Updates from Citizens Advice North East Kent May 2026

We’re seeing an increase in reports of retail scams. For example, you buy a jacket online and when it arrives it looks nothing like the images shown. The company tells you if you want a refund you have to pay to ship it to an address in China.

These companies are known to convince people they’re based in the UK by using deceiving brand names and having UK websites or postal addresses. Some create AI-generated images of fake products, and even make up backstories about the origins of the brand.

What they actually do is ship low-quality items from overseas that can look nothing like the images advertised. Shoppers are then told to pay expensive international shipping fees if they want their money back.

Understandably, many people don’t bother, because the cost of shipping takes a huge chunk out of the refund they’d receive. The scammers know this, and it’s how they take advantage of people.

There are a few steps you can take to help you spot and avoid these scams:

• Check reviews before buying from a company you haven’t used before.
• Watch out for too-good-to-be-true prices.
• Be mindful of targeted shopping adverts on social media.
• Check the company’s delivery information. Overseas stores offer shipping to the UK in a much longer timeframe.

When sellers turn out to be based overseas, UK consumer laws are far harder to enforce, so it can be difficult to recover your money. If you’ve been caught out by this type of scam and you paid by debit or credit card, you may be able to get a refund from your bank or credit card company.

Citizens Advice can offer support with individual situations and we advise you to report scams to us too - please call the Citizens Advice Consumer Service helpline on 0808 223 1133 or chat to an adviser online at citizensadvice.org.uk.