Better Business Bureau

The reasons you might get if you asked the company's complainants that question now would probably be quite different from those you'd have gotten if you asked the question in November or December.

We all know that winter ushers in Christmas, and Christmas is a big deal -- both for shoppers and for merchants. In fact, Christmas is probably the only reason Big Winter Deal became a big winter deal, if dates are any indication. Between the time our first complaint against them was opened, on December 12, 2006, and the time what seems to be our last was opened, on January 25, 2007, Big Winter Deal amassed 54 complaints, made off with at least $26,000 U.S. dollars, and disappeared, never responding to even one of the complaints against it.

According to consumer complaints, Big Winter Deal advertised on its website such high-demand articles as PlayStation 3s, iPods, TVs, computers, and other electronic items at big discounts. Complaints on file with the Better Business Bureau tell us that the company required a minimum order of $500, with payment in U.S. dollars to be remitted by Western Union telegram to a location in Rome. This, according to the website, enabled them to avoid payment of taxes and thus offer huge merchandise discounts. (Some complaintants add that this also required an additional $30 or so to convert their dollars to euros.)

Complaintants report that they never receive their order and that they can't get a response from the company when they email, telephone, or fax it to find out why they haven't received their order.

One complaintant says their website claimed they'd been in business 16 years. Although we believe that's unlikely, in mid December the website was closed for unauthorized web hosting registration after the Council of Better Business Bureaus, whose registration information the company had illegally used, advised the web hosting company of the unauthorized registration.

But why, with winter almost over and no new complaints since late January, do we pass this story along to you now?

Because there's a moral to it.

First, because retail sales of general merchandise over the Internet is the category that generated the highest number of complaints we received in 2006, we hope you learn from it to be especially cautious in purchasing over the internet, whether at Christmas time or not.

Second, learn that a requirement of payment by any means other than credit card should send up a red flag. Had Big Winter Deal's complaintants paid by credit card and disputed their charges when they didn't receive their merchandise, they could have gotten their money back. Big Winter Deal knew this , of course, and that's exactly why they insisted on Western Union.

Finally, this story should underscore what we tell you often: get a reliability report from the Better Business Bureau first. We spotted this company early in the Christmas season as one similar to others that crop up each year in time to rob Christmas shoppers. Our report included much information on what to look for and what to watch out for in dealing with this company, as well as its initial "D" and later "F" rating. It's unlikely that the 1,500-plus potential customers who did get our report before ordering lost any money.

Big Winter Deal has disappeared -- at least for a while -- but its victims' losses are still a big deal to them.

According to consumer complaints, Big Winter Deal advertised on its website such high-demand articles as PlayStation 3s, iPods, TVs, computers, and other electronic items at big discounts. Complaints on file with the Better Business Bureau tell us that the company required a minimum order of $500, with payment in U.S. dollars to be remitted by Western Union telegram to a location in Rome. This, according to the website, enabled them to avoid payment of taxes and thus offer huge merchandise discounts. (Some complainants add that this also required an additional $30 or so to convert their dollars to euros.)

Complainants report that they never receive their order and that they can't get a response from the company when they email, telephone, or fax it to find out why they haven't received their order.

One complainant says their website claimed they'd been in business 16 years. Although we believe that's unlikely, in mid December the website was closed for unauthorized web hosting registration after the Council of Better Business Bureaus, whose registration information the company had illegally used, advised the web hosting company of the unauthorized registration.

But why, with winter almost over and no new complaints since late January, do we pass this story along to you now?

Because there's a moral to it.

First, because retail sales of general merchandise over the Internet is the category that generated the highest number of complaints we received in 2006, we hope you learn from it to be especially cautious in purchasing over the internet, whether at Christmas time or not.

Second, learn that a requirement of payment by any means other than credit card should send up a red flag. Had Big Winter Deal's complainants paid by credit card and disputed their charges when they didn't receive their merchandise, they could have gotten their money back. Big Winter Deal knew this , of course, and that's exactly why they insisted on Western Union.

Finally, this story should underscore what we tell you often: get a reliability report from the Better Business Bureau first. We spotted this company early in the Christmas season as one similar to others that crop up each year in time to rob Christmas shoppers. Our report included much information on what to look for and what to watch out for in dealing with this company, as well as its initial "D" and later "F" rating. It's unlikely that the 1,500-plus potential customers who did get our report before ordering lost any money.

Big Winter Deal has disappeared -- at least for a while -- but its victims' losses are still a big deal to them.