A woman who spent $22,000 ordering 16 Pioneer 50-inch plasma TVs and 16 PlayStation 3s (PS3) from a Gold Coast website that claimed it could source cheap hardware from China and the United States, is considering selling her car after the website business failed to deliver the TVs and PS3s.
The bodgy business, at Whattoo.com.au, promised 50-inch Pioneer plasmas for $1,000 each (model numbers unclear) which were selling at the time in Myer for $5,700 each, along with $375 PS3s, which retail elsewhere from $699, according to a report from the Seven Network’s Today Tonight.
The retail value of the goods in Australia are over $142,000 with the Sony PS3 costing $995 each and the 50″ Pioneer plasma $7,995.
The website has since been taken down for “construction”, having taken $30,000 worth of orders all up without delivering the goods, said the report.
The man behind the business, Mark Matthews of the Gold Coast, denies any wrong-doing, saying simply that he has been “ripped off” by his overseas suppliers, and he doesn’t have any stock on hand to cover the orders on Whattoo.com.au
“I am searching for new sources. I can get them from overseas, China or America,” Matthews told Today Tonight.
“I have been ripped off. She’s been ripped off,” he said, referring to 22-year-old Jade Proctor who ordered the bulk of the stock.
“I’m the one getting pulled in both directions. What can I do?” said Matthews.
Proctor believes the business is a scam, however, although it is not clear if she has contacted the police or if the police have contacted Matthews.
“He has been avoiding us. He won’t answer his phone,” said Proctor, who also said that Matthews has “come up with excuses” including that his home phone doesn’t ring properly or that he has lost his mobile.
The report suggested that in lieu of stock to give her friends who gave her money to order the plasmas and games consoles, Proctor may have to sell her car to pay back the money.
“I am very embarrassed and ashamed that I have let my friends down,” she said.
