low prices on fashion accessories including Ugg boots

FocusClothing.co.uk, which took thousands of pre-Christmas orders, closed down in late December, leaving a trail of undelivered goods, and in many cases, unauthorised charges to its customer's credit cards.

Many of those who ordered goods have lost hundreds of pounds, and most buyers have been forced to cancel their credit and debit cards fearing wholesale ugg boots further fraudulent activity.

Thousands of consumers seem to have been collectively duped out of up to £1m by a website that promised designer clothing and footwear at hugely discounted prices.

The case is likely to be first real test of the new National Fraud Authority and should serve as warning to shoppers that they need to do a lot of homework before they hand over their card details to an unknown website.

Victims of FocusClothing, which appears to have traded from offices in the Longsight area of Manchester, say the company first launched on the internet in early December.

The website promised extremely discount ugg boots low prices on fashion accessories including Ugg boots, Lacoste shirts and Diesel jeans, and was promoted by glossy leaflets through the post.

Victims say the website was very professional looking, having copied the design of similar clothing websites. It even offered buyers the apparent ability to track their orders, "secure" payments, and sent out confirmation emails. The people behind the site took orders and answered phone queries.

It seems that besides the very low prices,discount ugg classic cardy boots buyers were seduced by the fact that the company promised to deliver up to the 23 December. The only problem is that the goods haven't arrived.

This week the website said it had been taken down for "maintenance reasons" and service to its 0845 call centre had been terminated.

 

One victim is Clare Flowers who lives in London. She ordered Diesel jeans and underwear for her son and paid £44.97 using a Visa credit card.

"I'd tried to buy the jeans from John Lewis but they'd run out of his size. At the suggestion of my other son who'd been sent one its leaflets, I looked at FocusClothing and it looked like any other retailer's website."

She says nothing suspicious showed up in a fairly extensive Google search on the company's name. The fact that she regularly passed the central London office block discount ugg classic tall boots  where it said it was registered gave her extra confidence.

"I registered and ordered the goods and was duly sent a confirmation email. It all worked as I would have expected, and was very professional. The only problem was the goods didn't arrive. A later search found the MoneySavingExpert. It left me feeling very foolish, and my son without a present."

Furious customers have besieged a discussion board about the company at the MoneySavingExpert forum. There are now more than 800 postings from people complaining they have been duped, swapping advice, and telling their stories. Many had ordered several hundreds of pounds worth of goods and have reported the theft to local police forces on the advice of their banks.

After several calls to her bank, the Co-op, she managed to persuade the staff to cancel her credit card. "They have now sent me a fraud form, and I'm waiting to see whether I will get my money back," she says.

Some victims have already had their payments reimbursed by their card providers, but others report having had further payments taken by a company called Trendy. One buyer bought goods to the value of £49 but found £840 charged to her card.

Consumer credit law requires credit card providers to reimburse card holders who paid more than £100 if the goods don't turn up. Those who used debit cards, or paid less than £100 are not, in theory covered, although Visa debit card users are being offered the same cover, and some card providers have been reimbursing victims who paid less than £100.

The case highlights the lack of a co-ordinated response to crimes committed on the internet. This week Trading Standards offices in the areas with links to FocusClothing knew little or nothing about the scam, although they had had complaints from its victims.

The National Fraud Authority, whose action line in Manchester received many consumer complaints about FocusClothing, said it couldn't reveal how many complaints it had received about the company, citing data protection rules. Consumer Direct, the government's flagship consumer advice line, also refused to discuss the company.

A spokesman for the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB), which is led by City of London Police, confirmed it had received a number of reports relating to an alleged online fraud. It said officers are reviewing the reports and are in "communication with a number of organisations".

The person who started the forum thread on the MoneySavingExpert site 9 December warned that it all looked too good to be true. As the poster pointed out at the time, FocusClothing wasn't registered as an authorised seller with Ugg Boots, in Australia. The person noted that the site – very suspiciously – had all sizes, of every product. It was also selling black Nintendo Wiis for the unlikely price of £134.

Had more buyers read this post before they purchased, alarm bells may have rung, and more people would have decided it looked too good to be true.

Greater Manchester Police's economic crimes unit said it had also received a number of complaints relating to FocusClothing. "Officers are currently assessing this information," a spokesman said.

Meanwhile, the best advice is for consumers to do all they can to help themselves, and pay for goods wholesale ugg boots on the internet using a credit card.

 

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