Guys and Girls,

If you are considering buying golf clubs from the following web site please exercise extreme caution:

http://www.golfsales365.com/ ]

I purchased a set of Taylor Made Burner 2.0 irons through them, Taylor Made UK confirmed they were counterfeit and although I have received a full refund of the purchase cost, after hundreds of e-mails, and involving the UK Trading Standards and the dispute departments of Paypal and M&S Credit Card they have not refunded significant return delivery costs as they promised to do so and they are ignoring my contacts for these costs to be refunded.

If you had a good expereince with them than great but I have not and I just want to make people aware of my experience with Golf Sales 365 . com

This subject rears it's ugly head time and time again, and whilst I can sympathise with victims of fraudsters, the moral of the story remains the same . . . . . . .if it looks too good to be true . . . . . . .it probably is.

Go and buy your gear from a reputable store or your local pro shop. It may cost a little more but negates situations like this.

Phil,

No argument from me there. I am usually so darn caerful and always buy from recognised golf stores and shops in general but went completely offbeam here.

That was my mistake, it has taught me a lesson but all I am doing here is warning other folk not to fall into the same trap.

Yes if it looks to go to be true move on and pass them by with a very wide berth!!

Taken on the chin like a true golfer Bruce.

One thing others might do in future is have a good look around the website. On this one, on the homepage it states "Free delivery to most Country" and there are many, many, spelling mistakes and gramatical errors throughout.

Also, they claim to be in America yet nowhere on the site can I find an address for them.

These kind of things should ring warning bells.

Just out of interest Bruce, where did you post the clubs back to ?

Fair play to you for owning up but this site stands out as fake by a mile! 

David,

I know and as I said I obviously just had an away day which for people that know me is truly amazing as I am always warning people about buying off the internet and protecting credit card number etc etc. Yes I feel somewhat stupid and yes I have been stung but if my post stops others or just makes them stop and think before ordering then I am happy.

Happy golfing to all this weekend and I shall enjoy playing with my brand new Taylor Made R11 utility clubs at The Carrick Loch Lomond tomorrow purchased from American Golf - see I have learnt my lesson

Bruce, What prompted you to find out if they were fakes? Did you play with them and they didnt seem right or do you check out most stuff you buy?

Has any other shakers bought fakes and had to put up with them? How did they perform?

I once got a set of fake callaway X18 irons. I found they were pretty good to hit but about a club short of my normal clubs.

Dave CAC handed Geordie.

Bruce, What prompted you to find out if they were fakes? Did you play with them and they didnt seem right or do you check out most stuff you buy?

Has any other shakers bought fakes and had to put up with them? How did they perform?

I once got a set of fake callaway X18 irons. I found they were pretty good to hit but about a club short of my normal clubs.

Dave CAC handed Geordie.

David,

My suspicions arose when the clubs arrived from CHINA!! The club heads were not very well finished off and although the clubs were supposed to have graphite shafts they weighed more than my current Taylor Made Burner steel shafted clubs.

Golf Sales 365 tried to pass them off as OEM clubs but I sent two of the clubs to Taylor Made and they confirmed they were in fact counterfeit. Then my battle commenced

Hi Bruce, regarding your refund and return to golfsale365. How did you go about this? I'm having similar trouble with a set of obviously fake R9 woods! Whenever I try to ring the contact number, nobody answers and it only rings a couple of times! And the online return form always comes up as an error code when I try to submit it!Any help you can give me in respect to this matter will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Dude ,

You are crazy dude , you think every one is cheap like you .

That is wrong , and i bet you don't have any friends to be trusted at all ...

die alone . and if you want yout money back , you better sign for the clubs and send them back .

or a refund is never gonna happen ,.

I lost my patience . And you will be punished .


 

Best Regards

Amanda Jessica
golfsales365 customer service

Hi Bruce

Caught in the same trap and like you I just ordered without giving too much thought to the order.I saw free delivery and refund if not completely satisfied and just ordered!

