pistonbroke Posted November 30, 2023 Share Posted November 30, 2023 One for the legal experts amongs us . I have recently ordered goods from a website (a pair of Shoes ) The website states "Free Returns " The Contact address is for Manchester UK Having received the goods I find the shoes do not fit , in fact I can't even get my feet in them . The shoe size is marked on the sole as EU 44 which is the size I ordered but they are more like a size 41 . When I enquire to return them I am told I will have to pay the return postal costs to an address in China OR I can keep the shoes ( why would I ) and have a refund of 20% of the cost . Shoes cost £19.99 plus £ 4.99 postage paid with Paypal GB pounds . OK not a lot of dosh but simply put I think I have been scammed by clever and dubious marketing. The whole website was as if this was a British company trading from the UK . I have sent emails and had replies but no responce other than the same offer . Question is what if anything to do next ? Have I been conned ? I feel now as if I am waisting my time chasing a lost cause . Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Kinder (Bagpuss) - Joint Peak District AO Posted November 30, 2023 Share Posted November 30, 2023 How did you pay? If paypal/credit card- you can ask them to refund you. Some advice here- WHICH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark (smokey mow) Posted November 30, 2023 Share Posted November 30, 2023 As above ^^^ raise a PayPal dispute on the grounds that the have failed to comply with section 35(5) and 35(7) of the Consumer Contract Regulations since the contract terms stated free returns. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/3134/regulation/35 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dvd8n Posted November 30, 2023 Share Posted November 30, 2023 The Chinese return address thing is unfortunately a common tactic from less than honest vendors, especially on e-bay. They make returns a condition for refunds and rely on the buyer giving up when they realise that the return address is in China and that they'll need to pay international postage. Its a business model that works because international postage from China is so cheap but not so the other way. D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chester Posted November 30, 2023 Share Posted November 30, 2023 I had similar recently with an item I bought off eBay and wanted to return as it wasn't as described. The seller offered a token refund and I could keep the item. I didn't engage with the seller anymore but raised a case with eBay. After a 10 minute online chat with eBay customer service eBay gave me a full refund and told me to keep the item and said that they would follow up with the seller. I agree it's a con but as said either follow up with your card provider/PayPal or eBay if that's where you purchased from. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SootySport Posted December 2, 2023 Share Posted December 2, 2023 Distance Selling Regs. are upheld on Amazon wherever the vendor is, Mrs and I make the most of it and always been refunded including postal charge. EBay is sometimes compliant. Best not to buy anything outside the UK via an intermediate website unless it so cheap and you stand the loss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pistonbroke Posted December 5, 2023 Author Share Posted December 5, 2023 I have bought plenty items from china including a Clarinet & 2x Violins , never had problems before with any of the purchases but they wee via EBay . This was a direct mail site which looked for all purposes to be based in Manchester U.K. the credentials seemed to be good so I went ahead with the purchase . It was only when I contacted the vendor I found the address for returns was in China . The advert stated "Free Returns " no mention of paying postal costs to China C (£25 ) . Since the total cost of shoes & P.P. was less (24.98 ) not worth returning for re fund . Several EMails on and cannot get the seller to answer my questions regards the above . I have tried raising the issue with PayPal but I keep getting kicked off there website each time I try to submit my complaint . Its not about the money, its more about the principle . Looks like I will have to bend over and take this one ! Thanks for your input Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mole Posted December 5, 2023 Share Posted December 5, 2023 I had once recently on ebay with some 18V batteries.. long story short.. they were sold with 2 year warranty.. batteries stopped working during second use which happened to be five months after first use.. I dont use ebay much but found out they only cover three months.. I managed to ebay a couple of times and they said nothing I could do..even though I had contacted the seller through ebay.. they said if i had paid on credit card then I could go back to them..but spend had to be between £100-30000. I had paid on debit card and they said I could ask the bank to do a payment reversal.. so processed this all through the bank and after weeks they said it had to be within three months from purchase.. The trouble is I have no way of contacting the supplier, they ignore all ebay communication... so I have to take it on the chin.. I would hope you can get somewhere with ebay.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted December 10, 2023 Share Posted December 10, 2023 On 05/12/2023 at 20:36, Mole said: I had once recently on ebay with some 18V batteries.. long story short.. they were sold with 2 year warranty.. batteries stopped working during second use which happened to be five months after first use.. I dont use ebay much but found out they only cover three months.. I managed to ebay a couple of times and they said nothing I could do..even though I had contacted the seller through ebay.. they said if i had paid on credit card then I could go back to them..but spend had to be between £100-30000. I had paid on debit card and they said I could ask the bank to do a payment reversal.. so processed this all through the bank and after weeks they said it had to be within three months from purchase.. The trouble is I have no way of contacting the supplier, they ignore all ebay communication... so I have to take it on the chin.. I would hope you can get somewhere with ebay.... Were they a UK supplier? If so a call to trading standards might be worth it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mole Posted December 11, 2023 Share Posted December 11, 2023 22 hours ago, Blatman said: Were they a UK supplier? If so a call to trading standards might be worth it... Unfortunately not..as I found out afterwards..only an address in China..and until this instance I naively thought eBay would at least honour 12 months warranty... I know now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted December 12, 2023 Share Posted December 12, 2023 That's a b*****r! Mind you, there are plenty of Chinese suppliers cropping up on Amazon too, and I bet they are just as difficult. Just like the good old days we are back to caveat emptor... