Temu

Independent Sources

Shown for context — not merged with USAComplaints' own numbers.

Contacts

• Official website: https://www.temu.com/
• Contact us page (24/7 chat support): https://www.temu.com/contact-us.html
• Return and refund policy: https://www.temu.com/return-and-refund-policy.html
• Report suspicious activity page: https://www.temu.com/bgch_report_suspicious.html
• Dispute notice (Terms section 19.2): [email protected]
• Data Protection Officer (privacy): [email protected]

Locations

Temu orders, returns, refunds and disputes: what the company's pages say (as of October 12, 2026)

This page is about Temu, the online marketplace at temu.com and the Temu app. The U.S. Terms of Use (last updated November 7, 2025, as displayed on October 12, 2026) say the Terms are between the user and Whaleco Inc., a Delaware company. Below are the routes the company's own pages give for orders, returns, refunds and disputes, and the legal terms that apply to disputes. They are the company's words as displayed that day, not an assessment of how any single order was handled.

Contact. The Contact us page lists "Temu customer service 24/7 chat support" and an office address, 31 St James Ave, Suite 355, Boston MA 02116, described as "For correspondence purposes only. No in-person customer service or returns are available at this location." The page does not list a customer-service telephone number. The Terms give [email protected] for the informal-dispute notice described below, and the Privacy Policy gives [email protected] for its Data Protection Officer.

Return or refund. The Return and Refund Policy (last updated September 17, 2026 PDT) says to find the order in "Your Orders" on Temu.com or in the app and click the "Return/Refund" button; without an account, use "Save your Order" in the Temu order email. It says: "You can return items within 90 days of purchase, with some exceptions," and lists items that cannot be returned, including worn, washed or damaged clothing, groceries and food, some health and personal care items, some free gifts, some customized products and some underwear orders. It separately says: "The return window for most electronics is 45, 60, or 90 days from the date of purchase depending on the seller." The policy says: "Return shipping is free on your first return of one or multiple returnable items for EVERY order within 90 days from the date of purchase with some exceptions," and: "For the second and subsequent refunds from the same order, you can use the return label we provide. The shipping fee of $7.99 plus tax depending on the shipping address of the order will be deducted from your refund." On timing it says the return package must be "postmarked within 14 days after you submit your return, otherwise the return process will be terminated." It says refunds for returned items are processed "after the items are received and pass quality inspection" and: "Depending on your financial institution, refunds can take 5-14 business days (up to 30 days) to be credited to your original payment account." On refund method it says buyers may choose Temu credit instead of the original payment method, and that "Refunds to Temu credit typically cannot be reversed once they are processed" and "Typically, Temu credits cannot be redeemed for cash and can only be used for purchases on Temu." It also says advance and instant refunds are granted "based on your shopping history and at our sole discretion," and that the original payment method may be charged if items are not returned or fail quality inspection.

Cancelling an order. Temu's help-center article on cancelling an order (opened on October 12, 2026 in the Latvia-region version of the site, which the site served to our browser; we did not open a separate U.S.-region render) says to go to "Your orders," find the order and click "Cancel items." According to the article, items marked as shipped from or procured by Temu can be cancelled while the delivery status is not "Packed"; items from sellers or local warehouses can be cancelled while the status is not "Shipped," and for a cancellation requested more than 30 minutes after ordering the seller may need to check whether items were already packed or shipped, with the final decision resting with the seller.

Missing or undelivered items. The Return and Refund Policy says to select "missing item/parts" or "package shows delivered but not received" in the support center. The Shipping Info page says to contact customer service "immediately and within 90 days of the order date" if a package was not delivered or tracking shows delivered but it was not received.

Disputes are subject to arbitration unless the user opts out. Section 19 of the Terms contains an arbitration agreement: disputes are to be resolved "by binding arbitration, using the English language, rather than in court," with exceptions for small claims court and equitable relief for intellectual-property misuse. Claims may be brought only on an individual basis (section 19.4), and a batch-arbitration process applies when 25 or more substantially similar arbitration notices are filed within 30 days by or with the assistance of the same law firm or group (section 19.9).