Of course when DHL rang asking for money to deliver the goods i realised this was not free delivery and probably involved fake goods from China. So I have refused to sign and emailed to say I have changed my mind and want my card credited . After several mails suggesting I should sign and then the DHL charge will be credited, to which I refused, I now have the following message which is customer service ayt its most charming. I guess I'll have to go down your route so if you have any advice I'd appreciate a pm.

Would you advise to take delivery or stick to my refusal to sign for them?

Thanks

John

This is the latest customer services message from them!  Everyone be very careful! 

Dude ,

You are crazy dude , you think every one is cheap like you .

That is wrong , and i bet you don't have any friends to be trusted at all ...

die alone . and if you want yout money back , you better sign for the clubs and send them back .

or a refund is never gonna happen ,.

I lost my patience . And you will be punished .


 

Best Regards

Amanda Jessica
golfsales365 customer service

John,

I am not even slightly surprised by the tone of the e-mail you have received from the said Amanda Jessica but I think if I had received one like that I would be seeking legal advise seperate to any action you may take against the company to recover your costs as she/he/it cannot be allowed to get away with making such comments!!

Under no circumstances should you return the clubs at this moment. I returned the clubs at my expense and got the purchase price refunded eventually but the UK Trading Standards Office told me that was a mistake as it meant they could not pursue any legal action to recover the purchase costs.

This is what I recommend you do. First of all contact Consumer Direct on  08454 04 05 06  and give them them the details regarding your dealings with Golf Sales 365 and the fact they have sent you counterfeit clubs (I had this confirned by Taylor Made in my case although they did nothing more re follow up action). They will then pass on the details of your case to your local UK Trading Standards Officer (who contacted me fairly quickly after my first contact with Consumer Direct) and they will ask you to complete and send the two template letters as in the links below:

  https://consumer-tools.direct.gov.uk/consumer-advice/templateletters
/consumercredit/

 https://consumer-tools.direct.gov.uk/consumer-advice/templateletters/SGA19
79/

I felt uneasy about involving my credit card company in this situation as "it was not their fault" so to speak but they were very understanding when I explained my situatiion with Golf Sales 365. They asked me to complete the template credit card letter and attach all the correspondence which in my case amounted to about an inch of paper. Then just as I was about to send the letter Golf Sales 365 returned the purchase costs in full via Paypal after a 4 week battle when they disputed they had received the clubs back when I had proof from the Post Office they had had them for weeks and the Post Office was prepared to go legal on that situation. It took me over 4 months from initial contact with the company to get the purchase costs refunded and you can imagine the the tones of the e-mails I received from Amanda Jessica over that time period.

With regard to the letter to the company it is of course a complete waste of time and effort as they will not reply but please send it so that you have a full audit trial if a legal route can be taken - you have given them a chance to resolve the matter before taking legal action.

If you bought the clubs through Paypal and you received the clubs less than 45 days ago you can also raise a dispute through Paypal:

 https://www.paypal.com/helpcenter/main.jsp;jsessionid=H5vyNzhD4wkGrjs6rcWj
Y0TG1QL0Y50zpnS1LhJV13nbPSB26JpQ!422047881?locale=enGB&dyncharset=UTF-8&
countrycode=GB&cmd=help&serverInstance=9008&t=solutionTab&ft=sea
rchTab&ps=solutionPanels&solutionId=163596&isSrch=Yes

I hope this helps you but please do not hesitate to contact me and if Admin permit it I am happy for you to get direct contact details so that we do not have to clutter up the forum with these matters.

Good luck and please let me know how you get on. In my case I am £80 down on return postage costs but I have written that sum off as a valueable lesson along the lines of "if something looks too good blah blah blah"

Kindest Regards,

Bruce

Andy,

Please accept my sincere apologies for not replying earlier but please see the reply I have just posted to John Maude on this thread which I hope you find helpful.

I make the same offer to you re contact and I hope you get a satisfactory resolution in your case.

