PARMA, Ohio — Pamela Jerousek of Parma was excited about her purchase of four chairs at a 90% discount from what she thought was a going-out-of-business sale on the Bed Bath & Beyond website she found online, but her joy quickly turned to disappointment.
Jerousek told News 5 she paid nearly $200 dollars for the chairs, giving the website her credit card number and personal information. The webpage sent her an email that her chairs had been shipped and gave her a tracking number. But days later, when the chairs failed to arrive, and she couldn't reach the company, she checked the webpage more carefully and suddenly realized the site really didn't say "Bed Bath & Beyond" on the top banner.
“It was really real like it’s really Bed Bath & Beyond; it was their colors, it was exactly as you would see it if they would advertise,” Jerousek said. “But after it says Bed Bath & Beyond, it also says 'Beyond Any Price' right at the top underneath it, so then I knew it wasn't exactly right.“
Jerousek quickly called her credit card company and placed a hold on her account, hoping the card will reimburse her lost funds through its fraud protection.
Cleveland Better Business Bureau President Sue McConnell told News 5 a growing number of consumers are falling victim to impostor websites.
“Unfortunately, it was a scam website that was using the Bed Bath & Beyond logo and looked very legitimate," McConnell said. “Make sure that you look at the web address, the URL so that you know that you’re on a legitimate retailer's site so you are where you think you’re going to be."
McConnell said consumers need to do their homework and check on reviews for the webpage, and be aware of whether a going-out-of-business sale is legitimate.
“If you have [a] gift card for a company going out of business, use it right away because once they close their doors, you may not have any use; the gift card could be worthless," McConnell said. "The Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Actsays if you’re going to have a going-out-of-business sale, it should only last 45 days; they will give you one extension. So it can’t go on four, five, six, twelve, eighteen months; you have to go out of business at some point if you’re having a distress sale.”
News 5 reached out to Bed Bath & Beyond headquarters about the illegal use of its logo and colors posted on the impostor webpage, but we're still waiting for a response.
Meanwhile, Jerousek issued her own consumer warning about the bogus online discount offers.
“If you see something that’s too good to be true, know that it’s too good to be true, don’t do it," Jerousek said. “You’re at risk anytime you go on the internet, and you see any sale like that, don’t do it because it is not worth it.”
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