Young business owner's fury over customer's cruel act on Facebook Marketplace: 'Take this is as a serious warning'
Emma Diedrichs, who runs online business called LuxeLittleOne selling baby backpacks and nappy totes, said she was left nearly $250 out of pocket after the customer told her bank she didn't recognise the charge in her bank statement.
The customer had purchased two luxury baby bags in February. But shortly after the items were delivered to her address, the same customer quietly claimed a 'chargeback' on her credit card to secure a refund.
It's a process where a credit or debit card issuer reverses a transaction and returns the funds to the cardholder, typically when a customer disputes a purchase.
Chargeback fraud is one of the latest scams affecting small businesses across Australia - and the worst part is, dodgy customers are getting away with it.
Despite proving that the items arrived at the shopper's doorstep, Emma said the bank sided with the customer, so she lost the sale and was hit with an additional $25 fee.
'It's so disheartening for me. I'm a single mum, this is my livelihood. This took money off the table for my family... $250 was taken out of our bank account and (refunded) back to the customer. It really hurt me,' the business owner said in a video.
To make matters worse, Emma said she saw her products being advertised for sale on Facebook Marketplace - leaving her furious.
'Fast forward to last week, I was scrolling on Facebook Marketplace and found our two luxury baby bags,' Emma said in disbelief.
Upon seeing the ad, she quickly realised it had been created by the same customer received the refund four months ago.
'X2 LittleLuxeOne baby bags. One pink and grey, the other grey and black. Only used for a few months. Near new condition with no wear and tear,' the ad read.
'Currently on sale for $119.90 for one. RRP $239.80 each. Cash and pink up only.'
Furious, Emma said she began looking up the seller's Facebook profile.
'It's the exact same name of the lady that placed the order and the lady that put the chargeback through,' she said.
'Honestly, this is so frustrating for me, so frustrating. I work so hard in this business, this is my full-time job. This puts food on the table for myself and my son.
'I'm working day in and day out to provide for my family. It's just me. This is my income. You wouldn't go to somebody's workplace and take $250 off them.'
At the time the customer claimed the chargeback, Emma said the woman never raised any issues about the items with her business.
'This customer did not contact us whatsoever... I assumed everything was normal,' Emma said.
'Me being naïve and receiving my first chargeback, I didn't know what to do, so I just kind of disputed it. But the bank decided to favor with the customer.
The mum said she wanted to share her experience on social media to prevent dodgy customers from scamming business owners.
'If you ever think that you want to put a chargeback through to a little Aussie small business, just think again, maybe contact the company or the business directly and resolve the issue,' she said.
'If I had known what to do and tried to contact the customer first, I would have done that but I just didn't know what a chargeback was at the time and I was already just so disheartened that she thought our company was fraudulent. We are not fraudulent.'
Emma said what the customer did to her small business was, in fact, fraudulent.
'I'm p***ed off,' she explained.
'And I just wanted to come on here and rant to you guys because I know our community are amazing.
