Another large-scale campaign of sending letters from law firms to consumers who have not received their shipments after purchases from foreign e-shops, commented the founder of the online platform “We, the consumers“ Gabriela Rumenova on the show “Business Start“ on Bloomberg TV Bulgaria.
According to her, this is most likely a scheme developing as a continuation of two of the most common frauds with fake online shops, indicated in the data from a recent study conducted by the European Commission Representation in Bulgaria. One is the creation of fake e-shops with the aim of stealing personal and payment data without the intention of actually selling goods, and the other is the sending of low-quality and sometimes dangerous products.
“Consumers who have ordered goods from e-shops but have not received their shipments, after months or even a year, begin to receive letters from law firms demanding that they pay the courier costs for the delivery and return of the goods, as well as additional fees and interest. The letters claim that in case of non-compliance, legal proceedings will be initiated against them“, said Rumenova.
She explained that if these are indeed orders from fake e-shops, consumers should file reports with the competent authorities. However, if they have entered into a contract with a real e-retailer and subsequently refused to receive the ordered goods, they may be liable for failure to fulfill their contractual obligations and such claims may actually be made against them.
Rumenova pointed out that the most common reason consumers refuse to accept the shipment is the information from the courier that the “inspection and test“ service is not provided for it, which raises doubts about the quality of the goods. She recalled that the general terms and conditions of each e-store indicate whether this option is offered, and recommended that when shopping from unknown merchants, those who provide it should be preferred.
According to the consumer rights expert, such types of fraud will become more frequent not only because of the increasingly widespread penetration of artificial intelligence. “Modern consumers should be better prepared for these risks, but practice shows that this is not always the case. That is why more efforts are needed to increase digital culture – in school, through the media, by consumer rights experts and by institutions“, said Rumenova.
She also drew attention to the fact that many online users who shop through so-called marketplaces still do not realize that the platforms combine offers from different merchants. “In practice, they do not buy from the company behind the platform, but from the specific merchant who published the relevant offer“, she emphasized.
Rumenova recommended that before each online purchase, consumers carefully check the merchant, the terms of sale and the characteristics of the goods offered. She drew attention to the fact that when purchasing from merchants outside the European Union, consumer protection is often more limited, and European rules do not always apply in the same way as for merchants established in the EU.