Will I be covered if my Gucci purchase is fake?

I’ve wanted a Gucci bag for years and although it’s not cheap (£1,300) I’m thinking of buying one from an Amazon Marketplace seller. What are my rights if the bag turns out to be a counterfeit?

It feels like a gamble because Gucci is one of the world’s most counterfeited brands, but Lizzy does have a lot of protection. First, there’s Amazon’s ‘A-z guarantee’ ( www.snipca. com/38970), which will refund her should the bag turn out to be not as described. If she uses a credit card, Lizzy will be protected by Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, while she may be able to get a chargeback from her bank if using a Visa or Mastercard debit card.

Lizzy should check where the seller is based because she’ll have far stronger protection if they’re located within the UK, or even Europe. One way to check the legitimacy of a UK firm is via the Companies House website ( www.snipca. com/38971). If they’re reputable, you’ll see several points of contact: email, phone number, address. Don’t trust companies whose only point of contact is through an

contacted Ofcom, it doesn’t seem interested. Isn’t there a way to punish Virgin?

Donald C Fergusson online form and a PO Box address.

Counterfeit goods cost international brands millions of pounds every year, so they work hard with Amazon to clamp down on them. Read Amazon’s anticounterfeiting policy for details: www. snipca.com/38972.

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have automatically received a refund under Ofcom’s Automatic Compensation Scheme. This entitles him to £8.06 for each day the service wasn’t working, and £25.18 each for any missed engineer appointments. Companies must also pay £5.04 per day for a delay to the start of a new service.

Donald said he’s considering suing Virgin for breach of contract. Before he does this, we’d suggest taking his complaint to the relevant Ombudsman – CISAS ( www.cedr.com/consumer/cisas). Unlike Ofcom, it can take on a customer’s case and force the company to pay compensation.

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