Gransnet forums

Chat

Online clothes company that keeps changing its name

(60 Posts)
Magenta8 Sun 12-Jul-26 13:25:10

There may be more than one company doing this but it always seems to turn out the same way.

There are photos of clothes on the website that look really nice in the photos and are often described as being made from natural fibres and decorated with lace, embroidery, flowers etc.

You order what looks like a really pretty top in the photograph online, only to find that what arrives is made from cheap polyester with a printed design on it that looks really awful.

You try and return the item but this proves impossible as you seem to be blocked from doing so at every turn.

A short while later you find what look suspiciously like the same tops being advertised by a company with a completely different name. It would appear that they trade under one name until they have a few one star reviews on Trustpilot, then they simply change the name of the company and start again.

A while back I bought what was supposed to be a knitted cotton top with embroidered flowers. What arrived was a printed polyester fleece top with unhemmed edges.

runforhome Tue 14-Jul-26 16:03:51

I fell for one of these scams but reported it to my credit card company and got a full refund.

labazs Tue 14-Jul-26 15:50:27

I was caught like that. Ordered what I thought was denim long shorts sort of pedal pushers but when they came turned out to be denim sort of printed on polyester. I never wore them.

AmberGran Tue 14-Jul-26 14:58:53

Many of the designs have been stolen from other companies - there are designers in Italy waging war on Chinese companies that are selling their designs, but in very cheap and nasty fabrics and not well put together. That's why they look so good on the websites - the pics are stolen.

There is a YouTuber called Bernadette Banner who designs and makes clothes from other eras and fantasy style clothes. One of her designs was stolen and she saw it online so she ordered it. When it arrived she displayed the Chinese version against the one she made and the only real match was that they were both red 😁

AuntieE Tue 14-Jul-26 14:48:21

I scroll down the homepages of companies I do not know and check for a physical address and a telephone number.

If these are not in evidence, I assume the company is not in the same country as I am, and look for someone else supplying what I want.

This is not fool-proof, of course, but it often does show you either that the company is within the same country as you are, or that it is not.

Google can often provide information on who actually owns a company and where it is based.

WithNobsOnIt Tue 14-Jul-26 14:25:56

How do these Companies get to keep advertising if they have so many complaints. And are plainly scams.

Don't know how online and mobile phone advertising works. But surely these companies pay for these adverts.

Are the any regulatory organisation or bodies?

Grandmotherto8 Tue 14-Jul-26 14:11:00

I NEVER buy anything from a company I've happened across online without researching their Trustpilot reviews. 90% of the time the reviews are 1.9/5 with depressing accounts of poor quality fabrics, lengthy delivery times and nonexistent customer service. Beware.

Ktsmum Tue 14-Jul-26 14:06:21

If it's a company you've not used before always check out customer reviews, you will usually find that what arrives is flimsy, cheap and shoddy and can't be returned

Ziplok Tue 14-Jul-26 14:02:25

welbeck

Too risky this distance buying esp for clothes.
Go to a shop.
See what you're getting.
Feel the quality.

That would be the ideal scenario, of course. However, in my town and numerous others the decent shops and department stores have closed down so going there to try them on and check the quality has become impossible.
Yes, there are out of town centres, but these require a car to reach them or unreliable public transport and not everyone has the use of a car.

KathleenE Tue 14-Jul-26 13:51:00

Yes I fell for this once. Check them out on Companies House and you'll see they're probably in receivership

Babamaman Tue 14-Jul-26 13:44:37

Sadly I think most of us have been scammed by these companies - all chines- all the same!
I know I have and even when questioning the customer services the used ‘English’ first names😡
It makes me so angry

WinnieLily Tue 14-Jul-26 13:38:21

That’s because of customs in China, things can be held up a couple of weeks there.
Having said that I order lots from Temu and it usually arrives in around 10 days.

Gran22boys Mon 13-Jul-26 16:52:49

BlueBelle

Wellbeck you can’t go to a shop if there aren’t any left in your town

Agree and when I venture to our nearest big town I can never find anything I like. Everything is flouncy, baggy or too long and just looks like tat. I’m only ever left with Seasalt and the like but you can spot it a mile off when someone is wearing it. It would be nice to be different but classic.

Luckygirl3 Mon 13-Jul-26 16:37:35

I think the temptation lies in the fact that these sites often offer some really attractive garments that cannot be found elsewhere. If M&S sold them I would be on it like a shot!

Magenta8 Mon 13-Jul-26 14:28:57

If you no longer have easy access to "proper shops" there are still reliable online outlets. These are established firms based in the UK. Reputable online retailers deliver quickly and offer free returns if you don't like what you have bought. You can usually read customer reviews about what you are looking at before you buy.

I found that the "scammy" sites are usually quite easy to spot.

BlueBelle Mon 13-Jul-26 12:33:29

Wellbeck you can’t go to a shop if there aren’t any left in your town

welbeck Mon 13-Jul-26 12:32:43

The business operation you describe was featured recently on BBC Radio 4 You n Yours.
It's a well known scam.

welbeck Mon 13-Jul-26 12:31:09

Too risky this distance buying esp for clothes.
Go to a shop.
See what you're getting.
Feel the quality.

Luckygirl3 Mon 13-Jul-26 12:28:54

I am always puzzled by these lovely designs - why does someone not actually make the real thing? Or maybe they do but at outlets that are way out of my budget!

Luckygirl3 Mon 13-Jul-26 12:27:57

I was caught by this once - but only once!! Lesson learned!

How they get away with advertising in the UK with its Trades Descriptions Act I do not know!

BlueBelle Mon 13-Jul-26 12:26:41

I never buy online without checking reviews You can easily tell the ‘firms’ to avoid that way
Unfortunately I can’t buy personally as we only have Peacocks and M and S and don’t like MandS s clothes or prices all that much.
We won’t even sell Shein at the charity shop 🤣

Cabbie21 Mon 13-Jul-26 12:12:33

Some decent looking dresses seem to be marketed online by about five different firms, all with traditional sounding names. Makes me very suspicious.
I prefer to shop in person.

Witzend Mon 13-Jul-26 12:10:35

Facebook is awash with ads that more or less scream ‘Scam!’ The items are offered at amazingly bargain prices. There will often be a highly respectable looking person or couple, saying that ‘sadly we are having to close our much loved family business…’
Etc,. and very often there will be a classy-sounding U.K. location for the business.

So often it’ll turn out to be cheap, nasty Chinese tat.
IMO, if something sounds too good (cheap) to be true, then it almost certainly is.

I’d just add that a neighbour ordered some dresses from ‘Made By Jessica’ and was extremely disappointed with the quality. She tried to return them - to China - but it was so much faff IIRC she gave them to a charity shop.

Jaxjacky Mon 13-Jul-26 11:55:24

Reported

ethanwalkerr Mon 13-Jul-26 11:41:49

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

Patsy70 Sun 12-Jul-26 15:20:47

I’ve also been a victim of buying a dress from Studio Loreni that looked exactly what I wanted for my holiday, only to find when it arrived that is was made of cheap polyester and was absolutely huge. I complained and asked for their returns policy, to be told that it would have to be sent to their warehouse in Zhejiang Province, at my expense. So I opted for a 20% refund and took the item to a charity shop. Lesson learned.