Buyer-Protection Guarantee

How does the Choiceful Buy-With-Confidence Guarantee work? 

1. Always pay for your purchases using our secure checkout 

2. If your item isn’t as described or doesn’t arrive, contact the seller first. 

3. If you still need help, let us know your problem, by filing a claim against the seller. We’re available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

4. We’ll contact the seller to help resolve any issues.

Terms and Conditions of Choiceful Buy-With-Confidence Guarantee Full

Choiceful Buyer Protection

We're committed to making sure you can purchase items from Sellers on Choiceful with complete confidence, knowing we're here to help if you have problems. Choiceful Buyer Protection helps you if an item doesn’t arrive, or doesn't match its description in the listing.

To take advantage of the Choiceful Buyer Protection policy, buyers should first contact the seller and attempt to resolve the issue directly. If the buyer doesn’t hear from the seller or can’t resolve the issue with the seller, the buyer can file a claim under the Choiceful Buyer Protection policy.

Conditions under which a claim can be filed by the buyer under the Choiceful Buyer Protection policy. Buyers can file a claim under the Choiceful Buyer Protection policy only when all of the following are true:

• You are an eligible buyer (see Buyer Eligibility)

• You purchased an item on or through Choiceful.com (or any of its international sites) within the last 45 days.

• You have been directed to the Choiceful Buyer Protection programme.

• You did not receive the item within 3 days of the estimated delivery time period provided on the transaction order details page.

• You received an item that was significantly different from the one described in the listing (for example, you purchased a book, but received a hat or you believe you have received a counterfeit item)

• You received an item that was broken or did not work as described in the item description.

Buyers cannot file a claim if you:

• Improperly claim that the seller has not fulfilled the transaction;

• Claim you never received an item when in fact you did; or

• Claim the item was significantly different from the item description but the seller can prove otherwise.

You have not initiated another form of resolution process, including credit card chargebacks or PayPal Buyer Protection Claims.

If you have an issue regarding unauthorized transactions with your PayPal account (i.e. those made without your permission), please visit the PayPal Security Centre.

Working with Choiceful

If you have an issue, go to ‘My Account’ and ‘Order History’ > File Claim Against Seller

When you receive a confirmation email from Choiceful after opening a claim, you must review this email straightaway, and let us know if anything within it is incorrect using the response channel advised in the email.

During the process, Choiceful may require you to provide documentation to support your claim. You may be asked to provide receipts, third party evaluations, police reports, or anything else that Choiceful considers appropriate.

You must respond to Choiceful’s requests in a timely manner.

Exclusions from Choiceful Buyer Protection

Buyer Eligibility

Only buyers who have been directed to the Choiceful Buyer Protection programme by Choiceful are eligible under Choiceful Buyer Protection. Buyers who file a claim through Choiceful Buyer Protection, but who did not purchase an item on the Choiceful.com site, will be redirected to the existing resolution process for the site they used. Sellers will use the resolution process initiated by the buyer. Resolution responsibilities and protections are outlined on the site of registration.

Abuse or Fraud

Buyers who Choiceful believes, in our sole discretion are attempting to commit or committing fraud are governed by the conditions of our User Agreement. Fraud in this context can include, but is not limited to, making claims that are not backed by a good faith dispute, making claims in addition to attempting to receive reimbursement from another source (e.g. a credit card chargeback), or any other means by which one can unjustly benefit from Choiceful Buyer Protection. Buyers who fall under this category of conditions are subject to our remedies as described in the User Agreement. In addition, we reserve the right to temporarily, indefinitely or permanently suspend your coverage under the Choiceful Buyer Protection Policy, pay out less than the full item price or temporarily, immediately and without prior notice, if we suspect abuse, excessive claims, tampering or interference with the proper working of Choiceful Buyer Protection.

Fraudulent Charges Not Covered

Fraudulent charges to a credit card or a PayPal account are not covered by the Choiceful Buyer Protection Policy. If you notice any charge on your PayPal account that you did not authorise, report this in the PayPal Resolution Centre. Fraudulent charges made through your credit card should be resolved with your credit card company.

Resolution of a claim

After you have logged your claim in ‘My Account’, Choiceful will send relevant information gathered from the buyer to the seller.

The seller will then have 10 calendar days to resolve the problem by sending the buyer: a) the item/alternative item; or b) a refund (the seller must retain proof that they have resolved the problem and send this to Choiceful, at Choiceful’s request).

Please see this section which sets out the seller’s obligations in the event that a buyer believes an item is counterfeit, Choiceful may give the seller more time to resolve the problem.

If the seller does not resolve the problem with the buyer within 10 calendar days (or an extended time period, as agreed by Choiceful in writing), Choiceful reserves the right to pay the buyer a sum equivalent to the item price (including postage and packaging) paid by the buyer.

