With E-Commerce business growing everyday in India, there are always players who would like to lure people in with unbelievable deals. We being Indians are always ready to jump on money-saving deals without giving it a second thought. Its only later we realize that, we should have acted smarter. Here is an example of a possible SCAM that you should be aware of.
I got a call this evening from a representative of ShopIt4Me.com letting me know that I am among the lucky 5 individuals who stand a chance to win a Volkswagen POLO car. I continued with the conversation with the intention of understand where this was heading. The caller claimed that I had a chance of wining assured prizes which included diamonds worth Rs.50,000, a LCD TV and a scratch card which further assured amazing prizes. While the caller was going ga-ga over the offer, I was waiting for him to come to the point. The point being that inorder to register myself for this amazing offer, I will have to pay Rs.39,999/- only! Sounds unbelievable? Well its true. On further probing what this fees was meant for, I was told it was regarding registration and insurance of the products that they will be sending me. I made them email me the details before I can tell them my decision.
The email from their representative is attached below. I am sure a lot of you would be thinking how can anyone fall for such a scheme, but unfortunately there have been quite a few victims. One Google search for the term ‘Shopit4me.com Scam’ turns up the following results:
- DesiDime
- Online Complaint
- Complaint Board
There are more results. There is a possibility that on paying the kind of registration fees they are demanding, you will get the products (not the car obviously). But ask yourself, did you really need those things in first place. Also, is it really worth the money you paid? At the end of the day, these guys are doing business and nobody does it on a loss. The simple mantra in life should be that ‘Nothing Comes for Free’ and stay away from any ‘Get rich fast’ schemes.
I hope this post makes sense to people and helps others from falling victim to such offers! If you have had such an experience with ShopIt4me and would like to share, please do so in the comment area. Representatives of the establishment, please do not reach out to me or pose as someone else in the comment section. Everything is moderated here.
Note – This blog post does not comment on the site’s core business i.e. e-commerce. But this kind of contest does raise questions to that as well.
Here’s the email now:
Dear Customer,
!! Greetings For the Day!!
We are Pleased to inform you about our
New Scratch your Luck Contest.In this contest, we are offering you 7 Assured prizes like Home Theater, LCD,LED,Discount Coupon & many more.
Above all, you will get the entry in our Volkswagen Polo Contest that will be held on 31st March 2013.
Please find the attachment having Terms & conditions for the contest.
Mention below is your product details:
As you have shown your interest in our New Offer.In this offer you are
getting mentioned below items.
Natural Diamond worth rupees 50000/- and AOC LCD (32 INCH) at only 39999/-
Offer value is 39999/-
After the transfers your product will deliver at your doorstep withing
7 working days.
Please give your acknowledgment for processing your order.
For any other clarifications, you can contact our customer service:
Timings: 10:00AM to 6:00PM
Regards
Shopit4me.
Hi
I am Tanuj Talwar Grievance officer of Shopit4me and Mr Piyush Before putting the comment you should be aware that an ISO certified company can not do any scam this is legally approved and if you have any concern regarding the contest you should mail to our team not posting the comments without knowing the fact and if you posted such type of comments again we will have to take a legal action against you and i would suggest you one thing that you are not a social worker or consumer court judge to post anything anywhere, just focus on your work rather then wasting your time in this type of malpractice.
Regards
Tanuj Talwar
9971750123
Wow. First of all, thank you for posting your views here on this post and sadly adding no value. As the post says, your proposed scheme can be a Possible Scam and does also mention that the representative body might deliver as promised. It does not claim you are cheating people, however shows links to online complaints from other users. Its more of an awareness post to help people decide their action. That being said, this post is a review and an account stating what I experienced published on a blog I own. It is not an attempt to defame your business entity or for any kind of personal gain.
What would have genuinely helped, instead of threatening me with legal action and questioning my sense of judgement, is to throw some clarity and also share examples of the legitimacy of the offer which apparently does turn out to be your job. As you claim in your comment, that the facts poster here are incorrect – please do throw some light on the so called facts and that would help everyone visiting the blog.
