
I’m not gullible in any way, shape or form. I’ve had enough crap inflicted on me in 66 years to be wary, do a bit of zig and zag to protect my back from the knives, and I follow the old adage, if it’s too good to be true it probably is. In this world, it should be a mantra we all practice to protect ourselves from scammers because they are everywhere. I was in the bank yesterday and there was a leaflet on the counter on fraud and the first item listed was that the bank will never phone you to enlist you in an undercover sting. What? OMG what? This actually happens? Enough to make it to #1 position on the long list? Before, I might have laughed at the incredibility of it all, but after being scanned myself I had to dust off my empathy and shake my head.
A few weeks ago, I was on my phone and a business pops up on Facebook called Logan – Toronto. Of course, this Maritimer immediately thought Ontario, as I’m sure the scammers hoped. Ontario, Canada has a safe, hometown, neighborly kind of feel., after all most Canadians have a reputation of being warm and fuzzy. And, there was a believable storyline that two sisters, who have loved running the company for decades, selling top quality clothing for men and woman, had decided to retire to spend more time with grandchildren. What a sweet story right? Highly relatable and believable. They were reducing their inventory at sell out pricing, by 80%, blah blah blah, sweaters priced at more than $300.00 were now going for $59.95 - $69.95. Wow, almost too good to be true. Right?
Momma didn't raise no fool, I went on Google and checked to see if it was a legitimate company with a website and sure enough, there it was with a beautiful storefront photo and links to all their merchandise, pages of gorgeous, high-end sweaters and clothing with exciting, slashed pricing. I won’t say that I was salivating but I dabbed the corners of my mouth while I visualized some of these beauties on my back. A new knitter, I could really appreciate the craftmanship and colour work in the sweaters, so I went ahead and ordered three off the website.
The very next day, on Facebook again, Logan – Toronto came up with the same ad and when I perused the comments, that had not been there the day before, there were lots of complaints, saying that it was a scam based in Hong Gong. I thought crap, did I just throw away $188.00? Some of the people who posted said that once they realized it was a scam they demanded their money back and got a refund. Refund? Scammers give refunds? I wondered if these were real people or the scammer making themselves look legit? I was mulling that over when I checked my email and was told my purchases were on their way with tracking numbers that I could click on to view but I worried if I clicked, I’d get a virus. I figured something was coming and was curious to find out what and played the waiting game. I figured if I didn’t receive what I’d ordered, it would be a good lesson learned and figured my credit card might bail me out if I was scammed.
In two weeks, the package arrived with a Toronto address on it. They must have shipped the items to Ontario, and someone there redirected my parcel to make it look legit? The package that arrived at the post office was about as weighty as three sweaters and I held my breath until I got to the shop to open it.
Well, my oh my. In my wildest dreams I couldn’t have conjured up this scenario. The beautiful sweaters I’d ordered were nonexistent, replaced with cheap polyester garments that I would never be caught dead in. What they are is some sort of computer printing of the similar, basic image from the sweaters. Fake as laminated flooring with the image of real wood printed on it. I’m no fashionista, I like simple, natural, breathable fibers and no offence to older ladies, cause I’m one, it looked like grandma clothes styling from back in the 80’s. Hipster, smartly dressed grandmas today wouldn’t look twice at these items on a rack. The material is gross to touch, my hands are a bit rough and they catch on the manmade fabric as if touching pantyhose with sanding paper.
I had ordered size L and two would have fit me but the third one, although it was labelled L, was big enough to fit 3xx. No quality or control at all, probably sweat shop knocks offs, manufactured at lightning speed.
The laughable part is I received an email saying that my items had been delivered and quote, “We hope we met your expectations and look forward to welcoming you back as a customer soon.” I replied and told them exactly what I thought but it was bumped back as undeliverable.
My next move is to phone the credit card company and admit I’ve been taken and deliver the items to the nursing home to be shared with a couple of residents. These garments are washable so they can be thrown in the machine without risk of shrinking and will deliver a little colour into someone’s life. And guess what? All those TEMU ads on FB that keep popping up have been posting the VERY SAME SWEATERS with the very same model wearing them. Just beware folks.