All operations carried out within the framework of distance trading are linked to the norms of current legislation.
| Legal act | Scope of application | Current edition |
| European Convention on International Distance and Postal Commerce | Distance trading for consumers (all about commercial offers, appropriate forms of interactive communications) | From 03/27/2002 |
| RF PP No. 612 of September 27, 2007 | Rules for selling goods remotely | From 04.10.2012 |
| Federal Law of the Russian Federation No. 126 of July 7, 2003 | Legal framework for activities in the field of communications | From 12/27/2018 |
| Federal Law of the Russian Federation No. 2300-1 dated 02/07/1992 | Consumer rights Protection | From 03/18/2020 |
Turning to the norms of the European Convention, it should be noted that in order to resolve any dispute, the buyer has the right to submit a written claim to the company:
- by mail;
- via fax;
- in any other available way.
The company must consider the received claim within 30 days. and give a substantive answer to it. If it is impossible to provide a response within the specified period for reasonable reasons, the company must inform the applicant about this. At the same time, she must name a new realistic period during which the issue will be resolved.
If the response received to the buyer’s complaint is not satisfactory, he has the right to challenge it by filing a claim with the national distance selling association (in his country). You can also submit a claim regarding an international transaction here. As is customary, the received claim must be submitted for consideration to the association of the seller’s country.
How to solve the main problem - returning money for goods on AliExpress
This virtual trading platform (AliExpress) attracts a large number of buyers. It is very popular not only among Russians, but also citizens of other countries. You can buy here retail and small wholesale. AliExpress is available to users in the Russian version (https://ru.aliexpress.com).
A large number of sellers and goods from Chinese manufacturers leads to a wide choice, which creates certain difficulties when concluding transactions and conducting operations.
It is quite profitable and safe to buy the Chinese goods offered here, but sometimes controversial situations arise on AliExpress. For example, the question of money back very often arises. Main reasons:
- the ordered product did not arrive;
- it was canceled by the buyer or seller himself;
- presence of defects;
- poor quality;
- The purchased product did not meet expectations (does not correspond to the description).
A refund in these and other similar situations is possible if everything is done correctly and on time. If the buyer wants to return the product and money, this means that the product does not meet his expectations, he is going to return it to the seller and get back his money paid for it.
Important! To get your money back, you need to contact Aliexpress and “open a dispute.”
In some cases, it is possible that you will need to pay for return shipping of the goods.
Buyer Protection
Without understanding how the site works, the buyer will not be able to argue. The consumer may not even be able to open it.
Buyer (order) protection is a system that allows you to protect buyers from fraudsters. Within the period specified in the order description, the user can open a dispute.
During the buyer protection period, money is not transferred to the store account. The buyer makes a purchase and pays. The profit remains on the site, but does not go into the hands of the seller. The money is frozen.
If order protection has expired, it is impossible to open a dispute. The system is valid until the end of the term and for eight days after acceptance of the goods. It is impossible to open a dispute earlier than ten days after the goods have left the warehouse.
Watch out for order protection. Set an alarm so you don't forget to finish.
Some nuances of opening a dispute on the site
Opening a dispute usually precedes filing a complaint. It is assumed that this procedure will allow the seller and buyer to come to an amicable agreement. The seller will voluntarily return the money, and you will no longer have to write a complaint. When opening a dispute, the established deadlines must be observed.
| Time frame for opening a dispute | ||
| After 10 days. after sending the order by the seller | There is no confirmation yet that the goods have been received | After confirmation within 15 days. |
The opening process requires filling out a separate form. As is customary, the exact amount of the refund is recorded in it, the essence of the claim is described, the necessary items are selected, etc. according to the form. An important point: you need to correctly select and indicate the problem (the product does not correspond to the description, low quality, etc.).
You can open a dispute for the same product several times if the order protection period has not expired, and the buyer is not satisfied with the terms of the settlement offered to him by the seller.
If the dispute is closed and the buyer is dissatisfied with the result, he has the right to file a claim with Aliexpress. The administration accepts and considers complaints made under different circumstances. For example, if the seller deliberately did not open a dispute or if the buyer did not have time to do so. Then the complaint received is checked, and the seller will have to prove that he is right.
