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]

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@coleworld2212 wrote:

Update:

They are saying that "the company has shipped the item with a hold on delivery as your PayPal payment has been held from us."

Thoughts? 

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Sounds a little on the bogus side, TBH. 

What's the name of this so-called company, their phone number, address etc so that you can get in touch with them and verify the seller's claim? 

Tell the seller the funds will be released about 3 weeks earlier if the package is delivered to you and all is well, which you would be happy to confirm to both eBay and PayPal.

[lyndal1838]

None of that makes any sense at all, except for paypal witholding their funds.  Do not under any circumstances cancel your dispute as you cannot reopen it if the item does not arrive.

I was going to ask if the item was delivered to your local parcel delivery depot rather than your home address but you had already opened the dispute.

[eol-products]

I would say the only reason they have responded to you is the money has been held and they have not had time to withdraw it. The last thing I would do is not go through with the dispute to get your money back. 

When it shows delivered it means exactly that not waitng to be sent out from a PO. I would take a guess they sent something to a random address to get a delivered status on the parcel.

[coleworld2212]

Yeah I'm not going to remove the dispute. I've already checked the Mitchell AP facility and they say that it has been delivered, as in, complete/finished. Not buying their response one bit. 

[davewil1964]

Scam, scam, scam.

Australia Post DO NOT hold delivery until funds have been released to the sender. Once the article is in their system, it will be delivered.

AP have either lost the item or, more likely there was no item. They could well have used a tracking number for a different item not 'sold' through eBay.

Either way, their new story totally contradicts their initial story. Which means scam.

Get your money back and use it to buy a real phone with a real warranty from a real shop.

There are plenty of phone retailers in Canberra. Gungahlin, Civic, Belco should be reasonably close to you if you're close to Mitchell.

There are many things that shouldn't be bought online. Phones, except from reputable sellers (Telstra, JB, Optus, etc), are at the top of the list.

[coleworld2212]

Yeah mate, definitely not buying an eBay phone ever again. All I want is my money back, and I'm happy to pay that extra $200 to get it from a real store.

Do you guys reckon my chances of a full refund from eBay are high? This has literally bummed me down all day.

[davewil1964]

eBay's MGB should protect you. There are plenty of stories of sellers getting burned, even when tracking showed delivery to the correct address, if the buyer claimed non-receipt. I am in no way intimating that that is what is happening, rather illustrating eBay's normal response to a non-delivery claim.

If the item cost $750, as said no signature on delivery means no seller protection, either from eBay or Paypal.

If the seller will not cannot provide proof of where they sent the 'phone' I would not give them an inch. Even then it appears it is up to them to chase up AP. If they were legit and stood to lose the 'phone' and the money, they should be falling over themselves to resolve the problem. Which it doesn't appear they are doing.

[coleworld2212]

Well, look what we have here. Another user scammed, same seller!

https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/394913

[joztamps]

It might work like this:

They stuff some newspaper in a satchel, post it to another address in the buyer's suburb, with a tracking number, and get paypal to release the funds as soon as AP shows the tracked parcel as delivered (short-circuiting the normal 21 day hold for new sellers), and before the scammed buyer realises he's allegedly received delivery.

If the scammed buyer moves quickly enough and gets paypal to hold the money, then their fallback position is to give the buyer the bs story about the parcel being held by AP (doesn't happen) until the buyer instructs paypal to releaee the money; but if he does so, he's lost his rights and still has no money and no parcel.

[countessalmirena]

Without question, this is a scam.

Some of the details are clear. The seller is "selling" high-end items, and because s/he is registered in Australia, there are buyers getting pulled into purchases because some of the tell-tale signs of a scammer are absent.

• The seller was registered in Australia. No scammer alert.
• The seller was very recently registered (Member since: 19-Jul-18) and is selling high-value popular items that include some typical scammer fare. Yes, scammer alert.
  
• The seller has no seller feedback. Yes, scammer alert.
• The seller registered with a different name, which was changed on the same day. We can only see that name under its masked algorithm - s******0. Not really a scammer alert, as usernames can be changed without the intent being nefarious. Still, in the circumstances, somewhat suggestive.
• Listings state that items are in Melbourne, VIC, AUSTRALIA, but the post to which you've linked states that the parcel was despatched from Sydney. Yes, suggestive of a scammer alert. (Discrepancy.)
• Seller's message to buyer (from your link) states that the parcel hasn't been delivered by the "AU post system" (note the wording) because PayPal hasn't released the funds to the seller yet. BIG RED FLASHING SCAMMER ALERT. (Whether or not PayPal withholds funds - for whatever reason - has nothing to do with an item being held by the post system.)
• Seller attempted to get buyers to buy by bank deposit. Yes, typical scammer alert.
• The look of the listings and the vocabulary and grammar of the seller's response are quite sophisticated. At first glance there's no scammer alert there (and this is alarming, because it's designed to catch even the more careful buyers; fewer "tells" than the average scam).

There are now two instances of something similar occurring - viz. item apparently being "delivered" but no delivery having actually occurred. It's clear we don't have all the pieces of this scam yet. One could speculate that it's a coincidence... but I don't think so. The person running this scam has shown some interesting behaviours... and bypassed some eBay safety barriers.

The seller's eBay username is carefully chosen to inspire confidence.

The seller currently has 7 items listed. (Multiple quantities.)

• Google Pixel 2 - 64GB - Just Black Smartphone - Brand New with 2-year Warranty. 4 of these have sold.
• Apple IPad Pro 512GB Wi-Fi Gold 10.5" - Brand New with 2yr Warranty. 1 has sold.
• Nikon D750 24.3 MP DSLR Camera Black (Body) - Brand New with 2-year Warranty. 3 have sold.
• Olympus Pen-F Silver Camera with 17mm F1.8 - Brand New with 2yr Warranty
• DJI Phantom 4 Advanced+ - Camera Drone - Brand New with 2yr Warranty
• DJI Phantom 4 Pro GPS Quadcopter Drone 4K 12MP HD - Brand New with 2yr Warranty
• Leica D-LUX (Type 109) Black Compact Camera - Brand New with 2yr Warranty

Somehow, this seller has worked out a way to get a "delivered" status, presumably to trigger release of PayPal funds. This also confuses buyers who haven't received their item; I suspect many don't realise that this seller doesn't have seller protection. There's also no indication as yet of item not received (no negative feedback) so buyers who might be worried have nothing to go on.