'And just don't, please don't do a chargeback on small businesses... it just hurts. And when you see them selling it on Facebook Marketplace, like what f***?'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Pregnant woman killed and husband decapitated in their home as cops find chilling graffiti scrawled on wall
A PREGNANT woman who was found dead with her boyfriend's head allegedly spiked on a stick has been named. Athena Georgopoulos, 39, was allegedly killed alongside her 50-year-old partner Andrew Gunn - with chilling graffiti scrawled outside their property. 5 5 Cops dramatically swarmed the property in Melbourne, Australia, on Monday night after a neighbour heard yells and alerted police. Police allegedly discovered the man's decapitated corpse beside the dead woman inside the Adrienne Crescent property in Mount Waverley. A 34-year-old homeless man was then arrested shortly afterwards at Westall train station in the early hours of Tuesday - but he has not been charged. The station is just 6km from the small property where the couple were found. Detectives are now probing if the graffiti outside the home is linked to the horrific scene found inside. The messy graffiti included derogatory and aggressive phrases like "U R Gay", "Enough is Enough", "Betrayal" and "Karma". The seemingly threatening messages were sprayed on the walls in luminous yellow, green and black spray paint, as well as on the property's fence. Detectives revealed the man in custody is being quizzed over the deaths. They also said the man was known to the dead pair, only one of whom lived at the small property. Athena was five months pregnant when she died and was in a relationship with Andrew before they were allegedly murdered. The couple's next of kin have been informed and post mortems will be held on Wednesday. Athena's aunt Patty Dilveridis told the Herald Sun her niece never thought she would be a mum. 'She was so looking forward to having a baby, because she was 39 [and] she never thought she could have one,' she said. Meanwhile, her mum Petty, who was being looked after by Athena, was left "devastated". Cops are still working to establish a link with the man in custody. Detectives also said they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the case at this stage. They said a weapon was used in the alleged murder - but confirmed it was not a firearm. The street has been cordoned off by police as homicide detectives continue their investigation. The motive for the alleged killings remain unknown - but local media have reported the case may be drug-related. Detective Inspector Dean Thomas from the Homicide Squad said police: "Police were called at about 9.20pm in relation to a welfare check at the address based on some yelling that was heard from the property. "A second call was then made that suggested it was perhaps more urgent than the first call and police arrived minutes later, and obviously they found the male and female inside the premises deceased." He added: "The person that we took into custody was in the company of two large dogs, I think that would look fairly obvious to people who may have been in the area." A spokesperson for Victoria Police said: "Police are aware of graffiti on the property in Mount Waverley where the bodies of two people were located last night. "Homicide Squad detectives will work to determine if the graffiti is relevant to the murder investigation." 5
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Apple and Google found to have breached Australia's competition laws in landmark court case
Tech giants Apple and Google have been found to have engaged in anti-competitive conduct, paving the way for a payout that could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Epic Games, the developer of popular online game Fortnite, sued the two tech giants in the Federal Court, claiming they engaged in anti-competitive and unconscionable conduct against those developing apps distributed through iOS and Android devices. The lawsuit was launched after Epic was booted from Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store after attempting to introduce its own payment system into Fortnite games in August 2020. Justice Jonathan Beach on Tuesday found Apple and Google had breached Australia's competition laws, upholding key elements of Epic's case. Apple had a 'substantial degree of market power' because of the restrictions placed on in-app payment systems and the distribution of iOS compatible apps, he said. Google also had a significant degree of market power and was the predominant supplier of Android apps, the court was told. The tech companies' dominance had the effect of substantially lessening competition and breached Australia's competition laws, Justice Beach found. However, he rejected Epic's argument Apple had engaged in unconscionable conduct. Justice Beach also found in favour of a class action lawsuit comprising Australian developers and gamers who claimed Apple and Google's monopolistic practices led to inflated prices. The app developers had to pay higher commissions than they otherwise would have if there was more competition in the market Lawyers for the plaintiffs welcomed the result as a significant win for consumer rights and digital fairness that could have global implications for how digital platforms operate. 'This judgment is a turning point,' said Kimi Nishimura from Maurice Blackburn Lawyers. 'It sends a clear message that even the most powerful corporations must play by the rules and respect the rights of consumers and developers alike.' The lawyers said the decision could result in 'one of the largest class action payouts in Australian legal history with potential compensation of several hundreds of millions of dollars to come from two global corporate Goliaths'. The parties have been given time to consider the 2000-page judgment and will return to the Federal Court at a later date to determine compensation and directives aimed at increasing transparency. A Google spokesperson said the company disagreed with the court's characterisation of its billing policies and practices and would review the full decision. The Epic Games Store and Fortnite will come to iOS in Australia! An Australian court just found that Apple and Google abuse their control over app distribution and in-app payments to limit competition. There are 2,000+ pages of findings that we'll need to dig into to fully... - Epic Games Newsroom (@EpicNewsroom) August 12, 2025 Apple welcomed the 'rejection of some of Epic's claims, however, we strongly disagree with the court's ruling on others.' Epic Games took to social media to herald the result and say Fortnite would return to iOS soon. 'A federal judge just found that Apple and Google both engaged in anti-competitive conduct,' the company wrote. 'Another HUGE Win for Epic Games!' Epic won a separate US case against Google in 2023 after a jury found it had engaged in anti-trust conduct through the Google Play Store. It was less successful in its case against Apple, although the court found the tech giant had engaged in anti-competitive conduct. Apple has also been forced to implement changes to its App Store in Europe, including allowing third-party payment systems.
