Fake Product Delivered Online: Refund and Consumer Complaint Guide

Last reviewed: 13 August 2026.

Stop using the item and preserve the parcel, labels, invoice, serial or IMEI details, photographs and any unboxing recording you already have. Raise the return or counterfeit complaint inside the marketplace immediately and send the same evidence to its published grievance officer. Do not invent an unboxing video after the event or hand the product to an unknown 'inspection agent'. If the seller or platform refuses a remedy, register a free pre-litigation grievance with the National Consumer Helpline at consumerhelpline.gov.in or 1915. If that does not resolve it, a consumer complaint can be filed through the official e-Jagriti platform. The Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 apply to goods sold over electronic networks and require a grievance mechanism.

A refund dispute is usually decided on identity and chain-of-custody evidence: what was ordered, what was delivered, who sold it, and whether the product was returned. The law does not guarantee an instant refund merely because a consumer says 'fake'. Keep the item unchanged and build a record that the seller, marketplace, bank and Commission can evaluate.

1. Photograph every side of the package, shipping label, tamper tape, product, serial number and accessories before repacking it.
2. Compare the invoice, listing, model, serial or IMEI and manufacturer warranty-check result. Save the listing as a PDF because it may later change.
3. Open the marketplace complaint under the accurate reason—counterfeit, wrong item, used item or not as described—and keep the ticket number.
4. Write to the seller and the marketplace grievance officer. Ask for a return pickup and refund, and insist on a written inspection result if refused.
5. For a card payment, separately ask the issuing bank whether its chargeback rules cover goods not as described. A chargeback is a bank process, not a guaranteed refund.
6. Register the evidence with NCH. If unresolved, prepare the invoice, chronology, parties' addresses, evidence and relief for filing on e-Jagriti.

• order page and invoice
• parcel and shipping-label images
• serial/IMEI and manufacturer verification result
• marketplace complaint and grievance-officer correspondence
• pickup receipt or return-video evidence
• bank and NCH references

Use the service owner's written grievance route first and preserve its acknowledgement. Escalate only to the regulator, appellate authority, Commission or police route that applies to this issue. A telephone assurance is not a closure record. If a public authority holds the missing status, note, inspection report or reason, request that existing record precisely; RTI does not compel a desired service outcome.

For drafting and appeal strategy, use Book: RTI Explained — A Practical Guide for Every Indian. Never put an Aadhaar number, bank credentials, OTP, password or irrelevant medical record in a public RTI application.

• file a consumer complaint correctly
• challenge a warranty refusal
• use the same evidence-first refund ladder
• report a separate payment or identity fraud

Book: RTI Explained — A Practical Guide for Every Indian

• Department of Consumer Affairs: Act and e-commerce rules
• Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020
• National Consumer Helpline
• e-Jagriti filing help

No universal law makes it compulsory, but a genuine recording can be strong evidence. Other contemporaneous evidence—parcel labels, photographs, serial checks and complaint timestamps—also matters.

Use the platform's authorised pickup and record the handover, package condition and receipt. Do not hand it to an unverified caller.

NCH is a pre-litigation grievance channel. It can facilitate resolution but does not replace a Consumer Commission order.

Do so where there is an identifiable cyber offence such as account takeover, payment fraud or impersonation. A routine quality or refund dispute normally starts as a consumer grievance.