Online appliance scam uses Walmart addresses in Durham, Chapel Hill, BBB finds

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- Online businesses that claim to be based in the Triangle are advertising home appliances at a discounted rate, but customers report they never received what they paid for.

Troubleshooter Diane Wilson tracked down the issues and dug into what was really going on.

From coffee makers to microwaves, toaster ovens, a variety of kitchen appliances are sold on multiple websites with the same web design template.

A convection and air fry smart oven on www.OvenDeals.com caught Dan Ogden's attention.

"I actually can't believe I didn't check it out first but I guess at that particular moment, it seemed like a good price. We've been waiting to get that oven for a while, so I thought I'm just going to buy it," Ogden said.

He paid $279 through PayPal for the oven, and after getting a confirmation of his order, he emailed the website to see when his oven would ship.

"Immediately got the response 'email address not found,' and at that point, I realized it was a scam," Ogden said.

Odgen is not alone, the Better Business Bureau of Eastern North Carolina is investigating OvenDeals.com as well as xrobocleaner.com, CoffeeGuuru.com, Vacuumsspot.com, Gocoffeemaker.com, Shopcoffeemaker.com, Cafeeureka.com, and Dysonguru.com after they received consumer reports through BBB Scam Tracker and their complaint form.

The reports claim customers are paying for products and services and not receiving them. There are multiple websites that fit this same web design template.

"There's a number of websites that are all connected, and it's offering really great deals like appliances that are you know really expensive, and it's like half price or a third of the price of what they typically would be," Alyssa Parker with the BBB said.

One red flag the addresses listed on these websites are all Walmart locations, not the actual location of these businesses. Plus, the phone numbers listed go to a Google Voice account.

• OvenDeals.com uses a Durham Walmart address (5450 New Hope Commons Dr. Durham, NC 27707)
• CoffeeGuuru.com website is currently down.
• Xrobocleaner.com was using an Erwin, NC Walmart address, but the website is currently down.
• Vacuumsspot.com uses a Goldsboro Walmart address (4350 US-70 E. Goldsboro, NC 27534)
• Gocoffeemaker.com uses a Chapel Hill Walmart address (12500 US Hwy 15 501 N, Chapel Hill, NC 27517)
• Coffeeeureka.com uses a Cameron, NC Walmart Address (2800 NC-24 #87 Cameron, NC 28326)
• Dysonguru.com uses a Dublin, GA Walmart address (2423 U.S. 80 W, Dublin, GA 31021)
• Shopcoffeemaker.com uses an Indianapolis, IN Walmart Address (7245 US 31 S, Indianapolis, IN 46227

Parker says the BBB reached out to the businesses about the customer complaints, but have not gotten a response.

"Unfortunately, it's getting people, and they're losing a lot of money to it," Parker said.

Troubleshooter Diane Wilson reached out to OvenDeals.com through email, but it came back as undeliverable. By phone, she could only leave a voicemail, and no one ever returned that voicemail.

When it comes to Dan Ogden and the product he paid for but never got from OvenDeals.com, he said, "I don't think they had any intention of getting you the product they had on there."

He said he's learned his lesson that no matter how good the deal, he will always research the company before clicking buy. Ogden did dispute the charge through PayPal and says a refund is now processing.

The Troubleshooter Takeaways are to always pay with a credit card so you can dispute it if you don't get what you paid for, also Check BBB.org to see past complaints, reviews, or alerts on a company.