Is this a phishing scam dressed up as Boden

[BeverlyGoldberg]

Is that the most Mumsnet sentence ever?

Anyway - I had an email from 'Boden' saying a purchase I made in the past hadn't been completed as my Visa card had been declined (I have a MasterCard) and "here is a link to pay". The email claimed it was for a purchase made months before and for an amount I didn't recognise.

Obviously I reported it as junk and went about my day.

However - I recently went on Boden to buy some more things and received an email an hour or so later from their Customer Service team to say they weren't able to complete the order as I have an outstanding balance with them.

Something about it just doesn't ring true. When I log in to my account, there's nothing to suggest I have an outstanding balance... as far as I know they don't offer a credit facility like Next etc.

I probably could just ring them but I can't be arsed spending ages on hold if this is a known phishing scam.

Yes. They are endlessly inventive

However - I recently went on Boden to buy some more things and received an email an hour or so later from their Customer Service team to say they weren't able to complete the order as I have an outstanding balance with them.

I don't understand the bit about you buying some more things from Boden. Did you make a purchase, pay for it and they then cancelled it? Are you sure it was the Boden site?

Yes that's what happened. I think it was the Boden site. I accessed it from my work laptop and via Google - so it wasn't a saved link from my personal laptop.

I placed the order, checked out and paid... then got an email a few minutes later saying they wouldn't send me my stuff because I had an outstanding balance - and providing a link to pay. I didn't click on the link because it didn't look like a Boden link - it was to a payment service.

Am I banned from ever shopping at Boden - imagine the shame!

I suspect it is time to change, at the very least, your Boden password - and possibly your email too - at least the one you use in conjunction with Boden as they clearly have some access to your dealings with Boden to respond so quickly.