Buyer claims package empty - Australia Post insurance

[trinity57]

Hi Everyone

I have had issues recently with buyers claiming they had received an empty envelope. Both items were posted by Australia Post (one Registered Post), never had an issue with AP before. Ended up refunding both sales.

Can't tell if buyers were being dishonest, but for the registered post item, buyer claimed postie handed them the empty envelope and said "it came like that" (if true, appalling). I rang Australia Post  re: the insurance claim process and they advised that buyer would need to present themselves at a corporate PO to lodge the insurance claim. This sounds like an absolute rubbish process especially when the buyer lives far away from one.  Distance aside, has anyone had any luck getting their buyer to lodge an insurance claim? Thoughts on Australia Post "insurance"? Waste of money?

This has really put me off selling items on eBay. Is there another carrier you have used where the insurance claim is submitted by the seller and if so, does this only apply if the seller has paid for the postage?

[designers*n*more · Accepted solution]

Generally, if the sender purchases extra cover insurance they are the ones that need to claim from what I was told, but you will probably need a photo of the empty envelope in which case your buyer will need to send this to you if they still have it. You can also ask AP if the driver took a photo at the time of delivery, although as it was registered it may not have been photographed.

you will need to provide proof of lodgement

Try contacting AP via Messenger, I have always found this the best way to contact the. And they are usually quick to respond and provide excellent help.

[rocket2retro]

I was told that if a letter is thicker than the letter sorting machine, the machine can rip the item from the envelope i.e if the max thickness for a small letter is 5mm and the object within is say 8mm, the object can be ripped out the end as it goes through the machine.

A buyer who received an empty envelope from me was told this by her post office manager. I now cover the ends of my letters with tape to prevent this happening.

[jellybirddesigns]

In general, once an item is delivered, it falls to the buyer to lodge a dispute.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think that Aus Post would simply be delivering damaged and obviously empty envelopes WITHOUT some kind of marking or stamp to say that item was damaged during delivery process. It might be worth asking AP what their procedures are if something gets damaged by machines during sorting etc. 

Did any of the buyers send pictures of the envelopes? Did they open cases or just communicate with you via messages? 

I never refund just because a buyer messages me. They need to open a case and go through the formal steps and Ebay now requires at least one image to be uploaded into the dispute. A formal case means the buyer has to go through the steps of proving the issue. 

[gutterpunkz05]

As others have stated, letters can be damaged by sorting machines, especially if the contents do not meet letter requirements.  IE  Coins etc.

Note  such items  can not only be damaged, but also jam and damage sorting machines, and AP can seek damages.

[trinity57]

Thanks for the tip on contacting AP via Chat. The claim process they advised was different to what I received on the phone (!), but in the end I was able to claim the insurance and the buyer didn't have to present at the CPO. I was rather impressed by their response and turnaround time.