Issuses with GearBest - Looking for Some Advice (Please)

Empharand on 14/04/2016 - 15:30
Last edited 14/04/2016 - 16:21

Hi everyone,

Looking for a little bit of advice..

Long story short (as short as possible), I purchased a Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Pro) from GearBest on 31/03/16 with Freight Insurance and tracking (via Australia Post), I received the phone yesterday (13/04/16).

I have a few concerns with my latest order which I have expressed with GearBest. These problems are as follows:

(1) - Despite paying for freight insurance, the phone box was poorly packaged. They used a satchel with bubble lining, however the lining itself was thin and wouldn't have protected the box should something major have happened. What I find funny, and uncanny is that I have received better packaged and protected products from items I have purchased on eBay for a measly few dollars.

(2) - In relation to my above point, the phone box has little amounts of damage all over the box which is evident that it had been knocked around in transit, which could have easily been avoided if they would have simply packaged the product better (even a layer of bubble wrap would have likely sufficed)

(3) - I have been experiencing various issues with the phone, which I'm not sure if they are hardware related or possibly caused by damage in transit. One issue is that the SIM Card isn't recognised for about 1 minute on every boot. There has been an instance where my phone has turned itself off for no reason. I also seem to be experiencing issues with the fingerprint scanner working intermittently. I have tried to remedy these issues by resetting the settings back to factory default to no avail.

I had opened up a support ticket. They have offered the solution of refunding what I paid for the freight insurance, and simply said (and I quote)

Kindly note: All GearBest products are strictly quality controlled prior to dispatch.
Next time, we will dispatch it very well to protect damage from delivery.

I replied with (This is a basic idea of what I said in my response, the response itself was a little more elongated)

It's your responsibility to ensure that the item is sufficiently packaged for safe transit, which has not been done. The fact that I had paid for shipping insurance should have ensured that the package was secured to prevent this very situation. Your remedy to offer a refund for the shipping insurance is unacceptable. By saying that 'Next-time' the package will be very well protected should have been done this time around, I shouldn't have to wait until next time.

I'm not sure where I stand in terms of what should be to resolve this issue, and I have no idea what I should expect in terms of a solution, however I feel that the solution they offered is unacceptable, and overall the service I have received is poor at best.

Just looking for some opinions, and some advice on what I can do, and what I'm entitled to as a solution.

Thank you in advance.

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Comments

  • GameChanger on 14/04/2016 - 15:44

    Was it done through Paypal?

    • Empharand on 14/04/2016 - 15:50
      +1

      Yeah I paid via PayPal (Thankfully)

  • tomleonhart on 14/04/2016 - 15:44
    +3

    Another day, another post about gearbest issue. They're banned on ozbargain now for a reason.

    Did you pay with Paypal? Raise a Paypal dispute.

    • Empharand on 14/04/2016 - 15:52

      Yeah I paid via PayPal (Fortunately)
      If I raise a dispute with Paypal, how much of the transaction should I dispute (all of it?)

  • Store Repgearbest @ GearBest on 14/04/2016 - 17:01

    Hi James D,

    We very much regret issue and are fully committed to resolving it to your satisfaction.

    Could you please PM me your order number or ticket ID to us? Please rest assured we will do our best to solve for you. Thanks for your cooperation in advance.

    • Empharand on 14/04/2016 - 18:27

      Just sent you a PM

      • eatwell365 on 15/04/2016 - 05:18

        would be keen to learn if this is solved to your satisfaction,

      • Store Repgearbest @ GearBest on 15/04/2016 - 20:28

        Hi James

        Thanks for your mail and notify us of your complaint.

        I have replied your PM and submitted this issue to our product department, once I get the feedback, I will offer the solution to you.

  • Randxyz123 on 14/04/2016 - 18:50

    Did you take pictures of the damaged shipping box and phone box?

    I wouldn't have opened the phone or box at all. If it was insured and had signature on delivery I wouldn't have accepted the delivery.

    • Empharand on 15/04/2016 - 09:04

      That likely would have caused further issues for me (Longer wait for a phone, return freight cost etc), and at the time I had no way of knowing that this would be the outcome.

  • altomic on 15/04/2016 - 07:29

    What sim are you using?

