Hi all, long term eBayer here, mainly a buyer but have also been a seller of odds and ends of my own over the years - this is my first time posting on the boards though as I have a dilemma and I'm not sure how best to proceed.
In all my ebaying years I think I only ever had one parcel go missing years ago, and I think in that case the seller sent me a replacement. More recently I had a bad transaction with a new seller who clearly did not send my item (I think she wasn't happy with the final price she got) and she provided fake tracking numbers and told all sorts of lies in her emails (they were quite funny to read as she kept contradicting herself) so in the end I lodged a claim with Paypal and was able to get a refund.
I don't recall ever having one single parcel that I have sent myself as a seller go missing, so here I am for some advice as despite my years of eBay experience, I haven't really had much at all in dealing with missing items.
I recently purchased two tops from the same seller who sent them via Express Post. I purchased and paid for them on Sunday 29/9, then late that week realised that they should have arrived as they were express post. So, I checked my ebay and saw that the seller had marked the items as posted on the Monday 30/9 and also included a tracking number.
I checked the Aus Post Website and it said 'Delivered' and a Suburb name on 1/10. Now that's where it gets interesting as I have a padlock on my mailbox and nothing but letters can be fit in the slot, so I was actually expecting to receive a collection card from my local PO.
So, I sent a message to the seller to re-confim the details, she confirmed that the tracking number was correct, she has a receipt, the item was sent on 30/9, and she also has a pic of the parcel and confirmed correct address.
Next step was a trip to my local PO (it was impossible to actually get them on the phone!) and they did a search but had nothing for me. I then visited the St Kilda DC (which is sometimes where parcels go when they are large) and they also had nothing for me.
The seller kindly lodged an enquiry with Aus Post. Aus Post have now responded with some story that they 'spoke to the postman and he said he remembers delivering it'. Well, I have a couple of issues with that, the first being how the h*ll he could remember one parcel from 2 weeks ago in a street with heaps of apartments and presumably lots of parcels, and more importantly, this can't be true as I have a lock on my mailbox.
So the seller has now suggested I contact Aus Post myself with the case number and see if I can get anywhere.
She also offered me a half refund, but I don't see why either of us should be out of pocket if she has done the right thing and it's Aus Post's stuff up. I believe that the seller did send the items - so I think Aus Post should be responsible as they have lost it. However I'm not sure whether it's worth escalating to a complaint - do they even pay compensation? I'm willing to sign a stat dec to confirm I have not received the parcel.
I paid for the items with paypal, however I think if I made a paypal claim then the seller would be the one out of pocket and that's not fair either.
The other reason I am teed off with Aus Post is that the other day I noticed they'd left a small box on top of the brick bank of letterboxes out front of my apartment - I picked it up thinking it was rubbish, but it was a parcel addressed to someone in my building who also has a lock on their mailbox - so the postie just left it sitting on top right on the street for anyone to take. I wish I'd taken a picture now, perhaps that's what they did with my parcel and then someone walking past has snatched it.
Has anyone successfully pursued Aus Post for compensation? Was it a nightmare? Not sure whether to just accept the half refund and move on, or whether to escalate and complain. We're talking 60 odd dollars here, however it's the principle of the thing.
Would be grateful to hear about others who have had a similar experience, or who can offer some advice.