At the end of the 10 calendar day period (on an extended time period agreed by Choiceful), if the buyer is not satisfied with the resolution offered by the seller (including, without limitation, where the seller has provided no response to the buyer), the buyer may contact Choiceful to request further assistance or to ask that Choiceful make a decision about the claim. If Choiceful receives no such requests from the buyer within a reasonable amount of time after the end of the 10 calendar day period (and the seller has not contacted Choiceful within this period either) the claim will be considered resolved and be closed.

If the buyer contacts Choiceful to request further assistance or to ask that Choiceful make a decision about the claim, Choiceful will then review the claim. If we find in the buyer's favour, Choiceful will arrange for the purchase price plus original postage costs to be refunded to the buyer through the same payment method selected during the checkout process. If we resolve a claim in the buyer's favour, we will in most circumstances ask the buyer to return the item to the seller, which will be at the buyer's expense (unless Choiceful opts to pay for return postage costs). The seller must accept the returned item. Once the item has been returned to the seller, Choiceful will arrange for the purchase price plus original postage costs to be refunded to the buyer through the same payment method used during the checkout process for the order.

Refunds will be made with a Choiceful credit coupon. Buyers with an active Choiceful account will simply log in to to claim the refund. Buyers without an account will be asked to create one with their Choiceful registered email address to claim the refund. In any event, we will send buyers an email explaining the steps they need to take in order to receive the refund. Refunds will not be made in any other manner.

How sellers may be protected from losing a claim

For an Item Not Received Case

For this type of claim, if a seller provides a valid Proof of Delivery for the item, Choiceful is likely to decide in their favour.

“Proof of Delivery” is online documentation from a postal company that includes all of the following:

• A status of “delivered” (or equivalent) and the date of delivery.

• The recipient’s address, showing at least the city/county or postcode (or international equivalent).

• Signature Confirmation for transactions.

Significantly Not As Described Claims

Sellers may be protected from losing a claim if they provide clear documentation that the item was described properly. For example, claims may be resolved in the seller’s favour when the seller provides documentation that:

• The buyer complains that the item is used, not new, and the listing clearly describes the item as used, or

• A defect in the item was correctly described by the seller, or

• The item was properly described, but the buyer didn't want it after they received it, or

• The item was properly described but did not meet buyers' expectations, or

• The item has minor scratches and was listed as used condition.

Decision and reimbursement from sellers

We require Choiceful sellers to comply with our resolution process. Choiceful encourages sellers to resolve the problem with buyers. However, if the seller does not do this within the time periods set out above, Choiceful retains full discretion to make a final decision in favour of the buyer or the seller based on criteria Choiceful deems appropriate and sellers permit us to make a final decision, in our sole discretion, on any claim that a buyer files with Choiceful under the Choiceful Buyer Protection Policy. If Choiceful makes a final decision in favour of the buyer or seller, each party must comply with Choiceful’s decision. If we find in favour of the buyer, the seller will not receive a refund on their Choiceful or fees associated with the transaction. One example of such a decision is that Choiceful may require the buyer to post an item that the buyer claims is Significantly Not as Described back to the seller (at the buyer’s expense), and Choiceful may require a seller to accept the item back and refund the buyer the full purchase price plus original postage costs.

If we resolve a dispute in the buyer’s favour, we may:

Remove funds from the seller’s payment account to reimburse the buyer for the cost of the item and the original postage cost; or

Where there are insufficient funds in the seller’s account or, directly refund the buyer for the cost of the item and the original postage cost, and, in this case, we will require the seller to reimburse us for the refund.

Other requirements for reimbursements from sellers:

Sellers agree to allow us to remove funds from their Payment accounts to reimburse buyers. Sellers may change this reimbursement method by contacting Choiceful.

Where there are insufficient funds in your Payment accounts, we will require another reimbursement method.

For future claims where we find in favour of the buyer, we will notify the seller and continue to charge the sellers preferred method for any reimbursements made under the Choiceful Buyer Protection Policy. Changing a reimbursement method will not affect Choiceful’s use of a payment method on file for other purposes (such as payment of your Choiceful fees). If sellers do not provide Choiceful with a valid reimbursement method, we may collect amounts owed using other collection mechanisms, including retaining collection agencies and/or take one or more of the steps listed in the section below.

Failure to comply - consequences

Where a seller fails to comply with the Choiceful Buyer Protection policy, Choiceful may also:

Remove any special status associated with the account;

Reduce or eliminate any discounts received by the seller;

Decrease visibility of the seller’s listings in search results;

Place certain requirements regarding payment options offered by the seller and potential holds on payments made; or

Restrict or suspend the seller’s account.

