CHUWILAPTOP / CHUWI2018 – DEFECTIVE LARKBOOK TOUCHSCREEN, NO SUPPORT
Summary: The discussion concerns problems with a faulty touchscreen on a CHUWI LarkBook laptop and the lack of support from the company. 1970ted_2008 shares their frustration, while marioelegio and cizeta1964 join the conversation discussing possible solutions and sharing similar experiences. No clear resolution is reached, but there is a common sense of dissatisfaction with the manufacturer's customer service.
I bought a CHUWI LarkBook laptop WITH TOUCHSCREEN from a seller on eBay.
Right from the start the screen was NOT touchscreen as promised in the description, and after just a few months, exactly 6, the screen BURNED OUT while I was just watching YouTube videos that I make for work.
The seller initially admitted that it wasn't touchscreen and refunded only €20, but since then he hasn't done anything else.
I sent photos and videos proving the problems, but I only get vague replies or no reply at all.
I'M REGRETTING HAVING LEFT HIM THE BEST FEEDBACK, BECAUSE HE ONLY DID CRAP.
It's a shame that defective devices can be sold with misleading descriptions and then disappear, leaving customers with almost €160 thrown away.
I ask eBay: who protects us?
1970ted_2008
OP1 year agohttps://drive.google.com/file/d/1n4zxk9iv8Kwt4GFgRanWMZCe8pe47rw-/view?usp=sharing
marioelegio
·1 year agoThe basic problem always remains the fact that a Chinese store cannot be subject to community regulations.
hi
mario
1970ted_2008
OP1 year agobut does not offer support or respect the minimum rights
of the buyer.
This raises a serious issue of commercial fraud or misleading
advertising even within the eBay platform.
Teodora
marioelegio
·1 year agoI'm sorry to contradict you, but it is registered as a professional seller in China, where the store has its registered office. So it is required to comply with the buyer's minimum rights provided for by Chinese commercial law (if it exists).
The EU VAT number is only for the warehouse in Europe and for the IOSS regime https://www.agenziaentrate.gov.it/portale/regime-opzionale-ioss/chi-puo-accedere-ioss-imprese
As you can easily read, even taxable persons domiciled or resident outside the European Union not established in any Member State of the European Union can have a VAT number, regardless of whether or not they have a permanent establishment in the State.
If you are convinced of what you are saying, file a complaint with the AGCM authority for unfair commercial practices. https://www.agcm.it/servizi/segnala-on-line
bye
mario
1970ted_2008
OP1 year agoThe point is not where the seller is based, but how it presents itself and what it
promises to the European consumer.
The seller advertises itself with an EU VAT number, uses European warehouses
for fast sales and therefore voluntarily falls under the IOSS system.
This implies an obligation of transparency, traceability and respect for
minimum European rights at the time of sale.
If then, at the first technical problem, it hides behind Chinese borders to
deny assistance and dump everything on the customer, this is improper
behavior, if not a deceptive commercial practice.
And yes, as you say, I have already started gathering documentation for a
report to the AGCM and other competent authorities.
My intention here is also to publicly share the experience in order to
warn other buyers.
Best regards,
Teodora
1970ted_2008
OP1 year agoIn addition, I noticed that the VAT number shown on the invoice (DE200081785 - eBay GmbH) does not match the one visible in the seller's profile chuwi2018, which raises serious doubts about the transparency of the commercial transaction. If the seller is different from the one who issued the invoice, who is responsible for the product defect?
marioelegio
·1 year agoDistance sales are considered concluded at the seller's registered office; in your case it's as if you had gone to China and bought it in a store and then imported the item into Italy.
1970ted_2008
OP1 year agoHi Mario,
thank you for your contribution.
I would like to point out, however, that the seller in question (chuwi2018 / CHUWILAPTOP) appears on eBay as a European professional seller, not as a direct location in China. On the store page, no location in Shenzhen is indicated, nor does it appear evident that the sale took place from a non-EU entity. The listing was in Italian, with fast shipping from European warehouses (probably Germany or France), without any explicit declaration of an overseas sale.
So, contrary to what you say, it is not correct to equate this purchase with one made physically in China. Under the European Distance Selling Directive, the consumer still retains certain rights — even if limited after 6 months, in my case.
That said, the serious fact remains: the product arrived with a factory defect (touchscreen never working), the seller offered vague and fragmented responses, and now, after 6 months, they are proposing a return at my expense — without even admitting the problem. By comparison, my old Chuwi, with a swollen battery and cracked casing, still has a perfectly working touchscreen after 6 years of heavy use.
Anyone reading this discussion can see for themselves the kind of support and responsibility they are dealing with.
Thanks anyway for your contribution.
— Teodora
marioelegio
·1 year agoYou're mistaken, on every listing (by clicking on the seller's contact information) this page appears.
