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Is this for real?

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    #2
    Paulw
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 13,381 Mod ✭✭✭✭Paulw


    Saw on dpreview comments about the site, and seems the majority view is that it's a dangerous gamble to buy from them.

    Ok, some major alarm bells ringing. Tried to "order" and got the following - Holater currently ONLY accepts international payment via Bank Wire Transfer.
    International credit cards and checks are not accepted.

    They don't take credit cards??? DODGY !!! STAY AWAY.


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    #3
    Duchovny
    Closed Accounts Posts: 214 ✭✭Duchovny


    Paulw wrote: »
    Saw on dpreview comments about the site, and seems the majority view is that it's a dangerous gamble to buy from them.

    Ok, some major alarm bells ringing. Tried to "order" and got the following - Holater currently ONLY accepts international payment via Bank Wire Transfer.
    International credit cards and checks are not accepted.

    They don't take credit cards??? DODGY !!! STAY AWAY.

    Yeah i think its dodgy too, they say they just accept credit cards for UK users all international things have to be bank wire transfer, i just posted in the hope of someone saying ohh i got my camera there its safe :P


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    #4
    Paulw
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 13,381 Mod ✭✭✭✭Paulw


    The general rule - if it seems too good to be true - it IS too good to be true.

    Sorry, try elsewhere.


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    #5
    Duchovny
    Closed Accounts Posts: 214 ✭✭Duchovny


    Paulw wrote: »
    The general rule - if it seems too good to be true - it IS too good to be true.

    Sorry, try elsewhere.

    Yeah i know unfortunetly, but by this website they dont look so bad

    http://www.thecompanymerchant.co.uk/cms/companies-house/companies-house-documents?companyid=03175685&doc=y


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    #6
    Thoie
    Registered Users Posts: 6,344 ✭✭✭Thoie


    I wouldn't pay $4,800 shipping anyway...

    http://www.e-holater.com/shipping.php


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    #7
    Duchovny
    Closed Accounts Posts: 214 ✭✭Duchovny


    Thoie wrote: »
    I wouldn't pay $4,800 shipping anyway...

    http://www.e-holater.com/shipping.php

    lol i saw that too :P just a miss print, but the prices are too good...


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    #8
    Paulw
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 13,381 Mod ✭✭✭✭Paulw


    Duchovny wrote: »
    Yeah i know unfortunetly, but by this website they dont look so bad

    http://www.thecompanymerchant.co.uk/cms/companies-house/companies-house-documents?companyid=03175685&doc=y

    And who says they're related?? Besides, Holater Ltd is a "dormant" company, so not a trading company.

    e-holater.com was only registered 7 days ago.

    Very very dodgy.


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    #9
    soccerc
    Registered Users Posts: 1,107 ✭✭✭soccerc


    As PaulW said!

    Plus they've the same web cams as some of the known scam sites.

    Additionally their so called registered address is that of an insurance broker and the domain was only registered on 5 Jan 2009

    EDIT UPDATE From their website Our company has been dealing with the retail trade on the territory of the UK since 2002. In December 2005 Mobi Technologies and Asian holding (ChinHu Inc), which possesses wholesale warehouses on the territory of South Korea and China, were merged. Due to this fact we start new online shop - Holater but last year it was DigitalSys.co.uk


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    #10
    ValueInIreland
    Registered Users Posts: 335 ✭✭ValueInIreland


    There was a similar site called Corkwholesale (I think!) about a year ago - just vanished without trace. They also would not accept credit cards and had great prices. Beware!


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    #11
    Eireannach
    Registered Users Posts: 165 ✭✭Eireannach


    Run away don't look back. Site is dangerous. You may also want to delete your browsing history and cookies. :)


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    #12
    eddie65
    Registered Users Posts: 7 ✭eddie65


    This is the third time in as many weeks that I have seen web sites with the same web cams of offices with prices "to good to be true" they are definitey a scam.
    One of the sites was called "xenos world"


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    #13
    Deliverance XXV
    Registered Users Posts: 1,757 ✭✭✭Deliverance XXV


    It's strange for a possible scam site as there is a lot of effort and work gone into that site. That being said, it has a load of silly mistakes like no doctype declaration in the code etc.

