Swoggi penny auction site or scam?

Nick22

Swoggi are basically a criminal organisation that the authorities are incapable or unwilling to prosecute.


Trustpilot is a good website to find further incriminating reviews of their blatant criminality.


If any sucker is tempted to join - first watch the "winning stooges" who always win the high-end value items like iphone/pad/book, and Samsung phones, SLR cams etc. The same names crop up time and time again, and probably only genuine winners are of low-value products.

LELAN

Do some sums before even considering this. ….
Consider Swoggi may be adding a penny to auction price & a 15 seconds extension to the auction time for each bid …
Hey @ 50p a bid that soon adds up (for Swoggi) i.e.. when a total of £5 increase has been bid (500 x 1p bids x 50p for each previously purchased credit to bid) it seems quite likely that Swoggi may have pocketed £250 in bidder credit fees!
Now, also consider the time for all those 500 bids to take place (that could potentially add another 15 seconds to auction end per bid) So 500 bids @ 15 seconds each = 2.08 hours has been spent on line for the bidders to see that £5 rise in an auction price! And that is not yet allowing any time for the actual bids to be placed.. Make them say 10 seconds between bids and so possibly add another 500 x 10 seconds. = 1.388 hours so it is now close to 3 and a half hours for the item to increase just £5 or a very long tome to buy an item at say £100!
So, just consider can you really afford to spend all that time sitting and hoping you will be the winner?
Maybe I am an old cynic for thinking that this is not so much an auction as a 'non-auction' gambling game designed to go slowly towards a sale & last a very long time and thereby generate huge bid fees from all the 50p credits for Swoggi.
The gamblers 'jackpot' is of course to win
The cost of the items 'auctioned' may rather pale into insignificance if you look at the extremely long times involved x the fees.
I always thought of auctions as a way of making quick final sales, not happening here for sure!
Likely better for the punters to consider working/earning for those wasted hours than spending their lives concentrating on the game.
Alternatively use proper 'on line auctions' rather than gambling on being the lucky purchaser who may just stumble on the auction as it reaches its end and grab a good bargain for a just couple of (50p credits)/bids.
In my eyes it's just an expensive time consuming gamble.

spacexcape

Sadly, I am yet another victim of this scam. After reading a great review (I suspect written by swoggi), I signed up and started bidding on a laptop. The credits started going down and down even though I was not using the robot and had not bid. Suddenly, £50 was gone. I questioned it with them but they stopped communicating when I asked for proof.

On their site they say ""f there is only one BidRobot booked to bid on the auction, the bid will be placed randomly and automatically at any point within the final ten seconds. The countdown will then extend to a maximum of 20 seconds for each bid that is placed. If there are two or more BidRobot bidding against each other, all the consecutive BidRobot bids are placed immediately, and the price and countdown increase with each BidRobot bid placed.” However, as I have observed and experienced this is untrue. My “robot bids” did not extend the time to 20 seconds - neither did the other numerous bids that were placed at the same time.

The site does not display their Company Name and nor does it appear to be registered for VAT which I believe it should be. The site is run by Sophora Media Ltd - filed accounts as a dormant company in 2014 and one sole company director Mr Lijun Fan of Singapore whose nationality is Chinese. The Company Number is 07202173.

Please, if you have lost money to this scam, make a report to your local Trading Standards team and lets get this site closed down.

Stoke

Swoggi, MadBid, they're all the same, they're all super slimy and you should avoid them like the plague.

mattboy199

I also foolishly fell for this so called amazing auction website after reading a moneyexpert360 article found on the msn UK web page.


After a paypal claim which failed in my favour (paypal stated this is classed as a gambling website, which technically it is however I wasn't impressed I wasn't covered, I let them know on the feedback they asked me to leave).


Basically the day I deposited funds with swoggi I was unable to access my account on the following day & days after, realising it was also not quite what was advertised I raised my PayPal claim based on this, requesting password reminders did not work on numerous occasions.


Below is a copy of my email to swoggi, edited for privacy reasons, read from the bottom up.




