LuxStyle is at the centre of a new warning.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has issued a Public Warning Notice about the alleged conduct of online retailer Lux International Sales ApS.
The company, based in Denmark and trading under LuxStyle, has seen the ACCC receive 127 complaints since January 2017.
LuxStyle advertised its products on social media, directing potential customers to a website that did not display prices unless the consumer entered a mailing address and an email address.
Consumers have complained that even though they did not proceed to order or purchase the goods and simply closed down the website window after viewing the price of the product, LuxStyle then posted the goods to consumers along with an invoice demanding payment and followed this up with subsequent invoices if consumers did not pay.
Consumers have reported that on some occasions where they did not pay, LuxStyle referred the matter to Australian-based debt collectors.
ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard has warned consumers to be diligent.
“The ACCC is very concerned that consumers are reporting that, in response to demands from LuxStyle, they have paid for goods that they did not order and do not want.
“The Australian Consumer Law provides specific protection to Australian consumers.
"If a business sends unsolicited goods to an Australian consumer, the consumer is not required to pay for the goods, nor is the consumer required to pay to return the goods.
“Consumers who have received goods from LuxStyle, or have been contacted by a debt collector about goods from LuxStyle, should lodge a report via the ACCC’s website at accc.gov.au,” Rickard said.
The Danish Consumer Ombudsman is also conducting its own investigation into LuxStyle’s conduct, and has published information about reports from consumers in various European countries as well as Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
The Public Warning Notice has been issued because the ACCC has reasonable grounds to suspect that LuxStyle’s conduct may constitute a contravention of the Australian Consumer Law, by asserting a right to payment for unsolicited goods.