    It's kinda funny though, like the live cam for the office! The second cam has the same image on it for the two minute intervals I looked at it!

    The question is... do you trust the testimonials? :p


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    #14
    soccerc
    Registered Users Posts: 1,107 ✭✭✭soccerc


    I went through with a fake purchase using fake details.

    I got to their credit card process and was re-directed to 2checkout.com which reported an error.

    Spoke with their live chat and here is what they had to say: They are not a supplier of ours. They are using our test account. If they are a vendor they did not register their account under e-holater.com

    The best part of is that the livechat agent is called Jamie Heinemann so he must be Scambusting as well as mythbusting


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    #15
    Duchovny
    Closed Accounts Posts: 214 ✭✭Duchovny


    Deliverance XXV wrote: »
    It's strange for a possible scam site as there is a lot of effort and work gone into that site. That being said, it has a load of silly mistakes like no doctype declaration in the code etc.

    It's kinda funny though, like the live cam for the office! The second cam has the same image on it for the two minute intervals I looked at it!

    The question is... do you trust the testimonials? :p

    Well apparently they got the domain 4 days ago too many testimonials for only 4 days :P


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    #16
    af_thefragile
    Registered Users Posts: 7,171 ✭✭✭af_thefragile


    clicking on the security verification thing leads to nowhere. And also i'm not sure i'ld trust a security verification site named "godaddy.com"
    Also any of those other logo's at the bottom don't link to anywhere. Its a scam!
    Best way to check if a site is legit is by clicking its security verification logos and seeing if they're proper and lead to the appropriate sites.
    Also the "live" webcam have been showing the same pic for the past 10mins. And lol at the Jamie Heinemann!!


    Get your stuff from www.parkcameras.co.uk instead. They're the cheapest i've found so far. They've got pretty good customer service and don't take too long to deliver. Shipping is not that expensive either.


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    #17
    City-Exile
    Registered Users Posts: 2,547 ✭✭✭City-Exile


    GoDaddy are one of the biggest and most reputable domain registration/site hosting companies in the world!


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    #18
    af_thefragile
    Registered Users Posts: 7,171 ✭✭✭af_thefragile


    oh are they... my bad... :pac:
    its just a weird name...
    But well, clicking on the logo doesn't lead you to their website or anything so its definitely not real...


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    #19
    DaireQuinlan
    Registered Users Posts: 6,676 ✭✭✭DaireQuinlan


    God almighty this makes for depressing reading. I think the forum needs some sort of sticky. I mean its not as though these scamsters actually even need to make their prices even remotely believable any more to pick up their fair share of the greedy and the gullible before disappearing off into the aether with all the cash. If I was running a scam I'd knock 10% off the best genuine price I could find online and I guarantee I'd probably get more takers.

    If they sell current or just released digital cameras at a huge discount .. ITS A SCAM
    If they demand direct bank transfer or western digital ... ITS A SCAM


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    #20
    City-Exile
    Registered Users Posts: 2,547 ✭✭✭City-Exile


    af_thefragile wrote: »
    But well, clicking on the logo doesn't lead you to their website or anything so its definitely not real...

    You must have pop-ups disabled, because when I click on the logo, I see a picture of a cert.
    When you go to Secure Checkout and view the Security Certificate, it appears to be legitimate, for that website.

    That's not to say that they couldn't have obtained one by false pretenses.


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    #21
    soccerc
    Registered Users Posts: 1,107 ✭✭✭soccerc


    City-Exile wrote: »
    You must have pop-ups disabled, because when I click on the logo, I see a picture of a cert.
    When you go to Secure Checkout and view the Security Certificate, it appears to be legitimate, for that website.

    That's not to say that they couldn't have obtained one by false pretenses.

    Post 14 Refers!
    soccerc wrote: »
    I went through with a fake purchase using fake details.

    I got to their credit card process and was re-directed to 2checkout.com which reported an error.

    Spoke with their live chat and here is what they had to say: They are not a supplier of ours. They are using our test account. If they are a vendor they did not register their account under e-holater.com

    The best part of is that the livechat agent is called Jamie Heinemann so he must be Scambusting as well as mythbusting


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    #22
    City-Exile
    Registered Users Posts: 2,547 ✭✭✭City-Exile


    soccerc, I was talking about the certificate which was issued for e-holater.com, by GoDaddy. All I'm saying is that bit is legitimate.
    af_thefragile was questioning the credentials of GoDaddy.

