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Brassed off with Groupon
Reporter
: Ali Mau
Over the past couple of years, "one day deal" websites have become
one of our favourite ways to shop. You can get some incredible
bargains - up to 90% off! - but there are pitfalls. Who has to give
you back your money when the deal goes wrong?
We speak to two women who have complaints with Groupon - they've been left frustrated by what they call a lack of customer service and follow-up from the website. They were eventually given refunds after Fair Go intervened.
Our Websafe panel of experts suggest always using a credit card when shopping on the net; that way if the deal goes sour you can ask your bank for a charge back. Find more information here
The PC virus cold callers get nasty
Reporter
: Gordon Harcourt
In the last year they've become a plague in the English speaking
world - the call out of the blue saying your computer has a virus,
it's about to crash.
They're the PC virus cold callers, and we think they're getting
nastier and cleverer.
Debbie and John in Kaiapoi fell victim to "ransomware". The
caller persuaded John to give up remote access to the
computer. By the time Debbie got home the computer was
completely out of her control, and the caller demanded she pay
money to get control back.
Tim Miller from IPC Computer Solutions in Kaiapoi says they're
hearing about threats of violence, particularly against the
elderly.
All the evidence we've seen points to the calls coming from Kolkata
in India. They are extraordinarily skilful fakes if that's
not the case.
The calls come via the internet - VOIP calls, Voice Over Internet
Protocol. Unwittingly your telephone company accepts the call
and sends it to your home.
But the telcos say there's very little that can be done to stop
them. Education is the best response.
Our expert panel has advice on what to do.
Most importantly NEVER give up remote access to your computer to
someone who cold calls.
Tim the computer man has a tip - leave a whistle by the phone, and
blow it hard!
Our advice
- Hang up immediately
- NEVER let someone you don't know and trust take remote control of
your computer
- If you do stay on the line, write down the phone number (if
you've got caller display), and especially the website the callers
says they represent. The website can be tracked.
- Report this information to Netsafe's
The Orb
- Report it to your telephone company too; there's not a lot they
can do but we think you should let them know their network is being
used
- Tell the caller you're taking their details to report to Police;
we reckon that decreases the chance they will call back
- There's
more advice here
The website looks flash - but who are you really buying
from?
Reporter
: Libby Middlebrook
They're the shop front to the modern retail world - snazzy websites
set up by companies to attract shoppers. But doing business with
them might not be as straightforward as you might have
expected.
The people in our story thought they were buying from a master
craftsman, when they discovered Hampton Gates online, a company
that manufactures wooden gates.
But they claim they were delivered poor quality goods, following
lengthy delays. The also accuse the company director, Steve Bird,
of bullying behaviour.
Mr Bird told Fair Go that some problems had occurred in recent
times, and that he regretted them. He said his company only
manufactured with the best quality materials, and that most of his
clients were happy with his work. Delays had occurred due to
illness.
With thanks to Alberton House, Metropolitan Rentals and Bird Barn.
The power of internet feedback
Reporter:
Amy Kelley
We receive tonnes of feedback from people who've have bad buying
experiences online... this story is about what happens when
consumers use the power of the Internet to fight back.
Kiwis all over the country thought they'd struck online shopping
gold when they came across 'Click-A-Bargain' - a website selling
imported electronics at unbeatable prices. But why are so many
people still waiting for their products more than 3 months
on?
We track down the site's founder, Wayne Jackson of Upper Hutt...
and take a look at how his customers are rallying together to try
and get their money back.
How easy is it to create a fake website?
Reporter:
Ali Mau
The growth of e-commerce has resulted in a new kind of villain -
the faceless creators of fake websites. These look just like the
kind of websites you've bought (successfully!) from before, but
once you've paid your money, you wait.. and wait.. and wait.. and
the product just never arrives.
That's because it's a fairly simple process, for anyone with a bit of computer nouse, to build a website that appears to be selling legitimate products, at good prices. Once upon a time you could rely on the "lock" symbol, or the "s" at the end of http: but even these are simple to fake these days. To find out just how easy it is, and with nothing to sell, we set out to create two fake but convincing websites, and test them on some unwitting internet shoppers.
Important notes: those fake sites we built never went on the internet. They were only accessible on a closed system here at TVNZ. And one note there are two sites with similar names out there - surplustech.com, and surplustraders.co.nz. They're not fake!
Fake websites are hard to spot - our panel of experts will tell
you how to keep yourself safe.
You can find
more information here