More than two months ago, I bought the oneplus 6 from Gearbest. Since my phone at the time died, I paid for the faster shipping option.
The order was dispatched pretty quickly but got stuck somewhere in Germany for the last two months. I was in contact with Gearbest’s customer service and they were not helpful at all (they just quoted the same information I could find in DHL’s tracking page). Time passed by so I had to buy a temporary phone until this one got delivered.
I decided to contact the shipping company (DHL), but they told me the shipment was past their deadlines and might have been lost. They also informed me that only the sender could open an investigation request for the shipment.
Gearbest claimed they did open an investigation with their shipping provider but did not get any update. So, they offered me a partial refund, as they claim I did not buy an insurance, which I cannot accept. Not only did I pay extra for shipping (instead of choosing the free shipping option), thinking that it would be more reliable and faster, now they also offer a partial refund. I’ve requested more than a couple of times for them to reship my order instead and explain that I cannot accept a partial refund, but so far their customer service does not seem to be very helpful.
Has anyone had any similar experiences in the past? Is there anything I can do?
Have you checked with your local customs office? 2 months is slow, but not unheard of. Given the backlog from the summer holidays they might still be working on this? While customs is transacting the shipment there is typically no tracking information or only limited information.
Did customs sent you the letter asking for more information (purchase price, invoice, origin/details of content, …)?
Yeah, the DHL package movement history from the day DHL received it in China should give you the information until the time there was no longer updates and got stuck somewhere.
DHL’s tracking history is so complete usually, though in my experience, once taxes in the receiving country are levied, it plays a delaying role, the tracking will show “pending” or something similar.
I find it surprising that DHL will point the package back to the sender when in fact it was received by them.
Customs have a separate tracking system that is run by them, they won’t necessarily feedback things to DHL, Gearbest or you.
If you haven’t received the customs letter, any other information from them or an invoice with sales tax and/or customs fees you should contact them and let them know you are the importer of these goods (because that is who you are). You can only claim a lost shipment if really nobody has it. DHL tracking only “works” until customs get hold of the package, from there on it will be tracked in a different way.
This is why that providing an email address and/or a phone number in the consignee’s address is best because DHL can contact you there in case customs duties are imposed on the incoming package, depending on the declared value ceiling on the receiving country. I always include my email address, like in my country where the declared value ceiling is USD $100, so DHL (or any courier) for that matter can contact me when problem arises.
I would file a lost package claim them, both sender or recipient can do that with DHL. It looks like the package has been misplaced somewhere and people should start looking for it. While it is rare a package gets completely “lost” it is something that can happen.
It’s usually the shipper (DHL) responsibility and job to contact consignee for any customs levy, as they are the courier that transacts with the receiving government’s Customs office on all incoming, taxable goods.
Yes, do not expect the local Customs office to make use of DHL’s tracking information, they are just there to monitor all incoming packages, taxable or not.
I find it very surprising for DHL to just wash their hands off this package. Perhaps a message to their CEO is necessary?
One of my last shipments from GearBest, months ago, was a small purchase consisting of two different pliers. Paid €5.75 + €0.99 of shipping via “Spain Priority Mail”. However, the shipment didn't come by mail. I received two or three email messages from GearBest with “Salva you have received a message from gearbest!” on the subject and “Salva, Please Collect Your Gearbest Package!” inside. I dismissed those emails, believing that was some sort of advertising bait stuff. Weeks later I checked the order status in My Account -> My Orders in GearBest, noticing it had been returned.
Filed PayPal dispute. Seller said that “due to shipping option bla bla bla” they could only refund the package cost (€5.75). I said mmmkay, but their representative was a offering a lower amount (in USD). I told him I wanted my $6.7+, he/she agreed. However, a few days later I woke up in the morning and felt something was wrong. It was the last day of the period for my PayPal dispute to resolve, and I noticed the @#$% had refunded me €4.72 out of €5.75. Wrong! Elevated dispute to claim, waited for resolution, got my full remaining €2.02. PayPal understood these fellows acted up, which is no surprise. Got my full refund because justice, as I explained the seller that if they were using a different shipping method which requires me to go collect something somewhere…
