Sunday, Apr 24, 2016

Dubai: A Dubai resident has claimed that two iPhone 6 devices he purchased from online e-commerce platform, Souq.com, were second-hand, after he found a US SIM card in one of them.

Chinese national Songqian Zhao, 28, said after ordering the phones on April 15, he was shocked to find that both phones delivered to him on April 17 were first activated in 2015. “I gave the Apple store the device numbers after I found a US SIM card in one phone. It had a call history and messages, and I was told that the phones were activated last year, around eight months ago,” he told Gulf News.

“One of the phones also had a message: ‘you have used about 75 per cent of your 10GB data plan’,” said Zhao, pointing out that the phone was used in the US. The claim has not yet been confirmed by Souq.com.

Leo, who works in construction and is a freelance photographer, has been living in Dubai for the last two years, and has previously, made purchases from the e-commerce platform.

He contacted the online store and raised a complaint. “I was contacted by a Souq.com staff who told me that the device is new and that they could replace the phone only because they got the colour wrong. My second complaint about the phone with the SIM card was ignored,” said Leo.

After a series of emails with Souq.com’s customer service, Zhao was told to return both the phones within a two-day period, with no reference or explanation on why a SIM card was placed in what was described on the website as a “new phone”.

“The return policy on the site is 15 days, but I was told that I have two days to return it or I would lose my money ... and no explanation on why the phones were used,” he said.

“I will return the phone on Monday,” Zhao said. “Souq.com has informed me that a courier person will come tomorrow to collect the phones and the company said after checking the devices it will reimburse the money through my credit card,” he said.

The online store’s customer service emailed Zhao informing him that they can “initiate a return of the item to the seller since there is an issue on the item he received, and refund the whole amount paid for”, once the seller receives the request. They also pointed out that they “do not tolerate sellers who are causing the negative experience to all buyers on the website.”

Gulf News contacted Souq.com for a comment, and the company said it cannot confirm yet that the phones sold on their platform were second-hand. “In this particular case, we immediately offered the customer a full refund and are currently investigating further where we will take strict action if necessary,” said Nader N. Kamel, head of customer experience of Souq.com UAE.

Comment

Comment from Nader N. Kamel, head of customer experience of Souq.com UAE.

“As the largest e-commerce platform in the Middle East, we focus on the value we bring to our consumers and hence take claims against unethical and non-compliant goods very seriously. In fact, we recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Commercial Compliance and Consumer Protection (CCCP) sector in the Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai for safeguarding consumer rights in e-commerce. Our customers’ complete satisfaction is always our primary goal. In this particular case, we immediately offered the customer a full refund and are currently investigating further where we will take strict action if necessary.

“Souq.com’s success as the largest e-commerce platform in the Middle East is attributed to robust customer trust, which is of immense value to our business. Souq.com operates as a marketplace platform for various small to medium sellers who can directly sell products to consumers. Our sellers gain great value, convenience and training being on our platform. However, this immense opportunity that Souq.com offers to growing entrepreneurs and sellers does indeed present challenges to our business. Large e-commerce players in the world are also facing the same challenges and being the leader, we are bringing the best practices to address those common issues such as counterfeits, violation of intellectual property rights etc. The sheer volume of e-commerce business requires Souq.com to think of new strategies to safeguard customers’ and brand owners’ interests and exercise stricter control over certain seller engagement. Therefore, our cooperation with the CCCP sector of DED is a major strategic step for Souq.com. We encourage anyone with concerns or complaints to notify us immediately by contacting our Customers Services Team by phone, email or web to receive our necessary support and assistance.”

By Jumana Khamis Staff Reporter

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