Mr So called Piyush Agarwal
This will be last written warning to you for writing the wrong things about any pvt ltd and ISO certified company by online method now if you have posted anything wrong will process a legal notice against you and this is not threat its warning and that also in writing.
About legal aspects you are not authorized person for showing legal facts of contest.
Its better you do your work not doing social work.
Regards
Tanuj Talwar
Thank you for stopping by.
Mr. Tanuj, what is your company’s ISO Certification number ??? Please share it with your customers !!!!
Is your company & customer care really alive? How many times the customer calls you or send mails ([email protected]>, [email protected], [email protected]) you will not even give reply. Here you are telling that you are a grievance officer. What is the use of a grievance officer when you are not replying to your customers mails?
Mr. Piyush, everything you are saying is completely right. This company (www.shopit4me.com) has did fake promises with me and cheated me for an amount of 70,000+ for this contest. Now whenever i call their customer care ,they deny for the benefits they commited me to provide after this contest and talk rudly. They guys are very clever and pre-plan to cheat innocent people. Now they are running another car contest to cheat people to make money in no time. It’s my advice to all, don’t trust them and stay away from these cheaters.
Hi roman, thank you for stopping by and sharing this information. Though its really unfortunate that you are in this soup, sharing your experience might help others.. As you can read from the comments on this post, the representative does not really care and lacks the ability for a sensible conversation. I hope your issue is resolved and you get your money/it’s worth ASAP
Hi Piyush,
I got a call from Miss Radhika promising exactly the same thing. I’m sure lying to customers about there being only six winners all India is illegal.All the online complaints posted in the links prove the lie. I hope some legal authority hauls this unethical company before they dupe more innocent people. Thank you for taking the trouble for making others aware.
Happy to help. The intention behind this post was to make people aware of what others have experienced with the help of this scheme and then take a calculated decision on their own. I will be glad if this post does prove to help make the right move for people.
Dated : 22-05-2013
LETTER – 1
I am Ram from Karnataka State Gulbarga District Cell No. 99006-30556 Want to inform you that initially I have received a call on dated : 11-05-2013 (No.91-11-47895000) company representative Aliya.
She said to become a member of Shopit4me.com by paying Rs.15000 Membership Fee. Accordingly I made a online payment through my debit card bearing No.5497-5190 on dated : 12-05-2013.
After that I have not received any information regarding membership & till today I have not received any type of gifts, scratch card, membership card etc., from company.
So I have regularly contacted by calling to Aliya, Radhika, Subhash, Receptionist through phone No.011-43333334 & 011-4333-3333 & NO ONE HAS RESPONDED POSITIVELY & NO ONE IS READY TO HELP ME FOR THE SAME.
So, I request you to return my money back Rs.15000.00 as early as possible otherwise I will become helpless to take the help of police.
Please respond immediately
regards
Ram
Ram, its unfortunate to hear that you went for this scheme and are facing difficulty in getting your money back. I am sorry but writing on this website will not really help you as I am not related to the concerned parties. Would recommend you to file a case in the consumer court regarding this.
Greetings.
Piyush you are doing a great job here. I also got a call this morning now it seems they are trying to lure people using renault duster. A minute on the phone and i was googling “shopit4me scams” and your link is at the top. I’m sharing you page link in sake of public awareness.
Keep up the good work.
Karma never goes unseen.
God Bless.
Glad I could help.
Hi, Piyush ji,
You are absulately right. shopit4me.com is a leading cheating company. I also cheated by them. I have been suffering by them for nine month. third class company and third class customer care executives in this company. my transaction in this company is big. i don’t say about this because i am a very fool person. i want to say you that don’t afraid from this company and write about this company so that noone shall be cheated by them. this is a fraud company. this is one of the most fraudant and non-sense company in Delhi.
