Purchases on marketplaces

What is happening

An expensive gadget arrived with a defect, or the box contained something else entirely. The platform rejects the return request automatically, support replies with templates, and the seller does not respond.

The item never arrived: the order was "lost" in the warehouse, the status froze, and the money came back as loyalty points or is promised "after an investigation". Weeks pass and the investigation never ends.

The seller turns out to be a private individual or a foreign company with no details available, and the platform says it is merely an information intermediary with no responsibility for the goods.

What the law says

• A marketplace purchase is a distance sale under Article 26.1 of the Law of the Russian Federation No. 2300-1 of 7 February 1992 "On Consumer Rights Protection" (the Consumer Protection Law): the item may be refused at any time before receipt and for 7 days afterwards, or for three months if written information on the return procedure and time limits was not provided on delivery.
• When goods of proper quality are returned, the money is refunded within 10 days, less the seller's cost of the return delivery; goods with individually specified features made for a particular buyer cannot be returned this way.
• The seller is liable for defects to the same extent as in a shop: replacement, refund, price reduction, the penalty and the fine.
• The platform, as the owner of an aggregator, is liable for losses caused by inaccurate or incomplete information about the goods or the seller and, in the cases specified, must refund a prepayment for goods not delivered (Article 12 of the Consumer Protection Law).
• Since 1 October 2025, relations between platforms, sellers and buyers have also been governed by the Federal Law "On the Platform Economy in the Russian Federation"; its rules are taken into account in choosing the defendant and the claims procedure.
• Terms of a user agreement that restrict the buyer's rights compared with the Consumer Protection Law, such as a clause that disputes may only be heard where the platform is based, are void.

What we do

• We reconstruct the order: who the seller is according to the listing and receipt, how payment and delivery went, and what was recorded on collection.
• We identify the proper defendant, the seller, the platform or both, depending on the nature of the breach.
• We prepare formal claims to the seller and the platform with specific demands and deadlines, rather than support chat messages.
• We check the item and, where the seller denies the defect or the swap, arrange an expert examination.
• We prepare complaints to Rospotrebnadzor where the platform systematically fails to deal with complaints.
• We draft the lawsuit and represent you in court at your place of residence.

What we will need from you

• Screenshots of the listing, the order, the delivery statuses and the receipts from your account.
• The electronic till receipt and a card statement.
• Video of the parcel being opened, photos of the item and packaging, and any report made at the pick-up point.
• Correspondence with platform support and the seller, and ticket numbers.
• The item itself, kept intact until the dispute is over.