RAND(Squawk): "Looks like the thing but is not the thing" aka avoid the offshore supplier trap

Friday 10 January 2020

"Looks like the thing but is not the thing" aka avoid the offshore supplier trap

Avoid the offshore supplier trap.

With the development of internet global market places we often purchase goods from abroad without being aware of the potential problems. The consumer law which applies to a transaction should be the consumer law of the country in which the products are provided. However often such consumer laws are ignored or negated by offshore supplier using a range of devious tactics. This has resulted in the “Offshore supplier trap” which has become widespread defrauding consumers of millions each year.

Here's how it works

Some desirable product is advertised with glowing description and fantastic photo.
Promises are made of easy returns and guarantees of fitness for purpose.
Product is ordered from supplier and paid for by card in your own currency.
Goods arrive, in a few days or a week or so, packaged from an offshore location.
Goods are rubbish either not as described, shoddily made or just broken on arrival. Problems with purity, manufacturing quality are evident. Particular problems exist with small electronic goods being unsafe, untested but marked as tested or a knock off of a branded item.
They “Looks like the thing but is not the thing”.
When contacting supplier they respond with either:

"We can do a partial 10 or 20 % refund in exchange for acceptance."

"You can send the products back at your expense to the offshore location."

As the kicker:

The promised refund is less than agreed,
Cost of sending goods back is more than goods are worth,
Goods magically never arrive at return point - refund is declined.
Company working offshore pays no vat or taxes and employs cheep labour at exploitative wages.

Variations:

A free sample is offered with a just "pay for postage" agreement. Subsequent high charges are then applied to the same payment method using the excuse “See the T&Cs you joined our club with a monthly fee."
Payment details and contact details are passed to organised criminal gangs of spammers and fraudsters.
Delays in processing and replying push the transaction past the payment platforms instant refund time limit.

Avoidance strategies

Buy through a trusted platform with a uniform published in country returns policy.
Check supplier with a few Google searches “Supplier name problems” or “Supplier name reviews” or “Product name reviews"
Look on consumer feedback services such as Trust pilot or Amazon or Reviews.io
Look carefully at the product reviews - are they relevant ? Are they from confirmed purchasers
Look for the business address - is it local, in country and usable for returns.

RAND(Squawk)