Online fashion traps: how to spot fake “UK boutique” sites and get your money back

Citizens Advice helps someone with a fashion buy issue every seven minutes. The organisation received almost 18,000 complaints about fashion purchases last year, and most came from online orders, not shops. In many cases, people thought they were buying from a UK brand, only to receive poor‑quality clothes shipped from overseas and then faced high return costs or no response at all.

Here’s what’s going on, the warning signs to look for, and your rights if it happens to you. Our consumer expert Vix Leyton also shares when she fell for the scam herself and used her experience to expose how these sites work.

The problem: more shoppers are being caught out 

Citizens Advice saw a 21% rise in fashion complaints year‑on‑year. The most common issues were: 

• Faulty items 

• Late or missing deliveries 

• Trouble returning unwanted goods 

• Poor customer service  

But around 1 in 13 complaints involved scams where shoppers believed a site was UK‑based because the ads looked local. These sellers often posed as small family-run boutiques based in the UK, but were in fact based overseas. When items arrived, they were often poor quality, not as pictured, and expensive to return overseas.  

Vix’s story: “I consider myself scam‑proof, and still got caught”  

Our consumer expert Vix Leyton spotted a gorgeous dress promoted as part of a “struggling London boutique”. She said: “Their ads told a heartfelt story of two sisters keeping their boutique dream alive, and the dress looked stunning in the photos. The price point was reassuringly expensive compared to the likes of Shein and Temu, but with a healthy discount applied - pitched as their last-ditch effort to keep their site from closure. If it had been any cheaper, I probably would have been more cynical about it. It's a real masterclass in psychology.” 

So, she ordered and even paid for Express Delivery. But the dress took weeks to arrive, and it was shipped from China, not a small London boutique as advertised. It was also badly made, fit wrong, and looked nothing like the photos. When Vix looked through the reviews, she realised some people were offered a partial refund to keep the dress, a common tactic with this type of scam.  

After digging deeper, she found the same dress sold on at least 10 clone sites, each re‑using the same product photos and emotional backstory. In total, Vix’s research revealed shoppers may have lost hundreds of thousands of pounds across these copycat stores in the UK, but copies of the same dress appeared internationally too.  

Vix says: “I wanted to share this because these sites are slick. Even consumer experts get caught out. The lesson? If it looks too good to be true, especially if it comes with a tug-at-your-heartstrings backstory, then it probably is.”  

How to spot a fake “UK boutique” quickly

These quick checks can save you money and stress: 

1. Check the delivery time scale  

Unless it’s a made-to-order item, if a shop is genuinely based in the UK, your order shouldn’t take more than a few days to arrive. There’ll usually be the option for next day delivery too.  

2. Look for AI‑polished photos 

Many scam sites use AI‑generated or heavily edited images. Signs include strange distortions on the face and body, as well as inconsistent textures. Reverse‑image‑searching the photos can reveal clones used across multiple scam sites as well.  

3. Beware “closing down” or “last chance” stories 

Emotional backstories are often copy‑and-paste scripts used across many scam stores. “Closing down” sales are used for legitimacy; the price is on the lower end, but it makes sense because it’s part of a sale.  

4. Scan the site with a safety checker 

Tools like Get Safe Online’s “Check a website” help assess if a URL is suspicious.  

5. Check independent reviews 

Before you buy, stop and check out the shop on independent review websites. If reviews mention poor quality, overseas returns, or partial‑refund offers, that’s a good indication to walk away.  

Your rights if things go wrong with a seller based abroad  

The issue with these types of scams is that when sellers are based overseas, it’s hard to enforce UK laws and get your money back. That’s why it’s so key to try to avoid them in the first place.  

If you have been caught out, and you’ve paid by debit or with credit card, you might be able to use a chargeback scheme or a section 75 claim to get a refund.  

How to get your money back 

Here are a few things you can try depending on how you paid.  

• Contact the seller first  - Email them with photos, your order number, and what you want (refund or replacement). Keep a copy. If they’re legitimate, they’ll likely offer a full refund. If not, you might have other options.  

• Paid by credit card? - You may be protected under Section 75 for items costing £100–£30,000. Your card provider can be jointly responsible if something goes wrong.  

• Paid by debit card or items under £100? - Ask your bank for a chargeback. It’s not a legal right, but banks often help. Act quickly.  

• Paid with PayPal? - You may be covered by PayPal Buyer Protection but note the timeframe: you must open a “Not as Described” claim within 30 days of delivery or 180 days of payment,  whichever is sooner.  

Key takeaways  

• Fake “UK boutique” sites are on the rise, often using emotional stories and slick ads to appear local while shipping low‑quality items from overseas. 

• If a site has long delivery timelines, uses perfect‑looking AI images, or pushes ‘closing down’ sales, those are major red flags. 

• It’s harder to get your money back when the seller is overseas, but you may still claim via chargeback, Section 75, or PayPal Buyer Protection. 

• Check before you buy: look for real reviews, run a website safety scan, and reverse‑image‑search product photos. 

• If caught out, act quickly, contact the seller, then your card provider, PayPal, or your bank.