Let me tell you our stories about online shopping scams…
So I did a little bit of shopping during the Shopee and Lazada 11.11 Sales a couple of weeks ago.
Most of my purchases arrived with no problem, but one in particular took me by surprise. For that package, I kept getting text reminders since that morning to expect the delivery and to prepare the payment. I often choose COD now even though it’s more of a hassle because we had a previous experience where the order (paid through bank transfer) did not arrive at all.
I was waiting all day but the delivery never arrived. That night, around 8pm, I suddenly received a notification on my shopping app that my order has been delivered.
I was like, whaaat? I didn’t hear any doorbell, I didn’t receive any package, nobody asked me for money for the COD. So I asked around the house, our helpers, everybody, if a package had been delivered. I was looking out the window into the street, waiting for a courier to arrive. I even went out to the street to check if maybe the courier got lost or delivered the package to a neighbor by mistake.
By 8:30pm, I was getting suspicious that it might be a scam. But it’s COD. I don’t know how they were going to scam a COD delivery that they never delivered. I waited some more, and around 9:30pm, I posted on Facebook and asked if anyone had experienced this before.
I don’t understand how the status is “delivered” when it never arrived and never got paid. Sino kaya nag-abono niyan???
The good thing was, I was not that worried, just perplexed, because I hadn’t actually shelled out any money. Was I ever so grateful for COD!
ONLINE SHOPPING SCAMS
Previously Scammed – the order NEVER ARRIVED at all even though the status is delivered
Last month, my sister had ordered something from Shopee that was a bit too good to be true. It was a small table that cost P1,500 from other sellers, but the seller she ordered from sold it for only P300+. It really seemed too good to be true, but she took a chance.
We waited several weeks for it to arrive from China, and one day, she got a notification saying that the table had been delivered. But nothing was delivered. She kept asking the seller through chat where her order was and the seller kept telling her that it was arriving soon. Finally she asked the seller “Is it really going to arrive?” and the seller honestly replied “No.”
It was paid via bank transfer (it was the only option available), and I don’t know how the scammers did it, but the option to Return/Refund was nowhere to be found. I told her to call Shopee’s hotline, but she was too busy to do it and a couple of weeks had already passed. It was only P300+ so she let it go and just charged it to experience.
HERE ARE THE RECEIPTS:
Ever since then, I had become extra careful with orders coming from China. You see, if the table was never really shipped out and delivered, that unscrupulous seller still managed to tweak the system to make it show that it was completed.
Ang galing nila ha.
Before this, I always paid my orders via Shopee Wallet, GCash or Paymaya because it was less hassle – no need to count out money for payment. After this, I use COD na unless I am familiar with the seller.
I also remind everyone in the house to never pay for any deliveries without calling and verifying with whomever it is for. Receiving packages is fine, but if they ask to pay, ALWAYS call me first if I am out of the house. DO NOT PAY.
Advance Delivery Status is a Common Occurrence?
Okay, so back to my order.
After asking on Facebook, a few people told me to just wait. They said the order will arrive tomorrow.
Apparently, this has become a common thing. They told me that the delivery guys sometimes tag their deliveries as “delivered” even when they are not yet delivered. Ihahabol nalang daw bukas (they’ll get to it tomorrow).
As the people who told me explain it, sometimes the rider is not able to finish all his deliveries for the day, but he wants to maintain his stats. So he tags even undelivered packages as delivered and will just make up for it and deliver them the next day.
NEXT DAY: Yes, my order arrived the next day. No problems except for the delay. I wasn’t home to receive the package so I wasn’t able to ask the rider about it.
Based on the number of people who have experienced this (based on those who contacted me on my personal FB and on my FB Page), it seems like it’s a widespread occurrence. I know it’s not a big deal for most people, but I feel like there’s something wrong here.
First of all, they’re cheating. And lying to customers. That time stamp is an official record of delivery. If there’s a dispute or something, the fake time stamp will be the official one used.
Secondly, why do the riders feel the need to cheat to maintain their metrics? Are their targets unreasonable? Is their pay heavily tied to their performance stats? I don’t know how this industry works, but I just want to know why this “ninja move” is becoming a common practice and if it’s okay with the delivery companies and the online shopping portals that their delivery people are doing this “magic trick” to maintain their stats.
I don’t want anyone to lose their job so I’m not posting identifiable info for my delayed delivery order. I just want people to be aware that this is happening.
But for the scammer who never shipped my sister’s order, I hope they get what they deserve.
Lesson learned: only pay in advance if dealing with sellers I trust. Avoid online shopping scams – always pay COD!
