the weekend but obviously I'm gutted.

Just had no idea a Chinese company could set up a .co.uk and pretend to trade as a UK retailer. I feel even more stupid considering I used to be a lawyer and have dealt professionally with con artists.

Will you tell us what site it is, so we know who to avoid?

There are lots of them at the moment - seem to advertise on Facebook and then change name when they get poor trust advisor reports.
But, as anything in life, it’s cheap for a reason.

Unfortunately you have learnt the hard way. Do your due diligence before ordering online. Always check reviews first.

Unfortunately it wasn't cheap. 3 items for about £150.

But yes, it's definitely been made more confusing by the fact I get sooo many adverts for brands on Instagram and Facebook (eg Shein, Wish etc) most of which I assume are fake but turn out not to be (inasmuch as Towie people promote them etc).

So I think when I clicked onto this website and it looked fairly professional and was selling not-super-cheap alternative clothing (especially since there are lots of indy alt clothing retailers in the UK I haven't heard of) I didn't hesitate. Clearly I should have.

Just had no idea a Chinese company could set up a .co.uk and pretend to trade as a UK retailer

I have seen some recently - even advertised on MN ads and on the Daily Mail ads. Clothes and other stuff that look good - but when you start to dig just a bit deeper, you can see that it's coming from China and might take longer and there might be massive issues with the order.

I am very sceptical about buying online from places I don't know. It's relatively easy for anyone to buy a domain name, set up a website and look legit.

@Petitmum

Unfortunately you have learnt the hard way. Do your due diligence before ordering online. Always check reviews first.

Have definitely learned my lesson. Sadly it means in future I'm far less likely to buy from independents - will stick to known brand names.

I got scammed by one too. Only spent £30 on a dress thankfully.

It was called Daisy retro but apparently they constantly change name.

What’s the website?

First thing I always do when ordering from somewhere I’ve never heard of is check the “about us”, and make sure they have UK contact details- address and phone. I won’t order from anywhere that only has email contact.

You can always check companies house to see if the business is registered.

A lot of these scammy clothing sites also copy merchandise from other companies worldwide. The copies are cheaply and badly made. They pinch the pictures off genuine sites. Have you tried doing a reverse search on the pics of the clothes you chose?

if delivery dates are quite further away then it is a clue that it may come from China.

You realise anyone can set up a .co.uk website?

Sorry you've been scammed, I hope the chargeback is successful

Agree that these are everywhere now, I've noticed a lot more of them in the past year although it could be that I'm just spending more time online.

Don't feel bad op, if the scams didn't work they wouldn't do it so you are far from alone. I hope you get your money back.

I agree that it's best to check contact details, companies house details, reverse search and so on. Although there are some really dodgy businesses and shells etc that register with companies house so there's no guarantee. Tbh I just tend to now ignore anyone who puts themselves out on Facebook because so many of them are clearly not legit. There was one I saw that called itself "genuine.furniture" or something equally fucking stupid - I mean, if you have to put the word genuine or real or whatever in your name, it's vanishingly unlikely that you are. Dickheads.

Yep, every legit website should have a returns address and a proper company name, which you can then look up on Companies House. Always look up reviews online before buying from a new website. Don't let it put you off buying from independents - any real one will have full contact details.

I've been done with this, too.

Ordered boots, website seemed professional, all good until I got an email from Royal Mail to say the shipment was coming from China. I noted the courier used their end and shipment details and when it arrived it was a shit pair of sunglasses!!

Absolute twats.

I'll be raising a Visa dispute too. Not holding out much hope though.

I wish there was some way of cracking down on these websites, but I'm not sure exactly what could be done or who it is that needs to take action.

Dont buy from anywhere that doesn't take PayPal.

Always look up reviews online before buying from a new website.
yes, but be careful they can be fake reviews.

ktp100 thats unbelievable. thats a new level.

I'm sorry OP.

If it's any help try Salamanda in Lincoln - now only on facebook but had a shop in lincoln since I was tiny. I don't know if it's the right type of alternative though. www.facebook.com/salamanderlincoln/

I almost got caught recently too - it was a ted baker site that I came across on facebook. I spotted a single typo and contacted Ted Baker through their UK site who confirmed it was fake. But it was so believable I'm sure others will be caught.

There is a lot of postal scams at the moment
I got caught on a DPD scam where they say they are trying to send your parcel and you weren’t in so you need to pay to get it resent
I was tired and didn’t check it properly luckily it was only £3
But I had to cancel my debit cards and inform the bank
I’m normally really good and can spot these scams
Lots of Royal Mail /DPD scans as lots of people are expecting deliveries and I was expecting a DPD parcel so just didn’t think

I had a similar realisation and sinking feeling a few months ago with a jumper, it was the cheaper end of a mid range price and a tidy looking website. When I didn't get an order confirmation email etc. I got a bit suspicious, did some googling and discovered the same as you coming from China under the guise of a UK based website, poor quality, delays, lost deliveries, no refunds etc. etc.

However, about 6 weeks later, the jumper turned up, fair quality - similar quality to H&M or similar but a bit more expensive. So ... don't despair just yet ... they may pull through!

yeah i had something cheap ordered from China. didnt arrive, got refunded. and then like 6 weeks-2months out of blue it arrived.

We’ve had the shit pair of sunglasses trick....we’d paid by PayPal so went through them but it was a faff as the company said we’d only get a refund when they received the glasses back! We were just going to write it off as it was too much hassle but did look online at the delivery address they’d given (in China) and it apparently didn’t exist. PayPal eventually sided with us and refunded.

Just had no idea a Chinese company could set up a .co.uk and pretend to trade as a UK retailer. I feel even more stupid considering I used to be a lawyer and have dealt professionally with con artists.

Why wouldn’t they be able to? Anyone, anywhere in the world can register any available domain on any extension.