Hundreds of Kiwis who purchased mobile phones and iPads on the internet have lost money after the death of a sole trader.
Techbrands.co.nz was asked to stop sales by the Commerce Commission following a stream of complaints by consumers who say products they had ordered were not arriving and the website was not giving refunds.
Fairfax reported that the sole shareholder and director of Tech Brands Pacific, Brian Isaksson, died on November 4, leaving no one to run the company.
Pages of consumer complaints, with most rating their experience with the site as "horrible", started hitting technology website forums such as pricespy.co.nz and geekzone.co.nz about two months ago.
One disgruntled user called Ghubba says they purchased a $500 phone before Christmas but had still not received either the phone or a refund.
Fairfax reported Brad Roberts, a friend of Mr Isaksson, tried to shut the website down but could not do so without his dead friend's consent.
The problem arose because a death certificate was not issued until January 26 for Mr Isaksson because police were investigating his sudden death.
Mr Roberts says a "substantial amount" was owed to New Zealand consumers and suppliers in Hong Kong.
Commerce Commission spokeswoman Allanah Kalafatelis says the commission had received about 20 complaints in December and January and hundreds were likely to have been affected.
Following investigations, the commission asked the website to disarm the shopping cart part of the website in January.
Consumers who had been caught out by the website should contact their bank and request a reverse payment. Those who paid by other means should contact Tech Brands Pacific through an email address provided on their website.
The company's website says it is no longer trading.
AP