Do you live in Australia? Are you planning to buy fleece tights or stockings on Mills-melbourne.com? Beware! It’s not a legit online store. Its 60% off clearance sale is a bait to lure buyers to an online shopping scam.
Here’s a breakdown of what you should know about Mills Melbourne
- Recently created – Who.is (a website checker tool) show Mills-melbourne.com was launched on July 2024 by an anonymous person who kept his information redacted for privacy.
- A Reoccurring Scam – Mills Melbourne was formerly known as Hilda Melbourne; same website design, discount sale, products e.t.c. Customers who shopped from the former store received low quality, poorly made clothes.
- No Business Address – Though Mills Melbourne social media Ads targets Australian residents, it’s not an Australian based store. It’s actually based in China
- Fake Five Star Ratings – The website boasts of 1024 five star ratings, but these ratings and reviews aren’t available anywhere online or offline.
Is Mills Melbourne a Legit Clothing Store?
Though Mills-melbourne.com might seem legit to an untrained eye, it engages in bait and switch scam. Mills Melbourne uses huge discounts and limited sale timer to bait people into placing an order on the site. The store passes off products of other designers as theirs and makes a cheap imitation when customers place an order.
Meanwhile, though the name ‘Melbourne’ creates the impression that it’s an Australian based store, it’s physically located in China. That where the products are shipped from.
What Happens When You Shop From Mills-Melbourne.com?
There are complaints on Facebook from customers who shopped from this store. The experience shared is that of ‘What I ordered Vs What I Got’. The products received were below par, of poor quality, wrong sizing, and different design.
The return policy is also not favourable; unsatisfied customers are asked to (Option 1) pay shipping cost back to China which is almost 40% of the purchase price. Or (Option 2) keep the items and receive a refund of 10% of the purchase price.
DO NOT BUY FROM THIS SITE!
I finally received my pants after 4 weeks and 2 emails later. The vintage pants I ordered (pictured on website) are nothing like the ones that arrived. The label on the pants is ‘AussieHilda’. Inside is another tag which shows they were made in China from a polyester fabric. It will cost me the postage to return them and I’ll have no guarantee of getting a refund so I won’t bother to return them.
What To Do If You Fell For The Mills Melbourne Clothing Scam
Cancel your credit card
Immediately call your financial provider and cancel your credit card. By so doing, the credit card details you used for your transaction would become null and void.
Request for a new card
After the old credit card has been cancelled, ask for a new card, it doesn’t cost much to get one.Your credit card issuer will issue you a new one with different numbers.
Report the Fraud To Relevant Authorities
Report the scam to relevant authorities and organizations. This includes:
- Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3): If you are in the United States, you can file a complaint with the IC3 at https://www.ic3.gov/.
- Your Local Consumer Protection Agency: Contact your local consumer protection agency or the equivalent regulatory body in your country.
- Better Business Bureau (BBB): File a complaint with the BBB if the online store is based in the United States.
How To Protect Yourself From Online Shopping Scams
- Check how long the website has been functioning – The domain age of a website tells a lot about a store’s legitimacy or transparency. Websites below 6 months old are often considered unsafe. You can find out a website’s age by checking on Who.is ( a free domain checker tool)
- When using retail websites, find out exactly who you are dealing with. Research the retailer address by copying and pasting it on your browser. Does it really exist? is the retailer registered in the address or is the address that of a family home?
- When making online payments, use secure payment service. Look for a URL starting with “https” and a closed padlock symbol, or a payment provider such as PayPal. If the padlock symbol doesn’t appear near the website’s URL, then it means your personal and financial information is at risk at the store.
- Avoid Too Good to be true Discounts – any product sold at very cheap prices compared to other online stores should be treated with caution. Low prices are baits scammers use to lure unsuspecting victims
- Check for reviews Online – Are there reviews or posts about the online store online? By searching for reviews online you could also come across warning posts or complaints.
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Nora