Steps before arbitration. Section 19.2 requires a telephonic or video "Informal Dispute Resolution Conference" before either side commences arbitration. The party initiating a dispute must send written notice, which per section 19.2 is to be held "within forty-five (45) days after the other party receives such Notice, unless an extension is mutually agreed"; notice to Temu goes by email to [email protected] or by regular mail to the section 18.5 address, and must include the user's name, telephone number, mailing address and account email, counsel's details if any, a description of the dispute and a proposed date and time. The Terms say the conference "shall be individualized such that a separate conference must be held each time either party initiates a Dispute," and: "Engaging in the Informal Dispute Resolution Conference is a condition precedent and requirement that must be fulfilled before commencing arbitration." Section 19.5 says that if the informal process does not resolve the dispute "satisfactorily within sixty (60) days after receipt of Notice," either party may pursue binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, filed where the user resides or in New York, New York, and that the user's responsibility for AAA fees and costs is "solely as set forth in the applicable AAA rules."

Fees, opt-out and governing law. Section 19.8 says each side bears its own fees and costs in arbitration unless the arbitrator finds a claim or relief frivolous or brought for an improper purpose, and also: "If you or we need to invoke the authority of a court of competent jurisdiction to compel arbitration, then the party that obtains an order compelling arbitration in such action shall have the right to collect from the other party its reasonable costs, necessary disbursements, and reasonable attorneys' fees incurred in securing an order compelling arbitration." It adds that the prevailing party in a court action about whether a condition precedent to arbitration was satisfied "is entitled to recover their reasonable costs, necessary disbursements, and reasonable attorneys' fees and costs" (see the litigation record for a court decision applying section 19.8). Section 19.10 gives a right to opt out by written notice to the section 18.5 address within 30 days after first becoming subject to the arbitration agreement, stating name, address, account email and an unequivocal statement of opt-out. Sections 18.3 and 18.4 select New York law and courts in New York, New York for non-arbitrable disputes. Whether any term can be enforced in a particular situation is for a court or arbitrator; this page does not give legal advice.

Other routes. A BBB complaint can be filed at bbb.org; consumers can report to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to their state attorney general's consumer-protection office; and unsafe products can be reported at SaferProducts.gov. The footer of the Temu site also links a "Report suspicious activity" page and a "Recalls and product safety alerts" page.

Credit-card billing disputes. Separately from Temu's own process, the FTC's consumer guidance on credit cards and disputing charges describes a federal dispute process for billing errors on credit cards, covering among other things charges for things you bought that "weren't delivered as agreed." It says to send the issuer a written letter that "reaches the issuer within 60 days after the first bill with the error was sent to you." That process runs between cardholder and card issuer; the deadlines are set by law and by the issuer, not by Temu, and other payment methods have their own rules.

Which company operates the site depends on the region. A non-U.S. regional (Russian-language) version of the Terms of Use that we opened on October 12, 2026 named a different operator, Whaleco Technology Limited, registered in Ireland, with its own last-updated date. This page covers the U.S. version of the service and Whaleco Inc.

FTC order, state attorney general lawsuits and CPSC recall notices

FTC and Department of Justice, INFORM Consumers Act (September 2025). On September 5, 2025 the United States, on notification from the FTC, filed a complaint against Whaleco Inc. d/b/a Temu in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts (1:25-cv-12466) together with a proposed stipulated order. The FTC press release called it the first action to enforce the INFORM Consumers Act, which requires online marketplaces to give consumers a way to report suspicious activity on high-volume third-party sellers' listings and to disclose certain seller identity information. The complaint alleged, among other things, that Temu provided no telephonic means to report suspicious marketplace activity, that when one was provided it was difficult to access, that no reporting mechanism existed for listings in its gamified shopping experiences until November 2024, and that required seller disclosures were missing for part of the time in gamified listings and on its mobile website. The court docket shows a stipulated order entered by Judge Myong J. Joun on September 8, 2025. The order provides for a $2,000,000 civil penalty, payable within 7 days of entry, and injunctive terms requiring a telephonic reporting mechanism and seller-information disclosures. In the order, "Defendant neither admits nor denies any of the allegations in the Complaint, except as specifically stated in this Order," and admits only the facts necessary to establish jurisdiction.

State attorney general lawsuits. The attorneys general listed below have announced lawsuits naming Temu or its parent companies. We read each office's announcement; we did not read the complaints or the courts' dockets, and the descriptions are the states' allegations, not findings. Temu has contested at least some of these claims in court (see the Arkansas entry).

