Buying through websites and commercial social media accounts has become part of daily life in Kuwait, and with it recurring problems: money paid and goods never delivered, goods arriving entirely unlike the images displayed, counterfeit goods, or incomplete orders. The person affected often does not know whom to approach: the seller who has closed their account, the platform that says it is merely an intermediary, the courier, or the bank. This article maps out liability and the routes to recovery.
The Legal Relationship
- A full contract of sale: an online purchase is a valid sale governed by the Civil Code's sale provisions and Consumer Protection Law No. 39 of 2014, and its being concluded through an application or account does not diminish it.
- The advertisement forms part of the contract: the description, images, and specifications displayed fall within what the seller undertook, and departing from them is a breach rather than a difference of taste.
- Digital evidence: chats, screenshots, and order and payment notifications may prove the contract and its content, so retaining them is a necessity rather than a luxury.
- Place of contracting: buying from a seller outside Kuwait raises questions of jurisdiction and applicable law, making a local seller far easier to deal with in a dispute.
Who Is Liable
- The seller: primarily liable for delivery, conformity, and warranty, whether a licensed shop or a commercial account.
- The intermediary platform: liability varies with its role. Where it merely displays and connects, liability is narrower, while collecting payment, arranging delivery, and guaranteeing quality widen it. A policy describing itself as an intermediary does not exempt it where its actual role is broader.
- The courier: liable for the consignment in its custody, answering for loss, damage, and unjustified delay.
- The payment provider: not a party to the sale but playing a decisive role in recovery.
- Unlicensed commercial accounts: selling without a licence does not relieve a seller of their obligations and adds an independent administrative breach that may be reported.
Where Goods Never Arrive
- First step: a written demand to the seller for delivery or refund within a defined period, by a means preserving evidence such as messages or email.
- Bank reversal: where payment was by card, a dispute may be raised with the issuing bank. Importantly, dispute windows are short, and delay forfeits the easiest route to recovery.
- Administrative complaint: to the competent consumer protection authority with proof of payment and correspondence attached.
- Civil proceedings: seeking rescission, refund, and compensation, suitable for larger sums.
- Criminal complaint: where the seller never held the goods, used a false identity, or disappeared after collecting from several victims, the matter moves beyond civil dispute into fraud and may engage the cybercrime provisions.
- The key distinction: a genuine seller's delay in delivery is a civil dispute, while devising a scheme to collect money with no intention to deliver is a crime.
Non-Conforming or Counterfeit Goods
- Departure from the description: gives a right to reject and recover the price rather than merely to exchange, because what was delivered is not what was contracted for.
- Counterfeit goods: selling counterfeits infringes trade marks and is an independent breach reportable to the competent authorities in addition to the consumer's claim.
- Incomplete orders: record the opening of the parcel on video from the moment of receipt, the strongest practical evidence in this class of dispute.
- Refusal on delivery: where payment is on delivery, the right to inspect the parcel before paying should be insisted upon.
- Return costs: in cases of non-conformity or defect these are not borne by the consumer, contrary to what some shops impose.
Practical Guidance
- Deal with licensed and contactable shops, and verify the licence number and contact details before paying.
- Keep screenshots of the advertisement, description, and price at the time of ordering, as the seller may edit the post later.
- Prefer card payment over direct transfer, as transfers are very hard to recover while cards allow a dispute route.
- Do not transfer to a personal account bearing a different name from the shop, among the clearest warning signs.
- Film the opening of the parcel without cuts, your evidence in a shortage or non-conformity dispute.
- Raise a bank dispute immediately, as the windows are short and waiting forfeits the right.
Online shopping does not leave a buyer unprotected, but it makes digital evidence the foundation of every claim. Yamnak Law Firm advises on e-commerce disputes and conducts recovery claims and criminal complaints against fraudulent selling accounts.