    • Empharand on 15/04/2016 - 09:06

      Amaysim Micro-Sim

      • altomic on 15/04/2016 - 09:27

        have you tested another micro-sim?
        is it only when it is re-booted the sim takes a minute to load?
        or when it awakens from sleep?
        has the phone randomly shut down since?
        have you gone through a few charge cycles with the battery yet?

        just going through the whole trouble shooting deal.

        • Empharand on 16/04/2016 - 11:23

          I haven't tried another sim, don't have another one to try unfortunately.
          It's only when it's rebooted that it does it.
          My phone hasn't shut down since my original post.
          I haven't gone through a cycle yet with the battery.

        • altomic on 16/04/2016 - 12:38

          @James D: how's the fingerprint scanner working? still intermittently?

        • Empharand on 16/04/2016 - 14:43

          @altomic: Yeah still intermittent :(

        • altomic on 16/04/2016 - 15:34

          @James D: I get your disappointment. you ordered a nice phone, waited for it. phone arrives poorly packed. you encounter 3 issues. though it sounds like 2 have cleared up (the sim search is just for rebooting and the random shut down hasn't occurred again) just that pesky fingerprint scanner acting up intermittently.

          does it have a "safe mode"? have you tried booting to safemode and then checking to see if the scanner is working properly?

          that may indicate that there is an app interfering with it's proper operation.

          also, have you tried to install a different fingerprint scanner app?

  • salem on 15/04/2016 - 09:06

    I'd just demand full refund, and that they pay for return shipping of the faulty phone.

    You are never going to be happy with this phone now. Anytime anything even remotely small goes wrong or niggling issue occurs, you'll be wondering if it was the packaging and damage in transit or not causing the issue. You need to get rid of it.

    There is no partial refund solution that would keep me stress free if I was in your situation. Definitely not a 'discount off your next purchase' or store credit. You don't want to buy from them again.

  • mrwolf on 16/04/2016 - 11:54
    +3

    James D,

    It is in GearBest DNA to not to give your money back. GearBest will offer solution after solution,and it will all add up to store credit.

    When it comes to refunding money GearBest pucker up their(you know what so hard)that pulling out 1 cent is almost impossible.

    Go the Paypal route and only accept a full refund, and do not close the dispute whatever you do, until the money is back in you bank account.

    I write this from experience with GearBest, and have not returned to their site since.

    Cheers.

  • Empharand on 17/04/2016 - 11:38

    UPDATE

    I have since received a response offering 3 different solutions (Which are comical at best)

    1) Return the item back to us (I have to pay shipping and handling charges)
    2) Keep the item and accept a partial refund (35 USD) on Wallet (credit)
    3) Resend a replacement (No return); but I have to cover a partial amount of the shipping and item cost (180 USD)

    Are they for real??
    I was expecting a better solution, ie. you can send it back and WE will pay for return shipping

    Opinions??

    • Empharand on 17/04/2016 - 12:41

      Ideally the response I would have liked to received would have been in accordance with their policy when you purchasing 'Tracking Insurance' and 'Tracking' (Which I did, paid the extra cost to protect me in this very instance)

      "To get a safe delivery ,we recommend customer pay tracking fee and insurance for the order. Buying insurance guarantees your shipment. In the event of verified shipping damage/loss, GearBest will resend an identical parcel free of charge"

      They have not offered this to me, yet they have offered that they will send a replacement if I pay partial amount for item and tracking (180 USD)

      • salem on 17/04/2016 - 13:22
        +2

        Paypal disputes just request that youve tried sorting it with the seller first. You tried, and got the response everyone here knew you would get.

        Stop dealing with gearbest, and take the claim to paypal.

        Gearbest might then offer you full refund or something as long as you close the paypal dispute. It is a trick. Never close the paypal dispute until after you have the resolution you want. If you close it gearbest will then dick you around for months while you try and extract from them whatever they promised. Just ignore gearbest outside of paypal, and only communicate within paypal dispute process.

  • mrwolf on 17/04/2016 - 12:47
    +1

    James D,
    See my post above. If you do not go the paypal route,Gearbest will do your head in.

    You will still have to return the item at your expense (I think), but best done with paypals consent.
    The reason I say with paypal consent is Gearbest have a habit of losing parcels.

    Do a google search on Gearbest problems, and see the thousands of people in the same boat as you.

    Best of luck.
    Cheers

  • mrwolf on 17/04/2016 - 12:52
    +1

    Never pay for insurance as it is cream for Gearbest. Remember they use China post,do I need to say more?

