Delivery in Shenzhen does not establish Shenzhen as the authority for every online complaint. A Guangzhou platform address also does not make the platform the sole respondent. Identify the actual trader, address and request before choosing the authority. This legal-process and evidence guide concerns mainland consumer disputes. For Hong Kong shop transactions, use the appropriate Hong Kong route rather than treating a 12315 account as a substitute for jurisdiction.
What to have ready
Use the handling rules effective in 2026
SAMR Order 121's complaint and report handling rules took effect on 15 April 2026. A complaint seeks resolution of a personal-consumption dispute; a report supplies suspected infringement of regulatory law. Where both arise, the procedures remain separate. A request for an overcharge refund and information about suspected false advertising can coexist, with distinct facts and supporting evidence.
Complaint jurisdiction generally follows the trader's actual business place or domicile; platform operators and own-site sellers use domicile. For marketplace sellers, the county authority at the displayed address or platform domicile can handle the complaint; a missing or unusable address points to platform domicile. Do not choose solely by your own location. Preserve the published details and ask the receiving authority to confirm treatment of the selling arrangement.
Show who owes the requested remedy and why
Prepare a one-page chronology of purchase, payment, promise, receipt, discovery and prior discussions. Link each request to evidence such as advertised specifications, ordered model and delivered-unit photographs. List trader, platform, carrier and payee separately and explain which component each is asked to address. A customer-service username is not a complete legal identity.
Provide genuine identity and contact details, respondent identity and address, request and factual basis; representation requires the applicable authorisation. Retain originals and number attachments while redacting irrelevant information. Mark unverified details as unresolved. Do not splice evidence, invent facts or inflate amounts to create pressure: an accurate record gives the recipient a better basis for assessment.
Track acceptance, mediation and repayment separately
The competent authority generally has seven working days from receipt to decide acceptance. That is not a seven-day refund guarantee. Mediation depends on the parties' agreement and can end without settlement. The rules include a sixty-day termination condition, which is not a compensation promise. Retain the official notices and reasons and track the applicable procedural clock.
Before accepting a settlement, check amount, return delivery, payment method, performance date and any waiver. A claimed refund needs payment evidence and an actual credit check. Follow the receiving body's guidance and other applicable remedies if performance fails. Previous acceptance or handling by another body can affect admissibility, so disclose existing proceedings accurately.
Example: Shenzhen delivery with a Dongguan seller address
Ho Yin orders an oven through a marketplace and receives a different model in Shenzhen. The seller displays a Dongguan address. She preserves that address and order, requests the relevant repayment and lists any transport-damage issue separately. She checks marketplace-seller jurisdiction before selecting an authority instead of relying on her Shenzhen residence, and separately describes any suspected misleading advertising for a report.
If declined, examine the stated reason before supplying missing evidence, approaching the competent authority or choosing another dispute route. Market-regulation mediation is not a court judgment and does not automatically determine every Hong Kong-mainland contract issue.
Determine jurisdiction from trader and transaction type, match evidence to the request and verify performance after closure.
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.