It may be of use to someone to describe the procedure after the watch has been seized by customs (it describes the procedure and the legal situation in Poland).
I ordered through DHgate a watch priced at around $600 (Breitling Navitimer 41 by V7F, SW200 movement ) with shipping via the UK. The watch passed through the UK without any problems and was detained for further investigation by my town's customs office (not some central one, but my regional one).
It started with an email asking me to send purchase documents or a screen shot of the purchase and its price, and to forward my card or bank statement confirming that I had paid the specified amount. I forwarded the data they asked for and in about a week's time I got a recorded letter in which there was official information that, in accordance with Polish law, the watch was being seized for analysis to clarify whether it was original.
At this stage, I sent information to the seller (via DHgate) together with a scan of this letter that the watch had been seized by Polish customs. Within two days I received a full refund!
I even forgot about the case for a while and after about two months I received another letter, this time summoning me to a hearing at the customs office as a witness in a criminal case. The hearing was official and I found out that the prosecutor wanted to bring criminal charges against me for bringing counterfeit goods into circulation. I answered truthfully that there was no logo on the photos of my purchase and, secondly, that I had ordered the watch for my own use and not for resale.
Six months have passed since that hearing and there is quiet on the matter. The officer who conducted the hearing as she led me away told me that, given the content of my explanations, the case would most likely be dropped, and it appears that this is what has happened.
Either way, two lessons flowed from this, the sellers at DHgate take financial responsibility if something goes wrong and you should keep screenshots showing that the watch you are buying had no branding at the stage of ordering it. It remains the supplier's responsibility what they sent you, you simply ordered a homage without the logo and name visible on the dial....
I ordered through DHgate a watch priced at around $600 (Breitling Navitimer 41 by V7F, SW200 movement ) with shipping via the UK. The watch passed through the UK without any problems and was detained for further investigation by my town's customs office (not some central one, but my regional one).
It started with an email asking me to send purchase documents or a screen shot of the purchase and its price, and to forward my card or bank statement confirming that I had paid the specified amount. I forwarded the data they asked for and in about a week's time I got a recorded letter in which there was official information that, in accordance with Polish law, the watch was being seized for analysis to clarify whether it was original.
At this stage, I sent information to the seller (via DHgate) together with a scan of this letter that the watch had been seized by Polish customs. Within two days I received a full refund!
I even forgot about the case for a while and after about two months I received another letter, this time summoning me to a hearing at the customs office as a witness in a criminal case. The hearing was official and I found out that the prosecutor wanted to bring criminal charges against me for bringing counterfeit goods into circulation. I answered truthfully that there was no logo on the photos of my purchase and, secondly, that I had ordered the watch for my own use and not for resale.
Six months have passed since that hearing and there is quiet on the matter. The officer who conducted the hearing as she led me away told me that, given the content of my explanations, the case would most likely be dropped, and it appears that this is what has happened.
Either way, two lessons flowed from this, the sellers at DHgate take financial responsibility if something goes wrong and you should keep screenshots showing that the watch you are buying had no branding at the stage of ordering it. It remains the supplier's responsibility what they sent you, you simply ordered a homage without the logo and name visible on the dial....