    EDIT: I should say never use Gearbest. Haha

  • magic8ballgag on 18/04/2016 - 11:45
    -3

    I don't understand what everyone is carrying on about in this thread.

    Firstly, the phone 'issues' may have nothing to do with how the item was packaged and delivered.

    Secondly, I think GearBest have offered a fair response in regards to resolution, I don't think getting PayPal involved is even necessary at this point.

    And lastly, no matter where you purchase online goods, the return shipping is always covered by the buyer.

    • Mikinoz on 18/04/2016 - 11:48

      Sounds to me like you have never used Gearbest

      • magic8ballgag on 18/04/2016 - 12:03
        -3

        And why does that make any difference? I've been buying and selling online for a decade and have had dealings with the best and the worst.

        • mrwolf on 18/04/2016 - 13:07

          Can you let us know where you sell and what you user name is so we can avoid you.

        • magic8ballgag on 18/04/2016 - 13:09

          @mrwolf:

          I buy online more than I sell, but if I do it's usually on Gumtree which I've had nothing but positive experiences with.

        • mrwolf on 18/04/2016 - 13:10

          @tranqme: Hope the seller gave you a receipt for the goods you purchased?

        • magic8ballgag on 18/04/2016 - 13:11

          @mrwolf:

          I don't understand your concern, but yes I receive a receipt for most things I purchase online.

        • Mikinoz on 19/04/2016 - 12:40
          +1

          @tranqme: Wait you buy online through gumtree?

    • mrwolf on 18/04/2016 - 13:04

      So Gearbest sells the op an item for X dollar$ and it is faulty. Then they want more of his dollar$ so they can send him another faulty item. Around it go's until op is out of $'s.

      Sounds like a good scam to me.

      • magic8ballgag on 18/04/2016 - 13:07

        Again, it hasn't been confirmed that it's faulty yet, the OP is simply having some issues, which could just be software or hardware related (phone specific).

    • salem on 18/04/2016 - 21:44
      +1

      "You are entitled to recover reasonable postage or transportation costs from the business if the product is confirmed to have a problem, so keep your receipts.".
      https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/consumer-rights-guarantees…

      So, no, return shipping is not "always covered by the buyer."

      Facts. Handy little things, them. Bit more robust than opinions.

      • magic8ballgag on 18/04/2016 - 21:54

        With online purchasing it is, which is clearly something you do not do a lot of, but I guess you know all the facts so no point trying to school you on something.

        Again, what the OP listed as 'faults' I wouldn't really consider reasonable grounds to return an item, let alone recoup postage costs under Australian law.

        • salem on 18/04/2016 - 22:05

          I don't know all the facts, obviously. Because that would be ridiculous. But I do know the above one. The policy applies both to brick and mortar and online stores.

          I mean, how often do you post stuff back to a place you bought it in person? The policy barely makes sense in that context. It's obviously related to online purchases, and the ACCC have confired it to me when I enquired.

          I have returned things onine before and had the seller pay (shopping express). Google has a policy of paying for phone returns. They even send you a new one and you put the faulty one in the box the new one came in and it has free return shipping. I sent shirts back to UK (TM Lewis) and they were required to pay, both by their admission and by the advice I sought from ACCC (who, for clarity, couldn't intervene in specific individuals' cases, but could advise).

          So, no, shipping is not always covered by the buyer. If the sellers have been telling you that you've been had. If you believe that as a seller you've been ripping off your buyers.

          If I bought a car that only broke down once a week, I'd still be pretty upset. His phone is faulty. It should go back. Gearbest should pay.

        • magic8ballgag on 19/04/2016 - 07:58

          @salem:

          Right, so there's been some cases where you've purchased from particular stores online and were able to be covered for return postage, congratulations? I've done the exact same.

          But for the majority of online stores, you'll be hard pressed trying to get them to cover you for the cost of shipping the item back.

          You're comparing apples to oranges, the phone hasn't 'broken down', it's developing some odd behaviour sure, but it's far from being faulty.

        • salem on 19/04/2016 - 08:45

          @tranqme:

          Well looks like by your own admission "always" was the wrong word for you to use then.