Hello Nikunj, thank you for sharing your experience here. Any hard-earned money whether small amount or big should not go down the drain in this way. Have you raised a case in consumer court? If not, please do so. You can also try the people at akosha.in
I hope you get your money back and your peace of mind. I am not afraid of the company. I did try to talk with them as you can see in the comments but realized its of no use, so did not entertain them further.
It is all happening because we people want short cut methods to make money. Just imagine how a company offer you gifts worth 50000+ from nowhere ! These people are after me now and since today morning I god at least 15 phone calls. They are highlighting their ISO certification as the proof for genuineness of their website. When I asked for the ISO certificate number they could not provide that. Please don’t believe these people !!!
Absolutely agree with you Sudhakaran. Greed leads people to fall for such schemes.
THANKS A LOT FOR HELPING PEOPLE
No issues Asit. Thanks for stopping by.
Hi
This company people are really making fool of people they are earning money by making people chutia with the help of girls employees. I think its better if they open a bar and appoint those girls as bar dancer so that we can throw our money and will not regret but like the way they are making money is KLPD
Kindly Mr Piyush take out some way to recover my and people like me those who have been cheated . I have got all the recorded files along with me as what i have been talking with them since my first payment.
Regards
Mr. Singh, I understand your frustration. Since you already have all proof, did you try reaching out to consumer court?
Hi Piyush,
You are doing a great job here and you don’t know you have saved many from this Fraud.When I say many its include me too.
As today moring I also got a call from shopit4me it seems they are trying to lure people using Renault Duster. I was told that my rank is 7th in online shopping and I am the only one selected from Tamilnadu with 85 points and to win this contest I need to have 100 points. They even told that 85 point is a very big achievement and seeing my online purchase track record I can reach 100 point very soon and at the end of September I may be a proud owner of Renault Duster “Sounds Non-scene to me”
As it is a week end, I asked them to call me back after one hour and in between I did a online review of there site and going through your post I was sure about this rank Fraud.
After one Hour I received a call and was connected to there EMI department there another executive started go-go-go and at the end I was told that I have to register with them by paying 9999 on 12 mounth EMI and When I asked for the ISO certificate number they could not provide that.
Dear friends please be double sure before investing in such offers because to my experience all easy money scheme are likely to be Fraud.
If you are thinking about the Display “An ISO 9001-2008 Certified Company” that is an another link that is getting popped up in “shopit4me” site just like the any other adds getting popped up when you are browsing Facebook or twitter, as I am from this software back ground I can challenge this and can display the same in my website.
So friend be careful.
Thank you for sharing your experience Raja. I am glad this post could help you stay away from this scheme. The points thing is an interesting angle. Have you ever shopped with shopit4me?
Hi Piyush,
What you have written i s so true i just received a call ie 6th August 5 pm from someone named jatin ahuja from shopit4me.com telling me about gold membership of 9999rs where in i will get an induction cooker,home theater plus a coupon upon registration.
i laughed like nuts in my 8 years shopping experience an online shopping asking for membership fees!!!!
he had other offers to offer too but i ended the call totally fraud
they should be reported by one and all to consumer court india.
Hehe…Sachin. I had a similar reaction and laughed about it with my friends. But I was sure that such a scheme exists because people fall for it.
So made it a point to post it here. Even if it helps some people save their hard earned money, its worth the time. And looks like it has helped indeed!
Hi Everybody,
Thank you so much for your valuable feedback, it helps me to stay away from these kind of schemes, i also got a call from shopit4me and the representative said that iam the only member which is selected from Gurgaon and i have earned 78 points and iam surely win a renault duster but to enter in this contest i have to deposit an amount of Rs. 19,999/- if am using my credit card for payment so they offer an EMI option for the same and they assured me, if iam submitting this amount, they provide me a gift of Rs. 70,000/- which includes 3 diamonds, Tab & Home theatre. But i have denied to do that.