    Actually, didn't GoDaddy comission a bike from American Chopper?


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    #23
    Paulw
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 13,381 Mod ✭✭✭✭Paulw


    City-Exile wrote: »
    Actually, didn't GoDaddy comission a bike from American Chopper?

    They certainly did, for the Super Bowl.

    GoDaddy are one of the biggest and most respected hosting/domain services in the US.


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    #24
    sergejv
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1 ✭sergejv


    Hello to all from Latvia!

    Be careful this is a complete fraud

    I complete for test 2 full order process and receive to e-mail 2 order confirmathion with 2 different addresses and bank accounts.

    1. Bank Name: RBS
    Bank Address:
    15 Little Park st
    Coventry, CV1 2RN
    United Kingdom

    Account Name: RBS
    Swift/Bic Code: RBOSGB2l
    IBAN Code: GB74 RBOS 1617 2610 1980 96
    Reference: Ref 3745676

    2.Bank Name: Lloyds TSB

    Bank Address:
    25 Gresham Street
    London, EC2V 7HN
    United Kingdom

    Account Name: Lloyds TSB
    Swift/Bic Code: LOYDGB21K031
    IBAN Code: GB42 LOYD 7791 5679 3067 60
    Reference: Ref 3745667


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    #25
    Yambushi
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9 ✭Yambushi


    I bought from a company very similar to this!

    IT'S A SCAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    I should have seen it but like most of yee, I checked godaddy.com. And thought it was reliable. As result I lost 700 euro!

    Here's the site I bought from. You will notice its very similar to holater.com.

    www.tonexstore.co.uk

    These scammers seem to have the live web cams all the time!

    Does anyone know how you could get your money back from these guys!? Cause I have no idea!


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    #26
    Paulw
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 13,381 Mod ✭✭✭✭Paulw


    Yambushi wrote: »
    Does anyone know how you could get your money back from these guys!? Cause I have no idea!

    Since you didn't/can't pay by credit card, there is very little that can be done. But, you can certainly make a report to the Gardai, or the UK police. Never hurts.

    Also, report it to your bank, in case they can do anything.


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    #27
    soccerc
    Registered Users Posts: 1,107 ✭✭✭soccerc


    Yambushi wrote: »
    I bought from a company very similar to this!

    IT'S A SCAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    I should have seen it but like most of yee, I checked godaddy.com. And thought it was reliable. As result I lost 700 euro!

    Here's the site I bought from. You will notice its very similar to holater.com.

    www.tonexstore.co.uk

    These scammers seem to have the live web cams all the time!

    Does anyone know how you could get your money back from these guys!? Cause I have no idea!

    Very unlikely you'll ge anything back if you've used Bank transfer or Western Union. but report it to the Gardai and UK Police.

    MODS: Can we make a sticky where people can see the telltale signs of these scammers and the domain names used?


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    #28
    brupixel
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1 ✭brupixel


    Indeed HOLATER seems fake :
    The VAT number they send is not valid ! GB814715532
    as an advice always check VAT number in europe using the official EU site:
    http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies/

    If it is not it CANNOT be a real company !
    Next question is: what is doing the police ?


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    #29
    Mycroft H
    Registered Users Posts: 9,316 ✭✭✭Mycroft H


    brupixel wrote: »
    Indeed HOLATER seems fake :
    The VAT number they send is not valid ! GB814715532
    as an advice always check VAT number in europe using the official EU site:
    http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies/

    If it is not it CANNOT be a real company !
    Next question is: what is doing the police ?

    That seems to be the best way!


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    #30
    sheesh
    Registered Users Posts: 4,080 ✭✭✭sheesh


    Hi all just to clarify

    yes godaddy is a repectable company but its a respectable Hosting company

    Any security info has to refer to the company that is selling the goods there should be some mention them at least.


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    #31
    MooseJam
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,111 ✭✭✭MooseJam


    Total fake - first thing you are supposed to look for is if ordering is done over a secure connection - Https:// this site doesn't use https therefore it is fake


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