Online shopping can be a very therapeutic process especially during this lockdown period. The moment we know that the products we bought are shipped, the excitement to receive them started to linger on our mind.
However, the excitement this guy had was crushed once he received his parcel. Across the Tebrau Straits, a Lazada user has found a 4K Xiaomi Mi TV on sale at an attractive clearance price of just SGD261, which is around RM795.
To be honest, it is an awesome deal but does look fishy too. Other listings for the same product on the same platform are all above SGD400 which is around RM1200 or more.
If you think things are going south, it surely went down south beyond Sentosa Island. Instead of a dreamy Smart TV to watch, he received a message printed on a piece of paper and mailed together in a padded envelope. The paper did not break but it surely breaks the user’s heart.
In the letter, the seller explained in the message that the goods were “in transportation”, and asked the user to continue waiting for another 3 days for the item to arrive. The seller also has the audacity to even suggest the user to contact customer service for a refund if the item still did not arrive by the desired time.
The message is not really properly written, actually. The language used as if it was translated directly from another language. What makes it even more messed up, the notes sent by the seller ended with a note wishing the user “a happy life”.
The user has shared a photo of the letter on the Complaint Singapore Facebook page but it has already taken down. The message written on the note is;
Seriously, who wouldn’t be mad?
The seller even said the discount is no longer offered.
A screenshot uploaded by the user shows that the listing was titled “(Clearance Discounts) [4K HDR] Xiaomi Mi TV 4S 43 INCH-DVB-T2 LED Smart Android TV (1 Year Warranty) with Google Play Store, Youtube, Chrome, Viomi APK (Available)”. However, a Lazada URL which is supposed to lead to the page saying the product is no longer available.
The user claimed that the process of requesting a refund is a hassle itself as it generated a case number. Even speaking to the Lazada help centre generated a case number.
The user filed a refund request on both case numbers to which however, were denied. After two days, the user tried to contact the shopping platform only to get denied too.
After the user wrote that a police report is to be made and also a lot of queries arise, a Lazada spokesperson said that “the issue has been resolved”, with Lazada taking action to expedite the customer’s refund. Lazada also claimed that the seller was removed immediately from the platform.
“We strive to resolve customer concerns promptly and to every customer’s satisfaction, and treat this incident as valuable feedback to improve ourselves,” said the spokesperson.
E-Commerce platforms should be very cautious and responsive with such issues. Any cases like this can affect the reputation of the platform which would not be good for the performance.
Also as a consumer, we need to be smart and just ignore if the promotion is just too good to be true. Read the reviews and fact-check to trace any fraudulent proof. On a side note, if it’s a scam case, the scammer surely has a good courtesy.
