Take back online shop scammers

Megan van der Wagt and Bram Veldt

Convenience serves people and that also applies to purchasing items online. You can order and buy products via the internet from the comfort of your home and before you know it, the delivery person will be at your door or your purchase will fit through the letterbox. You can read how to best buy items via the internet in the article 15 tips for safe online shopping. Unfortunately, there are also many scammers active through web shops. More than ten thousand declarations were filed in the first nine months of 2023 alone. Consumers can therefore lose a lot of money, but with a bit of luck and the help of Soda and NietBezorgd.nl, things can still turn out well. This article is largely taken from the article ‘Webshoppers taken back’ by author Ed Brouwers from the Haarlems Dagblad of Saturday, November 25, 2023.

Webshop scammers
At some webshops you can pay afterwards via, for example, Klarna or you pay with a credit card. Although this is encouraged, there are plenty of people who think these types of methods are nonsense and therefore immediately pay for their purchases. But what happens when it turns out that you have ordered from the wrong webshop from what we call webshop scammers? Are you really empty-handed? This is not always the case. There are organizations that can help you with this, such as Soda and NietBezorgd.nl. The Soda foundation mainly acts for retailers and entrepreneurs who have been affected by fraud, (shop) theft or forms of aggression. But consumers can also get help from Soda in claiming compensation or reclaiming the purchase price.

Declaration
If you want to pursue your failed purchase, you must report it to Soda. You must be able to show that you first requested a refund of your money. Your own bank or the Dutch Payments Association, a trade organization for regulated providers of payment services in the Netherlands, can help you with account information for the seller. If this doesn’t work, Soda can help. They will try again, which may yield better results through collaboration with the police’s National Internet Fraud Hotline. The latter often has data on perpetrators.

Soda
Soda used as method no cure no pay (the service provider only gets paid when he has completed the service successfully). On top of the purchase amount, Soda will pay compensation of at least € 131. If necessary, a bailiff or lawyer will be called in and the costs will be passed on to the scammer. Soda was once founded by police officer Arie Jan van Os who saw to his dismay that criminals often got away with impunity. He believed that injured parties should be compensated and perpetrators should take responsibility for their actions.

NietBezorgd.nl
In addition to soda, you can also use NietBezorgd.nl. This organization also goes after your money, sometimes together with Soda. A difference with Soda is that NietBezorgd.nl does not focus so much on cases of fraud but on non-performance by, what they call, unconsciously competent web shops. NietBezorgd.n does not require a police report for assistance. The organization first tries to resolve matters amicably, but also initiates legal proceedings if necessary. The counter now stands at 13,000 cases. Their efforts cost you nothing as a consumer. Only if the intervention is a success will 20 percent costs be deducted.
That NietBezorgd.nl works satisfactorily and is reliable is evident from the fact that legal expenses insurer Arag recommends NietBezord.nl.

Source: ‘Webshoppers taken back’ by author Ed Brouwers from the Haarlems Dagblad of Saturday, November 25, 2023