Scammed by fake UK website selling poor quality Chinese goods.....

Mandychard

Hi all - I'm not exactly hopeful but has anyone been successful with a chargeback on their credit card or managed to negotiate with the thieving scammers who claim to be a London based boutique but it turns out they are actually based in China?  I fell for the really convincing website of a company called "Belton London" and purchased two pairs of Martha - Clarisse shoes paying £89.91 on my credit card on 16/2.  The order confirmation all looked reputable but as soon as I received confirmation my order had been shipped and the tracking information showed the goods were coming from China I had that horrible sinking feeling. 

My suspicions were correct and when they arrived on Monday this week it became clear I had been scammed.  See images from the website and what actually arrived.  They are so bad and I suspect some of the materials they are made with are potentially dangerous judging by the stench of solvent which has not dissipated 3 days after taking them out of the packaging. 

I immediately emailed the address on the order confirmation to express my disappointment and request confirmation as to how I arrange to return the shoes for a refund.  I did this on the basis that I anticipated if I raised a case with my credit card the first question they would ask is had I tried to resolve with the seller (and I was right when they called me back yesterday). 

I received a response from "Belton London" confirming I could return the shoes but that I would have to send them back at my cost to their central warehouse in China (surprise, surprise) and this would cost approx £20 with Royal Mail plus I would be responsible for any customs charges and it would likely be that the shoes would be held in customs for 21 days etc etc, basically trying everything to put me off.  Then they offered to refund me 20% and I get to keep the shoes!  Honestly, the brass neck! 

I have since contacted Citizens Advice who talked me through an appropriate response setting out my rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and short term right to reject, which should be at no cost to me.  "Belton London" have responded reiterating the return costs would be mine and now suggesting they could be as much as £108 but increasing their offer of a refund to 30%. 

In the meantime, my credit card company have raised a dispute but are saying there is a 15 day period within which I have to give the seller the opportunity to provide the return address and if they do that (which they have in their latest response), I should attempt to return the goods. 

I do not want to throw good money after bad incurring more costs to return the shoes, a 30% refund for something that is absolutely no good to anyone is laughable but I also don't want these thieving gits to get away with it, or remain in business able to scam anyone else.  Citizens advice have passed the information on to Trading Standards. 

I'm think I know what the answers are likely to be if I get any but has anyone by any happy chance, had any success actually getting money back in similar circumstances?  Sorry its long, many thanks for your patience!  Beware of "Belton London". Photos attached.

DullGreyGuy

Mandychard said:

Hi all - I'm not exactly hopeful but has anyone been successful with a chargeback on their credit card or managed to negotiate with the thieving scammers who claim to be a London based boutique but it turns out they are actually based in China?  I fell for the really convincing website of a company called "Belton London" and purchased two pairs of Martha - Clarisse shoes paying £89.91 on my credit card on 16/2.  The order confirmation all looked reputable but as soon as I received confirmation my order had been shipped and the tracking information showed the goods were coming from China I had that horrible sinking feeling. 

My suspicions were correct and when they arrived on Monday this week it became clear I had been scammed.  See images from the website and what actually arrived.  They are so bad and I suspect some of the materials they are made with are potentially dangerous judging by the stench of solvent which has not dissipated 3 days after taking them out of the packaging. 

I immediately emailed the address on the order confirmation to express my disappointment and request confirmation as to how I arrange to return the shoes for a refund.  I did this on the basis that I anticipated if I raised a case with my credit card the first question they would ask is had I tried to resolve with the seller (and I was right when they called me back yesterday). 

I received a response from "Belton London" confirming I could return the shoes but that I would have to send them back at my cost to their central warehouse in China (surprise, surprise) and this would cost approx £20 with Royal Mail plus I would be responsible for any customs charges and it would likely be that the shoes would be held in customs for 21 days etc etc, basically trying everything to put me off.  Then they offered to refund me 20% and I get to keep the shoes!  Honestly, the brass neck! 

I have since contacted Citizens Advice who talked me through an appropriate response setting out my rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and short term right to reject, which should be at no cost to me.  "Belton London" have responded reiterating the return costs would be mine and now suggesting they could be as much as £108 but increasing their offer of a refund to 30%. 

In the meantime, my credit card company have raised a dispute but are saying there is a 15 day period within which I have to give the seller the opportunity to provide the return address and if they do that (which they have in their latest response), I should attempt to return the goods. 

I do not want to throw good money after bad incurring more costs to return the shoes, a 30% refund for something that is absolutely no good to anyone is laughable but I also don't want these thieving gits to get away with it, or remain in business able to scam anyone else.  Citizens advice have passed the information on to Trading Standards. 

I'm think I know what the answers are likely to be if I get any but has anyone by any happy chance, had any success actually getting money back in similar circumstances?  Sorry its long, many thanks for your patience!  Beware of "Belton London". Photos attached.

Compared to some the product and the images are much better match than many other similar, particularly the tan.

To be able to do a chargeback you will need to show you have returned the item, trying to get a tracked delivery into china is difficult, normally the tracking ends when it gets into the country. Using a courier yields better results but the cost often exceeds the value of the goods. With a chargeback you are limited to the value of the transaction so you cannot recover the return costs. 

