Purchase of goods from abroad through intermediaries. The legal side of the issue
Probably many of the GT readers sometimes order something from abroad through any intermediaries. Have you ever thought about what you will do if the intermediary suddenly refuses to perform the promised services?
I decided to conduct an analysis and look at four (selected in an arbitrary manner) intermediaries to see what they really are and whether they can be trusted. Of course, the desire arose for a reason, and the behavior of one of the intermediaries - Shopotam'a.
To begin with, I defined a list of criteria that should help to understand what the intermediary is, and what is the probability that the problem will be solved if something goes wrong (the goods will be lost, spoiled, they will not be sent for a long time, etc. .).
I’ll warn you right away that I’m not a lawyer at all, so I’ll be happy to see more advanced user amendments.
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So, the criteria -
The presence of a legal entity in Russia
If the mediator has a legal entity in Russia, then you have a lot to complain about - you can write an appeal to the Rospotrebnadzor or, as a last resort, go to court. Otherwise - you pay for someone else's services abroad. And if the payment for the delivery service itself can be returned (via Visa / MasterCard / PayPal), then, for example, for goods lost by an intermediary - is unlikely. The store can always prove that your product was delivered to the address you provided and someone received it.The presence of a legal entity abroad
The presence of at least some legal entity at least somewhere is a small plus. It is unlikely that you will go to court at the location of this jur. faces. And you hardly know the legislation of that country. The option of hired lawyers is unlikely to cost less than the loss itself (although the costs of a lawyer can be returned if the court can win).Terms of use
It seems to have no special legal force, but it is still interesting to read. For example, is it indicated there for how many days the company promises to send the parcel. Usually - not specified. Basically, the agreements are very well described what the user is obliged to do, and there is almost nothing about the responsibilities of the company.Can I pay with PayPal
PayPal makes a quick and easy refund (and often the decision is made in favor of the buyer). With MasterCard and Visa, this process is more complex and takes much longer.Is there a section with reviews on the site of the mediator
And if so, is there any negative feedback? If there are negative reviews, then this is normal for me. First of all, you will never please everyone. Secondly, this suggests that the company publishes all reviews, incl. and negative (and, I want to believe that on the negative reviews is working on the bugs). And, as you know, as a rule, people publish bad reviews and do not spend time on good ones, if everything suits them.Negative reviews on social networks
Here, instead of viewing other people's reviews, I posted my (for a while, I would have removed it in a week). After some time, I checked whether the reviews remained, and what was the reaction to them.What was the result? For the analysis, I took the following intermediaries - Polar Express, Shopotam, Shipito and Bandera (by the way, did you notice that the first two, but also the Lite MF, have the same warehouse addresses? ).
Please note that some of the icons in the table below are links.
| Criterion | polar Express | Shopotam | Shipito | Parcel post |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jur. person in RF |  LLC Log and Affairs, OGRN 1137746444197 |  | | |
| Jur. face abroad | US: Polar Express LLC | UK: Outlook Marketing LP | US: Eastbiz Inc. | US: Qwintry LLC |
| User agreement / parcel delivery time | | | | Specified date of dispatch - 7 days |
| Pay by PayPal | | | | |
| Site reviews / negative feedback | Found only one review with a rating of 3/5 | Found only one review with a rating of 3/5 on the first 3 pages | Negative reviews are occasionally found. | Negative reviews are occasionally found. |
| Negative feedback in VK | review just deleted | feedback saved, asked what is wrong | review just deleted | review just deleted |
About my case and Shopotam
The story is as follows - I had the imprudence to order a drone through them (other mediators donated from the USA to Russia, I did not find him in the list of restrictions, but he is there - this is purely my mistake):
Of course, no apologies were made that the package was not sent for almost a month (after deduction of a week to resolve the issue with the drone due to my fault) because of the relocation of their warehouse - not received. How correctly they say - the company's service can be assessed when something goes wrong. Shopotam here showed himself not the best side.
It was in the case of this premise that I wondered about the responsibility of the intermediaries for our parcels.
PS The package was eventually delivered to the Russian Federation by Banderolka in just a week (although for quite a lot of money - including $ 8 for a package of the package already packed by Shopotam and 3% for depositing money into their account).
- March 9 parcels, incl. drone, were sent to consolidate.
- On March 11, it turned out that they did not send drones from the USA, but they could send them in a month. The reason they do not send drones is to limit US law. When I made an attempt to find out what kind of law it is and how other mediators bypass it, it turned out that the law does not prohibit anything, but it is forbidden by Shopotam’s internal rules.
- On March 18, I decide to send the parcel to another intermediary in the United States.
- March 18-25, I'm waiting for the package to be shipped to the USA. They report that they are moving to a new warehouse and from there it will be possible to send the drone to the Russian Federation.
- March 28, it turns out that they did not send the parcel and can not send the drone. Next story in a circle - we can not send due to restrictions of the legislation. Ok, what's the law? There is no law - just do not send. Why did they say that you send? Well, ...
- March 28 - April 12, I'm waiting again when the package is sent. First promise to send within a week, do not perform. Send the package to LiteMF, which send a drone and who have the same warehouse address - refuse. On April 7, a false tracking was sent that the information about the parcel was transmitted to the USPS. And only on April 12, the parcel is really sent.
Of course, no apologies were made that the package was not sent for almost a month (after deduction of a week to resolve the issue with the drone due to my fault) because of the relocation of their warehouse - not received. How correctly they say - the company's service can be assessed when something goes wrong. Shopotam here showed himself not the best side.
It was in the case of this premise that I wondered about the responsibility of the intermediaries for our parcels.
PS The package was eventually delivered to the Russian Federation by Banderolka in just a week (although for quite a lot of money - including $ 8 for a package of the package already packed by Shopotam and 3% for depositing money into their account).
I suggest in the comments not to discuss my particular case (or your specific cases), but to discuss in general how you can protect yourself from fraudulent and / or erroneous actions of intermediaries. If someone is ready to add information on other intermediaries - write, update the article.
* Author of the picture before kata - Svengraph
** icons - Designed by Freepik
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/372085/
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