The online retailer Ascot Garments is facing claims of scamming customers by not shipping sold items.
After customers complained, they were given excuses by the retailer before being completely ignored.
Which? is warning shoppers to avoid this retailer. Find out how to get your money back if you've not received an order from a retailer.
Ascot Garments
Ascot Garments was registered as a limited company on 9 April 2017 before being compulsorily struck off Companies House on 29 February 2020. This is when a company is forcibly dissolved, usually when it's believed to no longer be carrying out business; this could be due to the retailer not fulfilling its orders. Ascot Garments was officially dissolved on 10 March 2020.
Despite this, the online menswear retailer has a functioning website where prospective customers can still place orders.
It also has an active Instagram page, which contains a combination of product and model images as well as style guides and promo videos.
At the time of publishing, Ascot Garments last advertised items for sale on its Facebook and Instagram pages on 28 May 2022.
On its website, all advertised items are available to buy. The site also includes frequent pop-ups of customers who’ve supposedly just bought items.
undefined‘They kept sending out constant emails about discounts and news'
Which? spoke to four people who’d bought and not received items from Ascot Garments. One person, who wishes to only be referred to as AC, first ordered from Ascot Garments in August 2018, after first seeing the brand on an Instagram advert.
However, when he ordered again in December 2021, he didn’t receive his order or a refund, and when he contacted Ascot Garments via Instagram, it said it was waiting for stock and would ship the item when the stock arrives.
After this, AC still didn’t receive his order and his subsequent messages were ignored.
Tomáš Paluš found Ascot Garments through an Instagram advert and bought a T-shirt from the retailer in April 2022.
‘I didn't notice anything at first. The email about the shipment did not arrive. It was only then that I started looking at the web and saw the negative reviews,’ he said. He also didn’t receive his item or a refund.
Ben Welthy discovered Ascot Garments through a Facebook advert and then found the retailer on Instagram to see more product images before ordering two T-shirts and only receiving one.
When his three emails went unanswered, he messaged the retailer via Instagram and was told that it had a restock and his item will be shipped on that day.
Ben was also sent a tracking number, but he still never received one of the T-shirts he ordered and his messages were eventually ignored.
Another person, who wishes to remain anonymous, also heard about Ascot Garments via an ad on Facebook.
They didn’t receive the items that they bought in December 2021. When they contacted the brand on Instagram, they were told there was a delay in transit due to the pandemic.
They were offered a refund and Ascot Garments insisted that the refund was being processed. Eventually, the brand stopped responding to the person’s messages and no refund was issued.
Accusations of tampered reviews
Ascot Garments has a rating of just 3.1 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot. Similarly, it has 3.8 of out 5 stars on Facebook with the first seven out of 27 reviewers accusing the brand of not delivering orders, at the time of publishing this article.
On Trustpilot 32% of the reviews are either bad or poor, and while 67% of reviews are excellent, Trustpilot has posted a warning on the page stating that misuse has been detected.
Many reviewers state that they’ve been waiting weeks, months and even years for their items and have had their messages to the brand ignored.
A review on Trustpilot from 30 May 2022 reads: ‘After months with no response with clothes paid for and not delivered, Ascot Garments has deleted me off their Insta because I keep asking for my goods.’
Signs that the website is a scam
Initially, the website looks legitimate with professional photography.
It also has clothes available in a variety of sizes and various payment options, including offering the opportunity to pay in instalments with the 'buy now, pay later' company Laybuy.
However, further inspection reveals some potential dodgy signs.
The FAQ page doesn’t feature any FAQs and, instead, has the same content as the terms of service page, which, ironically, only mentions consumer refund rights.
There isn’t a privacy policy, which is mandatory for websites that collect personal data such as names, email addresses and home addresses, which Ascot Garment does collect to process orders.
Read more about how to spot an online shopping scam.
How to get your money back
By not shipping out items that have been bought by customers, Ascot Garments is violating the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which states that the retailer is responsible for goods until they are in your physical possession.
Your delivery must be made within 30 days from when you made the purchase unless a longer period has been agreed, and if this is not fulfilled you have the right to complain to the retailer to arrange for redelivery or refund.
If you paid more than £100 for goods using a credit card, you are protected by Section 75 and should be reimbursed. If you paid via PayPal, you can request a refund or open a dispute if the seller refuses to reimburse you.
If you paid less than £100, you can ask your bank to raise a chargeback claim on your credit or debit card. Chargeback is a voluntary scheme and can be used in cases of goods not arriving at all. Amex, Mastercard and Visa all operate their own chargeback schemes.
Which? has shared its findings about Ascot Garments with Trading Standards and is waiting for a response. We have also reported the website to the National Cyber Security Council.
We also contacted Ascot Garments about the issues outlined in this article and received no response.
source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/dont-buy-ascot-garments-is-breaking-consumer-law-by-failing-to-fulfil-orders-placed-through-its-website-aya785m0VIko