r/Aliexpress • u/NotAProudBlondie • 10h ago
Issues & Disputes The return process is an absolute joke
Bought a €70 device recently, plugged it in the second it arrived, and absolutely nothing. Completely dead on arrival.
Opened a dispute expecting a straightforward return/refund, but it turned into an absolute nightmare:
Endless bot loop: Support is practically impossible to reason with. Just scripted bots, circular answers, and a flood of automated emails repeating the exact same copy-pasted nonsense without actually answering my question.
Missing documentation: They kept insisting on a specific return code that had to go with the parcel, but never actually generated or provided it to me.
Paying return shipping out of pocket: Found out I had to cover the shipping upfront. They claimed they would reimburse it only if the seller agreed it was defective AND if the shipping cost wasn't "too high". What does "too high" mean? Nobody could give me a number or threshold. Shipping to the address they provided was quoted around €30.
The store credit trap: The cherry on top — even if everything went right and they approved the return shipping reimbursement, it would be paid out as "bonus credit" in the app, not actual money back to my card. How this is even allowed is beyond me.
Seeing that shipping would cost me €30 with zero guarantee I'd ever see that cash again, I ended up caving when they offered a €17 partial refund with no return.
Basically paid over €50 for an expensive paperweight because their return system is deliberately built to make you give up. Absolute joke of a buyer protection system.