Returned AliExpress Item as Requested and They Are Now Refusing to Refund Me

illyphilly on 24/04/2024 - 16:21
Last edited 24/04/2024 - 20:24 by 1 other user

I had to return a faulty item on AliExpress and followed the process.

Now, despite providing the tracking number which shows delivered to the address they supplied, they are refusing to refund me on the basis that they cannot prove this tracking number is for this return and no way of knowing if they received the item. They made me pay for the return postage claiming they would refund me after all was done. I used Afterpay otherwise I would have already charged back the payment.

What are my options in this outrageous situation?

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Comments

  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 24/04/2024 - 16:30
    +3

    Must have been a bigish ticket item to even chance the returns process ?

    • illyphilly on 24/04/2024 - 16:37

      too much trust on my part.

      • HeWhoKnows on 25/04/2024 - 15:43

        Hopefully you paid using Paypal
        If so get a refund via PayPal.

        You have all the evidence they need

  • AustriaBargain on 24/04/2024 - 16:32

    Is Ali refusing to refund you, or the merchant? If the merchant then file a dispute.

    • Jimothy Wongingtons on 24/04/2024 - 16:38
      +2

      Ali express in most cases: we side with seller (despite mountains of evidence)

      • Muzeeb on 24/04/2024 - 17:34
        +1

        So the antithesis of eBay

    • illyphilly on 24/04/2024 - 16:38

      Well it was in dispute and then i got a notice saying seller agreed to refund $0.00 and then i got the notification that they would not be refunding me and after an appeal process Aliexpress themselves are refusing to refund me.

      • AustriaBargain on 24/04/2024 - 16:41

        Did you upload the evidence to the dispute?

        • illyphilly on 24/04/2024 - 16:45

          Of course and I waited for them to refund me and it just eventually timed out because they did nothing despite me adding the tracking number and mentioning it their chat.

          • AustriaBargain on 24/04/2024 - 17:14
            +1

            @illyphilly: Sounds like they have plausible deniability. When I post something to return I always take a photo of it being boxed and dropped off. Well I never actually do that, but I always think at the time it would be a good idea.

    • illyphilly on 25/04/2024 - 16:12

      Ofc I have filed a dispute and it was handled by ali express, I have had zero interaction with the seller and after paying for the return postage and linking the tracking info they gave me some generic response saying theres no way for them to verify that this is the tracking number or if they even received the item, yet tracking clearly shows delivered and I have appealed twice and been denied with generic responses each time.

  • Daabido on 24/04/2024 - 16:37
    +3

    Scum are everywhere and Aliexpress usually sides with the seller. I find eBay better in that regard. In the future use a credit card. A lot of the Ali/eBay Chinese "local" sellers use the same return address to a place in NSW. A seller wanted me to send back to a different address from the one on file with eBay. eBay just refunded me straight out.

  • geek001 on 24/04/2024 - 16:49
    +2

    Did you buy a "choice" item? I bought one recently worth around $60 and the item was missing a few things. I was issued a AU post return label and given a refund immediately after I lodged the item at AU post.

    I stopped buying items that are not "choice" on Aliexpress, mainly because I didn't want to wait a month or 6 weeks for it to arrive.

    • illyphilly on 24/04/2024 - 16:57

      Yeah I think so, during the sale where they had $8 off $40 I think it was.

    • payton on 25/04/2024 - 10:04
      +1

      Did you buy a "choice" item? I bought one recently worth around $60 … I was issued a AU post return label

      how recent? I bought a 'choice' item and it wasn't offered, another user had same experience

      • geek001 on 26/04/2024 - 11:15
        +1

        This was probably about a month ago. The free returns is still showing when I go to Aliexpress, but only limited to 1 per order. I didn't have to talk to anyone, just picked some options from the returns screen and it generated an Au post label for me to print.

    • churlish on 25/04/2024 - 21:02

      after having 4 non choice items not arrive i too now only buy choice items.

      was refunded for the first two, third was refused refund by aliexpress and the fourth i am waiting for the dispute window to claim.

      the first item eventually arrived after 5 and a half months, which gives me hope for the others.

  • Taro Milk Tea on 24/04/2024 - 16:49
    +3

    haha…nothing new with Aliexpress and their merchants. I purchased an item from them (sold by merchant) and it was faulty. Requested a dispute and merchant PMed me to cancel the dispute and they will refund manually. Merchant even wrote that i can raise dispute again if they do not refund.

    Merchant paid me less than what I paid them (they said it's because of exchange rate difference). Tried to raise the dispute again…guess what, you cannot raise it again once you cancelled.

    Contacted Aliexpress, they cannot help and ask me to send the merchant detail and they will give a warning to the merchant.

    Lesson learnt, avoid Aliexpress.

    • dmbminaret on 25/04/2024 - 09:08
      -1

      Lesson learnt, avoid Aliexpress

      Lesson learnt, do it the correct way and don't be a schmuck that gets scammed.

  • Sideswipe on 24/04/2024 - 16:51

    Aliexpress firstly will side with the seller. When it was escalated to AliExpress, I had to upload both photos and video evidence to prove the item bought was not as advertised. They refunded me after a couple of weeks.

    • illyphilly on 24/04/2024 - 16:56

      Well theres light at the end of the tunnel I guess. Mind me asking what kind of video/photo evidence did you send?

      • jv on 24/04/2024 - 16:57
        -2

        Mind me asking what kind of video/photo evidence did you send?

        pr0n.

