DH bought me a dodgy hairdryer!! AIBU?

[GreenDuck1]

Money has been really tight the last few
months, with loads of big expenses coming up out of the blue. My birthday is coming up and DH said he knew what he wanted to get me but that it was over £100. I tried to discourage him but he was adamant it was something I really wanted and that he really wanted to get it for me. This morning I looked on the credit card statement and there was a payment for £160 to a company name that I had never heard of. The company on the statement was actually their website. I thought this must be my gift from DH, and didn’t want to ruin the surprise, but alarm bells were ringing that he had bought from some random company, so I googled the company name and trust pilot. Straight away I saw that it’s only got 3 reviews all written in the last 3 days.

At that point, I went onto the company website, and they’re basically flogging fake Dyson hairdryers for £160. There is free worldwide shipping but returns are at your own expense… to the states! There is no part of me that wants this hairdryer and I think it’s one of these insta influencer type scams!

I spoke to my husband and was upset that we now have thrown £160 away on some tat! I do need a new hairdryer, but with money so tight, I’m upset that he didn’t take basic precautions when shopping online!

He is saying I’m really ungrateful. I’ve tried to explain that I’m just disappointed because I actually could have got an amazing hairdryer for much less money and I’m concerned that we’ve basically just thrown £160 away at a time when we really don’t have that kind of money to spare.

DH is now really upset with me.

AIBU?

I'm with you OP, you're husband has been a total idiot, not mincing my words

I think they're fantastic!

OP I do feel your pain
One Christmas my lovely husband presented me with an expennsive voucher for a facial (£100) Now I had previously expressed my desire for a facial but I hadnt expected to receive one. I was upset at the amount as we were on a very tight budget due an Easter Holiday we were having. I did mange to return it but it took a bit of badgering to get a refund and I did feel sad that I upset my husband. Tricky situation you are in, I hope the credit card company are sympathetic and cancel the transaction for you. We have a joint account but we wouldn't generally buy something expensive without discussing it with the other first. Hope you can talk about it together and resolve it.

The website fortehair looks really dodgy! It's littered with typos and returns process seems very odd. The product is much cheaper on Ali express. Your husband almost certainly has been ripped off.

We used to do that - during our 30+ year marriage all money went into one pot and either parry could spend it. I was a SAHM or worked part time and he earned a lot. We are now divorced and apparently I have never bought anything as everything was bought by him as he was the main earner.

I'm sorry to hear that, you are probably right it is a risk. I am actually the main earner, and hope I would not be so unfair if it came to a split, which is luckily not on the horizon.

It's definitely dodgy! I wouldn't want to buy any electrical goods from there, they could be dangerous to use. Since it's not a legit website (no registered company address, for starters) surely you can seek a refund through reporting it as a scam with the credit card company?

How do you know it’s not a scam though, lots of these websites use purchases like this to steal your card details

Ok I bought a cheap sebo hoover. Reviews were 50:50 but thought I would give it a go with a credit card. Company stopped responding and the minute it was past the delivery date promised I put a claim in. Credit card stopped and refunded.

Check what was in the order for delivery date. Make sure you are out / don’t accept any delivery. you do need proof if the promised ie contractual date for delivery.

Talk to your credit card company if there really is a scam. Good luck

So your husband tried to do a kind thing by getting you something you really wanted, but knew money was tight, so he tried looking for the next best thing without probably realising it's a dodgy hairdryer and you've thrown a tantrum? You are thoughtless.

I imagine your husband is extremely hurt. You should apologise.

You can also request a refund under consumer law.

I think I found what your DH found .....a best hairdryers of 2024 website...looks real, probably copied & pasted apart from putting the Voltehair no1 and Dyson no.2. But no I reckon it's dodgy, can't find it in companies house even though they've been going 30 years👀😳🙄,
I think either the bank or credit card should have a recall so I'd double check. You're not 'changing your mind' your 'trying to reverse a scam'. Feels dodgy 2 me but I wouldn't blame someone for falling for it ...it's far from the most obvious.

Geez - he made a mistake and you’re being so angry. He was trying to do something nice for you. Rein it in a bit and maybe be a bit less ungrateful?

Did you pay on credit card? Raise a claim with your credit card provider that you are worried it's a scam site. Look up Section 75 credit card claims - I once did it for a pair of trainers when I realised it was a dodgy site and they were fakes shipping from China. I got my money back straight away from the credit card company and unless the seller disputes it then it's stands.

I’m so sorry OP not only for what has happened but also for all the accusations of being ungrateful and unkind to poor husband.
The facts are you tried to dissuade him from paying in excess of £100 at a time when you as a couple could not easily afford such an expense, you at no point mentioned wanting a Dyson or any similarly priced hairdryer. You asked your husband to cancel because you did not want such an expensive present but also, and more importantly, because you are worried the item is dodgy and there may now even be recurring charges to the joint account.
Instead of being a little contrite and very grateful for your intervention, your husband is attempting to shift the ‘blame’.
As it stands you are jointly £160 less well off, and you are being advised by mumsnetters not to take a chance with a cheap electrical appliance which means no birthday present for you and no hair dryer.
I get we all make mistakes and I am sure OP will forgive her husband in due course but she does have a right to lament the misspending and subsequent blame shifting from her husband. We do not have to be grateful at all times, and under all circumstances, just because ‘the man’ is her husband. Any potentially fraudulent issues needed pointing out as soon as possible to reduce the risk of potentially having more money taken from the account and to increase the chance of recouping the original outlay.
You were right to point out the potential issues to your husband and his interpretations were and are exactly that. He knows he has done a daft thing and he needs to own it. If he did, no doubt you would immediately feel much more conciliatory and you could get through this together as a team.

Me too! And I really love my Dyson!

Not really the point of the thread though, is it?

I once bought a football shirt from a site which looked genuine and had a UK address. When it didn’t arrive for nearly 3 weeks I was suspicious, and compared it closely with a genuine shirt. It was definitely a fake. The credit card company told me not to return it to the company (even though that’s what they asked for) and they took it over, giving the company about 6 weeks to respond. They got no response, so refunded our money and we kept the shirt. If you can tell it’s fake, it might be worth doing the same - I think the CC company might have to help in the case of counterfeit goods.

The London address on the website simply rents out office space. OP you need to let your credit card company know what has happened and get that card cancelled. You may not see that £160 again, but you can stop more money being taken.

In what way is it fake? It’s not advertised or branded as a Dyson. The company hasn’t done anything illegal here.

its called a dupe. Primark do this all the time, sell bags and trainers that look like designer items, just without the logo.

unfortunately the OPs DH has just been a bit daft, I can’t see any reason why the credit card company would refund, as long as the dryer is delivered and functions.

Lol so did I 😂😂

As others have said, I think the site is fake. It's .co.uk but also has $'s. I see some spelling mistakes and sentences put together in an odd way. Sites like this tend to pop up near Christmas, and are gone within a few weeks as people start to realise they're fake and report them to their banks. You'll need to give it a few weeks for your item to arrive, then try the bank again. Hope it all works out for you OP

Its more so the fact OP is frustrated that DH fell for a scam

We share all finances but we don't discuss all purchases especially not presents for each other although we may do a limit.
After payments have gone out I can have as much money as I want, as can my husband.
Large family purchases are obviously discussed but because we are both considerate people we don't have issues with what's been Spent. We also have equal money going into savings as well.
Definitely not suffocating for me. Couldn't live with having to sort out who pays what and when, THAT I would find suffocating.