Another Dodgy Online Shop - OzPlayOnline.com

AncientWisdom on 08/03/2022 - 14:21

This is a post to alert any future buyers of https://ozplayonline.com to avoid at all cost and move on.

Actually looking at the website more closely now, I'm surprised I didn't pick up all the shoddy bits and pieces but here we are.

What happened?
  • On 21st November I was looking to buy a hardcover book and ended up via a Google Shopping search at said online shop as the cheapest online price on that day. I placed the order using ShopPay (not PayPal grrr not sure what I was thinking).
  • On 24th November received notification that order was shipped from the UK (but later on closer examination noticed with no tracking number).
  • I gave it plenty of time due to COVID and Christmas, however on the 6th Jan I emailed the shop to let them know no package was received yet, they ("Samantha") appeared surprised:

I am terribly sorry to hear your order has still not arrived. We will make enquiries with the postal services in both countries and if we are unable to locate the parcel and it fails to arrive at your end within the next 3-4 days,
let us know and we will ship out a replacement by airmail and will have you covered until you safely receive your item.

  • OK… On 19th Jan after not hearing anything back emailed again.

I am so sorry to hear this has not arrived and as we haven’t heard anything positive from the postal services yet we are happy to resend the item by airmail.
Please could you just reconfirm your full delivery address to make sure we have it correct? We will then resend the item immediately by airmail.

  • And on the 24th Jan

We are pleased to confirm, a replacement has been shipped out to you by airmail and will be with you within 8-18 days (however, please allow a few additional days due to delays to the global network due to Covid-19), any further issues or delays, please do not hesitate to contact us, we will have you covered until you safely receive your item.

  • OK again… (at this point I was still accepting their responses at face value and didn't notice there was no tracking AGAIN)

  • On the 28Feb I emailed asking for tracking, received this response:

I am very sorry and surprised to hear this item has still not arrived - please allow it a few more days as it has been a busy & turbulent period, if it still does not arrive, let me know and we will investigate with the postal service. In the unlikely event it again fails to arrive let me know and we will be willing to send it out again via Amazon Direct Mail for a guaranteed delivery (as they have never let us down before)

  • On the 1st March I've emailed again saying either provide tracking or issue a refund (none of these has still happened).

I've contacted ShopPay (Shopify I believe) which basically told me that I have to take it up with the shop or the bank.
I've also tried ringing the number on the website with no luck getting through, I suspect it doesn't actually go anywhere.

Spoke with the bank today and will start the process of a Visa cashback.

Mistakes I made:
  • Did not lookup the shop for positive reviews
  • Did not pay with PayPal
  • Did not check for tracking straight away

I thought I was a seasoned online purchaser but there you go, can still happen when not much attention is paid.

Hopefully in the future, anyone else that looks for that shop name will find this post.

General Discussion

Related Stores

ozplayonline.com
ozplayonline.com

Comments

  • SnowDragon on 08/03/2022 - 14:30

    How much are you in the hole?

  • Hybroid on 08/03/2022 - 14:35

    Definitely a website I would take one look at and close straight away as potential scam. Strange name for a UK business. Address is a standard office block with over 20 other companies registered there. Contact is a UK mobile phone which legit businesses don't do there. UK businesses also don't call it "shipping policy" although might just be a Shopify standard term.

    On the other hand, that does seem like a lot of support response provided even though issue not resolved yet. Would imagine a scam site to not respond at all. Global logistics are still very much an absolutely mess so delays not surprising really. Not sure why they ignore the tracking code request, probably isn't tracked at all and sent via Royal Mail standard.

    Is the hardcover book really not available on Amazon or alternative?

    • AncientWisdom on 08/03/2022 - 14:48

      I think the next cheapest was Book Depository for an extra $13 or so.

      Yes once you start looking, it seems pretty obvious. I'm not sure what I was thinking at the time of ordering. Maybe it's just been so long since I've come to a shady store from a relatively top Google result that I just went with it.

  • steven6 on 08/03/2022 - 14:41
    +5

    Looks like the old "string you along for too long so your bank can't do a charge back"

    Hopefully you get the charge back just in time.

  • Ocker on 08/03/2022 - 14:56

    Just do a charge back from your credit card issuer

  • RobBoss on 08/03/2022 - 15:07

    I would never buy from a website that claims to be oz but lacks an au domain

    • spackbace on 08/03/2022 - 15:29
      +1

      Except OzGameShop

  • Seraphin7 on 08/03/2022 - 15:59
    +1

    Why do all the graphics on that site look like the ones I used to include in early 2000s university papers?

  • AncientWisdom on 09/03/2022 - 12:04

    And the plot thickens…

    There seems to be a problem with our payment provider issuing refunds. We are working with them to resolve the issue, but unfortunately, cannot give you a time frame on how long this will take.

    We are happy to refund you in full asap. So an alternative method is via PayPal, with which we can issue the refund immediately. If you have a PayPal account, please let us know the email and we can send you the funds straight away. If you do not have a PayPal account you can open one quickly, easily and for free. Once you have the account, we can send you the funds and from there you can either use the funds for online purchases or you can transfer the funds to your bank account easily yourself.

    • RobBoss on 09/03/2022 - 14:11

      so did you send them your paypal?

      • AncientWisdom on 10/03/2022 - 01:43

        Yes I have, they already know my email so I figured no harm.

        • RobBoss on 10/03/2022 - 09:44

          And I'm assuming no money?

          • AncientWisdom on 10/03/2022 - 10:58
            +2

            @RobBoss: Money hit my PayPal account this morning! I'm as surprised as the next guy… Maybe Santa is real after all!

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