• Arkansas. The Arkansas Attorney General sued PDD Holdings Inc. and WhaleCo Inc. in Cleburne County Circuit Court under the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the Personal Information Protection Act; the office's announcement describes it as the first state lawsuit against Temu. Family Council reported on August 5, 2026 that a judge denied Temu's motion to dismiss on July 15, 2026; Temu's position is stated in its court filings, which we did not read.
• Nebraska. Announced June 12, 2025. The office alleges data collection through the app, deceptive product listing and pricing practices, no meaningful return process, intellectual-property infringement and misleading environmental marketing.
• Kentucky. Announced July 17, 2025 (Woodford County Circuit Court). The office alleges unlawful data collection, intellectual-property violations involving Kentucky brands, and forced-labor-related claims, among others.
• Arizona. Announced December 2, 2025, filed December 1, 2025 in Maricopa County Superior Court under the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act, alleging unlawful data collection, privacy violations and counterfeiting of Arizona brands.
• Texas. Announced February 19, 2026 against PDD Holdings, Inc. and WhaleCo Inc. under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, alleging deceptive marketing and data harvesting and seeking up to $10,000 per violation.
• Iowa. Announced July 1, 2026 under the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act, alleging data collection, misrepresentations about product quality and pricing, deceptive sign-up practices and intellectual-property violations.

Missouri. On April 13, 2026 the Missouri Attorney General's Office issued a request for proposals for outside counsel to investigate and, if warranted, litigate potential claims against Whaleco, Inc., TEMU and TEMU PAYMENTS INC. The office's Contingency Fee Contracts page, opened on October 12, 2026, lists "TEMU Litigation, Initial Determination and Contract" with a post date of 6/25/2026, after the April 13, 2026 "TEMU RFP." The contract document states that the Attorney General retained Nachawati Law Group and Wade Kilpela Slade, designated Special Assistant Attorneys General, "to investigate, research, and prepare claims, if necessary," and recites that "potential claims should be investigated and, if warranted, brought" against the Temu entities. We did not locate a complaint or court docket for Missouri in the sources checked on October 12, 2026, and this page does not describe the matter as a filed lawsuit.

CPSC recall notices that list Temu as a sales channel. The Consumer Product Safety Commission's recall database, queried on October 12, 2026 for recalls dated January 1, 2022 or later, returned 23 recall notices that name Temu or Temu.com among the places the product was sold; in 6 of them the notice says the product was sold exclusively online at Temu.com. Most of the notices are for products made or imported by third-party sellers, and in the notices we read the recalling firm, not Temu, is named as the party providing the refund, often through messages to the seller on Temu.com. The notices by date: 26794 (Sept. 24, 2026, Aitjunz 8-drawer dressers); 26779 (Sept. 17, 2026, Lanchez pressure washers); 26694 (Aug. 13, 2026, Merax murphy beds); 26672 (Aug. 6, 2026, projecting finger light toys); 26656 (July 30, 2026, baby doll playsets); 26654 (July 30, 2026, Sloosh dive sticks, expanded); 26536 (June 11, 2026, Sloosh dive sticks); 26524 (June 4, 2026, Wyze Solar Cam Pan cameras); 26470 (May 7, 2026, multi-purpose helmets); 26244 (Feb. 9, 2026, Aroeve air purifiers); 26148 (Dec. 11, 2025, youth ATVs); 25474 (Sept. 18, 2025, EnHomee dressers); 25134 (Feb. 13, 2025, pounding games); 25123 (Feb. 6, 2025, sling carriers); 25033 (Nov. 7, 2024, crib bumpers); 24318 (July 25, 2024, toy guns); 24300, 24296 and 24301 (July 11, 2024, children's nightgowns and pajama sets); 24265 (June 13, 2024, magnetic chess games); 24211 (Apr. 25, 2024, kids' bike helmets); 24201 (Apr. 18, 2024, children's helmets); 23737 (Mar. 9, 2023, crib bumpers). A recall of one seller's product does not mean other listings are recalled; a product's recall status can be checked by name and model at cpsc.gov/Recalls or SaferProducts.gov.

