Seller trying one on.

[audistarelectronics]

Hi all, purchased an item which is well overdue to arrive, not a huge expence, less than $20.00, but the seller claims the tracking shows that it was left ''unclaimed'' somewhere, but refuses to tell me where, and wants to deduct $7.00 from my refund for an ''Aust Post '' unclaimed item fee. I have collected all parcels from my postal agency on all our mail days, and this one is the only one missing, and it was never there to collect in the first place. I  requested a refund, which they agreed to, as long as I allowed the deduction for the fee. I told them to tell me where the item was sitting so I could get something done through Aust Post, but they are just ignoring the request. I have since told them to just hold action on the refund and I will let a lodged disput decide who gets what.

[padi*0409]

audi, maybe it's the seller's roundabout way of asking for a nice red dot ROFL.

What does the tracking show at your end?

[davewil1964]

If I had as much trouble as you with buying online, I would definitely consider only buying from real shops.

You've been around long enough to know that no provided tracking number when the stuff hits the fan equals no tracking number. And to know that the avenue for uncooperative sellers is a dispute.

So what advice are you after?

[lyndal1838]

If the seller can look at the tracking and see where it is, why can't you look for yourself.

It sounds to me as though it is at a post office somewhere (possibly not your local one) and is waiting for you to collect.   The $7 would be the cost to have it returned to the seller.

[audistarelectronics]

To answer a couple of your questions, the seller didn't bother uploading any tracking details when the item was supposedly sent, only when I started asking questions regarding the non arrival, did they cough up a number which, yes, I did track, and it just shows the item as being in Sydney still, going back and forth between mail sorting centres. So, my gripe is, why should I be docked a fee when I haven't been given a chance to collect my item as it is not even in my area. Yes, I have been buyin g a lot online, Dave, as we have been flood renovating and our nearest hardware store is a round trip of 140kl. I do receive 99% of purchases, and I am only posting here so that it may give others a heads up on what some sellers will try on to reduce a refund paid. I would guess it has been wrongly addressed, and is probably in the lost letter office at Aust Post.  The sender has to lodge an enquiry with Aust Post, not me, but they are choosing not to, instead just trying to reduce the refund. If they can show me proof that the item has been sitting at my PO, then I will cop it sweet.

[audistarelectronics]

Lyndal, my local PO is just an agency, not a full PO, but it works as it should when items are acctually sent by senders. My nearest ''full on'' PO is a drive of 80kl away, so surely I cannot be expected to travel there when they know where my item has to be sent to, as all the mail for my little town comes via there, so it wouldn't be ''just sitting '' there in the first place, it would have been sent on with all the other mail to my PO agency with the other 10 parcels this week alone.

[chameleon54]

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@audistarelectronics wrote:

To answer a couple of your questions, the seller didn't bother uploading any tracking details when the item was supposedly sent, only when I started asking questions regarding the non arrival, did they cough up a number which, yes, I did track, and it just shows the item as being in Sydney still, going back and forth between mail sorting centres. So, my gripe is, why should I be docked a fee when I haven't been given a chance to collect my item as it is not even in my area. Yes, I have been buyin g a lot online, Dave, as we have been flood renovating and our nearest hardware store is a round trip of 140kl. I do receive 99% of purchases, and I am only posting here so that it may give others a heads up on what some sellers will try on to reduce a refund paid. I would guess it has been wrongly addressed, and is probably in the lost letter office at Aust Post.  The sender has to lodge an enquiry with Aust Post, not me, but they are choosing not to, instead just trying to reduce the refund. If they can show me proof that the item has been sitting at my PO, then I will cop it sweet.

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If the address was incorrect on the item, I would expect it would simply get " returned to sender". The fact that you state it is " going back and forth between mailing centres" sounds more like a problem with Australia Posts sorting systems. There have been other threads on the forums alerting ebayers to this problem as it is quite common on the eastern seaboard.

Whilst it is not your fault that Australia Post has problems with its automated mail sorting systems, it is not the sellers fault either. A little bit of understanding and a polite request to the seller to lodge a lost item notification with Australia Post may have been the most constructive way to deal with the issue.

 Now both parties have their back up and it is just going to be another dissapointing ebay experience for all concerned.

[audistarelectronics]

I di request the seller take it up with Aust Post and track it down, and the answer I received was for me to do the chasing. It is well known that any enquiries for lost items is best done by the sender, as they will be given more info than the receiver. The seller is obviously too lazy to do this, and trying to get out of it cheaper. I mean, how can they hit me with some ''fee'' if they don't even know where the item is, and haven't asked the post where it is? They are assuming it is unclaimed, which it simply is not. Just had an email from them stating that the item has been returned to them .....unclaimed. We will see.

[*tippy*toes* · Accepted solution]

If the tracking states still in transit then the sender lodges the dispute with AP. If the tracking shows as delivered, then the recipient raises the dispute. As it's not showing as delivered to anywhere, it's up to the seller to lodge the enquiry. It can all be done online via My Post, they don't even have to leave the house.

[springyzone · Accepted solution]

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@davewil1964 wrote:

If I had as much trouble as you with buying online, I would definitely consider only buying from real shops.

You've been around long enough to know that no provided tracking number when the stuff hits the fan equals no tracking number. And to know that the avenue for uncooperative sellers is a dispute.

So what advice are you after?

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I was a bit intrigued by this so had a look. As far as I can see, the buyer's experiences on ebay have just about all been positive. I looked back 6 pages of FB and only saw one neg and one neutral.

Personally, since the item hasn't arrived, I would just open a dispute and be done with it. Since it hasn't been delivered or shown as delivered, you should get a refund. If it later arrives, you can then repay the seller.

I'm not keen on the seller's attitude where he won't do any enquiring and wants you to pay $7. Go through the dispute process and you should get all of it back.