Ripped off by Gearbest, Empty box delivered!

Ripped off by Gearbest, Empty box delivered!

TechTablets Forums Chinese Mobile Phone Discussion General Mobile Discussion Ripped off by Gearbest, Empty box delivered!

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 15 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #70812
    Steven Welton
    Participant
    • Posts: 9

    My Xiaomi Mi Max 2, 4GB RAM, 64GB ROM Global edition turned up yesterday and it’s an empty box!!

     

    I have raised a dispute with Gearbest & Paypal, hopefully it will be resolved.

    Warning to anyone buying a phone, VIDEO YOURSELF OPENING THE PACKAGE!!!!  I did not do this even though I though the parcel was light, I wish I had done!!!

    #70814
    Chris G
    Keymaster
    • Posts: 2677

    Not to defend them, but I doubt GB would send an empty box or any of the major Chinese online retailers. Must have been one of the shipping companies surely? But great tip on filming it if it feels lighter than normal.

    Bst of luck on getting it sorted and let us know if you got a refund or not!

    Chris | Admin
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    #70823
    Steven Welton
    Participant
    • Posts: 9

    Hey thanks for the reply Chris!  Love your videos by the way.  I thought the same actually, I have used GB before and they have been OK.  Maybe this is because I bought the global ROM version.  If I had asked for the untouched Chinese ROM maybe I would have got a sealed box like I did with my Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 pro…

    I will come back with an update…

    #70834
    John
    Participant
    • Posts: 11

    Who did the shipping for you ? I insist on only using DHL Expedited. It is very expensive, but well worth it for the ease of mind. It takes 2 (two) days from the time DHL pick it up from GB to the time that DHL are waiting at my front gate here in Africa with the goods. VAT and duty payments get done while the parcel is in the air somewhere.

    I doubt very much it was GearBest that sent an empty box. It would have happened somewhere after leaving GB. Did you inspect the parcel seals ?

    #70836
    Steven Welton
    Participant
    • Posts: 9

    Everything was sealed on the outside but no internal seal on the box (although I expected that as it’s the global ROM) plus no invoice paperwork or anything else, literally just a box in a bag.  Funnily enough a UK plug converter was in the bag!

    #70881
    Steven Welton
    Participant
    • Posts: 9

    OK so update on this as I ramp it up:

    I escalated the situation with Paypal into a claim rather than a case.  What did Gearbest do? Offer me a £30 refund!  Obviously I’m not having that, so I reply saying I am disgusted with them, what do they fo? Come back offering £50 refund!  Needless to say I refused that.  I also posted in the HotUKDeals forum and did actually get a reply from a GB rep called Alice who advised me to e-mail her.  I have done this but got no reply.

    My next step when I get home from work tonight is push this into social media and also contact consumer protection.

    I’ll update you with any developments…

    #70886
    sportnok
    Participant
    • Posts: 151

    Thats shocking, hopefully Alice will get on the case, I think they get a lot of trade from HUKD, lots of people are already doubtful of gearbest, they certainly don’t need more bad press.

    #70952
    Steven Welton
    Participant
    • Posts: 9

    So I’ve had a reply from Alice who has told me they are refunding me in full, which is great (as long as it is true!). I’, bloody annoyed that I have had to spend so much time on this, remember first off they refused to accept responsibility at all, then they offered me £30 refund, then £50 refund!  What a joke.  Anyway.  Thing is I would still have preferred just to get the damn phone!

    Well, as long as the refund goes OK, my next step will be to find somewhere trustworthy to buy the phone from, or maybe not bother at all and just buy one in the UK.  Any suggestions?

    #71030
    sigma
    Participant
    • Posts: 46

    well you know what they say, every chinese purchase has implied risks. you never know though, could have just been human error – considering that they open every box to check goods. hope you get a refund though – but thats the good thing about paypal protection, it actually protects you!

    #71039
    Steven Welton
    Participant
    • Posts: 9

    Result! Refunded in full…  Only problem is, the screen protector and case turned up yesterday!  I still want to buy a Mi Max 2 but don’t know where from… so after this rigmarole, where’s the best place to buy from??

    #71349
    sigma
    Participant
    • Posts: 46

    why not the official store on aliexpress? its really either there or gearbest. and if the official store screws you over then you know its a dodgy brand!

    #73198
    Matija
    Participant
    • Posts: 3

    Honorbuy they shipping from Eu (italy) only over DHL and using PayPal

    #73873
    Rob Simpson
    Participant
    • Posts: 1

    I have just had exactly the same with a MI Air 12 Laptop. DHL delivered it via a drop shipping company called Lomeway (based now in London but no way of contacting them) My box was empty – thought it was light but was also expecting another delivery via DHL which would have been very light but not as big. I am absolutely gutted – there are obviously thieves either working for Gearbest, Lomeway or DHL & they have stolen £388 from me. I am informing my CC company & the police but don’t really think I have a leg to stand on as I signed for the empty box – never trust ANY Chinese company ever again.

    #151898
    Heerbert
    Participant
    • Posts: 1

    I had a similarly really bad experience with GearBest. I received an empty box without the tablet in it. It took me weeks,  many e-mails to GearBest “friendly” support, and I even had to go to the post-office to fill out a form, despite this was GearBest’s issue. In the end, after all this effort, they did not even compensate me the full amount, just the major part of it. They wrote that I have to pay insurance and shipping. This means, you order and pay a tablet, they don’t send it to you and then you have to pay for insurance and shipping. Everybody just beware of GearBest, it’s a rip off.

    #152133
    Anonymous
    Inactive
    • Posts: 3

    The information you share is very helpful, thank you very much

    raze 2

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