Kindest Regards,

Bruce

Thanks for your prompt advice, Bruce. I'll take the steps you suggest but remember I don't have the clubs having refused to sign for them.

I'll let you know how it works out.

Thanks

John

I ordered a R9 from them and cancelled with 24 hours after my suspicions were raised about the clubs, after more than 1 month I'm still waiting for a refund.

you really dont want to here my views on these people

I have just bought a R11 from a reputable shop and wasnt impressed to see the sticker 'made in china'.

I ordered a Taylormade Burner Superfast 2.0 a few days ago.

I am normally very careful ordering the internet but this site looked ok initially.

I then read the reviews about the site and have informed them that I wish to cancel the order within 24 hours.

Have received replies off the previously mentioned 'Amanda Jessica' stating that I will only get 80% refund.

still ongoing.

some good advice on here so will try that if I don't get anywhere.

I posted my problem earlier in the thread and so an update may assist all others to solve their problem.

I refused to sign for the clubs and learned from DHL that 365golf had actually sold these on to a guy in Belfast rather than ship them back to China.

I advised Amanda Jessica that I knew about his scam and insisted he refund. But as soon as he had made the sale to Belfast I received no further communication. My next tactic was to e-mail the credit card handling company who had acknowledged my payment. Their response was immediate and advised that they had contacted the vendor and a refund would be forthcoming but it might take up to 3 months!

Armed with all this data, emails etc, I then put the matter in the hands of Egg who operate a Disputes service for Mastercard payments and after about 21 days, they refunded my account in full.

My advice...don't wait for the refund from 365golf..it will never arrive. Instead involve the people they have to work with to get their money. 

Hi Bruce,

I wish I  had I found this website before I purchased an R11 from golfsales365  for my husband. 

When it arrived all of the outer packaging was intact but the club head was cracked we have been trying without success to get a replacement / refund.

Having decided that it is obviously a counterfeit product I am now trying to get the money back.

I have also recieved some very unhelpful emails from Amanda Jessica - first saying I had to purchase another club before they would send a replacement - others telling me to take $50 compensation and for me to get the club repaired with the money. Then I was told to let it go as they did not want any potential trouble. The latest email is asking me what condition the club is in (I have sent them 14 pictures of the club its packaging etc) they say that if I send the club back at my expense I will get a full refund. However after reading this forum I am concerned that if I send it back  that will be the last I hear from Amanda Jessica.

Any suggestions on what to do with the club ( please don't say put it in the bin) would be appreciated.

I have as you suggested contacted my credit card company who are going to lodge a dispute and will contact consumer direct as soon as the office opens on Monday.

Thank you so much for the information you have provided - I  hope I can get the money back.

I have learned a harsh lesson. I am usually very careful, but like others was taken in by the promise of a 30 day no questions asked refund policy and al the positive comments on the website. Perhaps there are some satisfied customers - who knows?  

Kind regards,

Kathryn

I have also been stung by these guys - I brought an R11driver and it turned up with chips on the paint work. Most of you have done better than me as I couldn't even get a return address from them! They would only provide it if I agreed to have £50 deducted from my refund for - and I quote - being irresponsible. After about a month of trying to get my money back I have had to settle for an £80 refund from them as I paid on debit card and my bank doesn't have chargeback. I will just have to swallow the £80 loss as a lesson learnt! I wasn't aware of consumder direct - I will get in touch but  fear it may be too late for me now as I have taken money to resolve the issue.

Like most of you I am less than happy about this and so decided to contact all the companies whose logo they use to prove they are legit. Only safe buy have contacted me back so far and replied that they have tried to get them to remove the logo on numerous occasions but can't pursue legal action as they are based in the far east. So even big companies are powerless to do anything about it! It seems slightly incredible that  being based in the far east allows you to trade in an international market like the internet and effectively do whatever you want - surely this has to change.

