Warning issued to shoppers over fake 'closing down sale‘ ads (2025)

A consumer expert magazine has issued a warning to shoppers over fake ads being plastered across social media claiming that women’s fashion chain Bonmarché is having a ‘closing down sale’

Which? has investigated a slew of false ads being put on social media which claim to sell clothes for Bonmarché but are in fact impersonating the fashion brand and are tricking unwitting customers into paying for goods that never get delivered.

In fact, apart from one branch in Derbyshire which shut on March 1, Bonmarché has not currently announced store closures for 2025.

Bonmarche closing down sale ads are scamming people online (Image: Getty)

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Which? found seven ads stating that Bonmarché is closing down and the retailer is holding a ‘farewell sale’ with heavy discounts, but they actually linked to three dodgy websites which were pretending to be Bonmarché.

Which said those who have lost money are now warning other customers.

They said: “Victims of these Bonmarché scam ads have warned that money has been taken from their accounts with no goods delivered. One buyer complained of believing they were buying items from Bonmarché , but actually paid money to a company based in China.”

The magazine said it has shared the ads with Facebook’s owner Meta, which is investigating.

Lisa Webb, Which? Consumer Law Expert, said: "We've spotted several scam ads on Facebook falsely claiming that Bonmarché is shutting its shops. The posts link to fraudulent websites to shop a fake closing down sale.

"If an offer seems too good to be true, unfortunately it probably is. If you're in any doubt about whether an offer is genuine, don't click on any links and visit the retailer's official website.

"If you spot any suspicious posts, you can report them to the social media platform and the National Cyber Security Centre to investigate."

Bonmarché, which is owned by Edinburgh Woolen Mill, was founded in 1982 and has more than 300 stores across the UK.