Troubles with Louis Vuitton for a gift...

Daily Life, Swiss News and General Topics
1
A cousin who lives permanently in Hong Kong sent a Louis Vuitton bag (a copy) to me by post. Parcel was stopped by customs and they informed LV Switzerland. Now LV sent a letter asking 900 chf, or they will go ``further``.

The good thing is that I did not admit waiting a parcel, I denied having ordered something like that. On the parcel there is no sender. Only my address on it. Can LV press charges with only the recipients name on the parcel?

Should I pay what they ask? Do they really have a case, since this item was never in my possession??

Where should I look for a cheap legal support.??

Thanks in advance

2
I think you should just pay-up.

If this thing goes to court, it's going to be much more expensive.

Legal cost insurance doesn't pay for after-the-fact cases anyway.

Parcels from Asia and Lat-Am are almost certain to be opened and inspected by customs.

3
Copies are illegal in Switzerland. You got unlucky. Just pay and they will go away.

Now go to the LV shop and look what you could have bought with the 900 chfs you wasted.

My opinion is: If you cant afford to buy the original, dont buy anything.

4
Thanks. However, I wonder, how this should be handled. I mean that it is crazy. Can they press charges to a recipient even if he never made use of the item?

In this respect, would they press charges even to Angel Merkel if there was was a parcel for her containing such items? How is it possible to blame the recipient? This can be a deliberate action.... and anyone can be a victim ...

5
I would tell them that this was a gift. And that you had no part is choosing or sending this item and that you are not paying. Start by saying no and then see what they say. At the end if you have to pay, you at least tried.

6
No its not crazy. Its perfectly simple. Fakes are illegal here. You got sent a fake. It got stopped. They have your address. They will go after you. There is no point coming after you after you got the item. Its much simpler never to give it to you in the first place

7
Just tell LV that if they don't drop the case (action against you) your friend will send them one fake each day, and they will be fined CHF 900 & prosecuted by Switzerland for trading in fake handbags!

Isn't this a ridiculous situation? I would go to the Schlichtungsbehörde and ask LV to explain how can they charge you with receiving a present.

8
It is crazy, why should she pay? LV is just bullying, do they really have a case? Are they just hoping that people are sufficiently scared to not take it to court that they pay up?

9
Ftfy

.

10
Pay up and move on. I doubt you'll get away with it.

A report on Swiss TV went into this issue a couple of years ago. Here's the link (German).

Perhaps ask if someone can translate the gist of it if you don't understand German.

11
How can people be ok with this? LV are trying to rob the OP of 900chf for not receiving a parcel, the crime was commited by someone else. What crime has she commited, it's def not receiving stolen goods or anything, because she didn't receive it.

My guess is that LV just hands cases like these to some shady debt collectors who use intimidation to extract money.

12
The law's the law.

13
What exactly is the law? How has it been broken by the OP?

14
Well, one can certainly try. Keep us updated what happens.

But as I said, if this thing goes to court, the 900 CHFs will look cheap.

Also, the courts are not stupid.

They have seen this and a dozen variants a hundred times before.

Nobody gets sent fake LV bags out of the blue.

Do you want to lie about that in front of a judge?

Would you deposit an affidavit under oath that you don't have any connections to Honkong?

What about if they sub-poena all your communication-records?

Unlikely? Perhaps. But you never now if they want to make an example of you. After all, they can be pretty sure to find something and you have to pay all the bills for everything.

15
you think no one has ever used the excuse they didn't order it?

so you didn't ask your cousin to send you the bag? they did it totally out of the blue? hmmmmm

16
So what? So some may import them, what's so unlikely about someone seeing something a friend would like and just buying it for them?

17
Even if it was true, ie the cousin did sent it out of the blue, they wont believe her. Everybody likes receiving surprise parcels. But the courts heard all that before and they wont care

18
because fakes are illegal, what if the cousin sent her half a kilo of cocaine?

everyone knows fakes are illegal, so why risk sending them via post???

19
I strongly disagree with all those saying to just pay up. It's stupid.

I will be in HK in a few weeks and I'm going to mail you all fake LV walets and handbags. Hah. I'll cut a deal with LV to split the money 50/50. But don't worry; the extacy tablets will cheer you up in my next parcel.

20
The court has to prove the case , end of story. If you received some drugs no doubt there would be an Investigation.

I suspect there could be a criminal case in addition to LV's, you will have to wait & see!