I’m happy today as we received a Thank-you Letter from an Australian company (Company A) this morning. They were ripped off nearly 25000 USD by a Chinese supplier (Company B) in Wuhan in June last year and the supplier neither delivered the goods they ordered nor refunded their deposit. Earlier last month (July 6, 2008), Mr. S, the executive director from Company A booked our Business Investigation and Case-Report service in China with only hundreds of USD. Our local professionals tried our best to work for them in China, at the end of July; we successfully got their money back by taking many measures in China with local officials. We won the game!!! The detailed case report in English and Chinese can be available upon request, also you can contact Company A for reference at any time by email or phone.
What can you do if you get scammed in China?
Here are my answers to this question:
1. If your supplier is a registered factory or company in China, you can go and meet local officials in person, seeking help from local government authorities in China. Normally you can contact following organs in China:
AIC (Administration for Industry &Commerce), Tax Bureau, Fair Trade Department with Ministry of Commerce and local Police Station etc.
2. If your supplier is not a registered factory or company in China, you can contact local Police Station if you know their Chinese name and ID in China.
No matter what kind of your suppliers is in China, you’re required to report your case in details in Chinese to local officials if you need their help. Most of local officials know nothing about English and it’s hard to crack down any case with their created English names online. For example, in China, there are nearly 300000 people sharing the same Chinese name ‘Zhang Wei’. Normally local officials will help you out if you or your authorized Rep reports the case to them in person in China, and the scammer can be heavily fined or forced to refund you as soon as possible. But sometimes the scammer is too crafty to be caught in China and also some local officials are badly corrupted in China and they are not willing to help you out sometimes. So Case-Report with enough proof is not 100% sure to get your money back esp when you do not sign any contract with your suppliers before.
If local officials do not help you out, you’re suggested to make a small biz investigation to collect enough proof on their daily business activity in China, then consult local law firms and get ready to sue the bad supplier for their bad credit in China. By this way, you can get back your money in China; at least your supplier will suffer more from your case in China if you take above measures.
Basic Tips for doing business in China
1. Do not forget to check out their Business License and Export License with local officials before payment in China! You can also have to ask them for their full company name in Chinese sometimes.
2. Do not forget to audit and inspect them in person if your order is large enough.
3. Do not forget to sign a formal Purchase or Sale Contract if your order is large enough. Please have a look at this article to learn more regarding Checking a formal contract in China:
4. Do not forget to conduct a Pre-shipment Inspection or During-production QC Inspection if your order is large enough in China.
5. Do not forget to ask your supplier directly for their ID information if your supplier is an individual in China, esp. when you buy from them online (but sometimes you will get a fake ID number).
6. Do not forget to ask your supplier directly for their foreign references if your order is large enough in China.
What can you do if you get scammed in China?
Linear Mode
November 2008
