Slop Story
The pool float that never floated in
This summer I saw an ad for a motorised inflatable pool float from a shop called Aqua Cruisers. It looked brilliant: a float with its own motor, cruising round the pool. I paid £78.20 on my American Express card.
The first warning sign was one I missed. I never got an order confirmation. A few weeks later I realised the float had never arrived either, so I started looking.
What I found was a product that looks easy in the ad but would be very hard to build in real life. Online write-ups describe ads with big discounts, countdown timers, "only a few left" messages and thousands of five-star reviews. Some say the photos may be AI-generated. Several shops used the same name, and none of them said who was behind it. I never heard from the seller again.
What I did next
I phoned American Express and asked for a chargeback. They credited the £78.20 straight away, and they'll now try to recover it from the seller.
What you can do
- No order confirmation? Treat it as a warning sign and check your statement.
- Paid by card and nothing arrived? Contact the seller first if you can, then call your card company and ask for a chargeback. It's free, and there are time limits, so don't wait.
- Before you buy, check who runs the shop. If no company name or address is shown, ask yourself why.
Somebody has to stop the slop.
What the ads said
