Facebook Marketplace and other digital shopping opportunities have gained popularity during the pandemic. However, the ABC7, I-Team notes that complaints about online shopping are on the rise and some consumers may not get answers when they have a problem.
Didn’t receive a product or bought something that looks completely different than advertised?

Whether it’s an online classified ad like Facebook Marketplace or a link you see on social media, consumer experts want you to slow down before you type and buy. It was a high-end vacuum, like a Roomba, which Elizabeth Savio and her wife Michelle said they wanted to buy. The Round Lake couple say they saw these photos of a high-end robotic vacuum cleaner model on Facebook Marketplace.

Instead, they received two models, which they describe as lower-end models. Elizabeth said that she ended up with a toy and cannot walk on a carpet, and it can only walk on a smooth surface or a hard surface.

The Savios claim that the cheapest model they ended up with was also advertised, but that’s not what they clicked on. The popular Facebook Marketplace is a modern update to other online ads. Most have little regulation of transactions. But Facebook says many products on the market are covered by buyer protection.  However, this plan does not cover transactions made when you click through to third-party websites, such as the one used by Savios, or local transactions where you meet people in person.

Meta, Facebook’s parent company, told I-Team that products and services sold on its platforms must comply with its “Business Policies” and “Community Standards,” which include a prohibition on being “misleading, deceptive or fraudulent.”

Steve Bernas, President and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Chicago and Northern Illinois, told the I-Team that in ScamTracker complaints for 2021, about 40% of online purchases will involve Facebook and Instagram. .

Facebook and Instagram also have the most dominant social media presence, but online shopping complaints are pervasive. The same Better Business Bureau study shows that all online shopping scams have nearly doubled since 2019, when the 2020 pandemic began.

Bernas said a scammer could create a fake profile and post something on Facebook pretty quickly. Meta claims to have removed billions of fake profiles in the last few years; Still, some buyers continue to get scammed. The Savios say they have little confidence that they will find a solution with people who have sold them a low-end vacuum instead of a high-end vacuum.

You can report suspicious ads to Facebook and it will likely remove them. Additionally, if you do business locally, take precautions to stay safe. You should meet at a police station instead of going home, or make sure you’re not alone.

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