Sydney internet accessories scam, apparently

[tonic]

Well I hate to admit it, but it looks like I’ve been had. I would hate it more if I did nothing to warn others and find out that they had been done as well.

I had been looking at an item on a full page add in a well know magazine which I am sure many on here would read. It takes me some time to purchase an item and I often struggle with the decision, especially if it is a luxury item which it was in this case. Not overly expensive, but would have put me further into the luxury camping set, or whatever you call it. Anyway, after 2 months of deliberation and seeing it for the 3rd time in the magazine I went ahead.

As the time ran out for their promised delivery period I started to get nervous, so I called. The automated response told me to send an email with confirmation number etc and they would get back with ETA. As I looked at the purchase confirmation I noticed the letter head which had another name, an abbreviated company name. The internet as it is, I searched this company and found by accident a link which you will see at the bottom of this post. After reading this it all became clear. Oops, it looks like I’m a goner.

I have subsequently contacted the publication from which I found the add and got the “Oh no, I’m sorry, we have pulled the add as fast as we could, lead times for print stopped us from doing so earlier, we are very sorry”. I have contacted my credit card provider and they are going through the motions of having the deal reversed, here’s hopping.

Should you reply to this post please do not mention any names of who I have dealt with etc. Before doing this post I conferred with Inc, Dave as to what I could do. I know the link will say it all if you read through it. I only hope I have posted in time to save some others. No names please, PM if you want to know more exact details, these are Inc's instructions.

Tonic

By the way, there has not been any response to my email, surprise!

[tonic]

The link just posted with the details you are not to post. I did an urgent edit, will try again.

PM me for the link if you need in a hurry.

[tonic]

Sorry everyone, cant get the link to post without the details I am not to post, works on emails but not in here. If someone with more computer skills than me can help that would be great.

[FeatherWeightDriver]

Unlucky Tonic. Especially with that type of advertising.

One great reason to always pay with credit card / paypal.

Credit card companies needs to chase any of the following that you report to them:


You cancelled a reservation within a business or retailer’s cancellation period, but were still charged
You provided your details to a business or retailer and have been charged without your consent
A refund or credit has not been processed, or has been processed as a purchase
The transaction amount differs to what your receipt states
You cancelled a regular payment but were still charged
You were charged multiple times for the same purchase
Goods are not as described or not received
Services have not rendered
Merchandise is defective.

From here Shopping online | ACCC (http://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/online-shopping/shopping-online) and here Resolving Credit Card & Debit Card Disputes | Westpac (http://www.westpac.com.au/personal-banking/credit-cards/manage/resolve-cc-dispute/)

[tonic]

Unlucky Tonic. Especially with that type of advertising.

One great reason to always pay with credit card / paypal.

Credit card companies needs to chase any of the following that you report to them:


You cancelled a reservation within a business or retailer’s cancellation period, but were still charged
You provided your details to a business or retailer and have been charged without your consent
A refund or credit has not been processed, or has been processed as a purchase
The transaction amount differs to what your receipt states
You cancelled a regular payment but were still charged
You were charged multiple times for the same purchase
Goods are not as described or not received
Services have not rendered
Merchandise is defective.
From here Shopping online | ACCC (http://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/online-shopping/shopping-online) and here Resolving Credit Card & Debit Card Disputes | Westpac (http://www.westpac.com.au/personal-banking/credit-cards/manage/resolve-cc-dispute/)


Interesting, you must have deleted the NSW Fair Trading alerts while I was looking at it. Inc said these links are OK. I did find who I was looking for, but, he is trading under a new name which is not shown on that link. It was picked up by others which is in the link I am unable to post.

So even if you do the checks, you could still get caught. What gets me is he is know. How was he able to start up again.:mad:

[12voltinnovations]

Geez this guy is as keen as mustard just wont give up, I cant believe how many company names and stuff this dude has, hope you get ur coin back mate.

[FeatherWeightDriver]

Interesting, you must have deleted the NSW Fair Trading alerts while I was looking at it. Inc said these links are OK. I did find who I was looking for, but, he is trading under a new name which is not shown on that link. It was picked up by others which is in the link I am unable to post.

So even if you do the checks, you could still get caught. What gets me is he is know. How was he able to start up again.:mad:

My bad - I took that link off not because of what was linked but I re-read my post and thought I was teaching you to suck eggs, which I wasn't trying to do. :angel:

Here's some "public record" links from government and regulatory authorities (which makes them fair game - no defamation risk) to help find the dodgiest of dodgy characters (i.e. the ones who are getting caught):

Public warnings - NSW Fair Trading (http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/About_us/News_and_events/Public_warnings.html)

Australian Securities and Investments Commission - Advanced-search (http://www.asic.gov.au/asic/asic.nsf/asic+advancedsearch'readform)

Public registers | ACCC (http://www.accc.gov.au/public-registers)
(you want Undertakings register and Infringement notice registers)

Also if the business / person you are having trouble with is on any one of these lists you should let your bank know this is the case, as this will help your side of the case.

