Jones & Smith "scam" - do not order til you read

[LemonLass]

Hello
I saw an advert for Jones & Smith (clothing) on here before New Year. Simple warning: DO NOT ORDER from them. Read on if you would like to know why...

I sometimes but rarely order online. The item looked appealing and "sale" price Inc post so ordered, having checked it had a UK address in case the item didn't suit me or something wrong.

I had a notification a few days after order confirmation about it being flown in. First red flag. Why (if they are in UK)? I wouldn't have ordered otherwise.

I waited patiently for delivery and emailed the business about "the flight" and they evaded my question about returning if not suitable . They simply hoped I liked it...

It arrived, is not "soft and warm", it is itchy - probably polyester but item has no identifying "front or back" of the jumper. It has no label to indicate counter of origin or fabric used, care instructions.

I contacted the company for a refund (repeatedly) and keep getting "offers" eg spend £9.95 more and choose something else) or have to pay for "expensive" (their words) return to Netherlands.

It seems the UK address on their website is part of a scam. They won't allow returns to it. The only way I would get a refund would be send item to Netherlands at my own expense, despite item being poor quality and not matching description. They need to accept and check before refund. I smell another scam that they will not receive it (allegedly) or something wrong with item (to avoid paying a refund).

Save yourself the hassle. AVOID. Item quality could be from a market stall in the 1980s. Cheaply manufactured and something nobody would buy in person.

Edited to amend a typo

I never order anything that advertises on social media. Been burnt once. Never again!
Ive only ordered the mystery who dunnit puzzle. I ordered Manchester and York and got Liverpool free. They are brilliant!!!

I nearly got caught out a few years ago with cute rucksacks that I figured out had to be fake as they were so cheap. The adverts were constant and then suddenly stopped.

To be fair, I once panic ordered a fleece for my son from one of these sites without really looking at the site. I was really annoyed with myself when I realised and mentally accepted it was never going to show. After 3 weeks it actually turned up and it was as described (feels a bit flammable and but it's v warm and he does wear it a lot). The Trustpilot reviews were terrible so I must've just got lucky.

Be very careful to keep an eye on future transactions in whatever payment method you used.

These operations are often just the starting point for unauthorised payments (and often recurring subscriptions) as well as identity theft.

If you paid by card I strongly advise cancelling and replacing that card as the details are now compromised.

My daughter got caught out - she did get a refund from them, but by the time she talked to me about it, a bogus subscription payment had been set up on the account she used. She hadn’t noticed it - and the payment method had no reason to be suspicious as they had all the correct information to set up a payment.

This type of scam relies on things that happen after the annoying rubbish clothing delivery and return struggle.

The Nordic socks, family run closing down sale, are another one.

I thought I was very savvy but fell for that one in the middle of the night when up BFing a newborn.

Returns policy was in line with UK regs, had UK address , etc. basic checks checked out. But if I had done any more research other than on their site I would have found it to be a scam.
I realised the next day when slightly more awake, but was not in a place to sort it out (newborn, PND, etc) so chalked it up to experience and only a £15 loss.

Luckily the socks were just about wearable.

I was taken in by a whole newspaper article about a brighton lady retiring soon who made glass xmas decorations. absolutely crap plastic arrived.
I’d paid via paypal, who initially wanted parcel proof of return (to china!!) within ridiculously short time (just b4 xmas?), So I found a fbook group about scams where other folk had also suffered same crap & sent an extra load of proof to paypal who gave a refund(haha less p&p!) after about a week.

So many of these scam companies advertising on Mumsnet and other social media platforms. I just ignore them all now. Their photos are often AI produced or taken from reputable shops, so they can be quite enticing.

Where did you see the ad @LemonLass- was it social media? Seems like a never ending stream of ads for clothes that look amazing but the so-called brands are just fronts for drop-shipping crap from Temu and Ali Baba.

Yep, seen similar about a lady retiring and selling off all her jewellery stock. All complete BS.

I have never heard of them so would never use them, but thanks anyway. At least if I come across them, I can make sure I avoid them.

