The relationship between the seller and the buyer is not always cloudless. Moreover, if purchases are made online, when there is no opportunity to touch the product. In domestic online stores, such relations are regulated by an agreement, and the rights of buyers are protected by the relevant law.
But what if you are not satisfied with a purchase made in a foreign online hypermarket?
In Aliexpress, almost any problem can be resolved through a dispute. This is the only working tool that allows you to get a refund if you are not satisfied with the item or did not receive it. Today you will find out how to open a dispute, how to win a dispute and receive compensation.
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How to open a dispute on AliExpress
It is recommended to open a dispute before the expiration of the buyer’s (product) protection period, 5-7 days before the expiration date of the parcel delivery date. You can open a dispute earlier if there are good reasons for that. For example, if you see that the order is being delivered to the wrong place or it cannot be tracked.
But in this case, the chances of winning the dispute are small – AliExpress will consider that these reasons are not indisputable proof that the package will not arrive. But if the deadlines are tight, then it is another matter, and the arbitration of the service often takes the side of the buyer.
For sellers, opening a dispute is a negative moment, since each such dispute lowers their rating in the system, which means that their products will be shown lower than similar products from competitors. And the competition on this site is impressive …
Therefore, when you open a dispute with the seller, you will be persuaded to either cancel / close the dispute, or reformulate its topic to be safer for them. Finally, they will try to convince you that the package will arrive any minute.
There are many other tricks out there to persuade you to drop a dispute – for example, by extending the product protection period, offering a refund via PayPal, etc.
You should not fall for such tricks, otherwise you risk being left without goods and without money. If the problem is on the side of the seller, then a dispute on AliExpress in time will allow you with a probability of up to 98-99% to get your funds back.
It has been quite simple to open since then, but this should be done only when there are good reasons – the goods did not arrive at tight deadlines, or came defective, or the order turned out to be understaffed. If you received a problem product, just click the “Open dispute” button by opening the order in your profile.
This will open a page that needs to be filled in correctly. We will tell you how to do this a little later.
You can open a dispute from your phone in the AliExpress mobile application in the same way: go to your personal account, click the “Orders” tab and select the “View all” item. We are looking for a problem order, click on it, look for the button “Open dispute” at the bottom of the page. We tap on it, thereby opening a dispute with the seller.
Therefore, your requests for a refund in correspondence with the seller are illegal. But he is not interested in you returning the defective product to him, and even more in lowering his rating, which promises a decrease in the number of orders. And he will strive to resolve the dispute amicably, before the intervention of the AliExpress administration. Often using fraudulent methods.
How to properly dispute on AliExpress
The result of the dispute resolution depends on how you fill out the page where you need to indicate the reason for opening the dispute and, if possible, present compelling arguments in your favor. If the result is positive, you will be refunded or compensated for the loss, if it is negative, you will simply lose the money you spent.
After opening a dispute, you will be prompted to indicate the reason by choosing one of several options.
Refund only
You are having delivery problems for the following reasons:
- the term of protection of the parcel is coming to an end, but the shipment has not arrived yet;
- information about the current location of the shipment is not tracked;
- the order has been returned to the seller by the shipping company.
If you have problems with customs – indicate this reason, and you will be refunded, as in the case when the parcel is delivered to the wrong address.
Return of defective goods and money
The reason may be personal:
- you placed your order by mistake;
- you no longer need the product;
- you found the same item for a lesser price.
The received items do not correspond to the description posted on the seller’s page:
- the item has arrived in the wrong color, which was specified in the order;
- the product or its parts are made of the wrong material;
- the wrong size came;
- you have been sent another model;
- the brand of the product is not the same as in the description.
The reason for the opening of the litter can be indicated as damage to the goods:
- the parcel has already arrived with defects;
- the product is scratched;
- the package was damaged upon receipt of the parcel.
If you think the quality of the product is too low, choose one of the following options:
- the technique does not work as it should;
- the clothes are stained;
- the goods have arrived with defects;
- an unpleasant smell comes from the thing.
If not complete, indicate the desired option:
- the parcel arrived empty;
- some items are missing.
There is such a variant of the answer as a fake or the presence of problems with the accessories of one of the received goods.
You must state the reason for opening the dispute as truthfully as possible.
It is clear that if you did not wait for the shipment, you do not need to send the goods to the seller, so we select the item “Refund only”.
Much more often things come that do not meet your expectations, and in this case, a refund is possible only after you send the parcel back and the seller receives it. Provided that the dispute is resolved in your favor.
