The European Consumer Centre has once again received consumer enquiries concerning the receipt of products that were not ordered. Several consumers explained that they had merely visited the website of a seller and possibly provided their contact details to receive a sample package, but they had never placed any order. An invoice for a product that was not ordered does not require payment, but the consumer should contact the seller to clarify the matter.
Recent consumer enquiries have dealt with, for example, products named “Horsepower” and “Tentigo”, which are marketed online by a Latvian company called Aliaz Cooperation SIA. European Consumer Centre Austria stated that it had received a large number of complaints in 2019 concerning Aliaz’ Horsepower and Tentigo products.
European Consumer Centre Finland is also monitoring the situation in case the vendor in question begins doing business in Finland. Below are some general instructions on what to do if you should receive a product and invoice without placing an order:
- Contact the seller to clarify the matter. Send the seller an email stating that you have received a delivery. You can usually find the email address on the invoice.
- State that you did not place an order and ask the seller how it wants to handle the situation with the package.
- If you return the product, but still receive a reminder invoice or additional product deliveries, send the seller another email stating that you have already returned the product and demanding that the invoice be voided.
- You can write, for example, the following (you may write in Finnish, if the invoice or offer message was in Finnish):
I just received a product delivery and invoice (ADD ORDER NUMBER AND/OR INVOICE NUMBER) from you (DATE). As I did not order this product I will not pay the invoice. I will not pay the postage for returning your unsolicited delivery. I will keep the product for 3 weeks, after which I will destroy it if I still have not received a reply from you. How would you like to handle this?
- Do not pay the invoice if you have not ordered the product.
- Do not send the package back until you have received return instructions from the seller.
- The seller may not demand that you return a product that you have not ordered at your own expense.
- If you decide to return the merchandise, remember to keep the return receipt
If the seller’s response is unsatisfactory or you require language assistance in order to understand the seller’s response, please contact the European Consumer Centre, if the seller in question is a company operating within the EU, Norway or Iceland. In such cases, send us your complaint, the seller’s responses and the invoice you received by, for example, email. We will make every effort to get the invoice voided in co-operation with other centres in the European Consumer Centres Network. When dealing with Finnish sellers, please contact Consumer Advisory Services.