PS2 ?150 'offer' too good to be true?
British shoppers get mad but not even
A London company is under investigation by the police and Trading Standards over a PlayStation 2 offer that allegedly duped hundreds of British shoppers. The deal involved The Slammer, an outfit based in the city's Docklands area, which started offering PS2s in February for £150. Punters paid £300 up front, either by credit card, Switch or cheque. They were told they would get a £150 rebate after they had received the console and returned the company's questionnaire. The Slammer said the reason it offered a rebate and not a straight discount was because Sony would slap it for selling the consoles so cheaply. The Slammer advertised the offer on games sites such as Planetarion.com. Between February and May this year people paid their money and waited. According to Web site thescammer.com, where surfers have been venting their spleen about their Slammer experiences, the company took the £300 payments, and a few hundred PS2s were delivered. But no-one has yet received a rebate. Meanwhile, sources say The Slammer has quit its offices. And according to Companies House, The Slammer.com plc changed its name in May to TXTR plc, also registered to an address in the Docklands. This morning The Slammer phone number was not working, while there is no number available for TXTR. Southwark Trading Standards yesterday urged anyone who bought a PS2 from The Slammer to get in contact. Meanwhile, several people still waiting for rebates have contacted the police, and the Office of Fair Trading is also investigating The Slammer, according to thescammer.com site. Trading Standards believes that "well over a hundred" people bought the consoles, while thescammer.com says the figure is more likely to be around a thousand. Southwark Trading Standards, which says it will also advise Slammer shoppers on their rights regarding credit card refunds, can be contacted at tradingstandards@southwark.gov.uk. ®