Duped by Deadseakit.com*LONDON

[ZED]

Oh the shame of it ... I've been duped!

I applied online for what I *thought* were some free samples of facial moisturisers, cleansers etc ... but what I was really applying for was a free trial of these products. (Spot the subtle difference?)


I was asked for £3.95 to cover postage ... and (silly me) I used my Santander credit card to pay for it. In due course the samples arrived ... 3 little tiny pots of 'goo'. I thought no more about it until I received my Santander account statement this morning. Not only did Deadseakit.com*LONDON take the £3.95 for p&p on the 25th August, but they also took £59.95 on the 11th September ... apparently because I had decided to keep the product AFTER my free trial had ended! (My free trial, it appears, lasted for just 14 days ... this info is buried amongst the 'small print' at the bottom of the website).

I contacted Santander immediately ... It appears that as I voluntarily supplied my credit card details to this firm there is no way that I can recoup the payment.

However, I noticed something else nestling amongst the small print:
100% Satisfaction Guarantee: If you are not 100% satisfied for any reason, you can return the product up to 30 days after you purchase it for a full refund of the purchase price (full terms under T&C's). Return address: PO Box 5381, Caesarea 30889, Israel.

So naturally I have contacted the firm (via email) to alert them to the fact that I am totally dissatisfied with their product and therefore I will look forward to receiving a full refund (I have also asked for the return of the £3.95 p&p charge ... I *think* that will be in compliance with the UK's DSRs?)

My quandry is this ... normally I'd use the Royal Mail's 'track & trace' service for sending goods abroad: but this requires a signature from the recipient ... and a signature can't be obtained from a P.O Box. So am I under an obligation to return the almost-empty jars to Israel, or can I send them to the address in London that this firm operate from (ie: DS Marketing Ltd. 788-790 Finchley Rd., NW11 7TJ London) ?


NB: Apparently I have now been entered into some sort of 'autofill' arrangement whereby I'll have £59.95 deducted from my account on a regular basis ... luckily I spotted this, and I swiftly contacted deadseakit.com*LONDON to cancel my 'membership'. (This is definitely not a club that I want to associate with!)

[ZED]

Re: Duped by Deadseakit.com*LONDON

Actually, I've just ploughed part of the way through this firm's t&cs

Firstly:

Despite stating that: "As part of our 100% Satisfaction Guarantee, if you are not completely satisfied with your purchase, for any reason, you can return the product up to 30 days after delivery of your order for a full refund of the initial purchase"

They then proceed with: "Any returned items must be unused, in their original condition and packaging. We cannot issue refunds for returned items that are damaged, opened, used or tampered with in any way whatsoever evident."

Q: How can a customer know whether they're "dissatisfied" or not if they're not allowed to open the pots of goo?

Secondly:

They state that: "We" are the service and goods provider of Deadseabeautykit.com, DS Marketing Limited, a company formed in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland." And yet when a customer wants to return a product and claim a refund, he/she has to despatch the items to a P.O Box in Israel.

Thirdly:

In their 'shipping policy' they state that: "We are not responsible for lost or stolen items". Surely that is in contravention of the UK's DSRs?

[ZED]

Re: Duped by Deadseakit.com*LONDON

Incidentally ...

Cosmetic, toiletry and perfumery products (cosmetics) are subject to European laws that ensure that they are safe. These laws also require certain information to be printed or labelled on packaging. This includes an ingredient list, the contents, any warnings that might be necessary on how to use the product safely, and a "period after opening" or a "Best Before Date" to show how long the product may be kept.
There is no such labelling on the Beauty Kit that I was sent!

[Hurricane Puffrose]

Re: Duped by Deadseakit.com*LONDON

BUMPED

[ZED]

Re: Duped by Deadseakit.com*LONDON

Thanks for the bumping, puffrose!

[Hurricane Puffrose]

Re: Duped by Deadseakit.com*LONDON

Anytime.
Highlighting as unanswered, hang in there kid

[ZED]

Re: Duped by Deadseakit.com*LONDON

Ta! Actually I've done a bit more digging ... although I don't know whether this is relevant or not: there are oodles of complaints online (all in a similar vein to mine) about this company. One alarming 'find' is that they ignore customers' requests to cancel the 'auto refill' programme and continue to withdraw cash from people's bank/credit card company on a regular basis. Hence I'm planning to close my Santander account to prevent this from happening to me. (It'll be a nuisance, but do I have an option?)

Also ...
DS Marketing Ltd (London) have owned the domain name Deadseakit.com*LONDON for just over 11 months (the same length of time that they've inhabited the Finchley Rd premises). They have just 2 weeks left of ownership of the domain name. I'm wondering whether they're a 'fly-by-night' organisation that rips people off - disappears - then re-emerges under a new guise/domain name.


I'm so angry: not especially angry with myself any more though ... heck, I'm a pensioner and I quite often apply for free samples when I see them advertised (toothpaste, dog food, cereal bars etc) but I've never encountered an 'issue' like this before. Surely there's GOT to be something a bit iffy about a firm that employs such a dubious marketing strategy to shift its products?

