Proving counterfeit goods

[BillyWilliamTheThird]

Hi,
in December I stupidly managed to buy a fake Nike NOCTA tracksuit for DS’s Christmas present. It cost £207 from Mr Dripzone who claim that all their goods have been “authenticated”. They had pages and pages of 5* reviews on Trustpilot.

The tracksuit arrived and was very obviously not genuine (came cheaply packaged in a tiny box from China, sizing is bizarre, material is all wrong, finishing is rubbish, has none of the right features, and the labels are all wrong).I requested a refund from the company but was told that the item was on sale (there was a sitewide 10% off) so I would only get 15% of the money back.

Lots of back and forth between me and the company ensued and I used chargeback to claim the money from
my bank, Monzo. They agreed to temporarily cover the £207 while they investigate my claim.

Meanwhile all the negative reviews for Mr Dripzone on Trustpilot started piling up, and on closer inspection, all the positive Trustpilot reviews look suspiciously like they’ve been written using AI and have not a single grammatical error or typo.

Monzo now want proof that the items are fake or they will reclaim the £207 from me. Obviously Mr Dripzone are denying they sold a fake and so I am wracking my brains to think how I can prove it.

I’ve filed a report with Trading Standards but it’s much too small a matter for them to investigate.

The Mr Dripzone website is “temporarily down” and I just get automated replies to emails and messages on Insta.

When I asked Monzo for their advice regarding how I prove the goods are fake, they suggested I contact Nike which is obviously easier said than done!

I can’t think of anything else to do to avoid Monzo finding against me and reclaiming the £207 so I could really do with any ideas the hive mind might have or any experience in this area.

Contact Nike directly, or on Twitter.

Hi, thanks, I have tried contacting Nike and heard nothing back but I didn’t think to try them on socials. I’ll give that a go.

For goods ordered online, you have the right to return them and receive a full refund without having to give any reason provided you do so within 14 days of delivery. If that is what happened, point out to Monzo that you don't need to prove the goods were fake. You have the absolute right to a full refund.

I think that, because there was a “sale”, I’m not entitled to a full refund unless the goods were faulty or not as advertised? It’s a bit tricky wading through all the info on the Which website.

Mr Dripzone deny the items are fake and say that therefore they are fit for purpose. I have no way of proving whether the items were on a legitimate sale as described by Trading Standards :-(

Mr Dripzone ignored my request to provide a receipt or a returns address too! Surely that’s proper dodgy!

I’m not entitled to a full refund unless the goods were faulty or not as advertised?

No that’s not true. If they were bought online, as long as they weren’t customised or anything, you’re entitled to a refund.

Can you take a picture of the labels? I can compare to my son's nocta outfits to see if there are any differences?

OP, are you anywhere near London? There's an OVO store that sells Nocta. They should be able to help.

Can you photo the incorrect details and include images off the official sites of the correct details and send to monzo?

Label in the pic. I think the zip's wrong too, according to the videos I've watched. The main give away is the material, especially the trimming around the pockets. I've sent Monzo about umpty-million pictures (and also slightly flippantly offered to send them the bloody tracksuit too).

Unfortunately I live in the deepest darkest depths of Cornwall. The closest I can get to an "expert" is my local JD Sports 🤣

"Can you photo the incorrect details and include images off the official sites of the correct details and send to monzo?"

One problem with this is that there are SO many sites selling fake NOCTA trackies that it's really hard to tell what is genuine and what isn't and which sites are genuine. Mr Dripzone had stock images originally so they did look like the ones on the actual Nike site. Also the NOCTA fleece is no longer available on the Nike site so there are no pics there anymore 😢

Honestly, I have really had my eyes opened about this stuff. Feels like everything I've tried goes nowhere. I feel like a really naive middle aged numpty for believing unsubstantiable claims and not being a bit more cynical about what I was splashing out on.

My last resort is going to be Watchdog, Guardian Money etc I guess.

Thank you WindowViper, you're absolutely right and I just realised I did try this line with Mr Dripzone a couple of days after the stuff was delivered. They completely ignored me and did not supply a return address.

I've just found the stuff about distance selling on gov.uk and sent it to Monzo with the emails (again) where Mr Dripzone refuse the full refund.

Waiting for my son to get back to me, but even if you look on Vinted all the labels are sewn in - not stuck on which is what it looks like in your photo?

Ikr! It's dead cheap looking.

No, the fact it was a sale does not make any difference to your consumer rights. You are still entitled to a full refund provided you told Mr Dripzone that you didn't want the goods within 14 days of delivery. Whether the sale was legitimate is irrelevant. And, provided you were within the 14 days, whether the goods are fake is irrelevant. You are entitled to a full refund. Stick to that line with the bank. There is no legal basis on which Mr Dripzone can keep your money (if they still exist - I rather think the notice on their website suggests they've gone out of business).

This is the label from my son's tracksuit. We bought it from OVO two weeks ago. All his Nocta tracksuits have fabric labels. I can't find any examples where it's printed

I'd screenshot or provide links to trust pilot reviews in addition to the excellent advice you've had already to demonstrate other people believe they've received counterfeit goods. I imagine they'll apply a balance of probabilities (civil standard of proof) rather than beyond reasonable doubt (criminal standard) so other people's reviews could help tip the balance.

Perhaps look for care labels a lot of fakes omit these.

Thank you everyone. I've tried sending Monzo links to the Trustpilot reviews and photos comparing my fakes to the real thing.

I think that prh47 and WindscreenViper have probably hit on my best course of action with the bank to be honest. I asked for a refund within a couple of days of receiving the goods and I was refused so hopefully that is the point on which I can get my claim to stick 🤞

Thanks all xx