Pulling the thread on website ‘bargains’ as warning issued over rogue overseas firms

Shoppers are being ripped off by an epidemic of rogue overseas firms masquerading as UK businesses, we can reveal.

Firms based in China and the Netherlands are tricking customers into buying shoddy goods that don’t match the glossy online promises.

A probe by Advice Direct Scotland, which runs the website consumeradvice.scot, discovered a wave of dodgy e-commerce sites, many claiming to be based in Britain, luring unsuspecting buyers with slick websites and fake UK addresses.

The scammers use polished websites to lure customers into believing their products are high end. The Sunday Post found dozens of such sites attempting to trick consumers with unbeatable bargains of up to 80% off.

But instead of high-quality products and reliable service, customers are receiving substandard items – often shipped from China or the Netherlands with no chance of a refund.

Customers get the runaround

Hazel Knowles, senior project lead for Advice Direct Scotland, said: “Angry victims have blasted the companies, saying they were left out of pocket and felt powerless to complain. People feel completely cheated. They are upset that the coat or other item was nothing like the pictures.

“They feel that when they try to get their money back, they just get the runaround for weeks before they just stop replying.”

Knowles said that her team is reporting a growing trend of issues with non-UK traders.

She said: “Companies often advertise on Facebook with a UK location in their name, such as so and so of London. However, the items received are often of poor quality or incorrect and the companies are registered in China or the Netherlands, meaning they are not covered by the Consumer Rights Act. This results in returns being at the consumer’s cost. As items need to be returned to China, the cost of return is prohibitive.”

The consumer protection agency said it has seen a 51% rise in people contacting it over issues with clothing and accessories in just the last few months.

Knowles added: “These firms prey on trust by using British locations, familiar-sounding names and fake testimonials to lure in shoppers. They make refunds nearly impossible and use cheap, mass-produced goods while charging overly high prices.

“Shoppers assume they have the same protections online as they do in stores, but these firms operate outside UK law.”

Chartered Trading Standards Institute lead officer Katherine Hart told The Sunday Post that the agency was concerned about the rising number of internet scams targeting Scots shoppers.

“Most of us now shop online and we are always looking for a bargain,” Hart said. “We get lured into these sites by fantastic prices and a wide choice of items.”

She warned: “Many people tend to rely solely on reviews when checking out a company or service before placing an order, but these can easily be faked.”

Police Scotland said that those behind online shopping scams can easily hide their identity and target many consumers at the same time. The force advised people to “choose carefully where they shop, and only provide enough personal details to complete a purchase”.

Rogue websites are often based overseas, but use “co.uk” as part of their domain name. But this offers no protection, and does not guarantee that the site is operated by a UK company.

Consumer group Scotland’s Scammers, which has more than 80,000 members, said: “It is upsetting to hear accounts from distressed people who have purchased items that turn out to be not what they were sold as. Some have received, for instance, a cheap notepad instead of the quality goods they thought they had bought. And they are not informed that duty tax can be due on some items.

“The list of negative effects on people is endless once you’ve been duped.”

The warning comes after reports revealed that last year more than 800,000 people in Europe and the US were duped into sharing card details and other sensitive personal data with a vast network of fake online designer shops apparently operated from China. The Chartered Trading Standards Institute described it as one of the largest scams of its kind, with 76,000 fake websites created.

‘Based in China, not in London’

The Post went online to look at shopping sites – and quickly found one that sounded warning bells.

The harclay-london.com brand claimed to sell clothing and accessories, and had a glossy-looking site. But according to online watchdog Scam Detector, it was “just a façade”. It gave a low-trust score of 21.8 out of 100, categorising it as “suspicious, unsafe and doubtful”. The company also scored poorly with reviews on Trust Pilot. Despite operating for months, as The Post started investigating, the site was taken down on Friday.

One consumer said: “Based in China not London. Misrepresent their products. Quality appalling and nothing like as advertised. They offer 15% refund only upped to 30% if you push. If you say you do not want to keep goods you can send them back to China.

Another wrote: “Advertise as though they are based in London, they are in China. Asked to cancel order but couldn’t do that even though it had not at that time been shipped. Now I have to pay for the return.”

Sarah’s story

Sarah – not her real name – was furious she was ripped off after buying clothes in what was billed as a closing-down sale.

A clothing business – supposedly based in London – offered a sweater for £26.95, claiming it had been previously on sale for £130. Sarah, from Edinburgh, said that when it arrived, the sweater was very poor quality and came with a returns address in west London.

When she contacted the company online, she was told that the item would have to be sent to China if she wanted her money back.

She said: “I believe this company is acting fraudulently. They are not closing down and they have failed to provide me proof, even though I requested it, that the item had previously been on sale for £130 for 14 days or more.

“They also deliberately printed a false returns address on the parcel and they seem to be doing everything in their power to avoid reimbursing me.”

She added: “I have now seen many reviews from similarly disgusted customers.

“This is clearly a scam business. Please take action to prevent it from ripping off other people.”

How to Avoid the Scam

Scots shoppers can protect themselves by:

• Checking the company’s real location – look for a genuine UK address with verifiable details.
• Reading reviews on independent sites, not just on the company’s own website, which could be fake.
• Paying with credit card or PayPal for better protection against fraud.
• Being wary of ‘too good to be true’ deals, especially from brands you’ve never heard of.
• If you’ve been scammed, reporting it to Trading Standards and your bank immediately.

Have you been caught out by an online shopping scam? Contact consumeradvice.scot