A Cuban online store is accused of selling unavailable appliances

Several users have reported on social media a suspected scam by the state store Mallhaitech Cuba targeting customers purchasing appliances online.

Cuban Guillermo Rodríguez Sánchez has brought attention to the store Mallhaitech Cuba, which specializes in selling appliances online. In his statement, he claims that the establishment has engaged in misleading business practices that are harming Cuban families.

Cubans on the island, and their families abroad, make significant sacrifices to purchase home appliances online that can improve the challenging living conditions in the country. However, those who have done so with Mallhaitech have a recurring complaint: they pay, but the appliances do not arrive at home.

The complaint has been widely circulated on Facebook, indicating that Mallhaitech Cuba is offering pre-sale products on its website without properly informing customers that the equipment is not available in Cuba at the time of purchase.

Those affected report that only after making the payment and checking the status of their order are they informed that the equipment is on "pre-sale" or that it cannot be delivered to the provinces due to a lack of transportation and fuel.

This argument is even used in Havana, where Haitech's central warehouse is located, a commercial partner of the engineering services company COPEXTEL.

Mallhaitech Cuba has launched numerous promotional campaigns featuring images of actors from Cuban telenovelas, YouTubers, and well-known content creators on social media in Cuba.

Rodríguez warns that these artists and communicators may not realize that their involvement in such advertisements is supporting a practice of questionable transparency, which has caused frustration among their followers.

The situation not only affects customers in Cuba but also those abroad who, with great effort, send money to their families to purchase appliances at prices that are high compared to the average salaries of Cubans.

Those affected have expressed their dissatisfaction on social media, noting that Mallhaitech Cuba tends to delete negative comments on its page and social media platforms, which prevents potential customers from learning about the prior experiences of other buyers.

Rodríguez has additional evidence, such as emails exchanged between the store and its customers, in which the company acknowledges its lack of transparency.

The complaint encourages others to share information to prevent more families on the island, as well as Cuban émigrés abroad, from falling into this "loop of informality, indifference, and mistreatment of the customer who pays in hard currency."

This case highlights once again the challenges faced by customers in Cuba, particularly in online shopping, a growing sector that lacks effective consumer protection mechanisms.