'I was scammed by a fake TikTok shop'

'I needed a dress for a friend’s wedding and ordered four from a shop on social media app TikTok. My order was around £150. 

'As a Which? employee, I tried to do my due diligence and research the company before buying. It had a good number of positive reviews and the website looked legitimate, but 10 days later the order hadn’t arrived. 

'Initially, the customer service team was helpful, telling me they would contact the courier and refund me the shipping cost. Another five days later, the order was showing as ‘delivered’, but the tracking image was nowhere near my address. 

'I followed up to tell them I still hadn’t received the dresses. I then had an email saying they would refund me, but I’d have to pay up to £30 to cover shipping! I didn’t hear back again, so I filed a chargeback claim with my bank, Nationwide. It issued a full refund within a week.

'How could I have spotted that this was a scam, though?'

Natalie Turner, London

Chiara Cavaglieri, Which? senior researcher, says: 

'We regularly hear from people who paid for goods, often advertised to them on websites and social media, that arrive and aren’t as described, are of poor quality or simply don’t exist. 

'Our top tip to avoid a dodgy online business is to use a domain checker, such as who.is, to see when the website was created. If it was recent, it’s high risk and we think you should avoid it.

'An unusually low price is an easy way to get your attention, so check listings for the same item to get a feel for prices, and assume the worst if it’s considerably cheaper.

'Other red flags include: 

• new or blank seller profiles with no profile pictures
• limited personal information
• few ratings.

'It can be helpful to also check whether the retailer is using stock photos. You can do this by using reverse image searching tools such as Google Lens.

'We’re pleased Nationwide refunded you quickly. But chargeback isn’t as strong as Section 75, a legal credit card protection covering items costing more than £100. Chargeback is still helpful when you’ve got a dispute and you paid using a debit card, or when the goods cost less than £100. 

'If you’re unhappy with how your bank has handled a chargeback or Section 75 claim, complain to it first. You can then escalate your case to the Financial Ombudsman Service if you’re not satisfied with its response. 

'You can use our free tool to start a claim.'