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Buying clothes online

(73 Posts)
aquagran Tue 08-Jul-25 14:18:10

I ordered, and eventually received, a dress from Vellon London, also known as Milano Romano. I should have had more sense.
When the dress arrived it wasn’t the design I had ordered and was of appalling quality. I hadn’t expected much as it was very cheap but,..!!
When I complained I was offered 10% refund and keep the unwanted dress, or complete a complicated return method which required me to pay for non refundable postage to China. Since this, silence.
Buyer Beware.

wendym8116 Wed 09-Jul-25 17:32:12

When you want to send the dress back you ask for the UK supplier address..I got caught like this for wanting to send faulty mobile back .they gave me a Chinese address.i said I bought this in the UK now you send me the UK address to return it this (was on eBay )...so they did and I got a full refund don't let them fob you off.ask for the UK return addresss

Sara1954 Wed 09-Jul-25 17:35:01

I buy online at a few stores which I know and trust, Next do a lot of brands now, and returning to them is easy as can be, no forms to fill in, and no quibbles.

I did get caught out though, I bought something for one of my granddaughters which was advertised on instagram, when it came it bore no relation to the advertised item.
I literally got no response whatever, so I left a bad review on their advertisement every day, and ever day they removed it, eventually, they changed the description to one a bit more honest.

I thought, oh well, go down the PayPal route, but they wouldn’t help because I didn’t have a picture of the original item they advertised.

In the end I just threw it away, lesson learned.

suelld Wed 09-Jul-25 17:38:04

petra

A lot of uk businesses are selling on Temu.

londonlovesbusiness.com/uk-sellers-flock-to-temu-as-platform-spurs-growth-and-jobs/

Interesting, I had noticed a lot of uk items in their sales line up, good to know. Thanks

mabon2 Wed 09-Jul-25 20:22:40

I buy most of my clothes and shoes online from reputable retailers. Saves me searching stores and can try them on at home. I always spend the "no delivery charge" sum, so returns is easy f needs be.

Primrose53 Wed 09-Jul-25 21:54:56

petra

Primrose53

Scotty16

I am usually very careful when I see goods advertised. A couple of weeks ago I saw a very nice dress advertised on Facebook, I took the precaution of going into the company's own website and was pleased it was a UK company. I ordered the dress at a cost of £29.95. It arrived yesterday and the dress is nothing more than tat. I wouldn't even pick it up at a jumble sale. It's badly made, cheap fabric and there was no returns slip enclosed. I emailed the company and they initially offered me a different garment at no extra cost to me. I refused and requested a returns address so I could get a refund. They came back offering 10% off. I refused. They came back offering 20% off, again I refused and they came back with their FINAL offer of 30% off. Again I refused and they have now told me I need to pay to ship it back to China (???) and pay for it to be tracked. I reminded them that their advert states they are based in Manchester and I'd pay to return it there. It seems I should've checked their terms and conditions. The company is called Milford UK.

Buyer beware of this awful company.

Milford Manchester are today advertising comfy looking slip on sneakers. Trust Pilot reviews are dreadful.

If you read their T & C they state you have 5 MINUTES to cancel your order. You pay to return items to China £25.

In the add above for the sneakers are £35.
A screen shot and search on Google images shows that Temu are selling them for £5.

milford-manchester.com/collections/womens-collection/products/macy

They’re not even worth £5! 🤣

Casdon Wed 09-Jul-25 22:06:56

I wonder if these are companies which when you order from, then buy the item from Temu or similar, and put your address down as the delivery address? They would hold no stock, it could literally be one man and his laptop. That would figure with the 5 minute cancellation time, because once they order it they can’t cancel?

Deedaa Wed 09-Jul-25 22:17:57

I bought what appeared to be a nice linen dress which turned out to be far too small and certainly not linen. It had only been a few pounds so it just went into the clothing bank. On the other hand I saw a lady wearing a very attractive dress and stopped her to tell her how much I liked it. She said she had found it on line and had taken a chance buying it. She had been amazed when it arrived and was even better than it had looked in the photo. So you can be lucky sometimes.

petra Wed 09-Jul-25 22:34:22

Casdon

I wonder if these are companies which when you order from, then buy the item from Temu or similar, and put your address down as the delivery address? They would hold no stock, it could literally be one man and his laptop. That would figure with the 5 minute cancellation time, because once they order it they can’t cancel?

The massive Chinese warehouses have been here for some years, and it’s growing.
There is a huge Chinese supermarket being built in Birmingham.

www.logisticsmatters.co.uk/news/exclusive-prologis-lets-last-warehouse-at-midpoint-to-chinese-e-tailer/

Many Chinese retailers are naming their companies with English names.

Casdon Wed 09-Jul-25 22:41:55

Would you have to pay to return an item to China if there was a UK warehouse though petra? Unless they charge you but it’s actually returned to a warehouse in the UK. Either way, it’s a rip off.

