Orders through Instagram, a website or a marketplace all need clear commitments and a workable after-sales process.
Evidence to keep
Before you start
Hong Kong's Trade Descriptions Ordinance covers false descriptions and specified unfair practices, including misleading omissions and wrongly accepting payment. Verify claims about goods and services even when the shop operates only through a social platform. Explain after-sales terms clearly; a blanket no-refund sentence cannot answer every statutory-rights question. For cross-border sales, separately check destination requirements. This guide concerns the seller's workflow rather than promising that every online purchase has the same cancellation entitlement.
What to do, step by step
- Create a product card showing size, materials, condition, accessories and what is actually supplied. Include origin, certification or performance claims only where supported. Match photographs to the sold version, and distinguish illustrative images from features that the customer will genuinely receive.
- Before checkout, show total charges, delivery limitations, pre-order timing and return procedures. Explain uncertain availability plainly rather than presenting an unconfirmed date as certain. Ensure information in social messages, product pages and checkout agrees, including extra charges for particular delivery locations.
- Send an order reference and the applicable terms version after purchase. If fulfilment changes, promptly contact the customer with concrete options. For refunds, record payment method, amount and transaction reference and follow the case until completion, rather than marking it closed when somebody merely requests a refund.
- Review a sample of support cases monthly and correct repeated confusion in product pages. Restrict access to payment screenshots and identity information. Retain old terms when publishing a revision so that a dispute can be assessed against the promise made at the time of that order.
Costs, timing, and things to check
Read marketplace rules alongside the promises your business makes. A platform's processing status does not establish that money has reached the customer. Overseas sourcing also leaves the practical need to verify product descriptions, manage defects and identify the party responsible for a remedy.
The Consumer Council generally assists with individual consumer disputes through conciliation; it is not a court determining every refund claim. Respond to a complaint using order records, a concrete proposed remedy and supporting evidence, identifying any factual disagreement instead of ignoring the case.
A practical example
A shop pre-orders backpacks before the supplier confirms arrival. It states the estimated timing and how unavailable orders will be handled, saving the page shown to customers. When delivery slips, it contacts each buyer and tracks individual refunds where arranged. It also corrects an inaccurate in-stock badge on the website, preventing the next customer from ordering on a promise the operation cannot currently fulfil.
Make clear promises before payment, fulfil and document them afterwards, and update terms with the workflow.
Official information and enquiries
These are the reference and service entry points for this guide. Check current fees, eligibility, and schedules with the authority. The preparation date is not each source's official update date.
This is general information; an individual dispute depends on the facts, documents, and current law.