Internet purchase completely dodgy, not sure what to do?

DCFC79

Why would you carry on with the purchase ?
Why not use a reputable site ?

phillw

Shakin_Steve said:

No point in your bank cancelling your card because visa will helpfully update them with your new details.

They only do that with vetted companies.
I would instantly contact the supplier and the credit card company and tell them that you don't want the product as the price is not what was advertised. You should be covered for section 75 as they have to make the amount repayable clear before you purchase.
If the credit card company doesn't play ball then ask to raise a complaint & then ask them for a deadlock letter for the ombudsman.
This isn't the first time I've heard about this scam.

SueSmoss

born_again said:

SueSmoss said:

bradders1983 said:

Surely the advertised price is still on the website?

As for the length of time you have banked with them, that means absolutely nothing in all of this. 

It is still advertised but the bank said that it would not prove that was the price at the time I "bought it"
The issue is they are going to pay a company which appears not to exist and they are doing so knowingly. I just can't believe they will just pay them in that knowledge.

Clearly they exist or they would be set up to take payments.
Your card provider do not police companies. When funds are requested they have to pay them.

I have seen this type of things for a few years. Sadly it clearly states when pressing confirm purchase just what they are taking.
Your only hope is that you have a email stating the amount (you thought you were paying) compared to what they took. Or that the goods do not arrive.
I would also make sure that your card co put a block on them taking further payments, as these type of companied are often linked to a CPA. Stopping the card does NOT stop a CPA.

As to above and S75. No chance as no breech of contract. Add in item price will be under £100.

>> they wouldn't even have received the order at the point of my contact with them. A lengthy number of calls later they just stuck to their guns<<
Once you press submit on the purchase page the order is submitted to retailer & they will request the funds from you bank. At that point only the retailer can stop the payment from being taken.

In effect what you have paid for is 2 pots a month for 3 months + P&P

Hi
Thanks what is a CPA? and what can i do about it?

SueSmoss

Thanks to everyone for your help and support and for being kind.
I do feel stupid but really want to put this right, I can't afford to lose that much, especially at this time of year. I have not received acknowledgement of the order at all, so I have no confirmation of whether goods will be sent. Do you think I should send a registered letter to the address you have found or wait to see if anything is supplied and then return it under the distance selling regulations you have shared? 

I am really grateful, I was in a flat spin yesterday but feel more hopeful today that I can resolve this, with your help.

Thanks again

whitesmith

A CPA (continuous payment authority) is an authority you give and merchant to take payments from your card continually.

This is used, for example, for gym membership - you authorised the gym to take £x every month.

You can cancel them in two ways. 1. ask the merchant to cancel  2. tell the CC company to cancel.

Not sure if you have signed up to a CPA ie produce delivered every x months and the payment automatically taken. Since the merchant is most likely not going to cancel if you have, tell your card company you have signed up to this CPA and you want it cancelled. You don't have to go into details about bad websites and scams etc - just cancel it with the CC company - be matter-of-fact and brief.

sourcrates

SueSmoss said:

Thanks to everyone for your help and support and for being kind.
I do feel stupid but really want to put this right, I can't afford to lose that much, especially at this time of year. I have not received acknowledgement of the order at all, so I have no confirmation of whether goods will be sent.

So far you have lost nothing, its the credit card company that stands to lose out initially if this is indeed a fraudulant sale.

It does not appear to be an ongoing commitment, so not sure if CPA will be an issue.

born_again

phillw said:

Shakin_Steve said:

No point in your bank cancelling your card because visa will helpfully update them with your new details.

They only do that with vetted companies.
I would instantly contact the supplier and the credit card company and tell them that you don't want the product as the price is not what was advertised. You should be covered for section 75 as they have to make the amount repayable clear before you purchase.
If the credit card company doesn't play ball then ask to raise a complaint & then ask them for a deadlock letter for the ombudsman.
This isn't the first time I've heard about this scam.

2nd person to mention S75....