If you do not intend to send the goods to China, the most you can count on is compensation from the seller for the defects and non-conformities found.
But indicating the reason for opening a dispute is not enough – you must describe your claims in detail in the appropriate field. You can describe in Russian or English. It should be borne in mind that translation from English will be machine translation, that is, not very high quality. Something like the translation of the product description on AliExpress.
To make your case as convincing as possible, you need to add proof of your case, for example, an unpacking video. To upload a video on AliExpress, simply click on the “Add Video” button, under which the requirements for the uploaded file will be listed.
After filling in all the fields and uploading photos and videos, click the “Submit” button located at the bottom of the page.
How to aggravate a dispute on AliExpress
As soon as the dispute is open, the countdown begins – the seller is obliged to react within 5 days, while the status of the dispute will be: “Pending approval by the seller.” The seller has several options: to confirm the dispute, to offer you a solution to the problem, or not to respond at all to the request. In the latter case, the system will automatically consider that the buyer is right and initiate a refund procedure.
If the seller has chosen the second option, the status of the dispute will change and take the form “Waiting for the buyer’s agreement with the seller’s proposal.” You can continue the correspondence, seeking agreement on favorable terms for you, and if a compromise is reached, click the “Accept” button.
If the negotiation process has not led to anything and each side considers itself to be right, you need to aggravate the dispute in order to attract AliExpress experts to it.
Under the following conditions, the dispute will be aggravated automatically without your participation:
- if the dispute was initiated more than 15 days ago, and a compromise has not been reached;
- if the parcel was never received by you, and the order protection period has expired.
In this case, the status will change to “Aggravated Disputes”. Now all that remains is to wait for the decision to be made by AliExpress arbitration, this will take no more than 60 days. Perhaps the administration will ask you to provide additional information on the dispute. All notifications will be sent to your email.
Dispute Result
So, in order to win a dispute on AliExpress, you must submit a compelling case to prove that you are right. In some cases, this is not even necessary – for example, if you did not receive the parcel on time or it went to the wrong address.
If the arbitration tribunal agrees with your arguments, the status of the dispute will change to “Dispute closed” and a refund procedure will be initiated. If this is an unconditional return (sending the goods is not required), then it takes from a week to 10 days. If you need to send the parcel back, then you need to wait the same amount, but after the seller confirms the fact of receipt of the goods.
In this case, the funds will be returned in the same way that you used when paying for the order.
Cashback, if any, will be deducted from the order value.
Cancellation, closure of the dispute
The closure of the dispute will occur automatically as soon as you confirm the receipt of money (if the dispute aggravates) or confirm the seller’s offer, which involves the settlement of the conflict without the participation of a mediator (AliExpress).
If you do not intend to continue the dispute, then you have two options: aggravate the dispute or cancel it.
When can a dispute be canceled? For example, if a dispute is open due to a delay in the parcel in transit, but the seller has extended the protection period. Or if the package is lost, but the seller has sent it again, providing you with a new track code for tracking. There is also an option when, after unpacking the parcel, you open a dispute, being sure that the equipment you received is not working, but later it turns out that you simply did not know how to use it.
To close a dispute on AliExpress, please follow these step-by-step instructions:
- go to an open dispute and click the “Cancel dispute” button;
- you will be required to confirm your actions, and a message will be displayed warning you about the possibility of reopening the dispute, if such a need arises.
Closing and canceling a dispute is just as easy in the mobile app.
How to reopen a dispute on AliExpress
If the buyer, for any reason, decided to close the dispute, but later it turned out that not all is well with the order, you have the opportunity to reopen the dispute. There are no restrictions on this in AliExpress. To do this, go to the problem order and make sure that the corresponding button is not gray (inactive) – in this case, the dispute cannot be opened again and you need to find out the reason why this feature is deactivated.
Usually, the reopening of a dispute is blocked for the following reasons:
- you are trying to open a dispute 15 days after receiving the parcel;
- the order protection period has expired. Open a dispute before it ends;
- the previous dispute was closed (approved) by you;
- the resolution of the dispute remained with the administration of AliExpress. In such cases, the conflict is considered resolved without the right to reopen the dispute.
Do not try to open a dispute, indicating the reason “Goods did not arrive”, if the parcel is tracked and has the status of being in transit – in this case, your actions will be recognized as fraudulent, and at best you will not be able to discuss this order. At worst, your account will be blocked.
There is only one conclusion from all that has been written: it is possible and necessary to open a dispute if you have evidence that you are right. Unreasonable claims may not be satisfied, and with sanctions against you.