Awful Experience – Faulty Product, No Support, Misleading Return Policy
I purchased a smart key box from Populife (China) and it’s been one of the worst online shopping experiences I’ve ever had.
There was no information about delivery times on their website when I placed the order. I contacted them via live chat and was told it would arrive within 21 days. However, the tracking number they provided showed no useful updates, and for weeks, it appeared as if my parcel was stuck in China. I repeatedly contacted Populife for updates, but their customer service was unhelpful and vague.
Assuming I’d been scammed, I opened a case with PayPal and bought another key box from a UK-based seller — which arrived within a few days without issue. After 23 days, the Populife item finally showed up, and the Royal Mail tracking only updated after it was delivered. Because of that, PayPal rejected my case, citing that the item was “delivered.”
I then tried to return the item, as their website clearly states you can do so within 30 days without needing to give a reason. I contacted their customer service, but instead of helping, they kept asking irrelevant questions like “was it delivered?” — despite me clearly stating I wanted to return it. I also emailed them multiple times, and they simply ignored my return request.
With no cooperation from Populife, I appealed to PayPal again, explaining they were refusing to accept the return. PayPal rejected my claim once more, saying they couldn’t intervene due to the seller’s return policy — despite Populife clearly violating the return terms on their own site.
Eventually, I decided to try the product — only to find that the fingerprint function didn’t work at all. So now I had not only poor service but a faulty £130 item. I appealed to PayPal a third time, explaining the product was defective, and they still rejected it, again hiding behind the fact that the item was “delivered.”
When I called PayPal to explain that a delivered item can still be broken, I was told to get a document from a repair shop confirming the fault. While being ill and working long hours, I still managed to do this within two weeks — paying £10 to have the item checked. When I contacted PayPal again, they told me it was too late to submit anything because the case had been rejected twice before. The only thing they refunded was the £10 for the diagnostic report, which was completely beside the point.
Populife sold me a faulty product, ignored my return request, and provided non-functional tracking. They also failed to uphold their own return policy, and PayPal protected the seller despite everything. I now plan to contact Citizens Advice.
Do NOT buy from Populife. They are completely unreliable, their return policy is meaningless, and their customer service is non-existent.