Holds

We reserve the right to request a hold on seller funds at any point during the resolutions process, including, without limitation, upon receipt of a claim from a buyer.

Relationship between Choiceful Buyer Protection, PayPal Buyer Protection and Chargebacks

The Choiceful resolution process is the primary way to settle issues with Choiceful transactions; however, buyers will still have the option to continue with the PayPal resolution system instead, or use Google Checkout Claims, or to file a chargeback, if they paid using a credit card. Choiceful’s Buyer Protection programmes are independent of credit card companies’ chargeback process. If you are not covered with Choiceful Buyer Protection or PayPal Buyer Protection, or Google Claims Protection Cover you can still check with your card processor. Once a buyer selects a system, Choiceful, PayPal, Google Checkout or chargeback, they are required to use that system for the duration of the resolution process.

Here are the basic principles behind how Choiceful manages dispute resolution between Choiceful, PayPal, Google Checkout and chargebacks:

• Choiceful Buyer Protection is the primary programme for settling issues with Choiceful transactions

• No double consequences for sellers, and no double refunds for buyers

• Chargebacks override all other disputes

PayPal Buyer Protection

Buyers may still file a dispute using PayPal Buyer Protection. If a buyer chooses to resolve the dispute through PayPal, then the Choiceful Buyer Protection Policy will not apply (instead, PayPal Buyer Protection will apply). If resolution is reached by Choiceful, then PayPal will close future claims regarding the same transaction that are made through PayPal Buyer Protection.

Google Checkout Buyer Cover

Buyers may still file a dispute using Google Checkout Buyer Protection. If a buyer chooses to resolve the dispute through Google Checkout, then the Choiceful Buyer Protection Policy will not apply (instead, Google Checkout Buyer Protection will apply). If resolution is reached by Choiceful, then google Checkout will close future claims regarding the same transaction that are made through Google Checkout Buyer Protection.

Chargebacks

Chargebacks filed on a Choiceful transaction will close all claims filed with Choiceful, PayPal or Google Checkout.

A seller with a Choiceful Buyer Protection claim resolved against them, who provides reimbursement to a buyer but then loses a chargeback, the seller may appeal the Choiceful Buyer Protection decision by providing evidence of the lost chargeback through the Choiceful resolution centre. If the appeal is granted, the seller will be refunded the reimbursement amount back to the original reimbursement method.

Buyers who open a chargeback claim after receiving a refund are abusing Choiceful Buyer Protection and maybe subject to consequences outlined in our “Abusing Choiceful” policy.

What happens if a buyer believes an item is counterfeit?

Items that are suspected of being counterfeit are covered by the Choiceful Buyer Protection Policy, subject to these additional terms:

Sellers and buyers must work together in good faith during the resolution process to satisfy buyer concerns that an item may not be authentic. For example, sellers should provide the buyer with appropriate documentation or other assurances, if such information is available.

Where the seller is not able to satisfy the buyer’s concerns that the item is not authentic, buyers may be required to send the item back to the seller (where Choiceful elects to exercise its discretion). Costs of return shipping may be paid by the buyer or Choiceful, in our sole discretion, unless otherwise agreed upon by the buyer and seller. Due to the unresolved dispute regarding the authenticity of the item, sellers must not later list, advertise or offer for sale the item on any Choiceful site or service around the world (including our subsidiaries, joint ventures and other members of the Choiceful corporate family).

Buyers are not obligated to provide third-party confirmation that an item is counterfeit to open a claim. However, in some cases, a buyer may have written confirmation that the item is counterfeit from a reliable third party (such as the manufacturer or law enforcement). In those cases, buyers agree to cooperate with Choiceful to ensure the proper disposal of the counterfeit item. For example, buyers may be asked to certify that the item has been destroyed or send the item to the rights owner or other appropriate third party for disposal. Any costs associated with this destruction or disposal may be paid by Choiceful, in our sole discretion.

Covered claims that meet the conditions and are not excluded may count as criteria, infringement or a violation by the seller of our prohibited and infringing items policy. As a result, Choiceful may impose sanctions on the seller, up to and including suspension of the seller’s account

Assumption of rights

If Choiceful pays out a claim that you, as a buyer file under Choiceful Buyer Protection against a recipient of your payment, you agree to transfer and to allow Choiceful to have your rights, benefits and remedies against the recipient of their payment. This is known in legal terms for the buyer to agree to “subrogate” to Choiceful your rights against the recipient and third parties related to the payment, and agree that we may take over and deal with those rights, benefits and remedies directly or on your behalf (in your name), in Choiceful’s discretion. This includes you, as a buyer, agreeing the Choiceful has the right to take legal action in your name (but at our expense) and ask you to give further and additional details and support to help us recover the compensation we will pay or have paid to you.