The German and French VAT numbers are for transactions under the Import One Stop Shop.
So where do you infer that it's a EU seller?
hi
mario
1970ted_2008
OP1 year agoHi Mario,
and thanks for the detailed clarification.
You are absolutely right: the actual registered office is in China, and I understand what you mean when you say that, in practice, it’s as if we had bought directly there. However, I’d like to draw attention to the fact that the eBay listing clearly indicated Germany as the shipping country and warehouse location, with a German VAT number visible as well, creating — intentionally or not — the expectation of a purchase within the European Union, with all the protections that entails.
And this is exactly where the critical point arises: the seller takes advantage of the ambiguity between logistical presence in the EU (with the related OSS regime) and a non-EU registered office, gaining tax and market advantages while avoiding responsibility toward the European consumer, who is left without real protection when serious problems occur like in my case (dead screen after a short time, constant silence or vagueness, no support).
In my case, we are talking about:
Defective product received, never used on the move;
Support request ignored or handled very poorly, for months;
A late proposal to send the laptop back to China (!) at my expense, after 6 months;
And the final insult: my old Chuwi (with a swollen battery and broken shell!) still has a perfectly fine touch screen, proving that this is not normal wear and tear.
I understand that legally one can play around with these details, but ethically and from an experience standpoint this kind of sale is deeply unfair and deceptive, and I will continue to report it wherever possible.
Thanks again for your input, really valuable for finding one’s way through this jungle.
Teodora (1970ted_2008)
cizeta1964
·1 year agoHi Mario, how is it possible that the listings say the items for sale come from Germany?
marioelegio
·1 year agoHi Cizeta, they have a warehouse in Germany and a German VAT number for operations under the Import One Stop Shop regime, but their registered office is still in China.
What I reported isn’t something I made up; I took it from one of their listings.
bye
mario
cizeta1964
·1 year agoThanks Mario, I wasn't doubting what you wrote, I was trying to understand...
They're clever and apparently they can do it... 😑
heavenwelkin
·1 year agoOfficial CHUWI support in Italy has some limitations, especially for products purchased through marketplaces like eBay. Here is a summary of the available information:
Warranty and CHUWI Support
Limited Warranty: CHUWI offers a limited warranty on the product, covering defects in materials and workmanship under normal use. However, the warranty does not cover accidental damage or damage caused by improper use. CHUWI
Support Request: To obtain warranty support, you need to contact CHUWI at the email address support@chuwi.com within the warranty period. You will be asked to provide proof of purchase and, if necessary, ship the product to a designated service center at your own expense.
User Experiences
Reviews from Italian users highlight several issues:
Limited Support: Many users report the absence of service centers in Italy, with the need to ship products abroad for repairs, incurring additional costs. Trustpilot
Slow Response Times: Some customers complain about very long response times from customer service, with sporadic communication and a lack of updates on the status of repairs.
Helpful Tips
Contact the Seller: If you bought the laptop through eBay, it is advisable to contact the seller directly to request support or warranty information.
Consumer Associations: In the event of no response or unsatisfactory support, you can turn to a consumer association in Italy for legal assistance.
Consider Buying Products with Local Support: For future purchases, consider buying products from brands with an established support network in Italy, to ensure more efficient assistance in case of problems.
1970ted_2008
OP1 year ago@heavenwelkin thanks for your input.
I agree with your overall view, but unfortunately my actual experience confirms all the issues you mention — and maybe even a bit more.
I contacted the seller on eBay (chuwilaptop / chuwi2018) several times, with public and private messages, but never received any real assistance.
After a lot of insistence from me and the community, I was sent a simple photo with an email address written by hand, to send a video as proof of the fault.
I immediately sent a video clearly showing the screen dying, but I never received any reply.
Only later did I discover that that address wasn’t even the seller’s official one.
The notebook arrived with the touchscreen already not working (even though it’s a LarkBook touch model) and after just a few uses the screen completely turned off, first leaving a sort of red stripe like a side “curtain” and then going totally black — while I was just watching a simple YouTube video from Edge.
No impact, no misuse, just a clear hardware failure.
In December, not knowing what feedback to leave, I asked the seller to write it himself.
He sent me a vague text (“solved a problem with the monitor”), and I, in good faith and hoping for future cooperation, added only “the best”.
My mistake: nothing had been solved.
And I want to point this out:
my old Chuwi, which is 6 years old, is cracked and has a swollen battery, but the touchscreen still works perfectly.
That’s exactly why I expected this new LarkBook to be at least minimally reliable and useful for my creative work (I run three YouTube channels), but it has never been functional.
I’m putting together a detailed PDF and also a public video to tell the whole story, so that other users don’t end up in the same situation.
Thanks again for your contribution,
Teodora
YouTube Channel: TEAREKSAT