Ripped off by laptop battery retailer

[The_Ghan]

I thought I would warn you guys about a dodgy company in China selling laptop batteries into Australia, and other countries, that I’m having trouble with.  Basically, I got tricked into believing it was a local company.  Their bad service has cost me time and money.  Here’s my story:

 

I needed a new battery for my laptop before travelling overseas.  I searched Google, selecting the “Pages from within Australia” option, presuming that this would give me a list of local suppliers for batteries.  I hunted around the site, found the battery I was after and ordered it, paying with PayPal.  The site was au-battery.com.au – that certainly seems like a local website to me.  The Payment and Shipping screen mentioned flat-rate shipping of AU$10.00 and displayed the Australia Post logo.

 

I was expecting the battery to arrive in 3-4 days, which it didn’t.  Two weeks passed and nothing arrived.  I had to travel overseas with a laptop with no battery.  It took over three weeks for the battery to arrive.  When I returned to Australia the battery had arrived and I was shocked to find it had been shipped from ShenZhen, China.  I was sure I was buying from Australia.  I checked the website again and saw the flat-rate shipping of AU$10.00 and the Australia Post logo.

 

I tried to use the battery it was dead.  It would not charge at all, even if left on the charger overnight.  I tried for 3 days to make it charge.  I could run my notebook off the charger, so I knew it was properly connected and charging.  I could charge my old battery – although it would only hold the charge for 10 minutes or so, thus the reason for getting the new battery in the first place.  But the new battery would not charge at all.

 

I contacted the vendor by email.  The response was: send the battery back (at my cost) to them using the cheapest possible method without tracking.  I was to show a value of $0 so that they would not be charged any import duty.  Their email stated that they would refuse to accept any return that required a payment on their part.  Once the battery was received they would test it and send me another.  When I complained that this process would take weeks they suggested I just pay them a further $30.00 (less than half what I paid for the first one) and they would ship me another battery.  Their attitude was “take it or leave it, pal”.  When I asked what would happen if that one was also faulty they said I would have to return it too.

 

Not satisfied, I decided I would buy a battery directly from the ACER shop to avoid any further problems.  I then lodged a dispute with PayPal, citing faulty goods and misleading and deceptive conduct as my reasons for requesting a full refund.  PayPal ruled in my favour but, unfortunately, they still required that I send the product back in order to get the refund.  They also require the product to be sent with a tracking receipt, which is fair enough, but it cost me a further $26.  So, as I write this, I’m out of pocket to the tune of $94, as I wait for my $68 refund from PayPal.  That doesn’t include the hours I’ve spent trying to sort this mess out or queuing up at the post office.

 

I’ve now done a little bit of research and discovered the same company is behind all of the following websites:

 

www.au-battery.com.au

www.battery-shop.com.au

www.aubattery-shop.com

www.au-batteryshop.com.au

www.au-batteries-pro.com

 

These sites occupy most of the first 3 pages of a Google search for laptop batteries or notebook batteries in Australia.  I strongly advise against buying your battery from any of these sites.

 

Now, further research by me has revealed that similar things occur in the USA, Canada, the UK and Europe.  Each has sites almost identical to those described above.  Therefore, I provide the following advice to anyone wanting to buy a battery for their notebook:

 

1. Go to your notebook or laptop manufacturer’s webpage and get a list of recommended suppliers.  Go and check out their websites;

 

2. Does the retailer website display a local bricks-and-mortar address and telephone number?  It should, if they claim to be local;

 

3. Can you pick up the battery from the local address?  You should be able to pick up the battery – even if you prefer to have it posted, pick up should be an option.  You then have somewhere physical to go to if there is a problem;

 

4. For Australia, does the website display an ACN or ABN?  Again, if the company is located in Australia such information is required by law.  Company or business registration information is required in many other countries.  Check the requirements for your country and make sure the website complies;

 

5. Is there a payment option and is the payment into a local bank account?  This is also important for businesses that are located locally;

 

6. Is the business properly registered in your state or country?  For NSW, Australia, registration can be checked at www.accc.gov.au in the “For Consumers” section and select “Identifying Legitimate Traders” on the left hand side;

 

7. Search the internet with the following phrases:

a. “Has anyone used … “

b. “Has anyone dealt with … “

c. “The trouble with … “

d. “Bad service from … “

 

8. Check the “Contact Us” page.  Does it show a pick-up address, a map, a telephone number?  It should.  If it only provides an enquiry form where you leave your email address and details then it is probably a suspect site.

