Chinese company no refund policy - anyone clued up?
Discussion
Hi,
I bought a car DVR from a Chinese company called Chinavasion at the end of last year. It had received good reviews from a few independent UK reviewers and did exactly what I wanted so purchased one. Initially it worked great but within a week it started locking up and randomly stops recording and/or corrupts files. The company offers a 12 month warranty and I contacted them at the time about sending it back which was not a problem (albeit at my cost), but they suggested I tried a class 10 MicroSD card first as the provided unbranded one is not the best.. Anyway some months went by as I was busy with other stuff but I did give it a whirl with a Sandisk class 10 card but the problems persist. I now just want to send it back and get a refund, however no refund is offered at the first stage, only the offer to repair, and if they can't repair it then they will issue a credit to your account with them, ie. no monetary refund to my Paypal account from which I originally paid from.
I am just wondering if they are allowed to do this with regards the refund or whether they have to reimburse the customer's payment source (bank card/Paypal/whatever). Is there anything in the SOGA about it and are they even covered by it with them not being a UK trader? Their warranty & returns policy is HERE
Thanks.
I bought a car DVR from a Chinese company called Chinavasion at the end of last year. It had received good reviews from a few independent UK reviewers and did exactly what I wanted so purchased one. Initially it worked great but within a week it started locking up and randomly stops recording and/or corrupts files. The company offers a 12 month warranty and I contacted them at the time about sending it back which was not a problem (albeit at my cost), but they suggested I tried a class 10 MicroSD card first as the provided unbranded one is not the best.. Anyway some months went by as I was busy with other stuff but I did give it a whirl with a Sandisk class 10 card but the problems persist. I now just want to send it back and get a refund, however no refund is offered at the first stage, only the offer to repair, and if they can't repair it then they will issue a credit to your account with them, ie. no monetary refund to my Paypal account from which I originally paid from.
I am just wondering if they are allowed to do this with regards the refund or whether they have to reimburse the customer's payment source (bank card/Paypal/whatever). Is there anything in the SOGA about it and are they even covered by it with them not being a UK trader? Their warranty & returns policy is HERE
Chinavasion said:
Who Pays For What?
Cost of shipping a presumably faulty item back to Hong Kong or China: Paid by the customer, cannot be reimbursed.
Cost of import duties, restocking fees and other compensation on the Hong Kong or China sides: Import duties and restocking fees on the Hong Kong and China side will be waived for faulty products and paid by Chinavasion in full. In other words our QC engineers will test products you ship back and, if they confirm the products are indeed faulty, we will offer compensation (repair, credit or refund). However, for products that are tested and turn out to be in good working condition, Chinavasion will not accept any responsibility and may charge a restocking value at our own discretion. Functional products will not be reimbursed.
Cost of shipping repaired item back to customer from China: paid by Chinavasion in full. In order to facilitate customs clearance,we will normally use Airmail and EMS if applicable to send back the repaired item to you.
If a product cannot be repaired:The original product price will be refunded in the form of credit in your Chinavasion account.
Cost of shipping a presumably faulty item back to Hong Kong or China: Paid by the customer, cannot be reimbursed.
Cost of import duties, restocking fees and other compensation on the Hong Kong or China sides: Import duties and restocking fees on the Hong Kong and China side will be waived for faulty products and paid by Chinavasion in full. In other words our QC engineers will test products you ship back and, if they confirm the products are indeed faulty, we will offer compensation (repair, credit or refund). However, for products that are tested and turn out to be in good working condition, Chinavasion will not accept any responsibility and may charge a restocking value at our own discretion. Functional products will not be reimbursed.
Cost of shipping repaired item back to customer from China: paid by Chinavasion in full. In order to facilitate customs clearance,we will normally use Airmail and EMS if applicable to send back the repaired item to you.
If a product cannot be repaired:The original product price will be refunded in the form of credit in your Chinavasion account.
Chinavasion said:
You can use the credit towards a brand new replacement or a different product.
Any new import duty or sales tax for the consignee for the returned repaired products sent from China is their responsibility as per the usual policies.
I realise all this is my own fault for not reading the policy before purchasing, but I'm looking for easiest and least costly way of getting my money back in my hand as this experience doesn't inspire confidence in my purchasing anything else from them with their account "credit".Any new import duty or sales tax for the consignee for the returned repaired products sent from China is their responsibility as per the usual policies.
Thanks.
The contract is probably governed by the law of the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong (which is part of the PRC but has its own legal system under the "one country, two systems" post 1997 set-up), or by the general law of the PRC. In any event, do you (or your money for a local lawyer) fancy taking a trip to Hong Kong or any other part of the PRC to enforce a claim in a local court?
If Paypal will not assist, then this may be one to shrug about and forget.
EDIT: Note the following from the company's site:-
- Paypal refunds are exceptional and at our discretion, for more information please contact us at http://support.chinavasion.com/index.php?_m=ticket...
If Paypal will not assist, then this may be one to shrug about and forget.
EDIT: Note the following from the company's site:-
- Paypal refunds are exceptional and at our discretion, for more information please contact us at http://support.chinavasion.com/index.php?_m=ticket...
Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 24th April 08:47
PS: What a clear and helpful website Chinavision has, compared to many companies.
The last time that I had a mild problem with a supplier of goods in Hong Kong (a much smaller outfit), the supplier was very helpful, as it valued the goodwill of UK customers. Ask politely, and Chinavision might send you a refund (although it is not plain that the product is faulty).
The last time that I had a mild problem with a supplier of goods in Hong Kong (a much smaller outfit), the supplier was very helpful, as it valued the goodwill of UK customers. Ask politely, and Chinavision might send you a refund (although it is not plain that the product is faulty).
Thanks guys. I just spoke with their live chat and they will not budge on the refund process at all. Breadman, the bit about the Paypal refunds only applies to cancelled orders, not delivered ones. They will only credit my Chinavasion account and even then that's only if they agree that the item is faulty. If they don't think it is then they'll send it back to me and if it goes faulty again then I'll have to pay another c.£20 to send it back again.
The problem (from what I've read) seems to be related to the power regulation in different vehicles; some are apparently better are regulating it than others. The ones that aren't good cause spikes/fluctuations which 'freak out' the device and cause it to lock up/stop recording/corrupt files/other weirdness.
The problem (from what I've read) seems to be related to the power regulation in different vehicles; some are apparently better are regulating it than others. The ones that aren't good cause spikes/fluctuations which 'freak out' the device and cause it to lock up/stop recording/corrupt files/other weirdness.
All that jazz said:
Thanks guys. I just spoke with their live chat and they will not budge on the refund process at all. Breadman, the bit about the Paypal refunds only applies to cancelled orders, not delivered ones. They will only credit my Chinavasion account and even then that's only if they agree that the item is faulty. If they don't think it is then they'll send it back to me and if it goes faulty again then I'll have to pay another c.£20 to send it back again.
The problem (from what I've read) seems to be related to the power regulation in different vehicles; some are apparently better are regulating it than others. The ones that aren't good cause spikes/fluctuations which 'freak out' the device and cause it to lock up/stop recording/corrupt files/other weirdness.
While I'm not big on this kind of thing, isn't this why people fit big capacitors for large stereo installs? Might be worth a look.The problem (from what I've read) seems to be related to the power regulation in different vehicles; some are apparently better are regulating it than others. The ones that aren't good cause spikes/fluctuations which 'freak out' the device and cause it to lock up/stop recording/corrupt files/other weirdness.
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