And another sorry tale to add to the list. My TaylorMade r9 arrived from these charlatans with a Chinese postal label . The shaft had the consistency of a stick of rhubarb and the club took about 40 yards off the length of my drives. Took it into a TaylorMade specialist for a new shaft, which I thought was the root of the problem, and he spotted it as a Chinese fake in 5 seconds flat. He said he saw 3 or 4 a week on average.

Some components may apparently be genuine TaylorMade, as their production facilities are in China. Unfortunately the finishing, assembly and, it seems, shafts, are all entriely fake. As a result my shaft was unrecognisable and the head had an effective loft of around 13 degrees.

Already had one dismissive e-mail response from 'Amanda Jessica' in broken English. I have contacted my credit card company and hope to be able to reclaim what I have paid that way. The old addage holds true - if it sounds too good to be true.......it is.

Best bet if you've bought something you believe might be fake is go to your local specialist who will soon spot  if it's a fake, and provide you with written evidence for your future battles. If you're anything like me he can also custom fit you with a brand new (full price) TM r11 which will go about 60 yards further than your fake, straight down the middle and remind you there's no such thing as a bargain to be had for golf equipment on t'interweb.

Oh dear....looks like I'm about to become the next victim.  Just decided to check into golfsales365 after becoming suspicious in comms with said 'Amanda Jessica'.....  Just come across this thread!

I paid through paypal and yet to receive clubs, although it sounds like they are en route.

Like most of you, didn't think too much before ordering clubs.....now feeling more than a bit foolish!  

Is it better to sign for the clubs or refuse?

Any advice appreciated.  

i don't konw whether it is original clubs?  the price is cheaper than many golf sites

i too have just brought a taylormade club from a highstreet company and i think it was made in china too?

so where are taylormade clubs made??

and another plonker bites the dust.

just received a ping g15. such a blatant fake. totally gutted when i saw the chinese writing on the packaging. i knew then it was a fake.

now the fun & games begin trying to receover my money! if only i had seen this forum first!!

Warning ,warning, warning.

Do not buy anything from this website,  they are a bunch of con artists selling fake goods. I let my heart rule my head and bought an R9 Supertri driver but before i did i asked where they were based and if the club had a serial number and numerous other questions. I was told they were based in America and that all there clubs come directly from the manufacturer with serial numbers. ( Happy days ). Firstly i got a call from DHL saying i had to pay import duties and then when the club did arrive the address on it was from China. I foolishly took the wrapping off to have a look at the club to confirm it was a fake and when i spoke to the company they said i wouldnt get a refund because the club would not be returned in its original state. Ive sent numerous emails to no avail and have had to resort to sending the club to Taylormade so that they can confirm its a fake and my credit card company are now trying to retreive my money

GuysI am sorry to hear that you have all had to experience the delights of this bunch oh rogues. My experience has taught me a valuable lesson and at least I got most of my purchase price refunded.I noted that there was a advertisement in last months golf monthly warning about the perils of buying fake clubs over the Internet. I have informed them of the somewhat dubious activities of GolfSales365.Happy Golfing.

Hi Bruce,

Unfortunately, I purchased a Taylormade Burner Superfast 2.0 Fairway Wood from this company! My suspicions were first raised upon receipt of the first email from the famous "Amanda Jessica" stating that I need to pay "Taxes" so that I could receive my package from DHL.  This made me look into things a bit deeper, and to my horror, I learnt that Golfsales365.com were not a company to be dealng with!!

Too late...... the club was winging it's way over from China!!  I paid by credit card and have refused to accept delivery from DHL.

Firstly, have I done the right thing to refuse delivery? And secondly, will the credit card company be able to refund my money?  I have been it contact with "Amanda" since refusing delivery and she insists I will not be getting a penny back!

I have printed out all emails and took screen-shots of the "Live Chats" with both "Mia" & "Jessica" inclusive of all swearing, threats and general unpleasantness by them!!

I also signed in to "Live Chat" under a different name and asked "Do you ship any clubs on your website from China"? in which the reply was "NO, all clubs come from US" I have proof via DHL that my club was shipped from China to Hong Kong to UK!!  So it's just lie after lie with these people!  I have recorded this too.