Example 1. How to indicate when opening a dispute that the product is defective
The word "marriage" is not used on the form. Therefore, to correctly identify the problem, you need to select “does not work properly.”
Complaint tracking
You can find the submitted claim in the Report Center. The status of the complaint will also be displayed in this place. As soon as the claim is reviewed, its outcome is sent by email to the previously provided address.
Attention! The seller is obliged to make a decision on the complaint no later than five days.
It can solve the following:
- agree to the client's terms and conditions,
- submit your proposal.
If the seller ignores the client, this will serve as a reason to close the dispute on the client’s terms.
How to contact the AliExpress administration without opening a dispute: available methods of contact
Dissatisfied buyers can contact Aliexpress directly in various ways. The capabilities of the trading platform allow you to ask questions, submit complaints, and write reviews. Therefore, if, for example, a buyer encountered a dishonest seller who behaved shamelessly with him, then the injured party can complain about him to AliExpress.
| Features of writing and sending | ||
| review | complaints | questions |
| You can leave a positive or negative response, including to a specific seller. Reviews influence store ratings. It is prohibited to increase or decrease the quality of service by using them. | Only those users who are registered on the site can write and send a complaint to the AliExpress administration. For this purpose, a special sub is provided. "Disputes and Complaints" | It is recommended to look for the answer to your question through the search on the site. If this fails, you can directly |
The marketplace allows the buyer to correspond with the seller. Moreover, this can be done both within the site itself and outside it. When corresponding, certain conditions must be observed, in particular, a ban on spam and third-party mailings. It is also prohibited to send messages with insults or threats.
How to cancel Aliexpress decision?
You will not be able to cancel the final decision, but in the current version of the site, you are given the opportunity to appeal. Please note that this is only possible for 7 days, after which this feature will no longer be available to you.
If you are not satisfied with the resolution of the dispute, then you just need to click on the “Submit a complaint” button. It is located in the details of the dispute.
Next, a dialog box will open in which you need to check the box that you are not happy with the Aliexpress solution. Then, in the field, describe the reason for your dissatisfaction as accurately as possible. Submit your request.
After this, your application will be reviewed. You may be lucky and the mediators will satisfy your request.
Grounds for filing a complaint against AliExpress
AliExpress identifies several grounds for filing complaints. All of them are included in the form intended for filing a complaint. As an example, we can cite various manipulations with the cost or category of goods.
It happens that the seller deliberately increases the price of a product, the quantity of the product unexpectedly changes, and the cost of sending it changes. Such deception is an obvious reason to file a complaint.
Trade in prohibited goods (narcotics, etc.), distribution of counterfeits, payment outside the trading platform, and other violations of trade rules are also included in the list of grounds. You can also complain about spam, phishing - the form provides a solution to virtually all problems that arise during distance selling. If the desired topic is not available, “other” is selected as standard.
Complaint to the AliExpress administration: deadlines for filing, filling out the form
There are two ways to create and send a complaint to AliExpress, preferably after opening a dispute. We are talking primarily about the return of money and the situation when the seller and buyer did not come to a common agreement.
The first way to file a claim is through the “Help” section. You just need to find and click in the “Disputes and Complaints” section.
In order to write a complaint, you must be logged in. The actual process of filling out the application form that opens is simple. You need to select the basis for the complaint, write down the buyer’s data and the necessary information about the product. After filling out the form, you can submit it.
Important! The text of the complaint must be written in English, and evidence must be attached to it.
The second method of filing a claim involves the following steps. On the page of the purchased product, you need to click on “Report item.” After this, the Complaint Center page will open. Here the buyer will be asked to fill out a slightly different complaint form, which is more simplified. The type of violation and other data, except information about the product and the seller, are indicated.
If the reason for contacting is not the product
If a client wishes to report violations in the seller’s activities, the following action mechanism should be used:
- at the top of the page, click on your name and select “My Aliexpress” in the menu that appears,
- In the menu on the left side, click “Manage complaints”,
- then select the reason for the complaint,
- in order to speed up receiving a claim without involving a trading platform, you can contact Aliexpress support directly via email
The letter should be written in Chinese or English.
