Temu troubles, beware of returns

Meggy1

Temu looks like a great shopping site with low prices. I got hooked. As a new customer I ordered 5 items and was very impressed with the site. Free returns and protection. Yay. Not too impressed with the quality though. When I needed to return 3 items I had to create a return request on each one and then figure how to join them into two return parcels due to bulk. This was complex but I got it right because the confirmation listed out two returns and sent me QR codes for Evri labels. Off they went. I was refunded. Last week they withdrew the refunds on 2 items by charging me again and debiting my card. I was mad so contacted customer service. They said they hadn't received the items. On my account it shows the return had been reviewed. When queried they said items not as expected. What? I only returned 3. If one was ok how could the other 2 be anything other than what I sent. So basically they have withdrawn a refund and now I have paid for those items again. Where they are is a mystery. My thoughts are that if people in the warehouse are verifying and reviewing returns the mistake (or maybe the theft) is right there. I now don't trust them after being so impressed initially. The row goes on as they have asked me to wait 48 hours. Perhaps that was to get rid of me.

ThumbRemote

Site selling cheap goods at cheap prices has cheap customer service. Who'd have thought it?

Seriously though, I'd consider anything bought off these sites (Temu, Wish, , etc) a gamble. I certainly wouldn't buy anything for more than a few pounds. 

Emmia

They're advertising heavily at mega (unbelievably) cheap prices, the word bargepole springs to mind.

ArbitraryRandom

Standard question is how did you pay? If it was using a debit card then you could try a charge back, if via PayPal then they have their own dispute process... in both cases the fact you have the tracking for the parcels will support your case. Only issue might be two tracking numbers to return three items. 

baser999

Temu 😂😂 I’d never heard of this outfit until I started to receive daily emails from them about packages that were on their way, parcels that needed to be delivered . . . . Straight into junk folder

GingerTim

baser999 said:

Temu 😂😂 I’d never heard of this outfit until I started to receive daily emails from them about packages that were on their way, parcels that needed to be delivered . . . . Straight into junk folder

Very appropriate given the junk they sell!

TELLIT01

Temu is a Chinese company.  The actors in all of their adverts would give a clue to that.  Whatever happened to the idea that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true?

pinkshoes

This would be the company under investigation for probably use of forced child labour...

Why do people support these companies?!? It would be impossible to manufacture at those prices without using slave labour.

They're a Chinese company so no UK consumer rights. You bought cheap tat, you got sent cheap tat.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Sadly OP when you buy from sellers in China you are at the mercy of the marketplace protection policies and the marketplace itself. 

In the absence of such protections a chargeback with your card provider might be an option @born_again may clarify what happens in such a situation if the retailer (or in this case marketplace) dispute the chargeback.

There have been a lot of issues raised about buying directly from sellers in China, forced labour, high levels of toxic elements in things like clothes and with Temu reports of receiving spam or unauthorised card charges, I can't validate the accuracy of such claims and of course there is the question of whether you end up with the same tat when buying from businesses with stock in UK.

It's one of the few area where Amazon may be worth paying the extra, their requirements for selling in certain categories can be strict on Amazon and you'd hope they have requirements for things like kids toys and electronics to meet safety requirements if the stock is in the UK.  

user1977

pinkshoes said:

They're a Chinese company so no UK consumer rights.

Actually their UK operation is under a UK registered company, so UK consumer rights do apply. Exercising them may of course be a different matter (the registered office is just a service address and the sole director is in China).

"1.1 Your residence determines the party with which you enter these Terms:...

• If you reside in the United Kingdom, these terms are between you and Whaleco UK Limited, a UK company."

https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/14476358

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

user1977 said:

pinkshoes said:

They're a Chinese company so no UK consumer rights.

Actually their UK operation is under a UK registered company, so UK consumer rights do apply. Exercising them may of course be a different matter (the registered office is just a service address and the sole director is in China).

"1.1 Your residence determines the party with which you enter these Terms:...

• If you reside in the United Kingdom, these terms are between you and Whaleco UK Limited, a UK company."

https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/14476358

Looks like there's a lot of companies registered at that address, probably a plague on a wall type of place but if they are saying OP contracted with a UK company and the agreements on providing returns or some kind of marketplace protection have not been met then the usual letter before action and small claims would apply. 

That company was registered in Nov 2022 so no filings yet to show if they have any assets though.