A Richmond, B.C., golfer who got burned online buying a fake set of Ping clubs says he's angry more can't be done to help put the counterfeiter out of business.
Errol Abramson ordered the clubs from an online site called igolfyoo.com. The end of summer deal was $585, which he charged to his RBC Visa.
"Three days later I got the tracking number from DHL and I saw that they were coming from China … I knew they were contraband clubs or counterfeit, immediately," said Abramson.
When they arrived, his suspicions were confirmed by the head golf pro at Mayfair Lakes Golf Club. Jamie Baxter has seen a lot of legitimate Pings in his day and Errol's weren't even close to the real thing.
"This is a pretty easy one to tell right off the hop that it was not authentic. You'll definitely notice a difference when you're hitting it that's for sure," said Baxter.
At first glance it's hard to spot the fakes. But when you take a closer look, the real club has a weight embedded in the head whereas the fake club just has a hole.
'The craftsmanship's really poor. Some of the detail you'll notice in the grip being spelled and put on upside down, the colour of the shaft's quite a bit different," said Baxter.
Errol called RBC Visa but was told he had to accept the counterfeit clubs, prove they were fake and then ship them back to China before he could be reimbursed.
"The people in China are committing a fraud. They're sending a counterfeit product. They don't deserve the product back. The product should go to the manufacturer or the RCMP for the investigation and ultimately should be destroyed," said Abramson.
There are an estimated two million fake golf clubs produced every year.
RCMP would also like to keep the clubs because they could be evidence of a fraud. But police admit there's not much they can do in this case.
"'The fact that the suspect lives in China, the offense has actually occurred in China … we have no jurisdiction anywhere other than Canada. So unfortunately the investigation would have to take place in China," said Corporal Sherrdean Turley of the Richmond RCMP.
Abramson was going to ship the counterfeit clubs back to China like Visa requested, but he's now changed his mind.
"I'm keeping them because I believe Visa is wrong. I don't believe the clubs should go back. That just means another schnook like myself is going to end up getting counterfeit golf clubs," he said
CTV contacted RBC Visa looking for a response. It would only say: "In a situation where a cardholder has received merchandise different from what was ordered, the operating rules state that the cardholder will be refunded after the goods have been returned to the merchant."
Apparently that is the case even if the goods are counterfeit. RBC Visa did offer to pay half the cost of shipping the clubs back to China.
There is a website consumers can check out to try and protect themselves called www.keepgolfreal.com. The site is run by the U.S. Golf Manufacturers Anti-Counterfeiting Working Group. The group is made up of five major golf manufacturers, including Ping, and it has some great tips on how to avoid being scammed, how to spot a fake and what to do if you end up buying fake clubs.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Lynda Steele
