Ordered copper wire scraps but received stones, how to get back the losses?

Yesterday (Sep 10, 2014) one of our African clients told me that he was badly defrauded, he received full containers of stones instead of the purchased items and here is the story. In early July, he placed an order with a supplier ( a trade company) from North China without some important Due Diligence work like Supplier Verification and Factory Inspection etc before payment. Although he booked a Loading Process Supervision but it still cannot 100% stop you from professional scammers in China, in early September he received full containers of stones instead of the purchased copper scraps. Please keep in mind that Supplier Verification and Factory Inspection  is the first step for your success in your business in China, especially for large orders. It is always important to know their full registered information in Chinese before formal cooperation as there are many ‘fake’ business licenses in China as well. China is NOT an English speaking country and you cannot even take legal actions against your supplier in such cases if you do not know their full registered information in Chinese.

 

Someone purchased Precious stones but received packs of normal stones, some ordered copper craps but received stones and some other clients ordered chemicals but received salts etc, these are typical contractrual frauds in China these days. Apparently the supplier, shipping agent and trucking companies etc are all suspisous to be the criminal in such cases, they might conspire to commit the crime as it is hard for one party to fulfill it lonely.

 

Are there any chances for you to get back your money during such cases?

I think the answer may result in following actual facts:

1.Whether the supplier is a fully registered an exporter or factory in China or not.

2.Whether the shipping agent is a fully registered forwarder in China or not.

3.Whether the documents received are fake or not.

 

So the first step is to fully investigate the supplier and their shipping agent in China. Then report their bad credit to local officials and apply for official help. Also the client can collect enough business proof, then take a legal action against them in China after a thorough on-site investigation.

 

If you’d like to do safe and smooth business in China, a formal Purchase Contract, a Factory Inspection and Auditing and a Pre-shipment QC Inspection service etc are all very important. Safety, Quality, Price and After-sale services etc play the same role in doing business in China !