          And also, if there's lots of online places refusing to pay for return postage for issues, they're doing it in breach of consumer law, either through ignorance or to screw their customers. If someone tries to make you pay as a buyer, don't. The ACCC will support that opinion, and your local state fair trading or equivalent will help you.

          In this instance, the phone turning itself off randomly for no apparent reason is exactly like a car breaking down randomly. And is a perfect example of a major fault.

        • magic8ballgag on 19/04/2016 - 09:09

          @salem:

          Right, well next time I have to return an online purchase, I'll try this and report back.

          The phone turned itself off once, which could have very well been a user error, and hardly a 'major fault' at this point.

          Gotta love the sheep mentality of people these days, I'd bet big money that 99% of the people complaining about GearBest have never heard of them before and are only doing so because they read somewhere on this website that they aren't as good as their name suggests.

        • salem on 19/04/2016 - 11:58

          @tranqme:

          You should try it, it's great when you actually get the remedies owed to you under consumer law when you're a consumer instead of being mislead by sellers.

          I'll concede I conflated the phone turning itself off frequency with the fingerprint issues. But on fingerprint issues alone it warrants a return. Gearbest can then replace, repair or refund.

          I'd say more like 50% of people here have bought from gearbest (in this thread). There's only like 5 posters. I've bought from them. First was a 10c credit card led light bulb gimmick. Took 3 months to arrive, and got me on their mailing list. Took about 10 unsubscribe attempts to get off that list. A while later I bought a VR headset that never arrived. Went through the refund tango, promises and broken promises, being asked to wait "just one more month" after not getting it for 3 months, etc. Not fun.

        • magic8ballgag on 19/04/2016 - 12:25

          @salem:

          Fingerprint issues could be software, or dare I say, user related.

          You seem quite competent in online buying, so I don't know what you expected when purchasing an item worth 10c.

        • salem on 19/04/2016 - 12:41

          @tranqme:

          I expect a website that has "2-4 weeks delivery" under the item listing to arrive within 2-4 weeks. I'll give a few weeks slack for issues, but after 6 weeks yeah, I'm going to be wondering what's going on. If a store can't deliver within its own stated times, it needs to fix its website to state actual expected times.

        • magic8ballgag on 19/04/2016 - 13:57

          @salem:

          These times should be expected when dealing with an international retailer, the same wait time applies for larger online vendors such as eBay/AliExpress.

  • leftspeaker2000 on 20/04/2016 - 13:11

    I ordered a Xiaomi wireless Bluetooth speaker from them about a year ago. The item arrived damaged in a thin bubble wrap envelope/pouch similar to what your phone came in. When I took the speaker out of the box there were no apparent signs of damage on it, but there was something rattling around in side. Something big, that i can only assume is the battery that has come loose. The speaker works fine though.

    I contacted Gear Best and told them the situation and they honestly said to me: " The sound that you are hearing is the sound the speaker is making as it cut's through the air when you shake it".

    I went back to them and said I'm not an idiot, there is something broken inside. I never heard back from them and could not be bothered to follow up as it was working.

    I look on Gear Best still but only because their range is good. I find something on there i like the look of then find it else where.

  • WatchNerd on 24/04/2016 - 13:27
    +1

    I have bought 3 dashcams, a couple of watches and a few other gadgets from Gearbest and never had any problems.

  • Maverick-au on 26/04/2016 - 22:50
    -1

    Talk about a non event, the expectation is way over the top and he needs to move on. To equate shipping insurance as also including super packaging is absurd as are the imaginary problems he is claiming are linked!

    I've purchased many items from Gearbeat with no problems.

  • Empharand on 25/05/2016 - 15:59

    This wasn't resolved to my satisfaction (Not even close), therefore I will not be using them again, and I advise others to do the same to avoid problems and headaches such as this.

    Long story short, we agreed to a refund portion. As I had a PayPal dispute open, GearBest asked that I have PayPal revise the dispute to represent a refund of the portion discussed, which I did. PayPal sent multiple emails to GearBest requesting them to approve the refund but GearBest claimed that they never received it (Which PayPal claim they did as GearBest regularly respond to these types of emails). I could only gather that GearBest didn't want to honour the refund. As I was getting nowhere, after a month the case expired and closed.

    I will be leaving bad feedback across multiple websites to comment on their level of service, and their lack of packaging which may have resulted in these problems.

    Thanks to only those people that took time out of their days to comment in support of my argument.

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