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 03/18/2021 |
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.
Involving the Aliexpress administration in the dispute
The next stage is “Attracting AliExpress”. After 5 days from the moment the dispute is opened, provided that the seller has not responded to the application, or both parties cannot come to an agreement, the site administration is involved. This stage is also called “Aggravation of the dispute.” After 2 days from the moment the dispute escalated, the administration closed it. Details of the decision can be found in “Dispute Details”.
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.”
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 Available ways to return money to the seller on Aliexpress if the goods have arrived
When both participants in the dispute failed to find a compromise, the Aliexpress administration intervenes.
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.
Why Aliexpress may make a decision not in favor of the client
Why does the administration make a decision on a dispute that leads to the buyer losing:
- incorrectly described problems with the product in the comments to the dispute. The decision is made on many grounds. A competent description is one of them. It should be short and understandable. The first is a description of the main difficulty, and then there are secondary ones.
When there is more than one claim, a list is compiled;
- problems have not been proven. Without evidence, it is unlikely that you will be able to achieve a positive decision from Aliexpress and win the dispute. The easiest option is a dispute over non-receipt of the parcel. The only evidence here is the track number. All other cases require photographs and videos;
- the evidence failed to convey the essence of the problem. Darkened video, unfocused photograph - the reasons for the Aliexpress administration making a negative decision on the dispute;
- the client requests too much monetary compensation. Anyone who does not want to lose the dispute, as well as spend money on sending the goods back to China, must enter an adequate amount in the required columns.
Full payment is requested when the shipment has not arrived at all, or broken items have arrived that cannot be used for their intended purpose.
When a product has a minor, easily removable defect, the only Aliexpress solution that the buyer can count on is partial compensation or full compensation, but with a refund.
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.
Help Desk – when should you contact?
The buyer can write to the site administration at any stage of placing an order if he has any questions. However, in most cases, you can find out the information you are interested in in the “help center” section. There is a list of frequently asked questions and their answers. Contacting the support service for minor reasons puts a strain on its work, and the speed of response to really important user questions decreases.
However, there are situations that cannot be resolved without the intervention of the Aliexpress administration:
- errors during payment, failure to receive funds to the site account;
- refund of the money transfer if the product of interest is not available;
- discrepancy between the ordered products and the actually arrived parcel (size, color, quantity);
- creating a dispute and claiming damages;
- removal of ordered products from the store’s assortment, which leads to the deletion of information about the order itself and delivery times;
- equipment breakdown during the warranty period and the seller’s refusal to repair the product.
Operators provide assistance around the clock and will help resolve any issue promptly. In case of fraud or violation of the buyer's rights, you should contact support immediately.
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.
How to contact English chat?
Here's how to contact Aliexpress support in English when Russian support doesn't work:
- Go to the “Home” tab, click on “Customer support”.
- Decide on the section, topic and type of question.
- When the question asked is in the list of most asked questions, the system will automatically redirect the user to the desired page.
Sometimes the most asked questions have an active “Start Chatting” button, allowing direct access to the site operator. But if the selected question options do not have a chat button, you need to go to another section where online consultation will be possible.
Or go to the main page, find the Help tab at the top and click on Customer Service.
After this, you can click on the Chat now button to initiate a dialogue with an Aliexpress customer support representative.
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.
Conducting a dispute
Filing a dispute takes a maximum of 7 days. The initial stage is “Request for return”. The buyer fills out a dispute request and sends it to the seller. The seller has 5 days from the moment the dispute is opened to accept/reject/offer an alternative solution. Typically, sellers offer a discount on your next purchase or a partial refund. Discussion of the dispute is carried out by personal message. Both sides can express their opinions by providing additional evidence. As soon as the seller offers his solution. The Accept/Reject button will appear. If you do not agree to the seller's terms, ignore his offer. If you are satisfied with the decision, click “Accept”.
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.
The legislative framework
The procedure for filing claims on the Aliexpress trading platform is regulated by the following regulations:
- European (Paris) Convention on International and Distance Selling of March 27, 2002;
- Law of the Russian Federation dated 02/07/1992 N 2300-1 (as amended on 05/01/2017) “On the protection of consumer rights”;
- Federal Law of July 7, 2003 N 126-FZ (as amended on June 7, 2017) “On Communications”;
- Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated September 27, 2007 N 612 “On approval of the Rules for the sale of goods remotely.”
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.).
Complaint management
The Aliexpress trading platform makes it possible to file a claim only for certain categories of site activity. All of them are listed in the “My Aliexpress” section and one of the sub-items presented in it, the very last one, is “Manage Reports”.
In the window that opens, there are 4 options available. Thus, a claim can be submitted in connection with:
- “IPR Protection” – a violation of copyright if a person is the owner of intellectual property or its legal representative.
- “IPR report” – a violation of copyright if a person is not the owner of intellectual property, but knows who actually owns a particular trademark and the rights to it.
- “Restricted or Prohibited Products” – distribution of prohibited goods from a specific seller.