From: supportswoggi
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 2015 22:15:45 +0800
Subject: Re: FW: Re: My account
To: matt
Hello,
After talking to our manager, we decided EXCEPTIONALLY to not apply the £15.
We can refund you £49.50 if you want to.
Best regards


Jennifer
Customer Service
On 30 September 2015 at 22:00, Matt < > wrote:
Jennifer,
As stated before I could not log into my account since 15/09/15, this is not an issue with my browser, I requested a password reminder which you did not send me on numerous occasions nor have you provided the service expected.
Please issue a full refund or as stated previously I can attend your London office to meet and collect a cheque.
I cannot be held liable for your own technical problems and reject your offer to accept any administration charges due to the poor service you have provided.
I will be contacting trading standards to make them aware of the problems I have had.
Regards,


Matt
---- Swoggi wrote ----
Hello,
We have changed your user details for you:
Username:
Password:
We have tried to connect on your account with these details, everything work, so if it don't work it must come from your Internet bowser.
We have reactivated your account and added 20 Bonus Credits.
Best regards


Jennifer
Customer Service
On 30 September 2015 at 19:02, Matt < > wrote:
Jennifer,
I haven't been able to access my account since 15/09/15, what is the reason for that ? I do not accept an administration charge when you have not provided me with the service described on your website! Should I visit your offices in London, I work close by?
Regards,


Matt
---- Swoggi wrote ----
Hello,
During a refund procedure, we have to deactivate the account to be sure of the amount that we can refund. This is why you can't access your account, it is because of the refund procedure.
We have tried to connect on your account with these details, and it works :
Username:
Password:
For now your account is deactivated, because of the refund procedure.
Please let us know if you would like us to proceed to a £34.50 refund or if you would rather have your account re-activated with 20 bonus credits.
Best regards


Jennifer
Customer Service
On 30 September 2015 at 18:42, Matt < > wrote:
Cecile,
I haven't been able to access my account since 16/09 and was unable to follow up on my initial bid even though I had requested password reminders. If need be I am working in old Street London l and can visit your offices to discuss in person ?
Regards,


Matt
---- Swoggi wrote ----
Hello,
Unfortunately, in accordance with our T&Cs, we apply a £15 for any refund.
We cannot make differences between our customers.
Please let us know if you would like us to proceed to a £34.50 refund or if you would rather have your account re-activated with 20 bonus credits.
During a refund procedure, we have to deactivate the account to be sure of the amount that we can refund. This is why you can't access your account, it is because of the refund procedure.
Best Regards,


Cecile
Customer Service.
On 30 September 2015 at 18:16, Matt < > wrote:
Cecile,
Why am I being charged £15? I have been unable to access my account since the day i opened it any bids I have not been able to follow up on, this is a swoggi issue and not mine hence why I have requested a refund. You have already deactivated my account for unknown reasons???
Please issue a full refund due to you being unable to provide the service expected.
Regards,


Matt
---- Swoggi wrote ----
Hello,
We are sorry to hear that you would like to cancel your subscription.
We obviously can propose you a refund of the remaining Swoggi Credits on your account.
Only the credits being left on your account can be refunded.
The used credits cannot be refunded because they allow the auction winners to win our auctions at very low prices.
Your bids cannot be cancelled either as it will disrupt the auction’s progress.
There’s £49.50 worth of not used Swoggi Credit on your account, because we charge £15 for any refund (item 7 of our conditions, swoggi terms), you are eligible for a refund of £34.50.
If you actually wish to deactivate your account and to be refunded, please confirm this by email.
If you wish we can reactivate your account with 20 Bonus Credits to allow you to use your remaining credits and to have the possibility to win an auction on Swoggi.
We would be glad to receive your comments and suggestions.
Your Paypal Dispute was closed, so we can refund you if you want to.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,


Cecile
Customer service
On 30 September 2015 at 01:26, Matt < > wrote:
Cecile,
How do you suggest I gain access to my account? You have provided a temporary password which still does not work.
Regards,


Matt
---- Swoggi wrote ----
Hello,
This is a quick explanation of how Swoggi works.
Every given bid will raise the price of the product by 0.01, and each bid costs £0.50. The credits you have spent in bidding are not refundable, but you are given as many Premium Credits as the Swoggi Credits you have spent on the auction.
These Premium Credits are transferred into Bonus Credits once you purchase more Swoggi Credits. These Bonus Credits can then be used to bid.
If you win an auction, you will be allowed to purchase the auction's product through PayPal, at the amount you have won it.
(We kindly remind you, that Swoggi credits can never be used as a means of auctions' payments!)
For any other information you can consult the "help" column of our website.
I am really sorry, but unfortunately, in accordance with our T&Cs, we apply a £15 for any refund.
We cannot make differences between our customers.
Please let us know if you would like us to proceed to a £0.00 refund and a deactivation of your account or if you would rather have your account re-activated with 20 bonus credits.
Kind regards,


