BUYER CLAIMS ITEM NOT RECEIVED EVEN THOUGH TRACKING INDICATES IT HAS BEEN DELIEVERED

[elle_luxury]

Hi

Just wondering if you could help me. I have a buyer claiming she did not receive the item, even though the tracking number indicates that the item has been delievered. I sent this item via a prepaid satchel and only have the lodgement receipt (no postcode) and tracking number. What do you suggest I do? I have already told her to check her local post office and neighbours to see if they have taken it by mistake. Would I have to file a claim of lost or stolen parcel? The item in question was a belt (worth $250). I did not purchase extra cover as I thought that auspost compensate for $150 for lost parcels (I realised now that this amount has changed to $50).

Your advice would be appreciated. 

[i-love-my-sheep]

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@whiznumber6 wrote:

I second the above - I live at Unit 3, Number 8, and have had parcels delivered to Number 3, and Number 38 in the same street - it's only happened once or twice, but that's enough to make be pause before automatically hitting the "scammer" button...

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I know when we post items we are supposed to write the address exactly how it shows in PayPal, but due to paranoia, I do change it slightly sometimes. If a buyer has written their address as 3/8 Smith Street, I'll write it as:

Joe Bloggs

Unit 3

8 Smith Street

That way it should hopefully be clear that it's going to unit 3 at 8 Smith St, and it's not going to turn up at 38 Smith St. Even if they have their address as Unit 3, 8 Smith St, I'll still put the Unit 3 on a separate line. So far everything I've sent has arrived!

[cq_tech]

I must admit to doing exactly the same thing when I address my parcels & letters too, sheep. Nobody has ever complained and I'm yet to lose an item, and I'd also hope that in the event of an INR that Paypal would understand the rationale behind doing so and not penalise me for it.(and I'd fight it if they did).

I've never been overly happy about sending items to flats or units at the best of times and while most of my items are sent via large letter, on the odd occasion that I send a larger item or a parcel, I cover my ar$e by paying for registration out of my own pocket so that the item will be carded and need to be signed for at the PO.

[elle_luxury]

In this case I thought auspost had compensation for $150 which I why I did not purchase any extra cover for this item. Next time I will always purchase signature on delivery for items valued over $50. Lesson learnt 😞 

I suppose I have to be grateful that my much more expensive items (some over $5000) have been delivered to the right address. But it is scary at the same time that these items (with extra cover and SOD) could have been delivered to the wrong house. I would be in big trouble then, especially if aupost refuse to take responsibility for it. Moreover, on a buyers perspective, if I had purchased something expensive and it had been delivered to the wrong house and auspost refused to do anything about it (and the seller was uncooperative) then I could have no leg to stand on in a paypal case especially if seller can provide proof of postage. 

So let this be a warning for both sellers and buyers!

[ozstockman]

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I suppose I have to be grateful that my much more expensive items (some over $5000) have been delivered to the right address. But it is scary at the same time that these items (with extra cover and SOD) could have been delivered to the wrong house. I would be in big trouble then, especially if aupost refuse to take responsibility for it. Moreover, on a buyers perspective, if I had purchased something expensive and it had been delivered to the wrong house and auspost refused to do anything about it (and the seller was uncooperative) then I could have no leg to stand on in a paypal case especially if seller can provide proof of postage. 

So let this be a warning for both sellers and buyers!

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I guess there is something "special" with freight companies. You pay them for delivery of some products, they loose them and then say to you "Oops, we are so sorry we may be refund you a postage cost but not the cost of what has been lost inside the parcel" It seems they have a right to loose it and we all agree to it.  That's actually a service and even though it is hard to implement a compensation procedure without declared value they should not get away with it.  It is not a lottery when you buy a lottery ticket and you do not win anything. That's called gambling, not providing a business service.  Thus you pay for delivery service and there should not be any risk of loosing money on lost content Even regular post should be covered. 

However I would not worry in your case if it is sent with SOD and insurance. If it is lost you should get paid back whatever amount it has been covered for. And with SOD if it's signed even buyer's claims it is not their signature won't help in Paypal disputes. I have had the case like this and a paypal disute has been closed in my favour.

[elle_luxury]

Well just to update you, the dispute was found in my favour (even without SOD). The tracking clearly showed that it was delivered to her suburb (as per ebay proof of postage). The buyer has informed me that they are not happy (and she even suggested that sellers should always provide refunds for items not received, even if they have proof of postage!). 

My question is now can the buyer appeal the case? Or can she file a credit card chargeback? I have already offered her a refund if Auspost cannot find the package but that did not seem to satisfy her. I think she was really relying on winning that dispute rather than waiting for me to refund her. 

Any advice would be good.

Cheers

[lyndal1838]

If she funded the payment with a credit card or visa debit card then she can start a chargeback but as you have already won the paypal dispute it is unlikely that you will lose the money.  If she wins the chargeback paypal will pay it on your behalf.