Thanks You so much guys…Specially Mr. Piyush.
hey Ankita, Glad you found this post helpful. I just hope more and more people make it a habit to verify online before jumping into such schemes. Looks like these days they are offering Renault Duster to everyone. If only everything was so easy to get in life but at the end we are all human. 🙂
yes this company is totally scam & froad company. i also paid amt 2499 for a contest. they said same to all that ur point is higher & u r in top 10 for the contest. if u pay 2499 then ur point will increase & u receive 3pc product in 70% discount. I first 10 times refused but they are calling me daily for this. when i frusted then i make payment for 2499 & i received 3pc different products they said. then after again they told me that make payment for 5999 then u will be eligible for the contest. i literally shouted & said dont call me again otherwise i will take action against ur company. then-after they call me again but i again shouted. but this is not a trusted company. so be aware for this “GHATIYA” company. Plz dont waist ur money for un-trusted products.
What were the products?
Shopit4me Fraud / Scam Modus Operandi
a) You’ll receive a call from Shopit4me congratulating on being selected among the top 10 lucky people.
b) They’ll claim to have access to your e-commerce record which gives you a head start of 70 points.
c) You’ll need a total of 100 points to win a Renault Duster / Wolkswagon Polo car.
d) THEY’LL ASK YOU TO REGISTER BY PAYING A CERTAIN AMOUNT (Rs. 5000 in my case) which’ll give you another 10 points + assured gifts (Induction Cooker, Bluetooth Headset etc. and a Voucher). The Voucher once again includes assured gift of any electronic gadget ranging from 10k to 2 Lacs.
e) After registration you just need to login to their website at promotional hours which they notify you in advance for increasing your points. As soon as you reach 97, you’ll need to pass a behavior check to gain last 3 points before taking home THE CAR.
I also received a call from Shopit4me this morning. A lady named Poornima (Senior Manager) tried luring me with Renault Duster Car.
I was flabbergasted when the lady was bragging about the offer, and her desperate urges to make instant online payment for registration. A simple google search on Shopit4me lists grievance of stupid victims who fell pray to such frauds.
How they still manage to operate – They may send you some dozen a dime but with elated price tag. For example if they charge Rs. 10k for registration they may give away a Chinese watch with actual worth of Rs. 50, but claimed mrp of Rs. 21k.
Next time you receive such calls, please drop in an e-mail to Economic Offence Wing – [email protected] or call them at 1090 or 011-23490312.
AGAIN – BEWARE OF SUCH SCAMS. THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS FREE LUNCH, AND IF SOMETHING IS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE- JUST PASS ON IT.
Amit, this is a very helpful share. These guys due keep on tweaking the process with time. The contact information of the Economic Offence Wing is great and I am sure people will get benefited from the same.
Dear Amit,
Most of the people are selfish and do not want to share information that may really benefit others. In this context, your comments have been extremely useful especially for me. Shopit4me people are trying to fool me and they are after me for almost one month now. Initially they asked me to pay 9500/- through credit card. When I refused, they reduced the amount to 5000/- and after further refusal, it has now come down to 2500/-. Generally I don’t believe this kind of people, but people like you have been extremely helpful in confirming that it is a scam. One Ms. Rupali (may not be her real name) calls me from different numbers and emotionally black mail me saying that she is like my daughter and I should believe her. I heard the story of some people losing huge amount in this scam. While I feel pity about them, I just want to tell them that ” a bird in hand is worth two in the bush “!! I stay in Hosur, Tamil Nadu (near to Bangalore) and start wondering how these people roam around freely after duping people !!!
Sudhakaran – I am sure people are getting attracted by such schemes. That’s the reason, these guys are still in business.
