Console from China - wrong item received - need advice!

IndieSinger

Hello, all!

On 06/04/21, I saw a Facebook advert advertising a console called the Super Console X Pro. Here's a link to the product [please don't be tempted to buy it! It might be a scam!]. It's basically a Raspberry pi (I think) with loads of emulators of classic gaming systems (NES, SNES, Amstrad, Amiga etc.) and 40,000 games preinstalled. Also supposed to come with two wireless controllers. According to my confirmation email, it cost US$46.99, plus I paid US$2.99 for priority shopping (although I paid the GBP equivalent), and I paid for this through PayPal. 

On 17/04/21, what arrived in the post was completely different. Something called a "Mini Game Entertainment System" with, as far as I can tell, no emulators, only 620 games (none of which will be anything like the emulated versions of the other product), and two wired controllers. It's nothing like the same product, and I don't want it. I've found an Amazon page of what I received here - as you can see, the reviews are damming, and it's certainly not the product I ordered and paid for.

So I emailed the following:

Hi there,

What arrived today was not what I ordered and paid for. 

I ordered and paid for the Super Console X Pro with 40,000 games preinstalled and two wireless controllers. See below for the order details. 

What came (see pictures) was a “mini game entertainment system” with just 620 games and two wired controllers. 

Please let me know as soon as possible how you are going to put this right. 

Thanks,

Ben

On 19/04/21, I received the following reply:

Dear customer,

We understand the inconveniences and harassment that get items you don’t like.
We checked and this is the item that our salesperson sells on the website. The description on the website may be a little exaggerated. We'll be contacting our supplier to solve this issue.
We are very sorry to tell you that you need to pay for the postage to return it if the item has no quality problem according to our return policy.
Please note that the goods are supposed to be returned to the address we provide, not the one on the package.
If you want to return the goods, you need to pay the freight to China based on our return policy, maybe the shipping fee is expensive to return.
Could we offer a refund of 30% to you as our sincere apology and you may keep them?
Please kindly consider it. 
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us via e-mail.
Looking forward to your reply.

My response (also on 19/04/21) was:

Hi there,

Thanks for responding. Neither of those options are suitable for me. 

I require one of the following to happen:

1) Send the item I ordered and paid for as soon as possible (Super Console X Pro 250Gb), or

2) A full, 100%, refund. 

Failure to do so will mean I report you to Trading Standards and raise a dispute with PayPal.  

If you require the incorrect product back, you will need to send me pre-paid packaging so that I am not out of product for your mistake. 

Kind regards,

Ben

And they responded with:

Dear customer,

We apologize for any inconvenience.
We were informed that this is the console that the sales team is selling.The item you received has the same functionality, you may also enjoy games on it.
If you don't like the goods you ordered, you need to return them to China and please pay the freight according to our return policy.
Please note that the package should be sent back to the address we provide, not the one on the package.The address is:
Name: Mr.Hong
TEL: 13580547106
Address: Yongda road 7, Huadong town, Huadu district, Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China
Zip code:510000
But we need to inform you that there is a possibility that the return item may be lost remotely if you choose to return the goods.The shipping cost may be expensive.
You could give the goods to your friends as a gift and at the same time we will offer you a refund of 40%, can you accept that? 
Have a nice day!

So, as you can see, this all seems a bit scammy and a bit weird to me. It's probably not a coincidence that the "40% discount" would mean I end up paying about the going rate for the (rubbish) product I received in place of the one I ordered.

I'm after some advice - are the options they've provided me with legal? I don't know how things stand with coming from China, and I'm not sure if what they say about paying for shipping and freight is correct when it's them who have sent completely the wrong item. It's not that I've changed my mind, or don't like it - they've sent something completely different.

And what do you think my next move should be? As I said to them in my reply, what I want is either the correct product, or a 100% refund. I'm not willing to pay to send an item back that they sent in error. Am I right in that respect?

Should I raise it with PayPal? I'm so confused by the whole thing!

Huge thanks in advance!

IndieSinger

Just processing it myself, and I'm guessing this is a scam to offload faulty goods? Going by the reviews of the product I received, it's clearly terrible. So by doing this scam of promising something different/better, they're lumbering me with a terrible product they couldn't shift and having me pay for it.

I've looked into it a little more, and I think they can legally ask me to cover shipping back to China, which is annoying. But it doesn't seem right that I've got to either do that, or be stuck with a defective product and pay £22 for the pleasure. 

Aylesbury_Duck

Sorry to say I don't think you'll get either resolution you want.  You have no UK consumer rights because you bought from China, and I suspect paypal won't intervene.  Worth raising a PayPal dispute to see where it gets you. 

sekrapa

It is a scam. There is no way that for £40 you would get a raspberry pi, case, joystick, leads and sd card full of software and emulators. They hook you in with a fancy games system and offer it at a stupid low price. You receive a junk 8 bit console. You complain and they offer you a discount. For a refund you will have to send it back to the address they stated and it will cost you. They can then say they never received it. Lesson learned. Don’t trust the Facebook adverts for products that are too good to be true. Accept the refund and move on. Yes it hurts and it’s humiliating to be conned like that, but that’s life. There are more important things in life to worry about a junk console.  

IndieSinger

Thank you both for your replies and advice. 

pbartlett

yes be very very wary of facebook. consider yourself fortunate they have not sold on your payment details!

Ditzy_Mitzy

But how could anyone resist the Bintendo Nasty System when it plays exciting games such as [sic, all]:

Duffy Duck
Empty wolf 
Squirrel War (One and Two)
Cuban warrior
Ninja Dragon Sword
Weapon of the World
The US Version of Ninja Dragon Sword 2
Sharon Man Snake 2
Yeti Brothers
Three eyes boy
Get out of prison
Bloody fighting
Crows
Raging fire
March of the Blood

and

Ultimate Tiger

These games are guaranteed to keep any child, Monty Python devotee or absurdist writer occupied for hours!  

Bradden

I like the sound of Squirrel War.. must be good as they did numbers one, two and three!

pbartlett

i'll be grey ....

Ditzy_Mitzy

pbartlett said:

i'll be grey ....

If you fancy taking on the entire Red Army, then be my guest.  

Advance, comrades!  

davidmcn

Well, I enjoy Bloody Fighting, but I'm holding out until they include Shooty Gun War, Soccer Kick Goal, and Pointy Hat Wizard Quest.