I Got Scammed!

No matter how much care you do, you can still fall for a scam! A week ago, I saw an ad on Instagram for a 360' bookshelf. It looked really nice and it said we could fit in 300 books. We really need a bookshelf so after careful review I ordered. The order system looked exactly like others I've filled out. It also promptly asked for the bank confirmation. I happily went to sleep imagining how I would store our books in it. 

The next day I felt something wasn't right. I normally list items I bought online in my planner to track my expenses and to monitor delivery. I remembered that I did not provide my email address when I made the payment for the bookshelf. It felt strange because they did not ask for any contact details except my address. So I never got a confirmation via email that I made an order. Good thing I took a screenshot of the bookshelf and the receipt so I was able to take note of the shop name. 

Since I saw the ad on IG, I searched for the shop. IG said it only had a FB page. Found the FB page and got the link to the website. The name of the shop does not show any search results on Google. You can only see it if you go to it's website without typing www. Went directly to the website and checked the contact details of the shop. It showed a US phone number and a Wuhan address. I immediately filled out the contact us page to follow up on my order. I was still hopeful at that point. 

In response to my follow-up, I received an email to create a zendesk account. I figured that it was their help desk system. I was eventually redirected to a forum page and saw many other customer complaints. I re-submitted my follow-up and waited for a response. It's been almost 5 days and I never got a response, so I told Sweetie about it. He reviewed the page and confirmed my fears. 

I immediately reported the page to FB (since that's how you advertise on IG and you have to report by flagging the page). Then I reported it to my bank. The bank immediately blocked my card and will investigate. I also sent a screenshot of the customer complaints to the bank. Hopefully they are able to confirm that the shop is fraudulent and I get my money back. Getting my card blocked is a small inconvenience for now. At least I know they cannot abuse my card. I hope the other customers would report the company so all credit card companies would block them. I hope FB would also invalidate them from making ads. 

I guess from now on I'll have to research about the company first before purchasing. I rarely purchase things from ads. I think it's probably just the second time I did. I rarely get budoled by ads. I've also been very wary about purchasing from the FB marketplace. So far I've only bought citronella plants through the FB marketplace. I only did after reading through the page of the seller. A friend though got scammed yesterday when he was trying to buy luncheon meat. What a scary world we live in. 

I still need the bookshelf. There are other sources, but they're so expensive. I could just have my Mom's carpenter make it for me when he's back from vacation. It would be a nice project for him. I just need to figure out where I could get the item that could make the shelf rotate.

#BeKind #StayHome

Budol Phails, the Funniest and Most Annoying

I've been home for more than two months now and I haven't physically visited a mall or grocery. I haven't eaten out and have not seen any of my favorite places. I've been purchasing all our needs online. Of course, nothing is perfect and even though I read reviews and buy from preferred local sellers I still encounter rotten eggs. I oftentimes don't dispute bad items if it's salvageable, but I do submit reviews for most of my purchases (mainly so I'd remember which ones are good). 

Definitely not plus sized.

Don't Buy Clothes Online Unless It's Branded

I recently encountered the worst seller. When I got the item I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I normally don't purchase clothing online since it's a miss more often than not. I needed to replace some of Miggy's clothes though and my attempts to buy via SM did not work out. It took me several days to find a shop to order. I ordered three plus sized shorts, but received 2 pairs of shorts that won't even fit me and a blouse. Whuttttt. The most annoying thing is Shopee rejected my refund, so now I have to report it to DTI. Well, I disputed it again last night so I'm giving them a day or two before I report to DTI. 

Bubblewrapped, but Warped

It's abhorrent how sellers go overboard with bubble wrap. I understand they're just making sure that the item doesn't get damaged. I've had to get help from Sweetie and Miggy to unwrap packages because of the crazy way sellers wrap items. The other day I ordered some pots and a seedling tray. The seller wrapped the tray around the pots. This caused the tray to warp. I'm still trying to straighten out the tray, but I don't think it's going to be useful. Good thing I only ordered one. 

Most are Mini

Usually sellers try to make items look bigger. I normally buy toilet paper from the supermarket, but thought I'd try to buy in bulk. I take pains to read product details and reviews, but should have known that most of those who submit reviews just do it for the coins. Anyway, so I ordered toilet paper and facial tissue and was surprised that they were tiny! Pang tiny home living ganern??? This also happened for some kitchen items. Eye-roll. 

Reality vs. Expectation

Wet

I ordered desiccant last month. I expected the whole package to be dry as a desert since that's what desiccants do. I was wrong. The items in the package were wet and after some investigation I found out that the desiccant was wet. It was sticky and caused my hands to itch. We threw out the desiccant since we thought it was unsafe to use. 

PII of Hospital Patients!

I've been ordering all of my garden needs online. I found this shop that sells nice terracotta clay pots. I've ordered twice from them. Since the pots are very heavy, Sweetie usually unboxes it for me. The pots were wrapped with filled-out health declaration forms and photocopies of IDs of patients from a hospital in Novaliches. This is really bad and I have sent info to the National Privacy Commission about it. 

The Forgetfuls

I have also encountered some sellers who fail to send all the items I ordered. This is usually the easiest to resolve and I've been able to get a refund for missing items. Just make sure to check the items before clicking "order received". 

I treat buying online as an adventure. The local landscape is very different from Singapore. My rule of thumb is, "You get what you pay for, so be forgiving." It's very hard though to determine which shops are reliable, but that's what the "preferred" stamp could help you with. I'm currently on a hiatus from purchasing items online to reduce interaction. Going to miss our friendly delivery riders for now. 

What budol phails have you encountered?

#BeKind #StayHome #StaySafe