[ZED]

Re: Duped by Deadseakit.com*LONDON

http://sparkster.hubpages.com/hub/De...aundering-Scam

[quote] “This made me curious so I decided to check the Whois servers to find out which address had been used to register the website's domain name and how many changes, etc had been made since it was set up. As it turns out, whoever set the website up had registered it at 788-790 Finchley Road, London which I soon discovered is an address massively associated with overwhelming amounts of serious organized crime! As it turns out this address had actually, so far, been used to fraudulently pose as over 930 legitimate companies with the purpose of defrauding customers and then laundering that money back to Israel. “

[Sapphire]

Re: Duped by Deadseakit.com*LONDON

Just pm'ing someone I hope will be able to help on this for you.

[Trader97]

Re: Duped by Deadseakit.com*LONDON

Just a thought, but if you used your credit card to purchase the items in the first place, doesn't Section 78 protection apply ? Someone more knowledgeable may be able to comment ?

[Sapphire]

Re: Duped by Deadseakit.com*LONDON

Just done a credit check on DS Marketing, as you say its newly incorporated (6/10/11) and has a credit rating of 36/100, not bad for a new company.

The director is shown as:

Ms Neeltje Coree
Tak Van Poortvlietstraat 65
9602 Pb Hoogezand

Date of birth: 6/2/67

[ZED]

Re: Duped by Deadseakit.com*LONDON

Seems as though there could be breaches of HMRC regulations too (the absence of a customs label etc)

Also I'm in contact with PETA (people for the ethical treatment of animals) about the fact that deadseakit.com are using PETA's registered logo on their onscreen advert. (PETA have ultra-strict rules about who is allowed to use their logo ... and in any case, it's illegal to claim that a product has not been tested on animals if it isn't true).

Incidentally, I've found the relevant UK government legislation re: product labelling (cosmetics) on the website: : http://www.legislation.gov.uk/

vis a vis ...

Cosmetics
Containers and/or packaging must state, in indelible, easily legible and visible characters:
• the name or trade name and address or registered office of the manufacturer or of the person
responsible for marketing the cosmetic product within the Community;
• the nominal contents at the time of packaging, by weight or by volume;
• for products with a minimum durability of less than 30 months: the date of minimum durability
indicated by ‘Best used before the end of ...’;
• for products with a minimum durability of more than 30 months: the period of time after
opening for which the product can be used without any harm to the consumer (this
information is indicated by a special symbol representing an open cream jar);
• particular precautions for use;
• the batch number or product reference to permit identification;
• the product function.
The labelling must also state a list of ingredients, in descending order, preceded by the word
‘Ingredients’.
The original framework Directive is 76/768/EEC, which sets out these specifications.

[ZED]

Re: Duped by Deadseakit.com*LONDON

I guess my Q is now ...

Which organisation can take action against this firm? Consumer Advice emailed me with the following message:

"The real problem you have is that while some may consider this to be a scam, the best type of scams are when the company are not breaching any legislation. Under these circumstances, there will be little other the consumer can do other than to contact the credit card company to prevent further payments."

A local Trading Standards officer emailed me with reply to specific questions I had asked about deadseakit.com's DSRs ... she had painstakingly cut & paste comments from a thread on a consumer website where people had been discussing DSRs. It was all "ifs and maybes" and no definte conclusions (basically it was just people pondering these issues amongst themselves) ... but amazingly, the trading standards person wrote at the end of her email: [quote] "I hope this clarifies matters for you"!

[ZED]

Re: Duped by Deadseakit.com*LONDON

Just a thought, but if you used your credit card to purchase the items in the first place, doesn't Section 78 protection apply ? Someone more knowledgeable may be able to comment ?

Hi Trader97,

Luckily, my credit card company have now refunded me in full :tinysmile_grin_t:


However, I am continuing my 'research' into this matter purely out of interest.

Some years ago my son made an emollient cream to help with the excema that has blighted his life for 30+ years. He was using all-natural ingredients (the kitchen was full of camomile flowers!) He thought it would be a good idea to market the product ... but there was so much 'red tape' involved that he abandoned the idea. But judging by the way deadseakit operate ... well, it seems that although there's a massive amount of legislation in place with regard to manufacturing, advertising, and retailing cosmetic products, there isn't actually anyone with a remit to enforce this legislation!

[bluebottle]

Re: Duped by Deadseakit.com*LONDON

In view of the links 788-790, Finchley Road, London has with organised crime, you might want to mention this to the Serious and Organised Crime Agency. I would also mention the address in Holland to them as well. Although it may seem insignificant, quite often, small snippets of information can provide a piece of a jigsaw that forms a picture of what is going on and how widespread it is. Use this link www.soca.gov.uk/contact-soca. I would suggest you write to them and let them know what you have found out. I would start with the term "I do not know if this is of any value to your organisation, but...". Inform them that you have spoken to Trading Standards about the issues relating to trading standards law, but the reason you are contacting them is because of the Finchley Road address's links with organised crime.