Alesha Mart, the e-commerce platform which had dubbed itself a “victim of generalization” when e-commerce scams came to light, has allegedly shut down its head office and corporate office following its failure to refund customers.
However, through its official Facebook page, Alesha Mart said in a post that these are rumours, adding that its activities are ongoing with both offices open.
It also informed customers about holding a press conference on Wednesday.
As news spread of Alesha Mart’s offices being shut down on Monday, customers started gathering in front of the company's Banani office before its scheduled opening time the following day, said law enforcers.
However, so far, no information on any customer filing a case against the company has been found.
Earlier, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officials had told Dhaka Tribune that they were monitoring the e-commerce company as it had been running a massive marketing campaign and is considered one of the market leaders in the industry.
They were also monitoring the online shop based on allegations of money laundering, along with a few other platforms.
The company even introduced a variety of cards that offered attractive discounts to various groups, including the elderly and freedom fighters.
According to other media reports, Alesha Mart officials claimed that it was impossible for the organization to take any advance payments following the introduction of the SOP for the e-commerce sector.
However, they claimed some merchants have been reluctant to supply Alesha Mart. Among them is an Indian motorcycle manufacturer and supplier and this is the reason why Alesha Mart was unable to deliver the products.
They also claimed that customers gathering with other people at the company's Banani office have been increasing for the last one month and to control that, several announcements were made on the verified Facebook page of Alesha Mart, asking only customers to come without bringing anyone else.
Customers were instructed to bring their own identity cards and Alesha Mart registration certificates.
On November 7, the company made an "emergency declaration" on its Facebook page, stating that considering the risk factors surrounding underground construction works at the Banani area, they were forced to temporarily cease operations of their 24/7 customer care service.
It also announced that the Banani office would remain closed, but the corporate office of Alesha Holdings Limited — the parent company of Alesha Mart — would remain open at the Nasreen Tower building in Tejgaon.
Earlier, Alesha Mart claimed that they are not delaying refunds on purpose but that a good amount of their money is stuck with the payment gateway services.
Talking to Dhaka Tribune, an official of the e-commerce platform said: “The payment gateways are not releasing the money even after we are providing them with the delivery confirmation.”
The official said that due to this, they are not being able to provide refunds to many consumers.
He further said that when they started to manage refunds from other sources, the payment gateway SSLCommerz also approved some of the refunds, and as a result, some of the consumers ended up getting a double refund.
“We are not one of those controversial businesses which are not sustainable,” the official further said.