Australia Post tracking states parcel delivered yet buyer still wants refund for lost parcel

[targett22]

Hi there, hopefully somebody could answer a question if possible. Am I obliged to refund buyer?  I sent a parcel to a buyer through Aust Post with tracking. AP website indicates the parcel was delivered but the buyer insists I refund as the parcel has not been received by her. She posted neg feedback after I emailed her advised AP states it was delivered (ebay has since removed neg feedback). What am I obliged to do? This is one reason I get nervous selling on ebay. THANKS in advance

[thecryptkeeper78]

this happened to me I used the tracking number to prove that the seller did get it and no I didn't give them a refund they opened a case with paypal and where denied they then left bad feedback in which I contacted Ebay with the tracking number and Ebay removed the feedback I would suggest you do the same, somepeople like ripping others off!

[mbselections00]

Firstly I will say I totally agree with most of the comments already posted.

From my experience this whole situation can be a very grey area, as in, there are always the scammer Buyers who will try and get their items for Free, but I have generally found, they are the minority and are the Buyers who purchase without Tracking. 

I send quite a few Registered Large Letters and have only ever had two go astray, in both instances Australia Post located items very quickly once Investigations were commenced.  Strangely though, at the onset of the investigation, they did tell me if the packages were not located I would be reimbursed the cost of postage and the value of the goods up to by memory $100.

Also,  I have found a lot of the time Australia Post is actually the one at fault.  The scanning does not seem reliable.  I have actually had the reverse situation - the item still showing as in transit after it has been delivered and Buyer has left Feedback, which I guess goes to prove there are a lot of honest Buyers also - in fact I think the majority are honest.

All that said, I was home all day today and left to go to the PO about 4pm only to find an Express Post parcel hanging out of my letter box !!!  In full view and there for the taking.  Good one Aust. Post !!  (Lucky I live in a good neighbourhood, but who knows who could be passing by . . . . . )

[bigbrickshop]

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@mbselections00 wrote:

I send quite a few Registered Large Letters and have only ever had two go astray, in both instances Australia Post located items very quickly once Investigations were commenced.  Strangely though, at the onset of the investigation, they did tell me if the packages were not located I would be reimbursed the cost of postage and the value of the goods up to by memory $100.

 

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Registered letters still include up to $100 cover for loss or damage. If the item has been scanned as lodged but does not show as delivered and does not turn up after an Aus Post investigation then you can lodge a claim and will be reimbursed.

With parcels though you need to pay for Extra Cover which costs $1.50 per $100 in value. Standard tracking or tracking plus Signature on Delivery offers no cover for loss or damage.

[old_holdens_never_die]

So glad to now be free of this sh*t .....

[mbselections00]

Thanks bbs, it's all quite confusing   I only send Large Letter or on rare occasions Express, so not familiar with parcels.  It would be great if all methods were a little more uniform.

Like $xxx extra for Registered/Tracking, $xxx for Registered with Signature $xxx for Insurance, no matter what the article.

When I mentioned about the Express Parcel hanging out my letterbox to the PO staff, they said - yep, you pay a lot extra for the fast delivery - but no signature required - seemed a bit silly to me . . . .  .

But I must say when the two Large Letters went missing AUst Post Customer Service  - were excellent. 

I think it's near impossible in some of these situations to point the finger.  Our parcel delivery postie hasn't stopped long enough for a signature for years - just leaves the parcel, beeps the horn & then bolts before I can even get to the door !  Now that suits me fine, but as a Seller, I can see how totally wrong this is . . . . .   If I were to claim not received - sure the parcel may be scanned as received, but there would never be a signature.  I know parcels are pretty safe if they are left on the front patio as opposed to at / half in / in the letter box (we're on 2 acres), but hat is hardly the point.  Someone has paid for the security and peace of mind that the parcel be signed for as PROOF.

I think I'm pretty lucky, 99.9% of my customers appear to be honest and friendly

[covert_shopper5]

Please dont everyone automatically assume the Buyer is a scammer.

This very thing happened to me. Item was marked as delivered. Well it was a public holiday here and my Hubby was in the front yard from 7am doing mannly stuff lol..........noone arrived with a parcel, item was apparently delivered at 7.46am.

I have literally NO recourse. I tried. The Seller did the right thing and posted with tracking.

The item tracking states it was delivered to my suburb, but not to me. 

I had to put it down to a "life" experience that cost $95.

[mbselections00]

That to me is a typical example of what I was trying to say - I certainly don't believe all Buyers who have items lost in transit are scammers and it is also a perfect example of a siutation where Buyer & Seller Protection should prevail and be paid by PayPal because neither is at fault

[i-love-my-sheep]

Can Aust Post say exactly where it was delivered to? What's the point in having tracking if they can't tell you where it was delivered to?

Is there a street name in your suburb that sounds similar to yours? I'm often getting mail for a man who lives in a similar sounding street and he is often getting mail for me. We have an agreement that we will deliver each others mail as opposed to return to sender, not at this address.

That was discovered a couple of years ago when he called around here to give me a letter that he felt looked important. It was, it was court papers for the case with my buyer that tried to sue me. If I hadn't received that letter, I never would have gone to court the first time and would have automatically lost the case (which I ended up winning). As it was, I received it 3 days before I was due to go to court in Sydney (I'm 3.5hrs from Sydney) so it was a close call.

A few weeks later a letter addressed to him turned up at my place, so I dropped it straight around. It was then we formed the verbal agreement that we would pass on each others mail. I have lost track now of how many times we've got each others mail. 

My local PO and postie are usually pretty good, but they can't seem to get their heads around these 2 street names!

[clarry100]

We live in a duplex. The street numbers are 54A and 54B.

How hard can it be as the A & B run up the street in the direction the postie travels on our footpath.

But on average twice a week mail is put into the wrong boxes.

I collared the postie (nicely) one day and mentioned what is happening. But nothing has changed.

Fortunately we are neighbours and we know each other so its an easy matter for us to put it back into the correct mailbox.

But the point is, across Australia how often is this kind of thing happening.

A significant percentage of our reported missing items are in unit complexes. So it seems pretty clear that mail is being put into the wrong box numbers and is never being returned to the correct one by the residents of the complex.

Or perhaps it is long after we have sent out a replacement item, and of course then we never hear about that.