CPSC product safety warnings that name Temu. A CPSC warning is a different document from a recall: CPSC issues it when it says a firm has not agreed to an acceptable recall. In CPSC's published product-safety-warning listing (375 entries, downloaded on October 12, 2026), five entries mention Temu among sales channels. The newest, number 26-795 dated September 24, 2026, warns consumers to stop using FOTING pressure washers because they "lack an integrated immersion protection device on or near the power plug" (a GFCI) and lack an adequate-length power cord, and says "Success Way Ltd. of China has not agreed to an acceptable recall"; it lists the product as sold online at Amazon.com, Walmart.com, TikTok.com, Temu.com, Wayfair.com and eBay.com. The other four, numbers 24-035 to 24-038, are dated December 7, 2023 and concern magnetic ball sets sold online at temu.com in 2023; the title of number 24-036 includes "Sold Exclusively at Temu.com." A warning is a CPSC statement about a product, not a finding about Temu.

European Commission (outside the United States). The European Commission's Foreign Subsidies Regulation news page lists a press release dated 31 July 2026 titled "Commission sends Statement of Grounds to Temu over possible obstruction of inspection under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation." We read the listing's title and date; the title describes possible obstruction, and we did not read the release body or any final decision, so this page does not report a finding.

Who operates Temu and what the company says about itself

Operator. The U.S. Terms of Use (last updated November 7, 2025) and the Privacy Policy (last updated November 14, 2025) name Whaleco Inc. as the operator; the Terms describe it as a Delaware company with the Boston address above. The FTC and the Department of Justice sued "Whaleco Inc. d/b/a Temu" in the 2025 INFORM Act case, and the company's own About page says "Temu was founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 2022."

Parent. In a corporate disclosure filed on September 4, 2026 in the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation proceeding, Whaleco Inc. identified "PDD Holdings Inc." as its corporate parent. The Texas Attorney General's announcement says PDD Holdings relocated its principal executive offices from Shanghai to Dublin, Ireland; we did not verify that statement against PDD's own filings.

What the company says it does. The About page says Temu "connects consumers with millions of merchandise partners, manufacturers and brands," and that products "from sellers on Temu are shipped using experienced and reliable logistics partners," with shipping origins that "vary depending on the product purchased." The return policy distinguishes "local warehouse items," for which the buyer is to contact the seller from "Return Details," from other items, for which the buyer contacts Temu customer service.

Purchase and policy pages. The contact page banner lists "Free returns Up to 90 days*," "Price adjustment Within 30 days" and "Delivery guarantee Refund for any issues"; the asterisk and conditions are in the policy pages quoted in the first section.

Complaint and review record as displayed on October 12, 2026

BBB. As displayed on October 12, 2026, the BBB business profile titled "Temu.com" (Boston, MA; Better Business Bureau in Eastern MA, ME, RI & VT) shows a BBB rating of B and states "This business is NOT BBB Accredited." The Complaints tab shows "6,055 total complaints in the last 3 years" and "1,953 complaints filed in the last 12 months," while the main profile page shows "6,056 complaint(s) filed against business"; BBB's own pages are not always updated at the same moment and the figures change daily. The Reviews tab shows "1.91 /5 stars" with "Average of 1,078 Customer Reviews." BBB's page data lists a file opened date of October 19, 2022 and a business start and incorporation date of July 11, 2022. The profile carries three alerts, including a government-action alert describing the 2025 FTC/DOJ case, and a customer-complaint analysis in which BBB says it used artificial intelligence to analyze complaints on 10/23/2025 and shared the findings with Temu. BBB's listed themes were product quality, shipping delays and non-receipt, customer service, return and refund processes, and website usability. The page states that Temu responded to BBB on 11/5/2025 and describes the company's quality-control, seller-onboarding and related processes in that response.

Trustpilot. As displayed on October 12, 2026, Trustpilot's page for temu.com shows a TrustScore of 1.8, 56,456 reviews and "14,638 reviews in the last 12 months." The star distribution displayed is 24 percent five-star, 7 percent four-star, 5 percent three-star, 6 percent two-star and 58 percent one-star. The profile is shown as claimed since October 2022, Trustpilot states that the company invites customers to review, "Replied to 99% of negative reviews" and "Typically replies within 24 hours." Trustpilot says it does not fact-check reviews, and its star bars and counts change daily.

Our archive. usacomplaints.com has no published complaint posts about Temu or Whaleco: a search of approved archive posts on October 12, 2026 for the name and domain returned only two older Polish-language posts in which "temu" is the Polish word for "ago." The BBB and Trustpilot figures above are counted by those sites, are not combined with each other, and are not our own tallies.