these kinds of offer provided by companies are never be genuine its just a marketing trick to sale the product which not worth that much yes shopit4me is doing illegal practices all arround by providing scammy deals they have called me so many times from number 01142879350 as these days personal landline number not been used for marketing as per latest guidelines from TRAI and if you called to customer and he complain against you you will be penalized i have too got lots of call from shopit4me when ever i asked too much question they always respond sir its money back thing if you not win we will send your money back and you can keep products as complementory gift what a method to snitch money which really attact peoples so beware from these kinds of call from any company
and Mr Tanuj Talwar your comments shows how good is your company cause its not shows professional in any sense all of your childish reply to protect your company shows how much scams going on and soon your company will shut down withs lots of FIR and Legal Complains in CBI,Cyber Crime cells just stay tuned
full proof waste and fraud call ,plz frend have a sense of judgement just by paying 5000 rs how u can get gifes of priced up to 8 lakh plz avoid thisthing and u mr.TARUN THREATING TO TAKE ACTION .U R WELCOMED JUST TAKE IT AND WE ALL ARE LET U KNOW WHERE IS FLOOR .CHEATERS U R NOT SUPPOSED TO CHEAT PEOPLE AND TO EMOTIONALY BLACKMAILING THEM TO HAVE THEIR HARD EARNED MONEY APPOINTING GIRLS .AND WHAT R U SAYING ISO..WHAT R UR REGISTRATION NUMBER .
Dear Piyush Aggarwal,
I, Manoj Kumar from Chandigarh victim of http://www.shopit4me.com wants my money of Rs.79,998/- refund from that company.
I have cancelled my order on the same day of the booking, but till date I have not received the refund so far which was placed by company’s executive Ms. Nihal Bhatt with my credit card details by saying me that with it I will get Platinum card free of cost for future purchases @ 50% discount and eligible for Lucky draw in the November, 2013.
From last 35/40 days I am calling at 01143333334 and the executive always speaks that they will call me in half an hour but no call has been received by me.
Now, I have receive a call and cancelled my order as discussed with Ms. Shruti Sharma on 18.09.2013 and further on 20.09.2013, She is misguided me and says that instead of canceling the order she will keep it pending so that I will not get refund. She has also misbehaved with me.
Thanks
Manoj Kumar
9646003189, 9815905501
Hey Piyush,
Please see this – Like you I also wanted to see where the conversation ends and had reached upto 85 points in the car contest. In the process I do not know how I shared my credit card details but timely action post the conversation saved me from what could have been the worst nightmare of my life.
All readers – BE AWARE, here is my story –
Fraud case
http://www.shopit4me.com
This complaint is in support of all complaints against shopit4me.com. This on-line shopping portal is a sham and the representatives lure the prospects with creating greed in them for winning free gifts and participating in contest free of cost to win Duster car. They call and ask whether you do on-line shopping from any of the portals giving such service. Any reply in affirmative falls prey to them. They ask you to register on their site and make some initial purchase. Then they will say that you have a chance of winning the car, and are falling short of only some points. They will inform that the shopping points are counted from all the on-line transactions that you may have made at any of the on-line shopping portals and not necessarily from their site only. This is fishy as why will anyone give away car worth more than Rs. 10 lacs even if no purchasing is made from their site. On the process of getting the registration done they will ask for all details of your credit card including Issuing Bank, Card No., Issue date, Expiry date, Date of Birth, CVV No., Mothers Maiden Name; i.e. all that details which we are not supposed to disclose to anyone. On asking them why these details are required as no other poplar on-line sites ask for such details and the registration is very simple; they reply that sharing these details will make us eligible to fetch discounts upto 60-70% on any purchases made form their web site.
In my case I first got a call around a month ago and was given information about the Duster Car Contest and that after registration I will have to pay Rs. 12,499 to buy some products. At that time I simply refused saying that I do not have that money. Again I received call around 10 days ago and when I told that I had already refused being their customer for want of Rs. 12,499; they told that now only Rs. 2,499 purchase are to be made. That was it, I fell prey to them. I made the purchases and in the process they explained me that if I give them the details of my credit card then the same will be linked to my account and if any purchase is made form their web site by making payment from any of the registered cards, there will be a flat discount of 60-70%. And then they asked me to shell out Rs. 1,49,999 saying that diamonds and ultra note book of value around Rs. 2,50,000 will be delivered against the same. I refused to do the transaction, but they kept on pressing for the same. In the process I landed up giving them the details of all my 4 credit cards in-spite of knowing the fact that the details are not to be shared with anyone. It was a sort of verbal hypnotism, one may say.