KathleenE Wed 09-Jul-25 22:48:02

There are several websites like this supposedly based in the UK but if you read the small print you find they operate from China. The dresses look the same on the different sites. Also if you look on companies house, the ones I have looked at have gone into receivership. I got caught out.

Suzieque66 Thu 10-Jul-25 10:05:27

I always trusted QVC and loved the safely of buying as you could keep the garment for 60 days and return , money back guaranteed. Then .. I ordered a " Terry Towelling " garment and on 2nd day of wearing it , most of the house had bits of balled fluff ? on carpets, on hard floors ? When I took off the garment I could see it was coming from inside of fabric , which wasnt Terry Towelling..A new Duvet Eiderdown was covered !

pably15 Thu 10-Jul-25 10:23:55

I buy a lot online, always from companies I know are safe, and I only use 3 or 4 companies, but recently I've had goods that I ordered not being delivered, because of the cheap courier they use, I can track my order to a certain stage ...then it's usually LOST IN TRANSIT...I contact my credit card company and my money is refunded, but it's a pain having to go through this so often

Letthefunbegin Thu 10-Jul-25 13:33:15

I never buy clothes from companies outside UK. Bought a dress once from China, which was not cheap, absolutely awful. Struggled to get my money back, but NatWest were really good and took up my case, even refunded me the money until my dispute was settled. A friend of my daughters bought all her bridesmaid dresses from similar and they were truly truly awful. When my daughter sent me a photo I actually had to laugh they were so bad! Poor bride had to buy all new dresses quickly. It is just not worth it.

Aely Thu 10-Jul-25 21:31:59

This is a known scam setup, reported on, if I remember correctly, Watchdog maybe 6-8 weeks ago. There are loads of sites, all called something sounding posh foreign followed by the name of a city. They make their money on the assumpton that when people want to return th erubbish they have been sent and get a full refund, they will accept far less than they are due rather than pay postage to China.

lainieb56 Sat 12-Jul-25 15:09:53

If I bought clothes online, it was either Matalan or marksies, as I knew I could return them no problem. But I recently commented on a lady I knows top, and she said she bought lots from a company called shein. I had heard of it but dubious because of it coming from China,. Anyhoo, I ordered four tee shirts, costing about a fiver each. And when they came, after a little wait, they were of really good quality and fit as per Thier size guides. Perfect for the summer holidays! I doubt I would have used them if I'd not spoken to this person, but she is always buying on there and apparently had no problems! Whether that's true or every order I don't know, but the reviews I've read are positive.

lainieb56 Sat 12-Jul-25 15:18:10

Frenchgalinspain

NEVER have bought clothing or shoes online as we live in The Madrid Capital for 33 years ..

There are 5.000 retailers within a 5 minute walk from our flat.

We love ZARA and there are uncountable ZARAs in Madrid and the rest of Spain.

Zara is a good make. They are well made and last an age.

lainieb56 Sat 12-Jul-25 15:25:23

Shouldn't there should be some.legislation in this country to stop this cheap selling cons aI should imagine the manufacturing of branded goods still come from.china, and would.probably think those manufactures make their own stuff besides the brands.
Which should be as good quality as everything else they make. Where they sell it tho. That's the question.

nexus63 Sat 12-Jul-25 15:37:03

i was scammed a couple of years ago, now i check all websites using trust pilot, there is so many websites that have popped up online and look british but turn out to be cheap chinese products and they rely on you not wanting to go to the bother of sending it back

Primrose53 Sat 12-Jul-25 19:01:04

Casdon

Would you have to pay to return an item to China if there was a UK warehouse though petra? Unless they charge you but it’s actually returned to a warehouse in the UK. Either way, it’s a rip off.

On the website I mentioned, in their T and Cs it gives a UK address but clearly states Returns are not Accepted at that address and that you must pay to post to China.

petra Sat 12-Jul-25 19:30:23

Zara produce their high end items in Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Turkey.
Their everyday clothing range is produced in China, India, Bangladesh etc.
I remember the hooha years ago when notes were found in the pockets of clothing made for Zara in Turkey.
The workers weren’t being paid and the working condition were terrible. They were begging us to speak up for them.

petra Sat 12-Jul-25 19:38:33

nexus63

i was scammed a couple of years ago, now i check all websites using trust pilot, there is so many websites that have popped up online and look british but turn out to be cheap chinese products and they rely on you not wanting to go to the bother of sending it back

TrustPilot are not to be trusted.
I’ve put this article up before but it’s worth putting up again.

thecpd.group/articles/view/how-trustworthy-is-trustpilot#:~:text=They%20state%20that%20%E2%80%9CTrustpilot%20is

windmill1 Sat 12-Jul-25 19:59:42

Beware the utter tat pouring out of China.