Court records naming Whaleco Inc. (Temu)

Consumer privacy mass actions: arbitration and fee award. Lawsuits by Temu users, represented by Potter Handy, LLP, were filed in California state court beginning in March 2025 in eight initial cases with, according to the court's September 9, 2026 order, over 900 plaintiffs per case. They alleged violations of California privacy, business and advertising laws. Temu removed them to the Central District of California, where the court on August 29, 2025 granted Temu's motion to transfer to the Eastern District of New York, finding "Plaintiffs unambiguously manifested their consent to be bound by [the] Terms." In the Eastern District, plaintiffs stipulated on February 2, 2026 to refer their claims to arbitration and the court stayed the claims pending arbitration on February 4, 2026. On September 9, 2026, Judge Margo K. Brodie granted Temu's motion for fees and costs under section 19.8 of the Terms, awarding $302,547.60 in attorneys' fees (Temu had sought $597,553) and $52,173 in costs.

Ziboukh v. Whaleco Inc. (E.D.N.Y. 1:24-cv-03733). A suit by Temu users and non-users against Whaleco and PDD Holdings. On August 14, 2025 the court granted the defendants' motion to dismiss the non-users' claims for lack of standing, without prejudice, denied PDD's personal-jurisdiction motion without prejudice pending jurisdictional discovery, and granted the motion to compel arbitration as to the users' and minor users' claims against Temu, staying the case against Temu. The docket then shows a stipulated dismissal with prejudice of minor users' claims approved on May 6, 2026 and a June 16, 2026 order dismissing one plaintiff's claims with prejudice for failure to prosecute.

McMahan v. Whaleco, Inc. (E.D.N.Y. 1:25-cv-01590). A petition to compel arbitration brought by users against Whaleco. On March 9, 2026 the court granted the motion to compel arbitration for the five plaintiffs who took part in informal dispute resolution conferences and, for the plaintiffs listed in its Appendix A, denied it and granted Whaleco's motion to dismiss because they had not completed the informal dispute resolution process.

Multidistrict litigation request (MDL No. 3202). A transfer motion accepted for filing on August 20, 2026 lists Russell v. Whaleco Inc. (N.D. Ill. 1:26-cv-04296) and actions against other retailers; the docket entries we read do not state the claims. Briefing closed on September 18, 2026 and we did not find a ruling in the sources checked on October 12, 2026.

Suit Temu filed. In Whaleco Inc. v. Gluck (D. Mass. 1:25-cv-11233), Temu sued Cookies SF, LLC, Alec Monopoly Art, LLC, Alec Monopoly, LLC, attorney Jeffrey Gluck and Gluck Law Firm P.C., seeking to rescind settlement agreements with Cookies SF and Alec Monopoly based on alleged misrepresentations by their attorney. The docket shows Judge Richard G. Stearns granted the defendants' motions to dismiss on August 20 and August 27, 2025 and denied a sanctions motion, and on September 17, 2025 entered stipulated orders that Temu pay $45,000 (Cookies SF) and $25,920 (Alec Monopoly) in attorneys' fees. Notices of appeal and cross-appeal were filed in the First Circuit (25-1893, 25-1894), and the appeal docket we opened on October 12, 2026 shows briefing through April 2026. This is a commercial dispute and not a consumer case.

The Terms of Use cited in these decisions are the arbitration terms described in the first section; the court filings we read describe the registration screen as hyperlinking the Terms. Allegations in any complaint are claims, not findings.

Is Temu Legitimate?

Whaleco Inc. is named in the U.S. Terms of Use as the operator of Temu and has a published Boston, Massachusetts correspondence address, the same address listed by BBB. The company has been the defendant in a 2025 FTC/DOJ case that ended in a stipulated order with a $2,000,000 civil penalty and no admission or denial of the allegations, and in lawsuits announced by six state attorneys general whose claims are allegations that have not been decided on the merits in the sources we read. BBB lists the business with a rating of B and without BBB accreditation, and Trustpilot and BBB display the review figures shown in the complaint record. Users should know that the Terms contain an arbitration agreement with a 30-day opt-out and, in section 19.8, a provision letting the party that obtains an order compelling arbitration collect its reasonable costs and attorneys' fees, which a federal court applied in September 2026. This page records documents and does not rate the company or predict how any individual order will be handled.

Court & Public Records

Company Relationships

• Owned by: PDD Holdings Inc.

Frequently Asked Questions