Broken in Post

[dinkytrader]

I need a bit of advice

I sold a customer a Glass Tealight Holder and it got broken in the post. She wants a refund, but i feel that i too  have lost out and it was not my fault that it got broken in the post. I packaged it correctly and securely and therefore i feel i should not have to refund her. It left my house in pristine condition.

I have paid her back the postage cost but she is still not happy with that.

Can someone please update me on the Ebay rules and also she has told me that under Australian Consumer Law that if the item is faulty, not as described then they are in quite their right to get a refund but when it left my house it was as described and not faulty in any way.

Help? This is the first time i have been presented with this problem.

[hairkidsbeauty]

If you sell items that can easily break, even though you think you have packed them well it might be advisable to add the cost of Registered Post to your listing because this protects you and the customer to a certain value.

[digital*ghost]

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@lyndal1838 wrote:

You cannot insure glass against breakage...there is no Fragile service.   Insurance covers loss of the item and very very occasionally a broken item can be proved to have been packed well enough for Australia Post to admit liability.  But it is the exception rather than the rule.

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There is no fragile service in that if you can pay for AP to take "special care" of a fragile item, but extra cover does cover breakage if it's deemed to be Australia Post's fault, hence the advice above that even if you use extra cover, the parcel needs to meet AP's guidelines for packing fragile items.

"Sending something valuable or important? Extra Cover provides you with cover for the specified value of your item (up to $5,000) if your item is lost or damaged while being carried by Australia Post"

http://auspost.com.au/parcels-mail/optional-extras-domestic.html

[lyndal1838]

Digi, I am sure you have seen the threads on the boards recently saying how hard it is these days to get P to accept responsibility for broken items.

Bump, the chances of getting AP to acknowledge the accident are remote at best.

Several years ago I posted a small package in the post box outside the post office after having it weighed and purchasing stamps.  Later that Saturday afternoon I was shopping at Coles across the street when the fire brigade arrived to put out a fire in the post boxes.  First thing Monday I rang the local PO and then the main complaints line to find out what to do.   They sent 3 days denying the fire even happened, made out that I was lying about it, demanded to know how I even knew my parcel was in the box at the time of the fire (the mail was not due to be picked up till Sunday night).   In short, it was made as difficult as possible for me to put in a claim for a damaged/destroyed item.

[amber-eyed-girl]

And twenty kilos waist height drop?

I have seen grown mailmen sitting down on mailsacks for a bit of a rest!

[digital*ghost]

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@lyndal1838 wrote:

Digi, I am sure you have seen the threads on the boards recently saying how hard it is these days to get P to accept responsibility for broken items.

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Too many, sadly, but if people are aware of what the policy is, they have more chance of complying with it (and being able to dispute a decision for no compo if necessary). By which I mean if they're sending an expensive, fragile item, better to have the insurance than not (and package it to withstand the apocalypse  ).

[amber-eyed-girl]

Fire, heavy set guys, accidental drops...raging horses...that's about right Digi 🙂