The 2* reviews are a bit of a giveaway. The fact that it says customs fees include in price and the delivery times also make it obvious it's not being sent from the UK. There's so many of these random websites that pop up and the reviews are always rubbish.
Best to stick to reputable brands.

Do you? I understood that credit cards offer protection as it is the creditor, not you, who paid for the item, whereas debit cards don't as you paid yourself. DH always insists on putting everything on CCs not DC, for extra security.

I got caught by the colour changing lipstick one, and yes I checked TP! The company is Fenvio. 100% guaranteed if you don't like it etc. First the payment screen is terrible, you can't actually tell the payment has gone through. I clicked again, still no confirmation, so i abandoned it. Nothing in emails. But I checked my junk folder and there it was and because I'd clicked twice I got double order (2 for one). Tried to cancel, because I didn't in theb30 minute window my order has been shipped. But I could return the order, only there us an £8 restocking fee. And id have to pay postage. The stupid things came almost a month later, from China obviously not the UK as said. So 4 lipsticks. They arrived etc, so i dont know if i can do a charge back, just because they lied about origin or the dodgy website or the unfeasible return policy.They do the job although its a weird bluey pink on me.
Glad you started the thread, we all do silly things so its good to warn others.

To be fair to them, they have a clear policy on their website, so it’s hardly what I’d call a scam!

jonesandsmith.co.uk/policies/refund-policy

Ordering from a company you've never heard of, which advertises on social media, which has a name which is quintessentially British, having a closing down sale or other huge reductions, with a dodgy site - IS ALWAYS A SCAM.

Seriously. Sites like Trustpilot exist for a reason. As does reverse image search. These scam sites are ten a penny and set up by the same chinese tat merchants who flog their cheap shite on Temu and the suchlike.

There is also an American woman called Maggie McGaugh who posts on Instagram, can't remember her account name but her vids always start with "I knew this was fake but I bought it anyway".

Worth a watch to see the utter shite which people buy online.

Agreed, but it’s also true that they work hard to give the impression on the homepage that they’re in Bognor Regis and the Netherlands reality is relatively buried.

The mention of customs and taxes on the shipping details is a dead giveaway though!

Of COURSE it's a scam. Have you looked at their registered address? A bog standard residential street in Bognor Regis. Items available on many other similar sites you've never heard of when you reverse image search, branded as Critor, Baobao, Getadme, AliExpres...

How is it not a scam when they are presenting themselves as a British business but have a return address in the Netherlands and their stock is sold on numerous other chinese tat sites?

I think our perception of what constitutes a scam differs 🤣🤣. OP was referring to their returns process being a scam but she could easily have checked the policy herself. It’s not hidden.

That is true. But she also says what she was sent is not what she expected to receive because they have been duplicitous with their product images and descriptions.

I’ve no skin in this and don’t particularly care. But, again, I took a quick look at some of the products and the fabric type seems to be provided. If you buy something described as many of the items are, you can hardly complain when something of shit quality turns up. And just my thoughts on the UK address. Many businesses that trade internationally will make a local address and phone number available for customers in that country. A UK customer would be even more upset if they had to call Netherlands for support.

Credit and debit cards protect you via the chargeback proces but credit cards have S75 also which is more of a legal process. Always go for a chargeback first, it's quicker and has a time limit on it

Exactly. I think there's a big difference between being scammed and just not being very savvy.
These companies are definitely out to take advantage of naive people but you can't really call it a scam.

If you listen to the Radio 4 programme linked earlier in the thread, these sites are not just selling a bit of crap pretending to be UK artisan businesses. They do it to sell on your details etc

I fell for them too. I bought about 10 things, stupid that I am
Credit card were great though. Gave me some std words to use to arrange full refund and free collection within legal no of days. When they still didn't offer this the Credit card gave me the funds back. Apparently mabel and daisy have disputed it but Credit card company are happy with our stance
Its annoying but yes I should have checked online
I am currently seeing online ads for done gorgeous boots but suspect they will be similar crap
Arrghh

I find that a shortcut for knowing if an online retailer is a front for cheap rubbish, is if their name is overtly English or British (eg Jones & Smith) or contains UK place names (eg Ashford England in the about:blank Burgundy shirts thread last year]].