 

If only I had done this earlier I would have saved myself a whole lot of heartache, wasted time and money.

[nightshade]

if u would have got it through ebay u would be coverd by paypal.....

if u buy of any site and pay with paypal (paypal wont be of any help btw, been there)

now days anything is from china no offence to any 1 but most stuff is crap (or will be in few moths)

i did similar thing but for my kids DS bateries orderd them from US site (but they all look likr drop

ship from china nowdays) it said orginal batter my A** and paypal was no help

same as in ur situation send it back at own expense and then after testing might get replacment

 

My responce Kiss my A** not worth spending any more on that .... special orders one here

problem solved (still made there but works at least) 

 

been living in US now aabout 15 years and u cant find anything made here anymore.....

sadly when i was at my inlaws in japan last summer not to much stuff made in japan either

(Sony was made always in japan ... i mean the stuff that sels in japan.... not so much anymore)

 

 

Price Up Quality DOOOOOOOWNNNNNNNNN

[bikkuri bahn]

Sorry about your troubles there, Ghan.  Thanks for the advice, should be helpful for everyone.  Your one piece of advice, about having a bricks and motor address, rings true.  One of my hobbies is collecting wristwatches, and the internet is riddled with retailers offering nice brand watches at very good prices.  The problem is, many don't have physical addresses listed, or even a tel. number.  "Contact us" is just an email address.  I stay away from these sites.  Thankfully, the watch collecting community has plenty of fora where you can get the lowdown on sites, and (like railway modelers and enthusiasts) the helpfulness and knowledge/education level of forumers is very high, so advice is readily available.

 

sadly when i was at my inlaws in japan last summer not to much stuff made in japan either

I hear you, nightshade.  It's a shame.  I really value my old (15years) Seiko alarm clock- a plastic thing, not valuable or anything (purchase cost maybe 1300 yen), but it is made in Japan- now all of Seiko's alarm clocks are made in China.

The funny thing is when you go to electronics stores in the major districts in Tokyo, you often see "made in Japan" signs displayed prominently in English, as the Southeast Asian and Chinese tourists, of all people, want something that truly is made by Japanese hands.

[keitaro]

High Quality with 36 months warranty

30 Days Money Back.

Fast delivery.

100% brand new.

100% Secure Shopping Guarantee.

 

 

id'd have benn asking 30 day money back but i guess you're out now

[The_Ghan]

nightshade:

PayPal is refunding my money.  But I have to return the item.  Already posted.

 

bikkuri:

You collect wristwatches?  I'm after something rare: A Festina Perpetual Calendar watch made around 1990.  It's the one with the 100 year calendar in a spiral display on the front.  Mine was stolen during a break-and-enter about 10 years ago.  If you have any good contacts for people who might track one down for me please PM.

 

keitaro:

I see you had a look at at least one of the sites I mentioned.  They all look about the same and all have the same guarantee you posted here.  If you use Google you'll see it is all the same companies.  I asked for the 30 day money back guarantee.  They said they wouldn't, but would send another battery.  As I mentioned, they said I have to send the old battery the cheapest way with no tracking and no value.  They wouldn't pay any surcharge or taxes applied by Chinese authorities.  That's why I got PayPal involved.

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

[cteno4]

ghan,

 

sorry to hear about this. the other big rub with batteries these days is they lie, lie, lie about the battery capacity. if you see a really high capacity battery for the item you are looking for a battery for and its half the price of the regular, brand name replacement, it will almost certainly show up and weigh about half what the regular battery does, have 1/3rd the capacity and crap out fast. ive found that deals on batteries are few and far between now because of all this dumping of frauds on the market. basically there is no free lunch and if it seems like too go of a deal its not...

 

like you say best to find someplace you can deal with easily if there is a problem and it helps to physically pick the battery up in your hand and see its heft. real ones that are high capacity are heavy! im sure at some point the fakers will get wise and drop some lead or sand into their batteries!

 

best of luck with the refund.

