"Item not as described": a refund playbook for online shopping
Panchaayat Consumer Desk · Published 2 September 2026 · 7 min read
What to do, in order, when an online order arrives wrong, damaged or fake — evidence to capture at the door, the marketplace clock that actually applies, and what to do when the seller goes quiet.
Most "item not as described" refund rejections don’t happen because the buyer was wrong — they happen because the evidence was captured too late, in the wrong order, or not at all. The single biggest lever you control is what you do in the first five minutes after opening the box.
The first five minutes matter more than the next five emails
Do this before you touch the item
- Film yourself opening the sealed parcel — unbroken video, from the courier handing it over to the item fully unpacked
- Photograph the shipping label, the outer box condition, and the item next to its original listing photo
- Do not use, wear or install the item until the marketplace has recorded your complaint
- Keep the original packaging and all tags until the return window closes
Unboxing video is worth more than ten messages — Most major marketplaces weight an unedited unboxing video heavily in return disputes, because it rules out the two defences a seller usually raises: "it was fine when we shipped it" and "you switched the product."
Know the clock you’re actually on
There are two timers running at once, and they are not the same: the marketplace’s own return window (often 7–10 days from delivery for "not as described" claims, shorter for some categories), and the legal grievance-officer timeline under the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 — a 48-hour acknowledgement and a one-month resolution, which applies regardless of what the app’s return policy says.
When the seller rejects the return
A seller-side rejection ("item shows signs of use", "not eligible as per policy") is not the end of the process — it’s the point where you stop dealing with the seller and escalate within the marketplace itself.
- Request the marketplace’s own grievance officer or customer-support escalation, citing your evidence directly (attach the unboxing video link, not just a description of it)
- If the marketplace sides with the seller anyway, file on the National Consumer Helpline (1915 / consumerhelpline.gov.in) — most large marketplaces are onboarded and actively engage there
- Raise a public Panchaayat case naming the marketplace or seller, with your evidence summarised and your case ID as a reference anyone reviewing it later can check
- If the amount is significant and nothing above works, file with the Consumer Commission via e-Daakhil within two years of the purchase
Counterfeit is a different complaint from "wrong item"
If what arrived looks like a counterfeit of a branded product, say exactly that — "counterfeit" or "not genuine," not just "not as described." Marketplaces treat brand-authenticity complaints on a different, usually faster, internal track than a general quality dispute, because they carry their own liability to the brand owner.
Real-world pattern
Why "item not as described" complaints are one of the biggest categories on Panchaayat
Across public e-commerce cases on Panchaayat, mismatched or damaged items and refund delays are consistently among the most common complaint types — which is also why sellers increasingly watch the platform for their own brand name, and respond faster to a public case than to a support-form ticket.
Marketplace stalling on a rejected return?
File it publiclyPut your complaint on the public record
Free, takes about a minute, and the company can reply in the open.
Raise a complaintFrequently asked questions
Do I need an unboxing video to get a refund?
It’s not legally required, but it is the single strongest piece of evidence for an "item not as described" claim, because it rules out the two most common seller defences.
What if the return window has already closed?
You can still raise it — a defective or misrepresented product is a different claim from a simple change-of-mind return, and the Consumer Protection Act does not require you to have acted within the app’s own return-window policy for a genuine quality or authenticity dispute.
Marketplace or seller — who do I actually complain to?
Start with the seller, but escalate to the marketplace’s own grievance officer quickly if the seller stalls — under the E-Commerce Rules the marketplace itself has accountability, not just the individual seller.
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Panchaayat Consumer Desk publishes general information to help consumers and companies understand their options — it is not legal advice. For a specific dispute, the escalation routes named above (National Consumer Helpline, sector regulators, Consumer Commissions) are the authoritative next step.