However, simultaneously I logged in at one of my Credit Card issuing bank site and was surprised that I was not able to log in with my password. Immediately I called up all my issuing banks and blocked all my cards. This saved me from any fraudulent transactions that may have taken place. I was feeling safe, but the calls kept on haunting for making the transactions and one Ms. Niharika Sharma was continuously after me even after myself refusing and explaining that I am not interested in participating in the contest; to which she questioned; if that was so then why purchase of Rs. 2,499 was made? I said that is OK as I made the initial purchase but am not comfortable with their further conditions and that the matter has to end. They kept on calling everyday till 4 days and I did not reply to their calls. I am waiting for the products of Rs. 2,499 to be delivered to me.
On Monday (23-09-13) I received call from one of my banks asking whether I had called up their bank on Friday (20-09-2013). I replied in affirmative explaining that the call was made to block the credit card and for issue of replacement card with new number. They informed me that someone had called up and was asking for available credit limit and 3D Secure pin. As the call was made after I blocked the card, the bank did not give details as I had already made them aware by telling them the reason why I wanted to block the card.
I thank God that I came to senses in time and was saved from what could have become a nightmare. It is an appeal to all reading this – DO NOT FALL PREY TO ANY SUCH CALLS. DO NOT SHARE DETAILS OF CREDIT CARDS / DEBIT CARDS / BANK ACCOUNTS WITH ANYONE.
Vinay Seth
[email protected]
9737 588 588
Just Thank you all….Specially Piyush !!
I completely disagree with the above complaint , I am thankful to shopit4me.com for discounted deals. The Maple Belt (Tan) I bought from here a couple of days ago motivated me to come back and write a few words. The stuff is made up of pure leather with metal buckle which produces an elegant look in suiting. Tan color of belt on blue jeans adds value to the dressing and my personality. I am addict to this and feel very comfortable to use it even with my casual dressings. I suggest you to buy this and enjoy the comfort and grace in cheap price.
Lol. Are you serious? Firstly, you do not seem genuine. Nice try. Secondly, this blog post is not about their online shopping discounts. Read much?
Addicted to your belt?! Hilarious
Great Job Mr.Piyush. Where is that Grievance Officer????
This Scam still continues.
Having read this after my first call, I have recorder some conversation, which can be shared here for all to understan the way they do it.
Please advice where i can send the mp3 files to
That would be great. Can you mail the same to [email protected]
I got hold of some new information which further proves this is a SCAM. Will post that along with your recorded files.
I have tried sending the files of the recorded converstaions of Current “Nano Car Contest” and the “BMW Series 1 Contest” but to due to “Mail Limitations” could not do so.
Please suggest how I can share it with you. (Shall I attach individual mp3 conversation files) or share it via some “upload sites” like “sendspace” or “weshare”?
I have sent the MP3 files of the recorded converstaions of Current “Nano Car Contest” and the “BMW Series 1 Contest” as seperate files.
I have sent the MP3 file individually. Please confirm receipt, and mail back for any clarification.
Thank you Mr. Gurumurthi. I have received the files and also replied to your mail.
Piyush you are doing a great job the following. We furthermore bought any contact today now it seems these people want to appeal men and women using renault duster. A few minutes on the phone and we seemed to be googling “shopit4me scams” whilst your hyperlink is usually at the pinnacle. I’m discussing an individual page hyperlink throughout benefit involving public recognition.
Keep up the good work.
I am glad this helped. Sadly even after a year the SCAM continues which shows that not everyone is smart enough to check online before falling in such traps.
I have also a victim of this company so please hepl me how i can get the money refund
Dear sir
Please refund my money
This is just an information blog post. Not affiliated to ShopIt4Me as apparent by the content. Best of luck in getting your money back.
Piyush Agarwal Ji Namste
Mere Bhi 7.60 Rupees Shopit4me me fashe han kiya karu
Kitne? Kaise Fashe?