Last Wednesday (4 June), a netizen took to Reddit to warn others about a “potential scam” by a Lazada seller.
According to the OP’s post, she ordered a server rack – a metal frame used to store IT equipment – despite her initial doubts regarding the platform.
Image courtesy of Reddit. For illustration purposes only.
She explained that she had already felt that the listing was off due to wrong specifications on the item, but purchased it anyway as there were only a few sellers on the market.
To the OP’s surprise, she received a small keychain instead of the much larger server rack.
Source: Reddit
Along with the keychain was a printed message telling OP that her actual order was going to take three to five days longer to deliver, as it was “tax-free.”
To prevent the platform from automatically cancelling the order due to the delay, the seller said they would send her a gift—the keychain — first.
The seller also urged OP to wait for a week for the server rack to arrive and not to appeal for a refund within this timeframe.
Source: Reddit
OP wrote she became suspicious she was experiencing a “potential scam” as the message sounded too reassuring, adding that waiting a week before taking action would make her order non-refundable.
“Every time I text the seller, it’s always the same automated response,” she said in response to one of the comments.
The OP – 38-year-old Lucy, who works in the IT industry – said she has not been able to reach Lazada to voice her complaint.
“There’s no way for me to reach out to Lazada through [the] app, actually,” she told MS News.
She has tried to use the chat feature on the app to ask to speak to a live agent, but her attempts were unsuccessful. However, she admits she has yet to try calling their hotline.
Fortunately, Lucy has received a full refund for her order within an hour of initiating the process.
Despite this, Lucy said she would not be using Lazada anymore as the recent incident was her second “bad experience” on the platform.
In response to a query by MS News, a Lazada spokesperson stated that they are aware of the incident involving a fraudulent seller on their platform.
They said they received a refund request from Lucy on 4 June and gave her a full refund within an hour.
After their internal fraud detection system flagged the seller as suspicious, they applied a payment hold on the seller’s account while they began an investigation.
The investigation revealed that the seller was indeed engaging in fulfilment fraud, leading the company to shut down the store and cancel all pending orders.
“The seller is also blacklisted from our platform, and will not be able to register for a new store in future,” the spokesperson assured, adding:
Consumer protection and trust remain our highest priority, and we are continuously strengthening our fraud prevention capabilities, using both technology and operational enforcement, to ensure our platform remains a safe and trustworthy space for all users.
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Featured image adapted from Reddit.