The trick with these is to look at the legals... these one are more junk than the majority of them, I mean its full of unfinished sentences, talks about the "entrepreneur" being able to change the price up to 3 months after the sale, has this "Due to the measures introduced and tightened up as of 2024 regarding the 'Amendment to the Turnover Tax Act 1968 (Wet implementatie Richtlijn betalingsdienstaanbieders)". Legal jurisdiction is another to check most say "the UK" which isnt a legal jurisdiction, we have 3 separate jurisdictions, similarly some say "the US" whereas each state is its own jurisdiction. This however says Hong Kong so should have told you it wasnt based here.

Also look at the shipping... 3 days to send and 12 days to deliver? If the goods were in the UK they could deliver it by cycle courier quicker than that. 

eskbanker

Mandychard said:

I fell for the really convincing website of a company called "Belton London"

Really? I'm afraid you need to brush up on your due diligence skills and learn to look beyond the photos to the small print, where they don't even get their name right:

To exercise your right of withdrawal, you must inform us, Avon Melbourne, through a clear statement

as well as:

PLEASE NOTE THAT WE DO NOT OFFER FREE RETURNS, THERE IS A COST INVOLVED.

[...]

ALL RETURNS MUST BE SENT TO OUR CENTRAL WAREHOUSE IN ASIA AT THE CUSTOMER'S EXPENSE.

https://belton-london.com/pages/return-policy

and

These Terms of Service and any separate agreements whereby we provide you services shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Hong Kong.

https://belton-london.com/pages/terms-of-service

Mandychard said:

I have since contacted Citizens Advice who talked me through an appropriate response setting out my rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and short term right to reject, which should be at no cost to me.

[...]

I do not want to throw good money after bad incurring more costs to return the shoes, a 30% refund for something that is absolutely no good to anyone is laughable but I also don't want these thieving gits to get away with it, or remain in business able to scam anyone else.  Citizens advice have passed the information on to Trading Standards. 

CRA doesn't apply when buying from other jurisdictions, so you don't have any rights under UK legislation, and likewise Trading Standards have no powers over businesses elsewhere.

Sorry that none of this will be what you want to hear but best set expectations - best bet will be to take the partial refund and move on, a reasonably expensive lesson, sure, but without any realistic prospect of any more satisfactory outcome....

GDB2222

For the future, could I suggest using a scam detector website before buying?  For example:
https://www.scam-detector.com/

In this case, you can see the results here:
https://www.scam-detector.com/validator/belton-london-com-review/

It gives the site a score of 11 out of 100. In contrast, M&S scores 90. 

Caz3121

the website address was registered on 27th January 2025. Loads of these sites pop up usually advertising on social media.

Lots seem to put London in the name but there is no London address (a UK site would show a physical address) and they do state 'our products are shipped from Asia' with the jurisdiction clearly shown as Hong Kong

https://www.scamadviser.com/check-website/belton-london.com 
no reviews on Trust Pilot currently - too new, guess there will be a load of bad reviews, they will shut the site down and re-open a new one

best option take the refund and put the rest down to a learning lesson

Jenni_D

My partner was suckered by a Seasalt Cornwall scam on Facebook. As soon as I found out I contacted the CC company (the account is in my name) to flag it as potential fraud, and then I contacted them again after 30 days when no goods had actually arrived. (The "tracking" that was sent did in fact yield delivery information via the China Post tracking site, but no goods actually arrived here). Fortunately the CC company applied a charge back ... and my partner has been suitably chastised and reminded never to buy anything off a Facebook link.  

pinkshoes

@Mandychard - take the 30% and learn your lesson.

There is nothing on that website that screams UK. No UK phone number. No address. So as it doesn't actually portray to be a UK company you won't get anywhere with your card company as essentially you got what you paid for!

DullGreyGuy

Jenni_D said:

My partner was suckered by a Seasalt Cornwall scam on Facebook. As soon as I found out I contacted the CC company (the account is in my name) to flag it as potential fraud, and then I contacted them again after 30 days when no goods had actually arrived. (The "tracking" that was sent did in fact yield delivery information via the China Post tracking site, but no goods actually arrived here). Fortunately the CC company applied a charge back ... and my partner has been suitably chastised and reminded never to buy anything off a Facebook link.  

Thats the advantage of it never turning up, thats a seperate chargeback code. Having received the goods the OP would be required to return them and sending two pairs of shoes to China won't be cheap.

born_again

Best bit of advice.
Ignore ALL adds on social media.
Especially ones that say ANY UK town etc. 

Sadly no chargeback rights. 

soolin

Unfortunately these dodgy look a like sites are very common and once you know how to spot them they become obvious, even before you go to the website. If anyone is unsure look at the returns policy and contact us details. Any contact us that is just an email is dodgy, and any return info with strange terms is also to be avoided.

They usually target clothes or shoes - Sketchers (with a K) did the rounds for ages and caused a lot of arguments online with many people arguing it was real - but knowing the real brand is Skechers, without a T helped. I have been surprised recently to see fake Hornby sites, they use the name Hornby but either prefix it or end it with UK or a different word like toys. Fake as anything and many of those dodgy sites still have some pages with Chinese characters showing.

spo2

I have managed to get a refund through my credit card company years ago when the branded boots I ordered turned out to be fake, and the company only offered me a partial refund.

More recently, a friend ordered a DIY item and got sent something completely different, and Paypal refunded him on the complaint of item not as described. In both these cases the items had been delivered so I would say keep trying - send photos to your credit card company, and any branding on the shoes to show it doesn't meet what you ordered.