AliExpress - Help Please!

SuperCNJ

I bought a number of items when AliExpress had their sales event in early November including an electronic device (about £45) and some rechargeable batteries around £10. Most of my cheaper orders (<£5) had arrived but these two did not. However, the parcel tracking shows that the order was delivered 8 days after I placed the order which I am certain was never delivered as we have been at home all the time and we have good neighbours, not to mention a video doorbell. There were definitely no attempted deliveries, so no "missed delivery" notes were received. 

I contacted the seller who told me to wait patiently as it may arrive later, which I can understand as sometimes parcels do turn up later but never do they show "delivered" on the tracking from Royal Mail. Over the following few weeks, I repeatedly asked the seller to investigate and also raised a dispute with AliExpress but to no avail. AliExpress dispute requires evidence to substantiate my claim but I have none as there were no attempted deliveries and the tracking shows "delivered". There's nothing to prove that I have not received the item.

I called Royal Mail and they are unwilling to help except to give me a parcel reference number to pass onto the seller so they can raise a claim - which they are never going to do. I did try but as expected the seller will not want to go through the hassle of raising a claim when the tracking is showing delivered and they have their money. As far as they're concerned, they've fulfilled their part of the deal and I don't blame them. They seem like a reputable seller with good feedback so I believe they have shipped the item. 

The problem is this is not the first time this has happened. I have had several higher-value items go missing after they arrive in the UK, it has never been low-value goods in my experience. So this does raise suspicions as to whether something or someone is intercepting higher value parcels in the UK.

I'm not sure what I can do. I have paid for goods, it doesn't arrive and neither the Seller, AliExpress, or Royal Mail are willing to help. Where do I stand with this? Is there anything else I can do? Any advice would be much appreciated. 

steviebabes

I've had problems with Aliexpress. There are a lot of scammers on there, they send tracking numbers that are either invalid or not for the item I ordered. After the last non delivery I decided not to use them again. Their dispute process is heavily weighted in the sellers favour. I lost the dispute as they said there was a 'valid' tracking number showing the item was delivered to 'a Post Office'. I replied to say that Royal Mail and the Post Office are different companies and the Post Office do not take in parcels.  There was no weight or postcode for the so called delivery. The item was about £35 so quite a bit to lose.

24Tweezers

I have had problems, too with AliExpress.  I got nowhere with their CS.  I ordered two identical items, only one arrived.  They insisted they sent two, I kept the packaging and there was no way it held two.  I had to put it down to experience in the end.

[Deleted User]

I've used Ali Express a lot and have seen that the parcel status can be updated to 'Delivered' when it's left the manufacturer/supplier and arrived at the next leg of the journey and not in the UK.

There is also the option to select which postage level you choose, the free/cheapest option can take up to a month to arrive at your door and have several 'legs' to negotiate along the way.

I now consider each option and have sometimes decided to buy from elsewhere because the overall 'cost', in terms of speed of delivery etc. etc. was a better option/choice.

Also, hidden in the page's 'blurb' are the costs to actually receive it ..... taxes/duties/etc. those aren't covered by the seller - it's the buyers duty to do the due diligence.

The customer service is via the seller, each and every time i've ever needed to contact a shop i've always had a response, yes, language barrier can be difficult at times but it's always been resolved.

MEM62

SuperCNJ said:

Is there anything else I can do? 

Stop buying from them?  You have stated that you have had more than one issue.  How many undelivered orders do you need before you buy somewhere else?  

SuperCNJ

MEM62 said:

SuperCNJ said:

Is there anything else I can do? 

Stop buying from them?  You have stated that you have had more than one issue.  How many undelivered orders do you need before you buy somewhere else?  

I do buy a lot of small cheaper items from AE and in the majority of cases, they arrive fine, albeit a little late. I would say one in every 40-60 orders may go missing. The problem I have is the missing ones tend to be higher value items for some reason. 

Admittedly I have started to buy things from other websites now even if it's a little more expensive but sometimes there are things you just can't buy elsewhere.

Of course, I can stop buying from them, but it doesn't help with getting my money back. And as I feel that the problem probably lies with our UK postal service and not AliExpress or the Seller, boycotting AliExpress is not going to help matters. I personally think someone is nabbing the higher value parcels after it has arrived in the UK. Whether this is at customs or when it arrives at the local sorting office I don't know. 

Has anyone had any success claiming from Royal Mail?

custardy

likely you got a widget delivered and not what you expected.
common scam. often large items RM wouldnt carry internationally.
I recall one where a wheelchair user ordered a chair add on and got a bumbag delivered.

anotheruser

I wonder if you asked your card provider if there is anything you can do?

I have had a couple of successful claims from AliExpress but the latest purchase has had the dispute land in the sellers favour.  I provided photos of a coat showing the measuring tape and how the coat is shorter than the one ordered but AliExpress want the label (which I have since seen has been cut off!) and say they can't see the end of the measuring tape... despite it being in the photo plain as day.

Unfortunately there is no real way to contact them either, so I plan to see if my credit card provider can help with anything (like a chargeback?).  If they can't, it'll be a bad purchase and will likely stop ordering from them - pay a little more and choose ebay.