Kath Kidston Sale - Don't go there!

Oh poor you, thanks for the warning. I only learned tonight on Gloria Hunniford's show that if you have been scammed, you can dial 159 and ask to be put straight through to your bank, 24/7.

Let's hope you get your money back soon

Spoke with credit card firm and they're cancelling my card and I have to wait 30 days before I can make a charge back claim to get the money back £50.

Thanks - just yesterday, I wanted to order a couple of things. …saved by the bell 😂

I go to Boundary Mill occasionally and went a month ago the kath Kidston counter was gone. Looked into it and they had gone into administration with no warnings to loyal customers charming.

Most companies go bust overnight like that, but usually there have been articles in the press saying the company is under pressure, talking to its bankers etc etc. That certainly happened with Kath Kidston. No company can inform people in advance that they are going down the pan, because they do not know themselves whether they will succeed in saving the company

Look at Wilkinsons, there has been talk in the press for a month or so that the company was in trouble, but whether it would get the extra finance it required, or a white knight company would take it over could not be known until the last moment and the rug was only pulled with the last refusal of help.

Laura Ashley went on for years like this, only in their case, they kept finding white knights prepared to take the company on as it was about to collapse, so it struggled on for about 20 years after it had actually reached its original 'sell by' date.

I'm a complex disaster buying on line, so I don't go there. My friends say I'm wasting money still going to shops, so many big names have gone though, wish more people wanted to go shopping, centres are empty now because of the internet, is it worth it to save a few pounds, bring back the High Street and support them. I buy less because if it but they are things I need not want I get to an actual person, very nice when you live alone.
It looks like those scammed will get their money back thankfully, but what a performance and worry.

It’s been known about for a short time. Everything you need to know when buying anything on line is there at your fingertips.
Use your search bar, that’s what it’s for.

malwaretips.com/blogs/cath-kidston-clearance-sale-scam/

I shop online for 99% of what I buy, but not to save a few pounds (it’s not usually cheaper) but because it is so much easier.

I don’t think that high streets have died because of the internet either - a lot of the time it is because they don’t sell what people want. So much is now in retail parks and out of town ‘centres’ which are only ‘central’ if you drive to them. I don’t drive, and consequently don’t browse much - the days of window shopping or mooching about to see what is available are gone. Now I do a quick search when I want to buy something and get it delivered.

I think that in-person shopping was killed by cars - or more specifically those who didn’t listen when people said that out of town shopping doesn’t suit everyone, and were happy to take a car every time they shopped.

Companies rely on browsing to tell us what we ‘need’. Now that public transport outside of London is so dire, and people have less money to spend because of the mismanaged economy, the idea of ‘retail therapy’ is long gone.

I don’t know anyone who likes the idea of going shopping ‘just to see what there is’ any more. Meanwhile you can’t just go to the high street to buy a kettle or ironing board as that sort of shop has long since moved out to a ‘centre’ with a car park. It’s a vicious circle, but I don’t feel bad about shopping online.

I did my bit supporting the high street for 40 years. Every week without fail I went round the shops, although I just bought what I needed. I was never interested in shopping as an activity, browsing all day like some did. Now I shop online because I have mobility problems and no car, so I have no guilt.

Cath Kidston, Laura Ashley and many other well known British brands have all been made in China for a long time too.

I hadn't heard about this scam so thank you for the warning, Camilla7 and I hope you get your refund soon. A timely reminder to pay with a credit, not a debit, card.

You should meet my sister in law Doodle. Her hobby is shopping - anytime, anywhere!
Window or actual, she’s always on the lookout for something.
It drives me bonkers - love her to bits, but so pleased she’s in a different part of the Country!

I used to quite enjoy a look around the shops when I was young. I'd meet friends and we'd have coffee and try on clothes/test make-up and so on for ages on a Saturday, and we mostly only bought anything when we had birthday or Christmas money. My priorities have changed now (as have my knees ) but back then you could look for anything and there would be somewhere selling it. Now it costs £7 to get to the city centre, and the number of shops has dwindled. There are high end clothing shops aimed at young people, but hardly any department stores, or general shops like Woolworths.

My town centre is similar but on a smaller scale. Small branches of Hobbs and Seasalt etc, where the odds are you'd have to get them to order something in if you want it in a particular colour, and estate agents, cafes etc. We have a Next Homeware which sells things like table lamps and sets of glasses, but there is a limited range, and things like plain white sheets, or decent tea towels aren't stocked anywhere. Even light bulbs or plant pots are unavailable. Woolworths used to be good for that sort of thing, and the supposed replacements aren't as good. I'm just as happy going online, and whilst I realise that Amazon is far from ideal, there were warnings decades ago about moving shopping out of town centres. Someone I was talking to the other day was bemoaning the lack of facilities locally - she hadn't noticed as she's only recently given up her car, which she'd always used to drive to a retail park.

I hate not being able to try things on and yes I know you can send back but all the expense and time and toing and froing isn’t the same as trying on is it
Yes internet has helped to kill the high streets doodlebug but not it alone as you rightly say it’s the out of centre retail parks and parking costs too
I do like to see/ feel and try on what I m getting but I can’t much now we still have a few shops but nothing like before
I ve just had a parcel with some trousers arrive but they are nothing like in the picture the material feels different to what I expected and the colour is not looking quite the same as the photo but maybe they ll be ok
I really miss the busy high street

I hate not being able to try things on
I like to feel the fabric. Some may look lovely in the pictures online but be rough or feel cheap.

Callistemon21

^I hate not being able to try things on^
I like to feel the fabric. Some may look lovely in the pictures online but be rough or feel cheap.

Same. I only order online from companies where I know the quality will be good. Seasalt is the one I use most often. I live close to a big shopping centre but there’s no Seasalt except IIRC a small outlet in John Lewis.

There are numerous ads like this on FaceBook, there are ads for Wilko, Skechers, Clark’s shoes to name a few, the prices are ridiculously low and are obvious scams.

I fell for a Clark’s one that was selling what looked like very comfortable wide fitting shoes. Thankfully they were very cheap to buy but were cheap and horrible and I couldn’t return them because I think I would have had to pay postage to China!

I only ever use official websites, I never buy from Facebook nor Instagram. It isn't foolproof, but it helps keep me safe from scammers.
Also, I never use online sites which don't have https in the address, they may not be secure. I learned this in my days of being an ICT coordinator. Old habits die hard.

I believe there are very sophisticated Amazon and PayPal ones the go, which are hard to differentiate from the genuine sites.

Because I'm confined to the house, I have become addicted to scambaiter videos on YouTube. These are people, who go after scammers. We are talking of thousands of pounds and dollars being scammed.
It's really enlightening and a bit scary.

There is a thread about a Wilco scam, it is the same one and appears on social media platforms.

If something appears too good to be true then it usually is.

Ive just done the Cath kidson scam im so stupid as soon as i paid i thought oh no phoned lloyds and closed till Monday so cant do nothing till then pfft oh well 1st time for everything