Have anyone else had an experience with this dodgy business?
‘T & R INTERNATIONAL PTY. LTD.’ (ABN 59 141 443 898)
I have had my own terrible experience with them… Order placed for a pool table and received a tracking number. Great! Turns out the shipping company and tracking number is fake which started me on a multi-day ordeal to get the order cancelled and a refund (which I fought eBay tooth and nail for!).
They seem to have a multitude of trading names selling different products, but provide equally appalling service in each… Check out the 1 star reviews!!. Here are a couple examples i’ve uncovered:
**I was limited to two links in this post, but the business names ‘Bike Scooter Hub’ and ‘Mega Office Supplies’ also appear to be trading names for T&R which have similar reviews on the Product Review website.
5 star reviews are generally gushing about the products and services which is a good indicator they are fake.
A lot of customers seem to have the same experience.
The customer is charged for the order and provided fake tracking details.
When the order is ‘late’ or the customer reaches out for some other reason, they receive an excuse for why (damaged item, needs to be shipped from another warehouse, etc).
Unhappy customers fight for refunds with the seller only providing partial refunds or asking to wait for extended periods of time for the order to be shipped (if it ever does).
This was also my experience… Every time I asked to cancel the order or for a refund, they sent a message asking me to change my mind and wait and I would I like a further discount as compensation. I had to escalate the situation with eBay who is dragged their heels for 5 days before agreeing to refund me. I believe they may have eventually shipped the order, but at least be upfront that I need to wait until it is shipped from China or wherever, and don’t string me along with fake tracking info.
With many unhappy customers making complaints to the ACCC and Fair Trading, how is this company still in business?
Keen to hear other horror stories so I know i’m not alone
Looking at the TR Sports website and its business locations, the company seems to exist. For their Brisbane and Sydney warehouse locations, the warehouses are shown with TR sports signage on Google Streetview.
Many reviews for the business are terrible and appears they chose to ignore consumer guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law.
From the information you have provided, they might be a dropshipping business. One that doesn’t hold stock of every product in their warehouse. They get the manufacturer/distributor to fulfil the order once it is placed. These sort of businesses are a risk, especially when the manufacturer/distributor doesn’t care about the customer (which they have no relationship with). They only work well when everyone in the supply chain have the customers interests at heart. A dropshipping business should also be upfront in relation to where the goods are being shipped from and delivery timeframes.
Thanks for reporting your experience and it is definitely one I will be staying clear of.
A quick ABN search reveals an application to wind up the company was lodged on 28 September. “Notification of Application to Wind Up Company Under S. (519G)
459p, 462 or 464 ()”
A most excellent reason to avoid like the plague lest you become an unsecured creditor who is way down the list of those who might get paid something when they go bust. If you have paid for but not received your goods under such circumstances you are unlikely to have any legal recourse to getting a refund.
I feel fortunate that I made a purchase via eBay and ended up receiving a refund.
It took about 5 days of complaining to eBay customer support agents who didn’t seem to care that I had messages from the seller that proved they were dodgy, but wanted to give the seller the opportunity to resolve my issue
No idea as I don’t use Paypal. Do they offer some sort of guarantee to the purchaser using their service that they will refund the money out of their own pockets if a reversal of the transfer fails?
Again, no idea. As I asked originally, why would Paypal be a creditor to a failed vendor if they act only as a money transferer. Question remains open to someone who may know.
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As far as I am aware Choice does not engage in research to support individual cases excepting for their own investigative projects. That being written a few members are diligent in ferreting out information to assist other members when there are no incremental costs to themselves beyond their time, such as contact information when it can be found somewhere in the public domain.
Sometimes a member can be surprised on the up-side, so maybe?
I ordered my products 3 months ago - got confirmation saying items would be shipped the next day, fake tracking id given, emails saying sorry the truck broke down, emails saying items are still in warehouse after saying they were sent, no delivery still. No tax invoice provided, only a confirmation of order. Now they wont take my calls or respond to any further emails. Last text I got was over a month ago giving a very specific time for the delivery next day but saying to allow 3 hours either side of the given time…wtf? Needless to say, no delivery arrived.