When filing a complaint, you need to write your order number, information about the seller and describe the problem in detail.
What to do if the seller cancels delivery to Aliexpress?
Separate recommendations for filling out the application form on the AliExpress website
Users can get answers to many questions directly on the site through online chat. This opportunity can be fully used when filing a complaint. In this way you can figure out, for example, how to provide evidence.
Rice. 2. Answer a question via chat.
When filling out the English form, the buyer is asked to:
- Answer the question “Did you receive the item?” (received or not the goods).
- Specify “Reason for refund request” (reason for generating the request).
- Select the appropriate reason: “Product not as described” (does not match the description), “Quality problems” (poor quality), “Received counterfeit goods” (fake), “Damaged goods” (presence of damage), “Problems with the accessories” ( problems with staffing), “Quantity shortage” (wrong quantity).
When filling out the form, the applicant must indicate the exact amount of the order that needs to be returned. When setting out the essence of the claim, you should describe the circumstances of the dispute with the seller, what caused it. The use of Google translator when writing is allowed.
Common mistakes when website users interact with AliExpress
Mistake 1. It should be borne in mind that a number of controversial situations that users encounter on the trading platform may be completely justified.
AliExpress draws attention to the fact that if the current rules are violated, sanctions are applied. Firstly, the rating is blocked or cancelled. Secondly, they can blacklist the IP address and delivery address.
If numerous complaints are filed without grounds, blocking is also possible.
AliExpress.
Error 2. For your information, you can only complain about any seller if there are serious grounds only in AliExpress. Such usual methods of filing complaints by dissatisfied consumers with Rospotrebnadzor may be ineffective.
Other methods of filing complaints are not appropriate because the trading platform, like, in fact, all sellers, do not operate on the territory of the Russian Federation and do not have their representative offices here.
For what reasons do disputes open?
Before opening a dispute, the buyer must make sure that the received products are of poor quality, incomplete, or have an incorrect assortment. For this purpose, the characteristics of things are compared with what is written on the product page on Aliexpress. Sometimes customers receive something completely different from what they bought: the brand, technical parameters, sizes, options, and so on do not match.
The seller on Aliexpress publishes photographs of the product, specifying the package contents. It may also not match what was inside the shipment. In order for the client to clearly understand that he was deceived, it is enough to find the page with the item and carefully study everything that is written there.
You can decide to send the goods from Aliexpress back to China. This is not a very cheap option. Shipping is carried out using the international postal service, you will have to pay up to fifty dollars for it.
Important! A more appropriate solution is to open a dispute on Aliexpress. Its purpose is either to return the money paid, or to put pressure on the seller to resend the order.
The decision to open a dispute on Aliexpress is made for each order separately.
The main nuance is to indicate the reason why the dispute is opened. Main options:
- size, color, style did not fit;
- the item does not work as stated;
- the product is of low quality;
- a fake arrived;
- incomplete or empty package;
- the product is damaged;
- Instead of the Aliexpress delivery method chosen by the buyer, another, less convenient option was used.
READ The nuances of returning money from Aliexpress to another card: when the account is the same and when it is different
When both participants in the dispute failed to find a compromise, the Aliexpress administration intervened.
Answers to frequently asked questions
Question No. 1: What should be done if the goods are detained at customs or the track number cannot be traced? How to write a complaint against the seller in this situation?
First of all, you need to report the problem to the seller himself. If he does not respond to the message in any way, you need to open a dispute. When opening, you must indicate the appropriate reason and attach all available evidence.
Question No. 2: How can I find out at what stage the consideration of a submitted complaint is?
You can track the status through “My reports”, “Manage Reports”. It should be borne in mind that the claim message is drawn up in English. The text must contain information about the product (No., its photo, track number, etc.).
What to do next?
Then you need to wait. After some time, the mediator will contact you and begin to ask questions, which are best answered in detail and as clearly as possible. After which he will announce his decision. Remember that the decision of the site administration cannot be appealed.
It is worth noting that the duration of consideration of a claim by the site is not strictly regulated and may drag on indefinitely. It depends on the complexity of the specific situation and the evidentiary basis of the dispute.
