BBC/Way Out West
(NICK COBDEN/ WAY OUT WEST)
A shop selling Timbiebs army blankets, scraps of Union Jack clothing and mugs is being splattered with the mud of internet fraud.
Customers can access the website from the website of a food delivery company with a fake email address and a bunch of fake identities.
Some customers have paid more than £3,000 for what they believe are the official products.
However, the shop is based in Wick, close to Plymouth, and there is no official Timbiebs clothing shop in the area.
There is no way of knowing, however, that the items on offer are not fakes.
A BBC investigation has found that the seller of the clothing has a history of selling items featuring Nazi swastikas and pro-Hitler propaganda.
‘Blatant rip-off’
After viewing the website, Matt Garside, from Exeter, paid £2,300.
“I got an email from the seller, which was not from Timbiebs at all. It was a middle man company who had come into contact with a seller on the online marketplace.
“It looks really authentic so I thought, ‘is this as good as it gets?’
“I had to pay for the delivery, so I’m kind of doing the online thing and making my money back.
“Once you’ve done the paperwork then I did and I’m waiting for my goods to arrive. So it’s not too bad.”
Mr Garside’s urn of clothing arrived within a week, despite not getting a receipt, receipt picture or even a mop or a shower cap in the post.
However, the items had been mouldy and unpolished, and Mr Garside spent another £60 buying a pair of gloves.
The emails the BBC had used to contact the seller said that Timbiebs had no immediate plans to release the clothing.
The BBC had to send more requests through another reseller, until it was provided with a copy of an email from Timbiebs general manager.
It read: “There are certain businesses where there is no secondary merchandise offered whatsoever.
“We do not sell on commercial premises, or off-reserve any of our products (apparel, activities, bath and body, sex toys, lube, accessories, sportswear, bed and bath etc.)
“Timbiebs really do not trade on the secondary retail market, there is absolutely no stock to be sold on. Any purchases made in the UK should be a result of stock being cut and cleared in the course of trading with the company prior to receiving any products.”
In the end, it was £49 later and the clothing was in pretty good condition.
But Jon Thorne, from St Austell, Cornwall, paid £3,000 for an item a few months ago, and now he is waiting on his money to arrive.
The jacket, which he thought he was buying for use as a wedding present, had become dirty and badly stained when the goods arrived.
“I’ve only been using the website for a few months and can’t believe the amount of trouble they’ve gone through just to make some money.”
“It was total whizz-bang. I didn’t see any messages on the internet to stop payment and the email I gave the shop number came back as authentic.”
A spokesman for Timbiebs said it would not comment on the store’s operations.
He also referred to an email sent to a BBC reporter and client about a month ago.
“We have not had any operational relationship with the company since you sent us that link and have been in contact with the legitimate business directly to verify the identity of the seller and to resolve the matter.
“We are also conducting our own investigation as to who the seller is.”
But Mr Thorne – who contacted us about his experiences – said: “A meeting was also set up for later in January. It is disappointing we have to go through that, but it is there.”
Some Timbiebs fans say they are furious that the site could be used for money-making activities.
And Nick Collins, a writer in Devon who is familiar with Timbiebs’ history of Nazi memorabilia, said he thought the site was being used for something similar.
“These sites make money by out-innovating the competition. They did the same for football merchandise but I don’t really understand how this can be