Oh man, sorry to hear that! But that's good to know. I'm always dubious about ordering overseas anyway, unless it's a known reputable seller (amongst the circles I'd trust anyway).
Of course, buying armour in general can be a real nightmare sometimes. A lot of custom armorers will take 3 times as long as they estimate, and then cut and run at some point. It's one of the unfortunate side effects of having a niche market filled with hobbyists and very few mass produced items of quality.