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pistonbroke Posted December 18, 2023 Author Share Posted December 18, 2023 The latest reply with improved offer from Vendor Dear customer, Sorry, We cannot provide any prepaid labels, and the return on the return of goods requires your own payment.you are still unwilling to accept the last plan. We are willing to provide you with a partial refund of up to 50%(£ 12.49 GBP), This is the highest refund ratio we can provide, I hope you can accept it. In fact, we are already at a loss, hope you can understand us. If you are still unwilling to accept it, we suggest you return the package. However, you need to pay the shipping cost of the return, which will cost you about $20. According to our experience, the return time may last about 1 month. According to our company's return policy, we cannot refund until we receive the package, please understand. To save your time and money, we recommend that you accept a 50% partial refund to your account. If you still insist on returning the goods, please return to the following Address: A202-1, Donnelly Logistics Park, No. 47, Wuhe South Road, Bantian Street, Longgang District City: Shenzhen Province: Guangdong Post Code: 518000 Country: China. Kindly reminder: 1. Please indicate the order number and tracking number on the package, so that we can issue a refund to you once receiving the returned package. 2. Please pack it properly to avoid damage during the transit, otherwise, we are not allowed to give you a full refund. 3. Please provide the tracking number to help us track the package. Best regards, Customer Service Center Note: The address on the package is not our return address. Do not return the package back to that address, otherwise we will not bear any responsibility for the loss of the package, thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigSkyBrad Posted December 18, 2023 Share Posted December 18, 2023 While I was building our camper, to solve a problem I needed a component of a certain design, and the only one I could find was from a marine chandlery in Miami. When the part had arrived, it had been drop-shipped from the manufacturer in China, and was the wrong item. Complaining to Miami, they organised for a replacement to be sent out - it duly was, and delivered to an address in France! After several weeks I was finally in possession of the correct item from China. I can't fault the actions of the seller in getting me the correct item as a quickly as possible, but it transpired in the emails with the seller that Miami is a shell address/company and he (sole trader) lives in Bulgaria! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corsechris Posted December 18, 2023 Share Posted December 18, 2023 Much to my surprise, I managed to get a full refund for an ebay item from the Chinese seller….eventually. Went through the dance of return it at your cost, nope, then “get it repaired, I will refund half to cover the cost”, nope, it was a solid state relay so hardly conducive to repair or I’d have done it myself. I kept replying and calling them dishonest and cheats. Oddly, that actually seemed to work. The amount was trivial, the issue was lack of honesty as they were selling cheap knock-offs and trying to pass them off as genuine. In general, I try to be very careful about the origin of things, unless it is cheap enough to not care that much. That said, I did order some very specific LED strips direct from the Chinese manufacturer and one couldn’t ask for a better outcome. Great communication, rapid delivery, zero hassle with duty etc. as it was all pre-paid. Caveat emptor indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SootySport Posted December 19, 2023 Share Posted December 19, 2023 On 18/12/2023 at 11:19, pistonbroke said: The latest reply with improved offer from Vendor Dear customer, Sorry, We cannot provide any prepaid labels, and the return on the return of goods requires your own payment.you are still unwilling to accept the last plan. We are willing to provide you with a partial refund of up to 50%(£ 12.49 GBP), This is the highest refund ratio we can provide, I hope you can accept it. In fact, we are already at a loss, hope you can understand us. If you are still unwilling to accept it, we suggest you return the package. However, you need to pay the shipping cost of the return, which will cost you about $20. According to our experience, the return time may last about 1 month. According to our company's return policy, we cannot refund until we receive the package, please understand. To save your time and money, we recommend that you accept a 50% partial refund to your account. If you still insist on returning the goods, please return to the following Address: A202-1, Donnelly Logistics Park, No. 47, Wuhe South Road, Bantian Street, Longgang District City: Shenzhen Province: Guangdong Post Code: 518000 Country: China. Kindly reminder: 1. Please indicate the order number and tracking number on the package, so that we can issue a refund to you once receiving the returned package. 2. Please pack it properly to avoid damage during the transit, otherwise, we are not allowed to give you a full refund. 3. Please provide the tracking number to help us track the package. Best regards, Customer Service Center Note: The address on the package is not our return address. Do not return the package back to that address, otherwise we will not bear any responsibility for the loss of the package, thank you! Not a good outcome then. Do Distance Selling rights not apply if buying from a supplier outside the UK? Even when EBay is registered in UK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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