Returning inferior goods in online shopping refunds, convicted of fraud as a cautionary tale.
Compiled from: Shouguang City People's Court
Case review
In August 2022, Xiao Ming (a pseudonym) successively placed orders and made payments on an e-commerce platform to purchase items including a vivo phone and an iPhone. After receiving the goods, he applied for returns on the grounds of the "seven-day no-reason return" policy. Because couriers generally do not open packages to inspect the goods, Xiao Ming placed lower-value similar items inside when returning them. After the e-commerce platform received the packages, it discovered that the contents were not the original goods and contacted Xiao Ming. Xiao Ming falsely claimed that what he had sent was indeed the original goods and that he had no idea what problems might have occurred during the intermediate stages. The merchant had no choice but to suffer the loss in silence. Xiao Ming successfully obtained refunds of RMB 1,188.99, RMB 7,369, and RMB 7,618.99 on three separate occasions, while also fraudulently obtaining one vivo X30 phone and two iPhone 13 Pro phones. Upon appraisal, the value of the above items was RMB 14,701 (after deducting the value of the returned items).
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"Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China"
Article 266 [Crime of Fraud]
Whoever defrauds public or private property, if the amount is relatively large, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, or public surveillance, and shall also, or shall only, be fined; if the amount is huge or there are other serious circumstances, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than ten years, and shall also be fined; if the amount is especially huge or there are other especially serious circumstances, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years or life imprisonment, and shall also be fined or have property confiscated.
[1] Court Opinion
The Shouguang Court, after trial, held that the defendant Xiao Ming fabricated facts and concealed the truth to defraud public and private property, and the amount was relatively large, so his act constituted the crime of fraud. The defendant Xiao Ming voluntarily pleaded guilty and accepted punishment, and may be given a lenient treatment in accordance with the law; at the same time, he actively compensated the victim for losses and obtained forgiveness, and may be given a lighter punishment. In the final judgment, the defendant Xiao Ming was convicted of fraud, sentenced to seven months of fixed-term imprisonment with a one-year suspension, and fined RMB 5,000.
[1] The author's perspective
The seven-day no-reason return and exchange policy is one of the important rules of online shopping. It not only gives consumers the right to return goods that do not match the order when shopping online but also provides a regret remedy for impulse purchases. However, some malicious and opportunistic individuals exploit this mechanism, along with loopholes such as couriers rarely inspecting packages, to substitute inferior goods for quality ones and swap items, thereby committing fraud for profit.
Therefore, the general public should take this as a warning and not harbor any fluke mentality. Couriers and merchants should also pay attention to inspecting goods to prevent such people from taking advantage.
