Warning - Golfsales365.com

Chipper1

I know - "if it seems too good to be true - it probably is". I want to warn other prospective buyers about my experience with www golfsales365 .com Not to be confused with www golf365 com

I had ordered a Ping golf club (£90) from golfsales365.com and after ordering became a bit suspicious. On checking out the site I found posts suggesting that it was selling conterfeit clubs. At this stage the website showed that my order had not been dispatched, and I e-mailed the company to cancel the order. They replied asking me to reconsider and I again asked for a refund. They went ahead and dispatched the club!

I checked with my credit card company and they advised that in order to get a refund, I would have to accept delivery, provide proof the club was counterfeit and provide proof of postage back to the seller.

On arrival of the club (from China), I sent photos of the club to Ping Europe and got the reply;

“To Whom It May Concern

My name Is Richard A Stanton and I work in the Marketing Department of PING Europe Ltd. Part of my duties involve looking after Brand Protection including identifying counterfeit golf equipment bearing the name and marks of PING.
The driver purchased by ****** from the website www golfsales365 .com is clearly a counterfeit – the serial number on the club, markings, fonts, colours, shapes and lines are all different to a genuine PING G10 Driver. In addition we have heard from several people who have purchased golf equipment from this website who have also received counterfeit goods.

Regards

Rick A Stanton
Marketing Department
PING Europe Ltd”

My credit card company would not consider a refund until I forwarded evidence that I had returned the club to the seller AND the seller had received the goods (tracked delivery to China was going to be over £60!) nor will the credit card company refund postage costs.

I hope this experience is of assistance to other users.

visidigi

go back to your credit card company and point out to them it its ILLIGAL under UK law for you to knowingly send counterfeit products out of the country therefore you cannot and will not provide proof of postage but you can provide proof of destruction of the item (you saw it in half etc) via photos and this should suffice for the purpose of a chargeback.

If you're covered for a chargeback, lack of return proof of postage is not a reason to decline as under UK law shipping counterfeit products outside the UK is illigal.

Chipper1

Visidigi
Thank you I will give it a go.

Chipper1

After forwarding all e-mails etc to my credit card company and pointing out the advice above, I received the following reply today;

Thank you for your email.

Please be advised that under Visa Europe rules, in order for us to be able to attempt a chargeback on a customers behalf, we require that the customer return the goods to the merchant. This is entirely at the cardholders risk and we accept no responsibility.Please also be advised that it is up to the customer to check the validity of the merchant & the product being sold by the merchant prior to making a purchase.

Unfortunately without the requested documentation we are unable to chargeback the transaction. In order to pursue further, you will need to resolve with the merchant direct or through other/legal channels.

Can anyone advise how I should proceed.

Thanks

bod1467

Do golfsales365 have a UK address? If yes send it there; if no go back to your CC company and advise them of this and reiterate the point about knowingly sending counterfeit goods out of the UK is ILLEGAL. Ask them to confirm in writing that they are requesting you to break the law.

Chipper1

The club was sent from China where the 'company' are based. Thanks for your input.

visidigi

don't email.

ring them - and keep going till you get through to someone who understands what you are saying.

email is fruitless with these things, they will just keep fobbing you off.

Chipper1

Credit card company have now refunded in full. Shows it is worthwhile to keep going back to them to resolve an issue. Thanks to all forum members for your comments.

arcon5

Chipper1 wrote: »

Credit card company have now refunded in full. Shows it is worthwhile to keep going back to them to resolve an issue. Thanks to all forum members for your comments.

Out of curiosity, what did you say to them to get this result?

I assume you wasn't made to return the product?

I wonder if the retailer will dispute this..

Good result though.

Chipper1

I evidenced (again) that I had in fact cancelled the order BEFORE the company had dispatched the club. I also raised again with the credit card company (as pointed out in the post above) that it was illegal to export counterfeit goods out of the UK and asked that they provide a letter / e-mail stating that I would have to return the club before they would deal with the transaction dispute- therefore forcing me to commit an offence. No such letter / e-mail was forwarded!

visidigi

funny that...glad they finally saw sense...