>>> 2x £39.99 for 3 pots. I put in my credit card details and hit next which took me to a page saying that I had been charged £248 <<<
Under S75 limit. Which is per item, not including P&P

Ergates

born_again said:

phillw said:

Shakin_Steve said:

No point in your bank cancelling your card because visa will helpfully update them with your new details.

They only do that with vetted companies.
I would instantly contact the supplier and the credit card company and tell them that you don't want the product as the price is not what was advertised. You should be covered for section 75 as they have to make the amount repayable clear before you purchase.
If the credit card company doesn't play ball then ask to raise a complaint & then ask them for a deadlock letter for the ombudsman.
This isn't the first time I've heard about this scam.

2nd person to mention S75....

>>> 2x £39.99 for 3 pots. I put in my credit card details and hit next which took me to a page saying that I had been charged £248 <<<
Under S75 limit. Which is per item, not including P&P

Given it's not exactly clear what the OP has been charged for (as, clearly, 2x £39.99 isn't £248), it's impossible to say whether or not it would be covered by S75.  If it's the retailer who is selling multiple items as a block (e.g. if the "thing" you're buying is 2 of an item, rather than adding 2 single items to your basket) then for the purposes of S75 that should be considered a single item.
So, *if* what has happened here is that the retailer has sold the OP, say, 6 pots of supplements instead of 2, and this is being sold as a job-lot, then they may still be covered, even thought he price per pot is less than £100.
*If*, however, they're only selling £79.98 worth of supplements and the remaining £168.02 is for P&P then it wouldn't.
Or, *if*, as seems most likely, it's for, 3 lots 2x £39.99  (once a month for 3 months or whatever) and £8 of P&P then it also wouldn't be covered.

Assuming, of course, that the goods don't turn up.  If they do and the OP just bought more than they thought they were buying, I'm not sure what recourse you have there.  Should be able to return them as unwanted, but that can be easier said than done.

phillw

I'm not sure that it wouldn't be covered....
https://www.choose.co.uk/guide/section-75-credit-card-purchase-protection.html

Individual items bought as a set

[i]Individual items that cost less than £100 but have been bought as a set costing more than £100 are covered.

For example, someone buys a book of ten boat trip tickets for £220 and makes three trips. The boat company goes bust. That person can claim for the whole £220 even though each ticket is only £22 and 3 x £22 is only £66.[/i]

If you could claim that the individual parts had to cost £100 then pretty much nothing would be covered. You could buy a mac book air and Apple would say we sold the person a pcb, cpu, graphics card, memory, screen and charged them for shipping. Each of the parts of the computer cost less than £100.

Ebony13

I've just had a similar experience with this company with a purchase of CBD Gummies - advertised deal £39.75 for 5 bags (buy 3 get 2 free).  It wasn't until after purchase that I retraced my steps and saw a MINUTE '/bag' underneath this price.  OK if your sight is 100%, which mine isn't.  During the checkout process I was also offered ointment and a supplement, with no option to accept or refuse.  After checkout I discovered that two payments had been taken from my credit card, one for £198.78 and one for £28.99.  I received no email acknowledgement of my purchase and there are no contact details whatsoever.  A Google search was also unsuccessful.  I immediately contacted my credit card company who said that I should contact them again when the transactions were removed from 'pending' to 'paid', which I did.  They informed me that the process is to contact the seller direct to request a refund but the 'phone number shown on my credit card statement is unobtainable.  In the meantime I have received the order (much to my surprise) and the items received are absolute rubbish.  The lozenges are contained in a bag the size of a small bag of peanuts and I certainly didn't want or order the capsules or ointment.  There was no receipt or paperwork enclosed with the order and the only return address is half-concealed underneath the address label.  The return address is: 
LS Returns
PO Box 455
Ruislip
HA4 (indecipherable).
I am obviously reluctant to return the goods and a Google search has not found any company of this name.
My main emotion at the moment is cursing myself for falling for what I believe to be a scam and my next move will be to contact my credit card company again to advise them of the latest developments.