Online shopping is hotter than ever. It's convenient, and it brings in billions of dollars a year. But like everything that makes big money, crooks are in on it too. Are you planning on buying furniture online or purchase anything at all? Let me tell you why I'm asking you this question.
Meet the online shopping scammers that scammed hundreds of people nationwide.
Friends of my family told me and my wife about an online furniture store NC Furniture Buy Direct which sold furniture at a deep discount. This company was located at 305 North Main Street, Suite 215, High Point, North Carolina, 27260. Our friends bought some furniture from them and they actually had it delivered. My wife and I never thought anything of it. Since our friends got their furniture, we automatically assumed that this was a reliable company. Big mistake. What we didn't know though (and later found out) was that our friends were one of the lucky few who had their furniture delivered. Hundreds more were already complaining about their undelivered merchandise. I didn't even think of checking this company before I gave them our hard earned money.
My wife went on their fancy website www.furniturebuydirect.com, picked what she liked, and we blindly gave them our credit card to pay for the merchandise. What happened next is truly amazing.
We waited 7 months for the furniture to be delivered. Each time we called to check on the status of the order, they would give us an extended 8-12 weeks delivery date. What they were actually doing was collecting money from people (who were purchasing furniture through them) for as long as possible while delaying the delivery date of the non-existing furniture, mind you. Meantime, they were setting up another business under a new name NC Furniture World, also a furniture online shopping store with a new website www.northcarolinafurnitureworld.com. And to make it even worse, they instructed their employees to deny that the two companies are connected when in fact they were the same operation. How do I know this?
The day came when their phone number got disconnected and their first website simply vanished from the face of the earth. That's the day when I started doing research to find out what in the world happened. I discovered that hundreds upon hundreds of people nationwide also became victims of this online shopping scam. They were already complaining about it, and they were complaining about it way before I even put in my order. Had I done my due diligence of checking them out before buying from them, I would've had furniture and not had to spend time on this. But instead, my wife and I got scammed and the owners of the company, brothers Darrell and Russell Buck are now enjoying our hard earned money along with the money from the other victims. Or, are they?
Thanks to the actions that the hundreds of victims took, including us; reporting the scam to the Federal Trade Commission, FBI, Better Business Bureau, Attorney General of North Carolina, and even the High Point Police Department; the brothers Darrell and Russell Buck are faced with a lawsuit filed by the Attorney General himself. They've been restrained from doing business and scamming people. The Attorney General revealed to us the unethical business conduct performed by this online furniture company.
It's startling to know that there are so many people who think that they can pull a fast one, steal money from other people and enjoy a life of wealth while avoiding punishment. Darrell and Russell Buck will enjoy years in jail as do many other get-rich-quick scammers.
So, what do you do before you blindly give your credit card to an online shopping store?
The North Carolina Attorney General gave us all a very valuable lesson. Before you plan on purchasing something from an online shopping store, call the Attorney General's office of the state that the company resides in. The Attorney General will tell you if there are any complaints or legal actions against that particular company. The Attorney General may even refer you to other reliable companies.
But, someone always has to be the first one to get scammed. Right? If you get scammed by an online shopping company, make sure you report it to the Federal Trade Commission, FBI, Better Business Bureau and Attorney General of the state that the business resides in. If not, how else would we know who the crooks are and punish them?
About the author: This article was produced by http://furniture.bestinfo4you.com - Furniture Online Shopping Scam website. If you want to find out about the new furniture online shopping scam by NC Furniture Buy Direct, please visit the website.