I am struggling to get PayPal to recognise this as fraud, even though Fraud Action UK says it clearly is. Chicv is currently advertising heavily on Facebook and Instagram in its newest guises of Aroamday and Damensein. This is a clear case of social engineering. They operate these websites in German and there is no mention of their actual location - China - you only discover this when you try to return goods. I never normally buy through social media ads but I have medical issues that mean I am restricted to a particular German brand of flat, round toe sandals. I saw what I thought were these on Aroamday and bought them. As soon as I received the confirmation email I saw that the size in my shopping basket (38) was different. In the confirmation email it was now 35. I contacted the company, using their official channels, within minutes of placing the original order and receiving the confirmation email. I fully expected that this would be enough to cancel the order and I was confident that I would receive the 100% refund promised on the website for cancelling within the required 24 hour window. No such luck! 11 days later a package arrived. I refused it but the courier left it on my doorstep and did a runner. I opened the package, no return slip - just a pair of nasty plastic sandals, not just way too small but also the wrong colour. I contacted Aroamday again. They refused to issue a refund unless I was prepared to cover the cost of returning the sandals, warned me this would be very expensive (it is!) and offered a 15% refund instead. I feel that, having cancelled the order in good time, I should not be responsible for the cost of return postage. They (and apparently PayPal) disagree. It would cost as much as the value of the items purchased to return them and many others have said that returns mysteriously go missing in transit and refunds are rarely if ever made. I now have a crime number from Action Fraud and have asked PayPal to reopen my claim. I can't say I'm feeling very optimistic.
... View more