I have learned a lesson the hard way from my experience with Golfsales365.com by purchasing something from them! And warn others about doing so!!

May I thank you in advance for any answers/advice you can give me on this after your experience Bruce!

Many Thanks

Matt.

Hi Guys

Was in the car and took a call on my wife's phone......for the taxes....for my birhday fake!

Soon as they said china i knew gazzumped.

Tried to cancel but someone at her work signed for it few days later DHL

Didn't even need to look at club but the writing on the key pouch.

My fault for sending my wife the link for the site and club.

Old Mr Teacher Tong must be a happy little Chinaman.

Not sure whether to pursue this matter after reading everyone's comments.

Good luck

Eddie

here's a similar topic about buying online:

http://www.golfshake.com/forums/view/9268/OnlineRetailersBuywithconfidence_recom
mendations.html

Another mug here.

Taylormade 2.0 burner driver, club is currently with DHL waiting on import tax payment. The charming Amanda wants me to pay this and return the club before even considering a refund. I've asked her/him/it to provide written confirmation that a full refund will be given so that I have some evidence for the Credit Card company, probably won't get the email. Will probably end up getting stung for a hefty shipping fee back to where this piece of junk came from and maybe get some money refunded this time next year.

I have contacted Consumer Direct, but sad to say they were of no help since the comany are outside the UK.

All we have left now is the Credit Card company to fall back on, who Incidentally are M&S, I noticed M&S mentioned on a previous message. If this, or any other credit card company are aware of these situations, why do they continue to authorise payments to known problem suppliers.

This website needs shut down, they're raking in the money from us hard working citizens.

Hopefully I'm wrong, but a new site GolfingBuy has opened up which looks very familiar. The clues are no address anywhere and a notice suggesting Customs charges can be avoided as it will be described as gifts??? Also R11's at 50% off which knowing margins on golf clubs must make them fakes.

Be very careful before you attempt any purchase with an overseas company that cannot be identified.

Once bitten,twice shy!!!

This is GolfingBuys message board if you ask any question regarding the genuine nature of the clubs. I think it tells a familiar story quite well and I leave it to all that read it to make their mind up!   Message Board

• Messagerichyevs:(11/05/2011 06:09:29)

  Please can you confirm that the Taylormade R11 is a genuine Taylormade product, with serial number.

  Admin Reply: Dear sir /madam, thanks for your question. All of our clubs from the original factory, brand new, with high quality, excellent performance and come with due serial numbers. Just cause there is no vendor between us, and we mainly do wholesale, so our price is more favorable than others. If you meet any problem please feel free to contact with us.
• Enquiryboyce40:(11/05/2011 00:49:05)

  I am looking to purchase some items and I would like to know if the items you supply are UK supplied or imported for my requirements? Regards Jerry

  Admin Reply: Hello, all our clubs are made in China and assembled in USA. We provide free shipping to UK, and we will mark the items as gifts or samples; usually there are no extra customs duties you need to pay. If you meet any other problem please feel free to contact with us.
• Enquiryjohnwillats:(05/05/2011 22:47:21)

  I am interested in TM R9 Supertri. Please confirm that this club is original TM equipment manufactured and registered by taylor made. Also confirm headcover and torque wrench included in price? Thanks John

  Admin Reply: Hi sir, all our clubs are from the original factory, with the same high quality and excellent performance as the ones you could get from your local pro shop and the official website. Just cause there is no vendor between us, and we mainly do wholesale, so our price is more favorable than others. The TaylorMade R9 SuperTri Driver will come with the matching headcover and wrench. Any further Questions please feel free to check back with us.
• Enquiryhconnolly:(05/05/2011 17:21:37)

  You are advertising a Ping G15 driver for £115. Can you confirm that they are new and genuine. Hugh connolly

