Visa 13.4 · Mastercard 4853

You paid for the real thing and received a fake

Counterfeit goods have their own dispute type, separate from the ordinary not-as-described claim, and it is a strong one. You do not have to prove the seller knew it was fake — only that what you received is not a genuine article of the brand you paid for.

Does this apply to you?

• The item is a copy of a branded product you paid full price for
• The brand or its authorised dealer has confirmed it is not genuine
• Serial numbers are missing, duplicated, or fail the brand's own check
• The build quality, packaging or markings are plainly not the brand's
• A marketplace or customs authority identified it as counterfeit

How long you have to file

You have 120 days, counted from the day the payment was taken.

That is the card network's outer limit. Your own bank often sets an earlier one, and a missed deadline ends a dispute however good the case is — so treat it as the day to have filed by, not the day to start.

What to gather before you file

• The listing showing the brand name you paid for
• Photographs of the item, its markings, serial number and packaging
• Any written opinion from the brand, an authorised dealer or an expert
• The customs or marketplace notice, if one identified it
• Your messages with the seller after you raised it

What the seller will argue

The seller will claim the item is genuine and that you are not qualified to say otherwise — and on their own, your photographs are an opinion. What turns this from opinion into evidence is a third party: the brand's authentication service, an authorised dealer's written note, or a customs seizure notice. Getting one before you file is the single highest-value thing you can do for this claim.

What to do, in order

1. Keep the item, the packaging and everything that came with it. Do not send it back before you have documented it.
2. Photograph the markings, serial numbers, stitching, packaging and any certificate.
3. Ask the brand or an authorised dealer to confirm in writing that it is not genuine.
4. Tell the seller what you have found and ask for a refund.
5. File with your bank as a counterfeit goods dispute, attaching the third-party opinion.

When this will not work

If you bought it knowing it was a replica — at a price that only makes sense for a fake — this dispute will not succeed, and the price you paid is one of the first things the bank will look at.

Other problems we cover

• Your order never arrived. Here is how to get your money back
• They kept charging you after you cancelled
• What arrived is not what you paid for
• They promised you a refund and it never arrived