Nowadays, you can buy and sell anything on the Internet, from minor trinkets to a posh mansion. A mobile phone - a gadget without which it is impossible to imagine the life of a modern person - can also be ordered in an online store. True, in this case, there is no guarantee that the courier will bring the certified goods to the buyer, and not a cheap fake.
Why is it cheaper on the Internet?
The price of a mobile phone in an online store can be an order of magnitude lower than in a regular salon. The temptation to save money on buying a gadget is great, but still I want to be sure of the quality of the purchased product.
It is obvious that online stores can offer goods at lower prices: unlike regular stores, they are exempted from rent for the premises in which the salon is located, and numerous sales consultants do not have to pay salaries.
Certified, contraband or counterfeit?
However, there may be other, much less pleasant, reasons for such cheapness. The first thing to look out for when shopping online is a fake. A fake phone outwardly can completely imitate the original, but the quality and reliability of such a gadget will certainly disappoint the gullible buyer.
As a rule, a close inspection of the product helps to identify a fake: unlike the original, the “singed” mobile phone is assembled from low-quality materials, there are jags, irregularities on the case, even with a slight pressure on the phone, a crunch and crack can be heard.
But the most reliable way to verify the originality of the purchased product is to ask the manufacturer himself. Each phone must have an identification number on it, which can be found by opening the back cover of the phone and removing the battery. Under the battery there will be a white sticker with black inscriptions, among which you need to find numbers with the letters SN - this is the serial number. It must be indicated by calling the hotline or contacting through the manufacturer's official website. If these numbers are not in the manufacturer's database, it is a fake.
But even an original phone can cause a lot of trouble for a buyer if it is not certified for sale in Russia. Such phones are assembled at the official manufacturing plant, but imported into Russia illegally, smuggled. In the event of a breakdown of such a device, you should not count on its warranty repair. In addition, a contraband phone may turn out to be non-Russian. In order not to become a victim of smugglers, you need to check if there is a PCT (RosTest) or CCC (Svyaz certification system) sticker on the phone. The absence of such a sticker means that the phone is “gray”.
Where to complain?
Of course, when ordering a mobile phone in an online store, you need to carefully examine it in the presence of a courier and, if something in the product alerts you or does not suit you, refuse to purchase it. But what if you managed to find out the fraud only after a while after the purchase? Many believe that in this case it will not be possible to return their hard-earned money: the dishonest seller can no longer be found, all that remains is to reconcile. This is not so: a deceived buyer can and should fight for his rights.
The first thing to do in case of buying a counterfeit mobile phone is to write two copies of the claim, in which it is necessary to indicate the essence of the claim, the date of purchase of the phone, and on the basis of Article 495 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, Articles 12 and 22 of the Federal Law "On Protection of Consumer Rights" to demand a refund paid for goods of inappropriate quality. One copy of the claim is handed over to the seller, the other remains with the defrauded buyer. The law obliges the manufacturer to respond to this requirement within 10 days.
If the dishonest seller does not meet the buyer and does not return the money within 10 days, you need to write a complaint to the Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare (Rospotrebnadzor), the authorities responsible for combating counterfeit products or the prosecutor's office … Without remaining indifferent, you can not only get your own money back, but also help other people not to become a victim of deception or fraud.