  Admin Reply: Hi there, all our clubs are from the original factory, with the same high quality and excellent performance as the ones you could get from your local pro shop and the official website. Just cause there is no vendor between us, and we mainly do wholesale, so our price is more favorable than others.
• Messagevictor.artola:(05/05/2011 04:42:19)

  Dear Sirs , I am interested in a set of callaway x22 to be delivered in Spain.Could you confirm if there are any freight costs? Thanks in advance

  Admin Reply: Hi there, if you order the callaway x22, the system will add the postage to your order automatically and it will be less than £30. We will mark the items as gifts or samples; usually there are no extra customs duties you need to pay.
• Enquirybill.mcmeekin:(19/04/2011 04:22:57)

  I would like to purchase these irons from your website, but could you please tell if they come with Ping regular grips(white stripe)? Could you also tell me if I will need to pay any VAT tax for them being delivered to the UK, as I see you import them from the USA, or do you mark your goods as a "gift". thanks Bill

  Admin Reply: The Ping G15 irons will come with the Ping TFC 149 grips. We provide an effective Free Standard Delivery service to UK, and we will mark the items as gifts or samples; usually there are no extra customs duties you need to pay. If you are interested in the irons, please just order directly online.
• Enquiryspyadav30:(19/04/2011 01:29:51)

  please send me complete details of product and price of Taylor made R9 ultimate set for delivery in Jodhpur India

  Admin Reply: Hi there, if you want to know more details of product, please provide your email address, and then we will send the details of product and actual pictures to you. The price for the TaylorMade R9 Ultimate set is £619.99, and the system will add the postage to your order automatically and it will be less than £100. We will mark the items as gifts or samples; usually there are no extra customs duties you need to pay.
• Enquiryliammckelvey:(19/04/2011 00:34:39)

  you are advertising the above set for just under £200. Are they genuine Callaway irons and how many come in the set? Living in the UK, do i pay anything extra other than a delivery charge?

  Admin Reply: Hi there, all our clubs are from the original factory, with the same high quality and excellent performance as the ones you could get from your local pro shop and the official website. We provide an effective Free Standard Delivery service to UK, and we will mark the items as gifts or samples; usually there are no extra customs duties you need to pay. If you are interested in the irons, please just order directly online.
• MessageAndrew:(15/01/2011 11:58:21)

  Glad I found your site! I bought the R9 460 Driver from you web store about half a month ago and have really enjoyed its forgiveness! Thank you.

• Enquirydavebrewster:(06/06/2010 05:18:47)

  Hi do you have a taylormade rescue club tp in stock with FCT

The other thing you could all do is go to Watchdog and get them to put it on TV to warn others! Take a look at the URL http://www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog/gotastory/

They seem to be very good at helping those featured to get their money back too.

Just an idea!

Helen

If an offer looks too good to be true it usually is!  These website nearly always offer silly prices not achievable elsewhere.

Just to add a bit of good news to this subject....................

I also purchased a club from these cowboys! I am normally so careful, anyway, I complained like so many of you to Rene Palye (is it now!). After several emails and me threated to use the Visa chargeback scheme (although I am not sure if i qualified), she/he/it gave me a 90% refund! i have still got the club now as she/he/it didnt want it back! I wonder why!! Its sitting in my shed.

Losing £15 pount was a result in the end, or so i think!!

Good luck to all and make sure enough people know about these people!!

Now going from www.golfbuy365.com

I can`t believe so many people are being caught by these con men as the website is so obviously a Chinese fake club site. All the clues are there. In fact they also sell through numerous other clone sites complete with "live chat" and written in the same pigeon english.But its the same people behind the scam. Somebody did compile a list of their sites recently  and I will re post the list if I can find it,

Best of luck getting your money back,

regards,

Michael.

Update on this.

All these websites have been closed down and the major golf companies Acushnet,callaway, Taylor Made have appointed attorneys who have served a summons against them for damages.

Click on the link posted in post 1 of this thread and see where it take you now

http://www.golfsales365.com/

regards,

Michael.

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