I ordered a product online from an overseas supplier and paid the full amount, but I have not received the product and the supplier is not responding to my emails or calls. Other than having to sue the supplier for breach of contract, which I do not think is worth the effort for the product I ordered, what can I do?
Lawyer Answers (1): Answers from lawyers are general preliminary responses. They are not formal legal advice and cannot taken account of all your circumstances. They do not create a lawyer–client relationship.
Answer by Dilani Mudalige, Yokine 6060 WA
- In the event of a breach of contract in an online transaction with an Australian business you have the same rights as when the transaction occurs offline such as in a shop.
- Suppliers that are based overseas will be subject to the laws of their home country. If there were terms and conditions covering the online transaction these terms may have specified that non-Australian governing law applied to the transaction.
- As you have correctly assessed legal action against an overseas supplier will be time consuming, costly, difficult and may not result in the outcome you wanted.
- If you have used your credit card or PayPal to make the payment you should dispute the payment through the financial institution you used. Although it will take some time and will depend on your specific circumstances the financial institution may be able to claw back the payment you made and refund an amount to you less any administration costs they may have.
- If you used an online shopping site like eBay you should check with them about their policy for dealing with non-deliverance of items.