Aus Post parcel says "delivered" but I received nothing, not even a note

[coleworld2212]

I'm sure you've heard this issue before, but it's the first time I've encountered it.

Going to use XXX to keep specific places hidden.

Using the Aus Post tracking number, standard delivery:

- 1/8: Received By Australia Post - XXX VIC

- 2/8: With Australia Post for delivery today - MITCHELL ACT, 7:25am

- 2/8:  Delivered - MITCHELL ACT, 2:16pm

I am from ACT but not MITCHELL, I'm from another suburb. No where on here is my suburb shown. It just has MITCHELL ACT twice. It says that it is complete/delivered, but I didn't receive anything at home, not even the note to collect it from the post office. 

I called Australia Post and gave them all the details and lodged a "dispute case" or "missing case" or whatever it is.

What happens from here? What could've possibly happened?

If things go extra sour and it is not located, what do I do about getting my money back? I bought it using PayPal. But if the seller did send it to the correct address then this is on Australia Post. 

The thing that I bought is worth ~ $750. Will Aus Post cover? eBay seller? I'm so lost. Help.

[digital*ghost]

You have 30 days from the last estimated delivery date to open an official request (dispute) via eBay, and 180 days from the payment date to open one with PayPal, so those options remain available for a litle while yet if the seller can't help you get this sorted out first - it's great to hear they are responsive and helpful, so I hope it works out.

Just to also note - if you do end up needing to dispute the transaction, you are able to open one with either eBay or PayPal, but not both at the same time. It's also possible to open a PayPal dispute if an eBay dispute fails, but if you open a PayPal dispute first, you can't open an eBay one after, so just some things to keep in mind if things get to that point.

[brerrabbit585]

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@digital*ghost wrote:

Just to note, packages valued at $750+ (including postage), must have signature on delivery to be eligible for seller protection, so hopefully your seller at least insured the parcel so that if AP have stuffed up, no one loses that amount of money. 

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You can't insure a parcel for more than $300 without paying for a signature as well.  It sounds to me like the seller sent it without paying for any sort of cover at all, which is pretty stupid (or naive) on their part because they're the one who'll lose out if it doesn't turn up.

[coleworld2212]

It is a new seller. Should have known better. They seemed professional in that they were replying to my messages and sounded like they cared about customer service.

Just went to MITCHELL AP, they said they don't have it and that it's already "delivered". Gonna have to wait out the AP missing parcel dispute. Sigh.

[digital*ghost]

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 wrote:

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You can't insure a parcel for more than $300 without paying for a signature as well.  It sounds to me like the seller sent it without paying for any sort of cover at all, which is pretty stupid (or naive) on their part because they're the one who'll lose out if it doesn't turn up.

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D'oh! I should've remembered that. 

@coleworld - you have FB showing from a brand new seller so I traced it back to what I suspect may be the purchase - brand new seller, as you mentioned, selling multiple quantities of the same expensive mobiles (single listing, same model), for less than some of the sellers in HK have for the same model? (I'm not trying to insinuate anything, but definitely push for a verifiable record of the address the package was sent to, the seller could well be on the level so I don't want to encourage anyone to presume otherwise without solid evidence, but don't let their "nice-ness" lull you into a false sense of security and get stringed along for too long, either). 

[coleworld2212]

Upon investigation, AP says that it was a prepaid satchel express postage but with no signature upon delivery - very silly for something worth above $750. AP says that it is extremely difficult to track these types of deliveries but they'll try their best. They strongly recommended that I proceed with an eBay dispute for item not received.

So I've called eBay and had someone initiate a dispute for an item not received and they say that they'll give the seller 3 business days to process a refund, or then they'll investigate through AP and most likely process a full refund through eBay's Money Back Guarantee.

Never buying expensive things online again, this has totally turned me off. Pity because I've been doing this for nearly a decade now.

[brerrabbit585]

One would hope that the money that seller has received from buyers gets put on hold for 21 days in paypal. So, as digital*ghost said, don't let them string you along just by sounding nice. A smart con artist will always sound helpful! Any seller sending items worth that much money without having insurance and signature isn't really to be pitied, so don't fall for any sob stories.

Don't take any steps without getting further advice either because it's easy to get it wrong.

I'm not an expert on returns and claims but I think I've read in the forums that if it's delivered within a certain number of kms it's deemed delivered "to you", even though it might be delivered in the next suburb. That's as far as either ebay or paypal is concerned (can't remember which), not AP. This is why I say you need to get advice all the way, and to try ebay before paypal.

[coleworld2212]

Get advice from who?

I've contacted eBay and I'm now waiting 3 business days for the seller to issue a refund, otherwise eBay kicks back in and tries to sort it out.

AP says that this particular delivery is a really difficult one to track and have advised me that chances of finding it are low - advised me to contact eBay.

[lyndal1838]

I think brerrabbit means to keep in touch with the members on this thread.

There are some very experienced members posting here who can help you enormously. 

Disputes are often not as straight forward as you think/hope they will be and a bit of knowhow can be invaluable to someone who is new to it.

Like Digi, I can see a lot of indications that there is something wrong with this transaction.  For your sake I hope we are both wrong.

[brerrabbit585]

When I wrote my last comment I posted it before I saw that you'd made another comment just before it.

yes, I meant asking for more help here on this thread if you need it, or even if you think you don't need it. You'll get better advice here than you will from ebay reps, though you do have to do a certain amount through them. Their 'advice' can vary from one rep to the next and a lot will tell you anything just to get rid of you, rather than admit they don't know or can't guarantee certain outcomes. Of course you can't believe all the advice you get in the forums either because some people like to think they're experts when they're anything but!

If you don't get a refund within a few days I'd ask your bank about doing a chargeback if you paid using a credit card through paypal.

I would never buy anything really expensive online unless there was no other option, and if I did I'd make sure the seller had really good feedback before I trusted them. Some things it's best to pay a bit more and know you get exactly what you pay for (from a bricks & mortar shop) and that you can return it if there are any problems. I wouldn't buy anything online that needs a warranty because a high percentage of advertised warranties on ebay just don't exist.

[padi*0409]

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@lyndal1838 wrote:

Like Digi, I can see a lot of indications that there is something wrong with this transaction.  For your sake I hope we are both wrong.

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The seller appears to have sold in excess of 10 grands worth of items in the last week (taking into account multiple items being the the same).

It certainly looks very suspicious to me, I thought new sellers were limited to a value total as well as a listing limit total...........Hmmm.