The competition watchdog, the ACCC, has warned that overseas based online retailer Digital Sourcing ApS (Digital Sourcing) is suspected of breaching Australian Consumer Law by misleading consumers and asserting a right to payment for unsolicited goods.
According to the public warning, issued on Wednesday by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, it has received hundreds of complants about Digital Sourcing – formerly Lux International Sales ApS (Luxstyle).
“This year, the ACCC received over 1600 complaints about Luxstyle and Digital Sourcing, which advertise beauty products on social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram. These ads direct people to a website that does not display prices unless the customer enters mailing and email addresses,” deputy chair Delia Rickard said.
“Many people have complained that they are then sent a goods package by this company after they entered their details, despite not making an order or entering payment information. The package contains an invoice with the products demanding payment. If not paid, people then receive letters of demand threatening legal action.”
{loadposition peter}Digital Sourcing claims that customers order the products based on its “deliver now, pay later” system, and points to fine print displayed during the ordering process and links to its terms and conditions.
“The ACCC is concerned that Australian consumers, including children, are being tricked into receiving products they never ordered,” Rickard said.
“It is unacceptable to send people products that they didn’t order, based on obscure fine print disclaimers, then demand payment for them. The complaints we’ve received indicate that consumers did not know about the ‘deliver now, pay later’ system.”
The ACCC advised that, if you have received goods from either LuxStyle or Digital Sourcing that you did not order:
- You should lodge a report with the ACCC at Make a consumer complaint.
- You are not required to pay for the unsolicited goods.
- If you contact Digital Sourcing in writing, and state that you do not want the products, then the business should recover the products within one month; if you don’t contact the business, then the business may recover the products within three months from the day after you received the products.
- You cannot unreasonably refuse to allow the supplier to recover the products.
- You may be liable to pay compensation if you wilfully damage the products during this period.