A woman has registered a complaint with police after her online purchase of a branded bag turned out to be two water bottles.
Panhathai Lertsin-udom took evidence of her order -- a transaction receipt, Line chats with the seller, and a video -- to Muang police station yesterday to lodge an official complaint against B.PROMOTE Line account.
She said she had ordered a second-hand Celine bag on Tuesday after an image was posted on brandnameby_Oa, an Instagram account, by a seller identified as B.PROMOTE.
She said she had paid 37,000 baht for the order, after a 3,000 baht discount, and transferred the money to a bank account number sent to her by B.PROMOTE on the same day.
"I decided to transfer the money quickly because I knew that many shoppers were lining up to buy branded products," the buyer told the Bangkok Post.
After the payment, she was told that the bag would be delivered to her, and was given a parcel code issued by Kerry Express Thailand.
Ms Panhathai became suspicious when, starting on Wednesday, she was unable to contact B.PROMOTE. The B.PROMOTE Line account was shut down, she said.
When she checked with the parcel delivery firm, she was told the goods were on the way to her from a sender in Chiang Mai. When a delivery man arrived with the parcel, she asked someone to record a video while she opened it. Inside was a box containing two Kung Fu Panda water bottles.
Ms Panhathai said she called the sender listed on the parcel's label and was told that someone had ordered the bottles on her behalf.
A check on brandnameby_Oa by the Bangkok Post showed that it was an Instagram account used to sell second-hand luxury products. The page charges 50 baht per delivery, with a special promotion of "buy two, get one free". It has almost 14,000 followers.
The page says the buyer should contact the seller directly, with a message reading that "it will not take any responsibility" for the transactions.
Pol Col Chamlong Suwaluck, the Khon Kaen police station chief, said that police will not take action until they have questioned her and reviewed the evidence.
"I have bought many brand name products online from several accounts before. Every time, I thoroughly checked all information before I ordered," Ms Panhathai said, describing her efforts to avoid being ripped off.
