Scam site or not?

clay0001

Hi, apologies if not in correct section. I have been looking for a Apple laptop and came across a site called Forteros offering very good prices. Is there any way I can check if they are some kind of scam site or not. I've seen a warning or two but they also say it might be that they are a new company, thanks in advance.

powerful_Rogue

Wouldn't touch it with a barge pole.

sheramber

No officers details on Companies House.

Emmia

If it looks too good to be true, it probably is...

Also, their prices don't appear to be cheaper than buying from Apple directly. I looked at a random laptop (an Apple 13-inch MacBook Air - Starlight) on Forteros and Apple's own site, and Apple looks to be £26 cheaper for the same spec. 

user1977

sheramber said:

No officers details on Companies House.

?

They're here: https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/14454462/officers

Not sure anything necessarily screams scam, looks like any other new/small drop-shipping outfit. I doubt I'd trust them with anything valuable.

[Deleted User]

Not necessarily a scam site, but I wouldn’t touch it.

Look at what the website shows: mobile phone contact numbers, no actual address for the ‘warehouse’, and the registered business address shown in the terms is just a virtual office address (you’ll find hundreds of other businesses using the same address). This screams small time ‘business lads’. You could receive what you pay for, or something similar, but I’d be concerned about after sales. If something goes wrong I think you’ll be fobbed off and ignored. 

When it comes to high-value purchases, particularly Apple products, the best money-saving advice I can offer is to stop trying to save a little bit here and there, and just buy either direct from Apple or from a legit big retailer, eg. John Lewis, who I’ve known replace a 5k iMac that was beyond repair (faulty within six months, logic board failure). 

RefluentBeans

- New Website (within one year of domain registration) 
- phone number is a mobile and easy to drop
- multiple different companies with similar websites and same company number but in furniture not consumer electronics: Retano (registered this month), Parano (registered this year)
- registered offices are short term office rentals (https://www.hoxtonmix.com/paul-street-office/)
- actual offices is an industrial estate but the post code seems to point to a BT depot. 
- 1 TrustPilot review 
- no VAT registration number 

Now I wouldn’t want to slander a new start up company, but this feels very suspicious. The items on the website are not cheap, but are cheaper (by 20%ish) than competitors. That feels too good to be true to me. 

Even if you get your product, if the reason it is cheaper is because they’re avoiding VAT or Tax, then they won’t be around to provide your statutory rights from the CRA, and if not an authorised dealer for the appliances, you may not get a warranty. Personally, that’s a lot of risk for 20% off. 

born_again

Call us:

07537175500

07868809069

No land line.... 

user1977

born_again said:

Call us:

07537175500

07868809069

No land line.... 

I'm not sure that the absence of a "landline" really means much these days. At my work, our "landline" numbers simply divert to our mobiles, and if a business wants a landline-looking number, there are plenty of options without getting their very own copper wires installed.

RefluentBeans

user1977 said:

born_again said:

Call us:

07537175500

07868809069

No land line.... 

I'm not sure that the absence of a "landline" really means much these days. At my work, our "landline" numbers simply divert to our mobiles, and if a business wants a landline-looking number, there are plenty of options without getting their very own copper wires installed.

Think the argument is that most businesses who deal with externally facing customers will likely have a landline number (unless you’re so big you build online systems to deal with front line customers, like Amazon etc). I think the overwhelming amount of ‘amber’ flags makes it a red flag. 

If it was a £30 transaction, I’d spin up a virtual single use card, and give it a whirl. But given the cheapest item is above £100, not worth the risk in my opinion. 

user1977

RefluentBeans said:

user1977 said:

born_again said:

Call us:

07537175500

07868809069

No land line.... 

I'm not sure that the absence of a "landline" really means much these days. At my work, our "landline" numbers simply divert to our mobiles, and if a business wants a landline-looking number, there are plenty of options without getting their very own copper wires installed.

Think the argument is that most businesses who deal with externally facing customers will likely have a landline number (unless you’re so big you build online systems to deal with front line customers, like Amazon etc). I think the overwhelming amount of ‘amber’ flags makes it a red flag. 

Two mobile numbers certainly indicates that they're never going to have more than two people answering the phone!

But it's a fairly trivial matter to get a landline contact number for any serious scammer - even easier than acquiring a prestigious London office address.