Additional Information for Totalhill

UPDATE: April 2023, BBB continues to receive complaints, customer reviews and Scam Tracker reports all with the same scenario. Consumers order a product, payment is taken, the order is placed "on hold" and then never received. Consumers also state the phone number does not work and email response typically goes unanswered.

December 2021, BBB received a Scam Tracker report and complaint on Totalhill.com. Both consumers purchased products from Totalhill.com. They each received order numbers from the company, but when the consumers used the website to track their packages, the site showed their items were “on hold”. Both consumers emailed and called the company several times, but received no response. The consumers stated they were charged for their items, but neither received them.

The address is listed on the website as 300 Waverly Rd, Williamstown, WV 26187, United States, which was found to be a residence. Mail sent by the BBB to this address was returned as "Return To Sender - No Such Number, Unable To Forward". Whois.com shows the company's website was registered on March 25, 2021 for one year only, through a private registrant. A review of the company website shows several red flags. To name a few, there is a misspelling of the word "purechase" on the home page, $ placed after the digits to show the shipping costs (6.5$) and the following sentences in the Return Policy (not worded with proper English) that state both possibilities for returns, "You will be responsible for paying your own shipping costs for the return of your item. Shipping costs are being not refundable. We pay the return shipping costs for you. The return shipping time is depending on your place."

BBB offers the following tips for safe online shopping:

• Know the advertiser. It’s easy for a scammer to create a fake website, verify you are shopping with a legitimate site. Check for an ‘About’ page and a ‘Contact Us’ section with working phone numbers and email addresses and a legitimate address. If the site is missing contact information or has typo's, these are red flags.

• Beware of too-good-to-be-true deals. Offers on websites and in unsolicited emails may offer free or very low prices on hard-to-find items. There may be hidden costs, or your purchase may sign you up for a monthly charge. Look for and read the fine print.

• Check a site’s security settings. If the site is secure, its URL (web address) should start with “https://” and include a lock icon on the purchase or shopping cart page.

• Protect personal information. Read a site’s privacy policy and understand what personal information is being requested and how it will be used. If a site doesn’t have a privacy policy, that’s a big red flag that it may be a scam.

• Shop with a credit card. In case of a fraudulent transaction, a credit card provides additional protections; it’s easier to dispute charges that you didn’t approve or to get your money back if there is a problem. Debit cards, prepaid cards or gift cards don’t have the same protections as a credit card.