- “Search Related Violations” – the implementation of deceptive schemes and frauds for the purpose of profit, which can be used, for example, for website search ranking. After visiting the page, it turns out that a phone for $1 will actually cost much more, and the price initially indicated refers to the case or key fob? This is Search Related Violations.
After selecting the “IPR Protection” option in the window that opens, you will need to log in using the login and password used on Aliexpress, and then fill out the form with your own personal data:
- Region (region) – stop at the “Others” item;
- Category of User Identity – “Individual Outside Mainland China” (individual outside China) or “Enterprise Outside Mainland China” (legal entity, enterprise outside China);
- CategoryofRegistrant (category of the registered person) – “RightHolder” (rights owner) or “AuthorizedAgent” (authorized agent, representative);
- Complainant Name – the name of the applicant;
- Detailed address – address (detailed);
- Type of Identity Proof – type of identity card (“Identity Proof of Applicant” – the applicant’s identity card, “Other” – other);
- Uploadfiles – upload a photo/scan of an identity document (page with basic information).
In other cases, the system will not prompt the user to switch to third-party resources. So, when sending a complaint related to another violation, you will need:
- indicate a link to the product (Product Url);
- give a reason (Reason);
- attach evidence (Upload evidence, no more than 5 pieces, each up to 5 MB in size).
A claim belonging to the “Restricted or Prohibited Products” group will also need to indicate the type of unacceptable product sold by the seller:
- Offensive Weapons &Offensive Materials – weapons and materials for offensive;
- Flammable, Explosive&Hazardous Chemicals – flammable, explosive and hazardous chemicals;
- Medical Drugs and Devices – medical drugs and devices;
- Software, Tools and Devices Used for Illegal Purposes – software, tools and devices used for illegal purposes;
- Illicit Drugs, Precursors and Drug Paraphernalia – drugs and drugs the distribution of which is impermissible;
- Obscene and Adult Materials – materials for adults;
- Human Parts&Remains and Protected Flora and Fauna – parts or remains of people and representatives of flora and fauna that are protected;
- Other Prohibited Products – other prohibited products.
Finally, the “Search Related Violations” statement will need to further define the nature of the violation:
- PostingunderanIncorrectProductCategory – posting in an inappropriate category;
- Incorrect Posting of Five-Category – publication in 5 inappropriate categories;
- Incorrect Measuring Units – incorrect units of measurement;
- Prices too Low – prices are too low;
- SKU Related Infringements (Stock Keeping Unit) – violations related to inventory accounting;
- Unmatched Actual and Listed Shipping Costs – fraud in calculating shipping costs;
- Duplicate Listings – duplication of listings;
- Incorrect Category Title – using an incorrect category name;
- Prices too High – prices are too high.
In the “My reports” section of the “Manage Reports” tab, it is possible to track the stages of consideration of all previously submitted applications.
You can also send a complaint using the email addresses available on the website -, [email protected] and The letter must state the essence of the problematic situation in English (or Chinese), as well as provide the order number, a link to the store and product, a photo of the item, track number and other basic details.
You can write to support using email. For questions regarding payment, the administration recommends contacting us exclusively by email. To do this, you must fill out all fields of the proposed form.
Contact via mail can solve a number of other issues:
- general issues ;
- creating a dispute, complaints from the buyer, claims - [email protected] ;
- security issues, both the user account and the site as a whole
When contacting the Aliexpress administration via letters, you should use English. This form of contact fades into the background, since the priority solution to issues is online chat. Therefore, responses to some emails may not be received immediately.
In what cases can you complain about a seller?
Naturally, all the reasons why you can complain about the seller is fraud on his part. Aliexpress invites us to choose one of 5 reasons:
- IPR protection. Complaint of copyright and property rights violation. Select this item if the seller sells counterfeits.
- Restricted or Prohibited Items. Complaint that the seller is selling prohibited goods. For example, weapons, drugs, prescription drugs and devices, plants, adult materials.
- Trading rules. Violation of trade rules: either the seller offered you to pay for the goods bypassing Aliexpress. Or asked to confirm receipt of the parcel before its arrival.
- Manipulations with price and product category. If the seller intentionally over- or under-prices, cheating with currency units or the number of units in one lot, cheating with shipping costs, or placing an item in the wrong category.
- Other. This includes spam (if a seller is frantically sending you promotional materials) and phishing (trying to get your information or payment details).
Few people know, but using this form you can also complain about sellers who deceived you and you were unable to open a dispute. Let’s say, in the case of an obvious counterfeit of a product, if an item arrives of frankly terrible quality, then the first reason is suitable - IPR protection.
If the seller blackmails you, threatens you, is rude, sends messages with unpleasant content, then point 3 applies - violation of Aliexpress trading rules. If during the payment process you find out that the seller has inflated the price of the product, or you placed an order at a super low price, but the seller does not send it, or gave a non-existent tracking number, then choose reason 4 - Manipulation with price and product category.
That is, even if you did not have time to open a dispute, or the dispute was resolved in favor of the seller, you can file a complaint against the seller and the Aliexpress administration will check it. and he will have to prove his innocence.
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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.