With no restrictions in time and space; point-to-point delivery; unconditional goods return claims; and greater freedom than shopping in store, online shopping has become increasingly a way of life for many consumers. A Consumer Council survey with purchase trials on 9 online shopping platforms found that despite the claims made by these platforms that guaranteed goods return and refund, the success rate was lower than 50%. Furthermore, the quality of their customer service varied vastly and so were the deadlines for goods return. Some return procedures were so cumbersome that consumers often ended up paying for the high shipping cost and incurring loss in currency exchange rates.
The survey revealed that online shopping, albeit convenient, is inherently risky in that the purchase may not match its descriptions or turns out to be faulty or even damaged. The problem is further complicated by the different operation modes of the online shopping platforms with different goods return, refund and delivery arrangements. Moreover, such platforms may be located in different territories or countries, making it difficult to seek redress in the event of a dispute. Consumers should therefore familiarise themselves with the company policies on goods return, and read carefully the terms and conditions prior to making online purchase. The industry is also urged to enhance its service quality and information transparency to provide a simple and practical consumer safeguard in online shopping.
Included in the survey were 9 local popular online shopping platforms. A total of 54 purchase trials comprising 6 purchases with each platform, were conducted between August and September this year with each purchase comprising 1 to 10 items of apparels, cosmetics, household goods and foods totally worth less than HK$600. Upon receipt of the purchased goods, the Council staff applied for return and refund (a total of 47 times) in the survey to evaluate their quality in handling purchase orders, product delivery, goods return and refund as well as customer services.
Return goods arrangements
Out of the 47 requests for goods return and refund, only 23 were successfully pursued, giving a success rate of below 50%. Despite all online platforms made similar claims pledging to accept applications for goods return, the purchase trials showed that 3 platforms, however, would not offer any service to help local consumers in arranging to send the products back, or would require consumers to bear the shipping costs. The redress process was cumbersome and consumers were left to their own to repackage the merchandise, find a courier service provider, and fill out the customs declaration forms for sending back the products in question.
In the event consumers were dissatisfied with goods not matching their original descriptions, all 9 platforms would undertake to provide necessary arrangements or even full refund but the deadlines for applications varied widely from 7 to 90 days after the products were duly received. Moreover, if the goods were returned for reason of damage or discrepancy, 3 platforms would require the consumers to bear the shipping costs while among the 5 platforms with claims of “unconditional” goods return, 3 also required consumers to pay the shipping costs.
A host of issues may crop up in the course of arranging goods return which consumers should be aware of. For instance, if the product is inexpensive, there will be a chance that the shipping cost may be higher than the value of the goods. Courier service providers would provide a quotation on shipping cost based on the information of the goods and shipping address, and if the transportation cost is too high, they may suggest consumers to give up sending the goods back. Some platforms specified that returned goods cannot be sent through designated couriers or request the goods to be returned to designated convenience stores. However, consumers have to pay extra attention that the staff of the convenience stores may only have little understanding about the goods return arrangements or may argue that the volume of the returned goods is too big and refuse to accept the goods.
Unilateral cancellation of purchase orders
In the survey, it came to light that purchase orders could be unilaterally cancelled by online shopping platforms even after payment and confirmation. The 54 purchase trials recorded a total of 7 such incidents by 3 platforms. The cancellation might be because the goods were out of stock or for no specific reasons whatsoever. Among these platforms, 2 charged in foreign currency so if orders were cancelled unilaterally after payment, even if the platform operators finally arranged a full refund, the consumers might still suffer loss due to difference in exchange rates.
Delivery arrangements
Some platforms offer discounts or even waive the delivery fees if the total value of the purchase order was over a certain amount. However, the purchase trials found 2 local shopping platforms operating a dual goods delivery system – either by the shops directly or by the platforms collectively. While the total shipping cost of the purchase would be displayed before consumers entered their delivery address, if the goods bought were in the same purchase order but were supplied by different traders, the shipping costs would be based on the independent calculation of each of the traders involved. In other words, even if the total value of the purchase may have reached the level entitled for shipping discount, the consumer may still not be eligible to enjoy the benefit.
Individual shopping platforms may not be able to quickly process and consolidate the purchase orders from different suppliers, creating great inconvenience to consumers who have to wait for 1 to 2 working days before receiving a confirmation email from the trader supplying the product(s) listing out the transportation mode and cost together with a request for the consumers to reply in acceptance of the shipping cost before delivery. Assuming that a consumer in a single transaction chooses to buy 10 items from 10 different suppliers, he or she may have to wait for and reply to 10 confirmation emails and pay 10 separate shipping charges. Such practice is entirely unsatisfactory.
With regard to delivery date, out of the 9 online platforms, only 1 would allow consumers to choose their preferred time slot for delivery upon full payment. Another 5 online platforms would inform the consumer of the delivery date in advance while 3 others would not specify the delivery date. Improvement in this area is clearly needed.
In the purchase trials, goods were found damaged upon delivery, or the actual colours of the products did not match with the online photos. For instance, 2 glass plates of different shapes were packed in the same paper box without protective packaging, resulting in 1 glass plate being broken whereas a pair of shorts in khaki colour turned out to be of light blue colour. Traders are reminded that providing goods that fail to match with their descriptions will not only affect their business reputation but may also amount to violation of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance.
When shopping online, consumers may take note of the following:
- Before making a purchase decision, read the product webpage carefully to ascertain the responsibility if something goes wrong so that you know to whom you should turn to for enquiry and negotiation;
- After payment, check and verify the details in the confirmation email listing out the product information and the total costs, including the price of the goods and shipping charges, etc. Online shopping platforms may use different kinds of pretext to cancel the purchase order unilaterally, and should this happen, approach the online platform immediately;
- On receipt of the goods, inspect their conditions without delay and particular attention should be paid to the application deadline for goods return and the related terms and conditions;
- Upon receiving the refund, check to ensure that the amount is correct. If the refund is deposited directly into your credit card account in foreign currency, the amount may differ from what you have originally paid due to fluctuations in exchange rates.
The Consumer Council reserves all its right (including copyright) in respect of CHOICE magazine and Online CHOICE.