Online shoppers reveal how they were 'betrayed' by websites selling fake goods

Fake accessories are commonly sold by fake websites

Shoppers are being warned about websites selling fake goods in the run up to Christmas.

But as 25-year-old Chelsey Turnbull found out, fake goods can ruin a summer holiday as easily as your festive plans.

She wanted to buy a replacement pair of designer sunglasses after breaking the ones she bought at an airport.

When Chelsey found the glasses she wanted, they were only available on a website she hadn't shopped on before.

"It was a standard price, £180, which was similar to what I'd paid for the others," she tells Newsbeat.

Turns out it was a fake site.

When Chelsey complained after receiving fake goods, she was offered a discount for a second purchase

She only realised something was wrong when they were delivered.

"The packaging immediately stood out to me when they arrived, it's a completely different colour.

"The lenses were a different colour and the logo at the side of the sunglasses was not perfect.

"I'm quite a perfectionist myself so I could see it straight away."

Fake goods are routinely destroyed across the world

Her first reaction was to contact the website for a refund.

"All they did was to send me an email for a 15% discount," she said.

"I just said I would never buy from them again. I felt betrayed.

"They've got my money and there's not much I can do."

In a warning issued by Action Fraud, it says fake mobile phones, clothes, shoes and jewellery are the most common products sold to dupe unsuspecting buyers.

Anna Goss, 28, was ripped off by an online seller when she was shopping for bracelet charms last Christmas.

She had spent more than £100 on charms as presents and was unable to get any help or support from the website she had bought them from.

The website is currently offering discounts on a high street jewellery brand

"I emailed them and got a pretty shoddy reply," Anna says, adding that she was unaware she could report the site to the police or trading standards.

Newsbeat has contacted the website Anna says she bought the charms from for a response to her claims, but they are yet to get back to us.

Anna says since then she will only use websites of high street stores or ones with a secure URL.

Action Fraud has its own recommendations to keep shoppers safe.

It says only shop online using a PayPal account and to never transfer money directly to a stranger.

But its most important piece of advice is if the price of an item seems too good to be true, it probably is.

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