DHgate.com DHgate AVS. International INC./DhGate.US BEWARE DHgate.com! Beijing Haidian District

BEWARE! BEWARE! BEWARE! DHgate.com

I ordered (#358071705) an item on DHgate.com [6F Dimeng Commercial Building No.3-2 Hua Yuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing, China. 100083] from Supplier "du13"  Paid in full by credit card.

The Seller "du13" had 100% satisfaction rating (seems bogus, now), but sent the WRONG item. To add insult to injury, that wrong item DID NOT WORK. There was no manual in Chinese or English. No warranty. And very disturbing, there are no UL approval or FCC compliance rating.  

DHgate.com [in US: AVS. International INC./DhGate.US. in Chino Hills, CA] is a business to business sourcing site. Businesses listed on the web site are independent of DHgate. The consumer has to research the individual company for themselves. Most are in China. Warning: Brand name merchandise are often cheap counterfiets. Some consumers might deal with a reputable company, looks like a lot of consumers do not. Businesses selling electronic items or any item with moving parts need to be researched carefully.]

I contacted DHgate customer service about the wrong item received ... got "Tang Tang" the robot ... (wonder if the name translates to "Blah Blah") ... that is a waste of time. I finally clicked to live chat with "Chell" and explained the problem. She was nice, but said I would need to chat with a supervisor. Silence. No supervisor. Chat ended.

I sent a message through the DHgate internal message port and received a reply from "Barbie" outlining steps I would need to complete a "Return and Refund" proposal form and upload photo/video of evidence. So I did, even uploading photos.

Ultimately "Ellie", a Customer Service Representative for DHgate claimed it is not their mistake, I need to contact Seller  北京市朝阳区十八里店乡周庄 (s**+ Ba Li Dian Xiang Zhou Zhuang, Bei Jing s**+ Chao Yang Qu ) :100122 doing business as "du13" directly to get the correct item shipped and their permission required to return wrong item ... shipment and customs probably at my expense. I had already sent a message to the Seller, but "du13" has made no reply, nor are they required to reply. DHgate will determine in up to 90 days whether to mediate or not. 90 days! Seems like
DHgate is counting on customer to forget about the scam while the deadlines expire and the money disappears.

"Ellie", sent instructions of how they wanted me to complete the "Return and Refund" proposal form. I replied that I had  already performed the steps "Ellie" listed BEFORE she wrongly conclude I had not. Even more ridiculous, "Ellie" told to click "Request DHgate Mediation". When I did I received the following offensive automated reply: "You cannot request DHgate mediation for your dispute yet."

"Sil", yet another DHgate Customer Service Representative messaged, "All your correspondence with our Chat Team are recorded, checked and evaluated every day. Any misinformation given will result in appropriate actions from our management." I sincerely hope "Sil" was NOT intending to threaten me or any prospective Buyer. If so, it evidences doing business with DHgate could mean Suppliers who send the wrong or defective merchandise can count on DHgate to shield and intimidate victimized Buyers.

This is the world of "China Scam" identified by sending wrong merchandise or no merchandise, sending defective merchandise (especially electronics or anything with moving parts), sending false shipment tracking numbers, bureaucratic delays in processing orders or refunds, no returns, no refund, and finally, no communication or blocked communication.

Indeed, DHgate.com Blocked my communication:
"ACCESS DENIED: You don't have permission to access "http://dg.dhgate.com/myaccount/csmsg/leavemsg.do?" on this server. Reference #18.4d94dc17.1531224670.4e87a469" I posted this development on a scam alert website and the block was eventually removed.

IMPORTANT: On the day I received the wrong merchandise I promptly contacted my Credit Card company to remove the DHgate charge. It is a very good thing I did. DHgate had just issued a payment demand for "du13". They will do a scam investigation and hold payment. Paypal does the same. Your credit card company or Paypal may be the only advocate you have dealing with dishonest Sellers represented by DHgate. If a consumer pays by check, money order, wired funds or money-gram they won't have that help.

DHgate's deception continues: "This is Amy from DHgate Customer Service Center ... For this order, we have contacted seller by email, please pay attention to the recent reply." I checked, there is NO reply from Seller "du13". I think their continued silence incriminates "du13".

I placed posts like this on scam alert web sites that were promptly avalanched by incredibly favorable DHgate.com posts (my guess is from coerced DHgate employees). Customers on that scam alert site will read two pages of favorable DHgate reviews before coming to a negative one. It speaks volumes to me about DHgate's integrity.

I filed a complaint at www.eConsumer.gov who, when enough complaints are received, will do something better than collect complaints. I advise any victim of a DHgate.com Supplier scam file a report with www.eConsumer.com

Maybe some DHgate management will figure it would have been more cost effective to refund my money than to risk losing more buyers. DHgate.com is not the scammer ... directly. I hope readers of this post find enough evidence to BEWARE doing business with DHgate because Suppliers who do scam customers have a partner in DHgate who will advocate for their dishonest actions.

I filed a complaint with the FTC. Though AVS. International INC./DhGate.US. in Chino Hills, CA, the headquarters DHgate is in Beijing, so the FTC can offer limited help ... the consumer is on their own.

Hence the warning: BEWARE! BEWARE! BEWARE!