I ordered something online and received the wrong item, a fake, or a broken one, and the seller won't refund me. What are my rights?

Why

The Internet Transactions Act of 2023 (Republic Act No. 11967) covers business-to-consumer internet transactions within the DTI's mandate, including purchases through e-marketplaces like Shopee and Lazada, sellers on social media platforms, and brands selling from their own websites (Sections 3 and 4). It does not cover consumer-to-consumer sales, meaning one private person selling their own things to another outside the ordinary course of business. For those, the Civil Code rules on sales apply, and a scam is a matter for the police.

Section 23(b) of the Act requires the e-retailer or online merchant to ensure you receive the goods in the same condition, type, quantity and quality as described, matching any sample, picture or model shown, and fit for any particular purpose you told the seller about and the seller accepted. Under Section 23(c), goods must come with their accessories, packaging, manuals and inclusions as advertised, and must perform as goods of that type normally do. So a wrong size, a counterfeit sold as original, missing accessories, or an item that does not match its photos are all failures of the seller's obligations, not just bad luck.

Section 20 gives the remedy: in case of defect, malfunction or loss without your fault (such as a paid parcel that never arrives), or failure to conform to the warranty, you have the right to repair, replacement, refund or other remedies under the Consumer Act (Republic Act No. 7394). If you choose replacement or a refund, the merchant is entitled to get the original item back, without cost to you, within a reasonable period. Under Article 100 of the Consumer Act, if a quality defect is not corrected within 30 days, you may choose between replacement, a refund, or a proportionate price reduction.

The Act sets an order of steps. Section 24 requires you to first use the internal redress mechanism of the platform, marketplace or e-retailer before going to court or a government agency, but that mechanism is deemed exhausted if your complaint remains unresolved after seven calendar days. The merchant is primarily liable to indemnify you (Section 25). The platform becomes subsidiarily liable, limited to your direct damages, if it failed to exercise ordinary diligence in its duties (such as collecting the merchant's ID and contact details before listing), failed after notice to take down infringing or ordered-removed listings, or failed to give the contact details of a merchant with no legal presence in the Philippines (Section 26). It is solidarily liable if, after notice, it fails to remove goods that are prohibited, unsafe or dangerous (Section 27).

You also have obligations. Section 19 requires online consumers to exercise ordinary diligence, and generally bars cancelling a confirmed order for delivery once the items have been paid for, or once perishable goods are already with the courier or in transit, unless you paid electronically and authorized the crediting of the amount despite the cancellation, you reimburse the delivery service, the transaction allows cancellation for a fee, or the parties agree otherwise. For damages, Section 28 lets you file a case before the court or the DTI within two years from the time the cause of action arose.