      • Sideswipe on 24/04/2024 - 16:58
        +1

        i bought a phone holder for the dashboard in the car. it didnt fit. the seller was asking me if i had the right car lol etc.i shared pictures of the fit and they said would not refund. once escalated to aliexpress, they started with a low ball refund offer. ali initially refused also but then i took a video showing the gaps in fit etc. ali then eventually agreed it didnt fit and refunded me the full price.

        • dmbminaret on 25/04/2024 - 09:24
          +3

          It's textbook behaviour that merchant will come back with stupid offer or $0. You just counteroffer back full amount again until the time is up and it rolls over to aliex to bring down the hammer.

          I've never lost a dispute. Make sure if the seller is being a crook to upload enough evidence (video is best) so when aliex get it, it's simple to make a decision in your favour.

          I think the comments about siding with merchants is frivolous. They have a duty of care to both merchants and customers as a platform and will side with the compelling evidence.

  • jv on 24/04/2024 - 16:56
    -5

    Is this a repost from a few days ago ?

  • Clear on 24/04/2024 - 17:51

    Did AliExpress say to return for refund or the seller?

    • illyphilly on 24/04/2024 - 19:03

      The system did, so I believe Ali express did, I had no interaction with the seller.

      • Clear on 24/04/2024 - 19:57

        Ok that's good. Sometimes people message sellers directly and that doesn't end well.

        • illyphilly on 24/04/2024 - 21:44

          my first few times using Aliexpress I had a dispute and throught communicating with the seller was the norm and one of them got me to cancel the dispute saying they could not refund unless i did so and after doing so basically said BL heh.

  • illyphilly on 24/04/2024 - 19:07

    My last resort at this stage would be to charge back the Afterpay payments for this and risk my long time good standing account I guess?

    • minty on 24/04/2024 - 19:23

      Could you have paid via PayPal instead? I've found they're far more frequently fair and on the buyer side. Long as evidence is provided they make a decision quickly and fairly.

      • illyphilly on 24/04/2024 - 19:25

        Yeah I normally would if im iffy pre purchase, but Afterpay won the better of me.

        • minty on 24/04/2024 - 19:26

          Fair, personally I never use services like Afterpay, if I can't afford it outright I don't buy. But I can understand how it'd be useful in some situations. Hope you find a resolution with them!

          • illyphilly on 24/04/2024 - 19:29

            @minty: I like that logic and it's obviously the way to go, but not paying anything or only 25% is too tempting for us who don't share the same sentiment.

            • minty on 24/04/2024 - 19:32
              +1

              @illyphilly: Understandable, a lot of colleagues and friends uses them so I'm sure they have a lot of merit and helps to juggle all the financial commitments we all have.

              Is their support team pretty decent long as evidence is provided otherwise?

              • illyphilly on 24/04/2024 - 19:40
                +1

                @minty: Do you mean afterpay? Or Ali express who are an utter nightmare. As for afterpay it's 50/50 in terms of support but I have never really had a issue with them and they have actually refunded at least 4-5 late fee payments just by asking them each time.

                • minty on 24/04/2024 - 19:41

                  @illyphilly: Yeah I meant Afterpay, was asking out of curiosity since I've no previous dealings. What you say sounds promising, best of luck! :)

  • pegaxs on 24/04/2024 - 19:15
    +4

    I've never returned anything to AliExpress. I just ask for a refund, send videos and photos and if I don't get a refund, I just leave appropriate feedback. AliExpress sellers are punished way more for any negative feedback than eBay sellers are.

    • illyphilly on 24/04/2024 - 19:24

      Same for me and I have made many purchases on it over the years. I guess this is because it was a more expensive item?

  • Shpox on 25/04/2024 - 09:50

    Mate, every purchase with Ali is a risk. I would never actually post anything back. Just claim as faulty and chargeback if they side with the merchant

    • illyphilly on 25/04/2024 - 16:13

      Yeah I have been buying for years and TBH never had a single issue and whenever i did was refunded pretty quick with little effort.

  • slewis69au on 25/04/2024 - 12:17

    Lots of people saying Ali Express always sides with the seller. That has not been my experience, having said that never cancel your dispute, once it's gone it's gone.

    I have received multiple refunds and partial refunds due to item faults without ever having to return anything.

    • illyphilly on 25/04/2024 - 16:14

      they have sided with the seller once for me on a minor item worth $2 it was one of those fake SD cards when they first came out and they denied my refund despite clearly showing them it's fake heh.

  • fishka2 on 25/04/2024 - 17:16
    +2

    Lodge dispute with afterpay. I did once and they were helpful. Plus you can still file a chargeback with the bank you use for funding afterpay

    • illyphilly on 25/04/2024 - 19:30

      Yeah good idea, they helped me out with a temu order gone bad. Regarding the charge backs I know that but I have an account in very good standing and kinda dont wanna risk it.

      • fishka2 on 26/04/2024 - 12:48
        +2

        I guess it will pay to be proactive and mention this to APay politely when you file a dispute. Good luck

  • Roney on 26/04/2024 - 00:44

    Temu's minimum postage-free purchase cost has risen to $50. Is anyone impacted with this increase or am I singled out? I'll stick with Aliexpress.

    • Clear on 26/04/2024 - 10:22

      Mine is still $0. Maybe because I got in before it was plastered all over the front page.

      • illyphilly on 26/04/2024 - 12:09

        how? I tried the method to ask chat and they flat out refused.

        • Clear on 26/04/2024 - 12:14

          That's what I mean. I did that method weeks before it was plastered all over the front page for votes and thus ruining it for everyone else.

    • illyphilly on 26/04/2024 - 12:09

      $45 for me

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