Tracking number doesn't work! Already closed dispute. Help!

lynnlisa2002
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Basically, I ordered a phone from the website feelforandroid.com first few days after I ordered, I emailed the company/website or whatever about the phone. I didn't get a reply. I escalated a claim on paypal and the person assured me that my phone would be fine and would be shipped. So I closed the dispute. fast forward a few days I get an email saying the item was shipped and I was provided a tracking number for China Postal EMS. I enter the tracking number in a few tracking websites and it says Success Find: 0 items! Is the tracking number fake? Should I be worried or give the seller a benefit of doubt. And since I already closed the dispute I can't open another one. please give me advice on what to do! Thank you.

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13 REPLIES 13

TV_journalist
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If you paid for this with a credit card registered with PayPal (as opposed to a debit card or a direct access to a bank account for ACH transfers to PayPal), then you might be OK since you can depend on the credit card company's protection which is far more effective than PayPal and without any gotchas at PayPal like closing a dispute as you did which was a mistake. If it was a scam, then the seller could have just generated a valid tracking number and not shipped anything.

 

There are several scenarios that can happen:

 

1. You don't receive anything for a long time. Don't worry about the tracking number. Sometimes, it takes a week or more for the tracking to become available. if you paid by a credit card, find out right away what is the period within which you can file a dispute with the bank from the date of transaction (typically 45-60 days). If the shipment does not arrive within that time, immediately file a dispute a few days before the deadline with the bank for a chargeback. Most banks that issued the credit card allow you to do that online directly from your online account access. Give the reason as item never received. If you did not use a credit card, try calling PayPal customer support before the 45 days dispute period post-transaction expires and insist on opening a dispute for non-receipt and file away a note for the future NEVER to close a dispute with PayPal voluntarily until you have the item in hand and and it is satisfactory and you are done with the transaction.

 

2. You receive some trinket or an item that has nothing to do with what you ordered. For the credit card scenario, do the same as 1 above and if you had already done it before, update the bank with the new information of what was received. You should get a refund from the bank. If you did not use a credit card, do the same as 1 above to call PayPal and insist on opening a dispute for incorrect item shipped. It will not help you much if it is a scam because you will not get a refund from PayPal until you ship that trinket back with tracking number where delivery can be conirmed. If it is a scam, you will get an invalid address to ship back and it may be difficult to get PayPal to manually review this but possible if you are insistent.

 

3. You receive, as is most likely to happen in this case, a product that somewhat resembles what you ordered but is a piece of crap or will crap out soon. While you can do the same procedure with a credit card company, you are in a much more vulnerable position in this case and you may or may not get a refund from the credit card company. Consider this a lesson for not being a smart consumer and file away the following notes in your head for the future:

 

a. Never purchase anything online without a credit card protection.

b. Never provide a credit card to an online site you have no idea about or cannot verify that it is legit. Never give a credit card to an international site directly.

c. PayPal Buyer protection is mostly useless for international purchases especially from China/Hong Kong if the seller intends to scam you.

d. The online dispute resolution at PayPal is very automated and full of gotchas and holes if you are being scammed. Get used to talking to PayPal support over the phone.

e. If it is too good to be true in pricing, it is a scam. Don't rely on PayPal Buyer Protection or any other assurances to take that chance that it may be a great deal unless you are entirely ready to lose that money.

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lynnlisa2002
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Thanks for the help. So basically I should file a dispute with my credit card company?
I got the tracking number yesterday and it seems to be a legit China Mail EMS number. How long do you think I should wait? The seller has a really nice and legit looking website, which is why I trusted it and bought the phone. I'm just hoping I didn't get scammed and this is all a misunderstanding as this is my first time buying something internationally from China like this.

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TV_journalist
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@lynnlisa2002 wrote:

Thanks for the help. So basically I should file a dispute with my credit card company?
I got the tracking number yesterday and it seems to be a legit China Mail EMS number. How long do you think I should wait? The seller has a really nice and legit looking website, which is why I trusted it and bought the phone. I'm just hoping I didn't get scammed and this is all a misunderstanding as this is my first time buying something internationally from China like this.


This is why I believe you will likely get something that resembles what you ordered but whether it will be to your satisfaction is a different issue. That is something neither PayPal nor your Bank issuing the credit card can help with unless it turns out to be a wrong item or entirely non-functional, etc.

 

Like I said, you can wait until it gets close to the deadline for filing a dispute with the credit card issuer. It may take up to a week (after the actual mailing) or so for China Post tracking to reflect the status and then it will likely freeze once it has left China until you receive something.

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lynnlisa2002
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Alright thanks a lot. I'll keep it posted on the situation.

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lynnlisa2002
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Good news. The tracking number finally worked. it says "departure from outward office of exchange" does this mean it has left China or..?

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petejfjohnson
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Hey, 

I wouldnt worry.

I order stuff from ebay thats comes ems from china all the time...

Ive never had an issue. its just it can sometimes take days and days ems to update.

the chinese system doesnt seem to be as acurate as USPS or UPS when it comes to tracking a package.

 

Also, dont be surprised it itakes almost a month for it to get here. The entire country was basically shut down for their new years festival. So alot of stuff is backed up. I just bought my first phone from feelforandroid myself, I bought it using DHL express though. 

 

They seem pretty reputable, I wouldnt worry at all 🙂 

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lynnlisa2002
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Hey! Glad to see I'm not the only one who thinks feelforandroid looked reputable. The customer service is friendly and helpful, I just didn't realize it would take a while for them to reply back. Do you know if I can track it after it reaches the US?
I did some research and read that "Departure from outward office of Exhange" meant 1 of two things, 1 it is at customs being inspected or 2 it is on it's way to the US.

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petejfjohnson
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Hey,

yeah you should be able to track it just like you would UPS with fairly regullar updates, even better once its in the US.

In the past, once DHL actually has a package in hand, it normally is delivered within about 5 (work) days or less from china.  I've always been impressed with how quickly DHL ships from China to the USA.

 

The issue basically is that DHL only does express shipments from Hong Kong to the USA so our packages are first sent via Chinese Post from the shangzang province (where feelforandroid is located) and then from Chinese Post DHL takes it.

 

For some reason, chinese vendors are hesitant to say that I guess because they dont want people worrying or complaining. But once you start seeing info from DHL being updated, you can expect it fairly shortly.

 

Hope everything turns out well with yours! 

I ordered an iphone 5 clone 🙂

 

beat of luck!

 

Pete 

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lynnlisa2002
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Hey! I ordered an iPhone 5 clone also!
And my shipping info now works, it even works on the USPS website. I think I should be getting it soon 🙂

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