The Vietnamese e-commerce market has been "stirred up" in the past two months by a whirlwind of cheap goods as Temu, Taobao and Shein increased their presence in Vietnam.
Especially Temu, although it has not yet completed all legal procedures in Vietnam, this e-commerce "giant" has launched a series of incentives for users opening accounts and making transactions for the first time.
However, on December 4, the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy (Ministry of Industry and Trade) said that the cross-border e-commerce platform Temu has temporarily stopped providing services in Vietnam.
Temu's move comes as authorities require representatives of this e-commerce platform to complete legal procedures to be licensed to operate in Vietnam.
Currently, all activities of Temu website are almost frozen, causing many people who have purchased products on this e-commerce site to worry about whether their rights are guaranteed?
Ms. Nguyen Thuong - a customer in Tay Mo (Nam Tu Liem, Hanoi) - shared that she currently has 2 orders placed on the Temu platform that are late for delivery but there is no way to contact her. She texted the delivery button on the page and it said that the order would be delivered soon.
According to Ms. Thuong, her order was worth nearly 1 million VND and was scheduled to be delivered on November 29, but she did not receive any notice from Temu about the late delivery.
It is worth mentioning that 3 days ago (December 2), Ms. Thuong went to the Vietnamese Temu page as usual and was startled when the page switched completely to English. Before that, all 5 orders were delivered on time.
Mr. Nguyen Minh (Nguyen Phong Sac Street, Cau Giay, Hanoi) also said that when accessing this e-commerce platform, Vietnamese is no longer supported: "The entire Temu platform from the website to the mobile application no longer displays Vietnamese but only supports 3 languages: Chinese, English and French".
At the same time, he said that he had placed an order for a month but had not yet received the goods and had not been notified of a refund.
A representative of Youme Law Firm LLC said that if Temu really stops doing business in Vietnam, there is a risk that buyers will lose their goods and the money they have transferred.
This depends on Temu's goodwill. If Temu commits to refunding and wishes to register to operate officially and have a license in Vietnam in the future, they may refund customers who have purchased.
The Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy (Ministry of Industry and Trade) said that it has advised people to absolutely not conduct transactions with platforms that have not been confirmed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade to register at the E-commerce Management Information Portal.
Because cross-border e-commerce platforms that have not completed their registration and licensing obligations in Vietnam as prescribed will not be subject to supervision from authorities regarding product quality or after-sales service commitments.
In case of unexpected problems with the transaction, consumers are at risk of facing some difficulties. For example, when receiving a product that is not as described, has errors, is damaged; has the risk of affecting safety, health... consumers will have difficulty requesting a refund or warranty for the product.
Even when disputes arise, unregistered cross-border e-commerce platforms will not be subject to domestic legal liability...
At the regular Government press conference in October 2024, the press asked the leaders of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the General Department of Taxation about the agencies' management of the e-commerce platforms Temu and Shein.
Responding to this content, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hoang Long said that regarding cross-border e-commerce platforms, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has worked with the legal agencies of Temu and Shein platforms.
In particular, it is required to urgently register operations with the Ministry of Industry and Trade according to Vietnamese law in November 2024. During the registration period, it is necessary to notify consumers that the registration procedure is being carried out.