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Albo's radical plan for cash as fewer Aussies pay with banknotes
Anthony Albanese's government is considering a takeover of Australia's cash distribution channels based on a Covid-era assumption that cash is dying. The Council of Financial Regulators - which includes the Reserve Bank, Treasury and the Australian Prudential Regulator Authority - has recommended a Minister for Cash be appointed. Its consultation paper also implied the government would have to intervene in the cash distribution business, based on the fear Armaguard would financially struggle, even with a near monopoly, as fewer Aussie consumers used cash. 'The decline in the use of cash for payments in Australia has challenged the economics of the cash distribution sector, upon which access to cash relies,' it said. 'Challenges in the cash distribution sector include the long-term decline in the use of cash for payments, and a high degree of concentration and limited competition in parts of the market.' The minister would have the power to 'designate specific registered entities' to deliver cash. 'To be designated, a registered entity would provide critical cash services to a significant part of the market,' the paper said. 'To ensure crisis readiness, a regulator may need ongoing powers enabling it to assess a designated entity's crisis preparedness and to improve that entity's resolvability in a crisis' Anthony Albanese's government is considering a takeover of Australia's cash distribution channels based on a Covid-era assumption that cash is dying (pictured are Commonwealth Bank customers in Melbourne) But Cash Welcome founder Jason Bryce said the proposal for the government to take over cash distribution was a bridge too far. 'This is massive overkill - what I'm saying in my submission is cost-free for the government, the best solution is pass a law that says cash is legal tender in Australia and all retailers must accept cash,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'Pass a law that says banks must provide an ATM or a bank branch in every town or community. 'If you do those two things, there will be no cash crisis, the market signals will be clear, banks will stop talking, talking, talking about going cashless.' He argued the government proposal was based on flawed and outdated Reserve Bank data from 2022 that found only 16 per cent of in-person transactions were still done in cash, based on the pandemic idea that banknotes are 'dirty'. 'That number - 16 per cent of in-person transactions - dates from that period and is no longer relevant and should not be used by policymakers,' he said. The RBA's Consumer Payments Survey is only released every three years, which means data showing fewer Australians are paying with cash could be failing to reflect changing behaviour in the years after Covid. 'What's going to happen if it jumps up from 16 per cent?' The Council of Financial Regulators - which includes the Reserve Bank, Treasury and the Australian Prudential Regulator Authority - has recommended a Minister for Cash be appointed Mr Bryce said the banks were to blame for scrapping $2 fees in 2017 for customers using rival ATMs and forfeiting $500million in revenue that could be used to pay the likes of Armaguard. 'Banks need to pay for cash distribution - they gave up $500million annually, revenue, and now they're complaining like stuck pigs about having to pay Armaguard $25million every six months,' he said. Australia's Big Four banks, supermarket giant Woolworths and retail group Wesfarmers - the owner of hardware chain Bunnings, Kmart and Officeworks - last month announced they would provide a $25.5million lifeline to Armaguard from July to December. 'Major banks and major retailers have reached an agreement with Armaguard to extend their financial contribution for a further six months,' the Australian Banking Association said. In the seven years after the $2 rival ATM fee was scrapped, the number of ATMs has more than halved, plunging from 13,814 in June 2017 to just 5,476 in June last year, APRA data showed. The number of branch branches fell from 5,694 to 3,360 and the Commonwealth Bank last year scrapped plans to charge customers $3 to withdraw cash from a bank branch. Linfox Armaguard and Spanish group Prosegur were given permission from the competition regulator to merge in 2023. The consultation paper suggested new laws to ensure the future of cash. 'Given the government's commitment to maintaining access to cash and the subsequent announcement of its intention to implement a cash acceptance mandate, it is necessary to consider whether existing regulatory regimes can support the cash distribution sector continuing to perform its critical role in facilitating long-term, sustainable and adequate access to cash across Australia,' it said. Submissions close this Friday the Regulating Cash consultation paper.
