Beware: lockdown has given scammers new opportunities
EVERY now and then a consumer rights issue really touches a nerve with people around the UK. I recently appeared on Rip Off Britain Live to talk about dodgy online retailers and as the programme aired, the phone lines and email inboxes melted.
It turns out the particular scam we were discussing was even more widespread that we thought. The subject? Dodgy retailers on social media.
The latest scam involves goods ordered through adverts on Facebook or Instagram that aren’t remotely what they claim to be online. I’ve seen some shocking examples, including:
■ A table and chairs sold with pictures of a family sitting round it, that turned out to be for a dolls house.
■ A machine that fires balls for your dog to chase, sold with an advert showing a machine firing away for deliriously happy dogs
– the purchaser was sent a tennis ball in a bag – and it didn’t even bounce.
■ A man who bought an electric bike online for £99 only to be sent a life-size cardboard cut-out.
■ A range of people buying refurbished smartphones only to be sent pictures of the phones from various angles.
How is this legal? Well, in short, it’s not. But herein lies the problem. Many of these sellers are actually based abroad and though their adverts look professional, they’re actually cheap and easy to fake. These people are con artists and they vanish and reappear in other guises faster than you can blink.
Astoundingly, some of these retailers are semi-official and brazenly respond to emails.
Many people ask me why these firms bother to send anything, when it’s quite clearly a rip off. The simple answer is taking money and not delivering anything is a direct criminal act. However,
sending something that arguably meets the criteria – even if it’s bonkers – means it becomes more of a grey area in the eyes of the law.
So how do you avoid being ripped off? Here are a few tips.
■ IF you see an advert for goods that are too good to be true at that price, they probably are. You aren’t going to get an electric bike for under £100.
■ DON’T just click through a social media advert to make a purchase. See if the firm has a website first and then check to see where the business is based. Just because a business isn’t in the UK doesn’t mean it’s not legit – but it can be harder to resolve a dispute if the goods aren’t as advertised or are broken.
■ IF a business is based abroad, then even if the goods are accurately described, bear in mind that shipping times will be considerable (important to remember in the run up to Christmas). Returning goods can also be time consuming and costly.
■ BEFORE you click to confirm, always check the returns policy of a retailer. If it’s not clear, email the business to find out what you’d be expected to do if there’s a problem.
■ JUST because a business has ‘UK’ in its name, it doesn’t mean they’re based here. This can apply to even big websites, like Amazon’s marketplace. If you’ve set up ‘fast checkout’ services make sure you confirm all of the details before clicking.
■ IF you get scammed, contact your bank and ask them to ‘charge back’ your cash. It’s not always guaranteed but it’s worth a go. This only works if you pay by debit or credit card though.
■ Struggling with a shopping disaster? Resolver can help you sort out the problem: resolver. co.uk