Fell for a scam - looking for help

gracie83

Ok I stupidly fell for a scam yesterday.  I thought I was signing up for a free sample and like so many horrible websites now you need to give your card details and then cancel the payment.  Turns out no there is no free sample and I have been charged £180.  I contacted my credit card company and they are putting the people on a blocked list so they cannot collect any more and to start a chargeback request when the payment is no longer 'pending'.  I also emailed the company asking for a refund.  I did some digging on the company (yes I know too late) and they are notorious for this and getting money back is a nightmare.  Apparently they charge admin fees of £5.99 per item you are returning (they are sending me four items).  Also they tend to deny that even signed for items have been arrived.  The phone number is fake and I am at three email addresses and company names so far.  

 This morning I got an email saying my order has been dispatched.    I then get an email saying they will give me a 40% discount on the order because of the 'confusion'.   Does anyone know what would happen if I accepted this 40%?  The credit card guy was not really reassuring that I will get my money back if I do a charge back and I have never attempted anything like this.  If I am going to lose money then surely £107 loss is better than £180.  I should be able to start the charge back tomorrow as things are normally pending for a few days.     I am hoping to refuse the parcel but the delivery men tend not to ring the door bell now and just leave the parcel so it is unlikely I will be able to stop them.   Basically can I accept the 40% back and still continue the charge back for the rest of the money?

Thank you if you can help.  

Aylesbury_Duck

Tricky one.  Holding firm might see an unsuccessful chargeback, whereas accepting the 40% reduction is playing into the company's hands, for whom this is almost certainly their way of working.  They'll still be making a healthy profit on 60% of the price.

I don't think you can mix principles - if you accept the reduction you are implicitly accepting the goods and the contract, so the chargeback for the remainder won't work.

It comes down to your appetite for risk.  Take the goods for £108, or try the chargeback and risk paying £180 for the items if it doesn't work.