 

jeff

[inobu]

It happens to us. I know you are always on point but its funny how they know the exact point to nail us. I try to keep on top of it too but as you pointed out it happens.

 

The first thing I look for is the contact us. I look for the address and then Google it. No address no business

Then I do the rip off, problem key word google with the company name.

 

Sometime its cheaper and less stressful to cut the losses early.

 

Ghan, you got your health, you got family, your trains and you got time to make that money back so Life is good.

 

Inobu

 

 

[The_Ghan]

Inobu:

 

Actually, it's trains, family, health, time, money ... in that order ... but I take your point.

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

[keitaro]

Inobu:

 

Actually, it's trains, family, "health", time, money ... in that order ... but I take your point.

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

 

i wonder if the health part will be in there when Mrs Ghan realises just how many trains you actually have 

[The_Ghan]

Good point Keitaro,

 

Actually, it's trains, family, SECURITY, health, time, money ... in that order ... but I take your point.

 

Cheers,

 

The_Ghan

[Martijn Meerts]

or trains, secret closet, family, etc. ;)

[inobu]

Inobu:

 

Actually, it's trains, family, health, time, money ... in that order ... but I take your point.

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

 

Ahhh ha.. You got to clarify to keep us straight.... 

Inobu

[The_Ghan]

So, the latest is that PayPal believes my tracking number is invalid and has closed the case.  I'm now a total of $110 out of pocket.  I'd be banned here for foul language if I expressed myself frankly, so lets just say that I'm more than mildly annoyed.

 

I'll call Australia Post tomorrow and find out about the situation.  As far as I am concerned, I have a tracking number, receipt, customs declaration, etc. just like anything I send to anyone else - or receive.

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

[keitaro]

Ghan do paypal go via credit card or bank payment?

 

if you do credit card do a payment reversal i have done before in the past when paypal pulled the same crap on me when i didn't receive a product.

[The_Ghan]

I use VISA to pay the bill.  But I paid it 6 weeks ago.

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

[keitaro]

Talk to your bank I'm sure they will look into it for you when i did mine it was 8 weeks after. They ended ripping the money back off paypal. who in turn ripped it back off the seller lol.

 

Paypal cannot ban you either as the banks judgement on who's right/wrong is ultimate since it "can be reffered to authorities"

 

well at least they didn't ban me.

[cteno4]

i did this a few years back for a non shipped ebay item. the guy sold the same item 5 times it turned out, but i missed the ebay and paypal windows for dispute as they were short in those days and the guy kept saying he was going to send it out.

 

cc was happy to do the recharge back to them, it was like 45-60 days out (i was lazy as it was like $18). usually credit card companies will be pretty good on things like this, its one of the benefits of using them.

 

paypal sent me a growly email saying i should have used their dispute method and i replied i would have been happy to if it had not been so short (30 days or less then) they never did respond or anything to my account.

 

it is an issue of paypal being lord and master over these decisions, but i think this will start to fade as they are getting sucked into the banking relms and eventually i think the laws around services like them will get really some sort of more banking or consumer like regulations if they really end up with a monopoly on a lot of transactions and as more money flows through them.

 

jeff

[The_Ghan]

I called Australia Post.  Delivery has been attempted and refused twice.  The woman at Aust Post then mentioned that a lot of returns to China never get delivered.  Apparently it is a scam and there are lots of them.

 

I was also let down by Aust Post because I asked for a "tracking" service.  They didn't mention that there is a different service for "internet tracking".  So, to track the item I need to call them.  I can't do it on line.  I should have sent it EMS. 

 

I checked the docs that PayPal sent me.  PayPal's instructions require internet tracking.

 

I'm not going to pursue this anymore.  I've blown $100 plus my time already.  I just have to put it down to a bad experience. 

 

Traps for young players, I guess.

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

[The_Ghan]

PS:

 

Over recent weeks I had contacted the vendor directly.  They sent me another battery.  When it arrived it had 70% on it.  It would not charge and eventually went totally flat.  It went in the bin.

 

I'm now running off my old battery and DC power.  I'm not buying another battery for now because I just don't have the money to spare.

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

[keitaro]

so the lesson of this story is to buy from ebay double covering from ebay and paypal. Also ebay will provide with rating if the battery is shit they won't have a good rating.