[tonic]

[QUOTE=FeatherWeightDriver;1917570]My bad - I took that link off not because of what was linked but I re-read my post and thought I was teaching you to suck eggs, which I wasn't trying to do. :angel:

Any help is good help mate, didn't see it that way:ehigh5:

[FeatherWeightDriver]

Independent to the posts above... :angel:

This character seems like he may get some traffic from folks in these forums, but several state government agencies reckon he's dodgy. Please check the business names before buying.

Public warning - George Sekuloski and Bulk Imports & Exports - NSW Fair Trading (http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/About_us/News_and_events/Media_releases/2012_media_releases/20120810_public_warning_george_sekuloski.html)

Warning - George Sekuloski online retailer Bulk Imports Exports - Department of Commerce (http://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/corporate/media/statements/2012/December/Warning_George_Sekuloski_onlin.html)

George Sekuloski and Bulk Imports and Exports : Department of Justice and Attorney-General (http://www.fairtrading.qld.gov.au/george-sekuloski-and-bulk-imports-and-exports.htm)

Copy and paste from the above websites:


Bulk Imports and Exports Pty Ltd has registered the following business names:
• Solar Energy Store International
• EProducts, and
• Luxury Home Products.

Mr Sekuloski is also known to trade under the names:
• Solar Energy Store
• Solar Energy Store Australia
• OzEpicDeals
• Eproductshop
• Double-gear
• Esales_superstore
• Online-group
• Lhp-net.au, and
• Chromecampers

George Sekuloski is listed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) as the sole director of: Bulk Imports & Exports Pty Ltd (ACN 131 768 084); HTR Caravan and Camping Pty Ltd (ACN 154 876 954); and, Earth8 Construction Pty Ltd (ACN 154 876 963).

Bulk Imports & Exports Pty Ltd has registered the following business names: Solar Energy Store International (BN98531802); EProducts (BN98449073); and, Luxury Home Products (BN98418743).

George Sekuloski is also known to trade under the names of: Solar Energy Store; OzEpicDeals; Eproductshop; Double-gear; Esales_superstore; Online-group; Solar Energy Store Australia; and, Lhpnet-au.

George Sekuloski has two business premises at Seven Hills in Sydney

[FeatherWeightDriver]

As a more general warning, always check the website you are buying from has some specific information about the business name, ABN etc somewhere on the site.

If you don't know who you are dealing with then... well you don't know who you are dealing with :angry:

A good trick is to go to this site and put the web site name in the search box in the top right, select "whois search" and hit the search button: Whois Lookup, Whois History, DNS Lookup, more | DomainTools (http://www.domaintools.com/research/)

If the results come back with any of the names / companies in my previous post then stay away!

Note though that there are ways to make sure no useful details appear on a whois search, but if both the website and whois don't tell you who you are dealing with then best not to deal with them at all! :no2:

[tonic]

The name being advertised does not yet appear in the warnings so I cannot put it here. But i can put it in a PM

[FeatherWeightDriver]

Please stay away from the following web sites:

rv4x4.com.au
solarenergystore.com.au
lhp.net.au

They are registered to the company linked in my warnings above and run by George Sekuloski, and in addition "LUXURY HOME PRODUCTS" BN98418743 which runs the web sites is no longer a registered company (since 26/06/2012 - looks like ASIC de registered them).

For linkage information, note the Eligibility Name and Eligibility ID on the following links:

Rv4x4.com.au Whois Lookup - Who.is - Who.is (http://who.is/whois/rv4x4.com.au)
solarenergystore.com.au Whois - solar energy store - Who.is (http://who.is/whois/solarenergystore.com.au)
Lhp.net.au Whois Lookup - Who.is - Who.is (http://who.is/whois/lhp.net.au)

...and then do a company registration search here (search within business names index):

https://connectonline.asic.gov.au/RegistrySearch/faces/landing/bn/SearchBnRegisters.jspx

Hope this helps, and thanks to Inc for letting us post the facts :)

[FeatherWeightDriver]

Also the following website has exactly the same layout / VERY specific terms and conditions text / the same phone number ((02) 9620 9011) as the above sites, so should be treated with "caution"

interproductsonline.com
justbikes.com.au
just4x4s.com.au

This bloke does not give up... :censored: