"I never expected that when I spent more than 200 yuan to buy 5 kilograms of Wuchang rice on JD.com, I received a light and palm-sized package that only weighed 15 grams. I rummaged on the express shelf for a long time before I found it." Consumer Zejun (pseudonym) described helplessly to Caiwen.
On the eve of 315 International Consumer Rights Day, Caiwen learned about the incident from Tencent Finance’s 315 rights protection clues. This absurd experience is not an isolated one. When searching for “false delivery” on Black Cat Complaints, the search results show more than 300,000 complaints, and “fraudulent delivery” contains more than 6,000 complaints.
People who have been engaged in e-commerce-related business told Caiwen that usually false or fraudulent shipments are because merchants do not have the goods, but they send out an insignificant small or empty package before the latest delivery deadline required by the platform to avoid penalties from the platform.
5 kilograms of rice converted into 15 grams of small express delivery
The time goes back to before the Spring Festival in 2026. In order to have better Wuchang rice at the Spring Festival reunion dinner table, on February 13, Zejun, who is located in Jiangsu, placed an order for a 5kg package of Shengshang Dining Natural Fragrance Wuchang rice at the Yechan convenience food store on the JD platform for 208.33 yuan.
However, it was not until March 3 that the logistics information showed that the goods had been received. Although the slow logistics speed around the Spring Festival disrupted Zejun's plan, there is nothing wrong with it considering the special time. But when he went to the express delivery station to pick up the package, he searched for it on the shelf for a long time based on his impression of a "5kg" bag of rice. What surprised him was that the package that matched his pickup code was only a palm-sized package.
So he checked the logistics information on his mobile phone, and the verification results showed that this small package weighing only a gram was really the "5 kilograms of rice" that he had been waiting for half a month.
After understanding, Zejun discovered that he might have encountered a "fraudulent delivery" situation and could ask for a refund of one or three in compensation. So, he communicated with the store's customer service. However, the customer service said that the product was out of stock, saying that it had called Zejun to inform Zejun of the situation, and said that "it has not been shipped."
According to Zejun's recollection, he once received a call from an unknown number asking him if he wanted to change to other rice. However, the area displayed by the number was inconsistent with the area information of the merchant's business license. Zejun was worried that this was an information leak and ignored it.
After communication, the store agreed to refund, but only agreed to pay 20 yuan in compensation. To this end, Zejun communicated with JD.com customer service on the phone. The customer service said that the merchant was not self-operated by JD.com and needed to be negotiated between the consumer and the merchant. Zejun had no choice but to negotiate with the store again, and finally the store refunded the money and paid 50 yuan in compensation. But after the refund was completed, Zejun still believed that the compensation was not reasonable enough.
Caiwen also contacted the customer service of the merchant, but the other party still said that "no delivery" was made and was "not clear" about it. It also expressed "no understanding" of small parcel express delivery. The merchant said it had resolved the matter privately and refused to accept other consultation information.
The platform does not intervene in processing
According to relevant people engaged in the e-commerce business, Caiwen said that when customers have placed orders but do not have the goods, merchants usually take the initiative to contact customers by phone to inform them of solutions. In the absence of consensus between the two parties, the store may ship goods directly to avoid the platform's penalty for overtime shipments, or mistakenly send light express for "brush orders".
The license of the Ye Chan convenience food store where Zejun is shopping is a sole proprietorship. According to the corporate store rules of Jingmai, a Jingdong merchant help platform, if the store fails to deliver goods on time, there will be liquidated damages ranging from 6 to 20 yuan.
According to the definition of illegal delivery scenarios in JD Enterprise Store rules, the definition of fraudulent delivery includes the content "after the merchant uploads the order logistics order number, the consumer receives other items that are obviously inconsistent with the product description." In addition, it also includes situations where consumers receive empty packages after merchants upload order logistics tracking numbers.
According to the after-sales service rules of JD.com’s open platform, in addition to the transaction amount, if the merchant still needs to bear the liability for compensation based on the outcome of the dispute, JD.com has the right to directly compensate the consumer based on the deposit paid by the merchant or other amounts paid by the merchant, and the compensation will be borne by the merchant.
When Zejun gave feedback through JD.com’s customer service hotline, the customer service said that the merchant no longer had a deposit, the platform could not force the merchant to pay, and there was no contact information for the merchant.
However, according to the merchant deposit management rules of JD.com’s open platform, if the deposit is not paid in full, JD.com has the right to impose one or more restrictions such as restricting payment withdrawals, restricting product release, restricting marketing and promotion functions, reducing search and recommendation rights, restricting the listing of corresponding brand products, and other necessary measures.
False shipments become a chronic problem for e-commerce
According to data from the Black Cat Complaint Platform, as of March 15, 2026, the number of complaints about "false shipments" has exceeded 300,000, and "fraudulent shipments" contain more than 6,000 items. This has become another major problem that plagues online shopping consumers.
Caiwen noticed that on February 20, a user with the ID name "Youai Miao" filed a complaint on the Black Cat Complaint Platform, saying, "The clothes I bought at this store on the Douyin platform in December were pre-sold for 45 days. When the delivery date came, it did not match the description. It was a false delivery. I contacted the merchant to ask for a return and a refund. The platform did not do anything. I waited for so many days in vain. I require that it be handled according to the false delivery standards!"
After the official after-sales customer service of Douyin Mall intervened, they stated that the solution was to return the product for a refund, which was temporarily unable to meet the demands. During the 5 natural days before the merchant applied for and completed the complaint, the user did not take any further action, and the system automatically changed the status to "Completed". If you have any objection to the processing result, you can re-initiate a complaint.
According to Article 55 of the "Consumer Rights Protection Law of the People's Republic of China", if an operator commits fraud in providing goods or services, it shall increase compensation for the losses suffered by the consumer at the request of the consumer. The amount of increased compensation shall be three times the price of the consumer's purchase of goods or the cost of receiving services; if the amount of increased compensation is less than 500 yuan, it shall be 500 yuan. If the law provides otherwise, such provisions shall prevail.
In the actual process, fraud needs to be characterized based on whether it is subjective and intentional deception, fabrication of facts, or concealment of the truth. If there is a subjective intention to deliberately conceal the truth, and objectively it causes consumers to fall into misunderstandings and make purchasing decisions, it is a fraudulent act.
Can I continue to defend my rights after a refund?
Judging from past complaint cases, if the order has been refunded, the order is completed by default, and consumers cannot continue to appeal for other compensation.
Zhejiang Jinchi Law Firm once published a public account article on related legal issues, "Can I still require the merchant to pay punitive damages after a refund?" 》. The article pointed out that from a legal perspective, "refund" is usually a remedy for failure to comply with contract performance (such as quality problems with the goods), and it is an assumption of liability for breach of contract or the return of property after the contract is terminated.
The article also emphasizes that punitive damages are a statutory liability based on the operator's fraudulent behavior. The two are different in nature and can coexist. As long as the fraud is established, even if the consumer has received a refund, his right to demand punitive damages from the operator will not be extinguished.