Cecile
Customer Service
On 29 September 2015 at 17:45, Matt < > wrote:
Further to my emails below I am still unable to access my account.
Regards,


Matt
---- Original Message ----
Subject: Re: My account
Sent: 29 Sep 2015 17:40
From: Matt < >
To: "Swoggi" <support>
Cc:
Cecile,
My initial deposit was for £50 so where have the credits gone? I have been unable to access my account for weeks therefore your administration charge does not apply due to you having technical problems. Do your terms state that in the instance access cannot be granted by swoggi I have no right to cancel without being charged ?
Regards,


Matt
---- Swoggi wrote ----
Hello,
We are sorry to hear that you would like to cancel your subscription.
We obviously can propose you a refund of the remaining Swoggi Credits on your account.
Only the credits being left on your account can be refunded.
The used credits cannot be refunded because they allow the auction winners to win our auctions at very low prices.
Your bids cannot be cancelled either as it will disrupt the auction’s progress.
There’s £15.00 worth of not used Swoggi Credit on your account, because we charge £15 for any refund (item 7 of our conditions, swoggi terms), you are eligible for a refund of £0.00.
If you actually wish to deactivate your account and to be refunded, please confirm this by email.
If you wish we can reactivate your account with 20 Bonus Credits to allow you to use your remaining credits and to have the possibility to win an auction on Swoggi.
We would be glad to receive your comments and suggestions.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,


Cecile
Customer service
On 29 September 2015 at 17:19, Matt < > wrote:
Hi Laura,
I would prefer if you just closed my account and issue a full refund. I did bid on some items a few weeks and was unable to access my account following that.
Regards,


Matt
---- Swoggi wrote ----
Hello,
We have changed your user details for you:
Username:
Password:
As soon as you have logged in to your account you can change your password.
In addition, we have credited 10 bonus points to your account.
Regards,


Laura
Customer Service
On 28 September 2015 at 20:10, Matt > wrote:
I have been unable to access my account for almost 2 weeks despite numerous requests for a password reminder no emails have been received in either my inbox or junk mail.
Please issue a full refund and close my account.
Regards,


Matt




I have received my refund of £49.50 of the original £50, I'm satisfied. I also logged a complaint link via citizens advice consumers before the refund was issued, I suggest everyone else also does sorry cant post a link here.

sbkenn

Gambling or not ?
Either way, what you get ... in the unlikely event that you get anything, is paid for many times over by the other players. They must be raking it in !

sbkenn

Re: Terms and conditions.
In court, an unfair contract is unenforcible.

Chris_Bee

I went down this road myself, they tried to stop me the £15 admin charge which incidently after I complained bitterly to paypal they agreed to give the £15 to me as a good will gesture if I could only get £43 of my premium back. However I wrote this email to Swoggi and in the end they refunded the entire amount to me. Below is a copy of the letter :-

Hi,
I am claiming my entire amount of money back £58 under the consumer contract regulations 2013, whereby the consumer (me) is allowed a cooling off period before the contract with the supplier (you) is sealed, and as I cancelled my contract within 15 minutes of opening it I am well within the laid down criteria. Therefore the made up regulations your company has produced have no meaning as the company cannot supercede the law of the land. so therefore cut to the chase and refund my £58 please and lets put the matter to bed. For your information the consumer contract regulations 2013 LEGAL REQUIREMENT STATES :- You can cancel a contract on line within 14 days of entering into it, and you can expect a FULL REFUND within 14 days of cancelling the online goods or services contract.
Thank you.

I hope that this may help somebody else. GOOD LUCK.

jeremylong

I'm trying this route too, stating the consumer contract regs, just sent them an email requesting the full £50 subscription which I foolishly started today having read something which looked like it was endorsed by MSE. Thanks for your post Chris, I will let you know how I get on.

delboy_2-2

Hi guys,SWOGGI biggest con merchants going.Joined about 6 months ago,deposited £50 and played £4 before I realised biggest con ever,cancelled my account immediately.SWOGGI informed me a £15 administration cancellation fee would apply,told them not happy with the fee and like my £46 deposited into my bank.Emailed SWOGGI yesterday and told them to deposit £31 into my bank account.Received email from SWOGGI who inform me they have taken another £15 cancellation fee and I'm only entitled to £16,please help me with any good advice out there......