Buyer claims item not received

[ameliardcottage]

In the past week I have had 2 buyers claim an item is not received and requesting a refund. In one case, it was 2 business days after it was posted and going to outback NSW. In the other case they opened a Refund Claim after 4 business days.

The items I am selling are low cost and mostly posted standard mail with an option for buyer to upgrade to registered mail for an additional cost. Needless to say, no one has opted to pay more.

My question to eBay is:

If in my item description and returns policy I state clearly that I don't take responsibility for items sent standard mail and lost or damaged by AP and offer alternatives, am I covering my self.

I have put this question to Ebay support, and also what happens if the case is found in favour of the buyer and the refund is deducted from my PayPal account then the next day the item arrives? Is the buyer going to contact me and say the item has finally arrived can I pay now! I don’t think so. Human nature would have most buyer’s jumping up and do crowning with delight for having got what they wanted and not having to pay for it.

The person I spoke to said yes, covered, no claim can be made by the buyer, but on further questioning of his reply, was escalated to a higher level person who kept saying go to the courier and ask them for proof of delivery. It shows how little knowledge they have of how AP works.

After a frustrating, time consuming and at times heated conversation I was finally able to get this person to understand there is no tracking on standard post in Australia.

So the outcome of a couple of wasted hours is HE DOES NOT KNOW IF I AM COVER. Again, the inquiry is escalated and I am now waiting for a reply from someone higher up in the food chain. I asked then to phone, as I do not want to go round and round the garden with ambiguous answers and back and forward emails.

Still waiting!

My apologies for the long-winded diatribe, I think I’ve got it off my chest. Look forward to any comments or others facing the same difficulty.

[ameliardcottage]

never.

[cq_tech]

When you say you sent the items by standard postage I assume you mean by large letter, in which case unless you pay extra for registered or SOD, you have no proof of postage and without it, you really don't have a leg to stand on. If you can't prove you sent them, you're going to have to either replace them or refund.

It's a bit late now, but in future, it would probably pay you to either keep a ledger in which you enter all large letters and their recipients' addresses, and when you post them you have the postmaster stamp your ledger with the official PO stamp. I understand this satisfies Paypal as far as proof of postage is concerned.

The vast majority of my items are sent by large letter and what I do with mine is have the postmaster cancel the postage with the official PO stamp, then I take a photograph of the front of each cancelled letter with my mobile phone's camera before he puts them in the collection sack. I've not yet had to do so, but I understand that Paypal will also accept these photographs as proof of postage in the event of an INR claim.

I'm a bit surprised that both buyers want refunds though, as that would make me rather suspicious that they had in fact received them, otherwise surely they'd be happy with replacement items (unless they're one-offs, of course). You might want to put it to them before refunding them and see if either changes their mind.

[ameliardcottage]

I print out my ebay invoices and make noted as to post date and how much postage was so I have records to fall back on. Perhaps I should take these with me and get them stamped.

And yes the fact that both have just asked for a refund I do find suspicious. Dnd yes if they were unhappy with their purchase I would be happy to replace it.

[cq_tech]

In your case I think I'd be inclined to give Paypal a ring and ask them if they would consider that as sufficient proof of postage before simply going ahead and doing so. Another member here was told by a Paypal rep that a stamped ledger or photographs of cancelled letters would suffice so it would definitely pay you to give them a ring and ask.

I presume you have your return address written on the backs of all of your envelopes? If they genuinely went missing, you may eventually get them back, although it has been my experience that letters don't just go missing for no reason, which is why I'm absolutely convinced beyond any doubt that the vast bulk of INR claims are fraudulent.

[lizzy6107]

click and send means nothing unless you insure the item or have it signature on delivery.

AP  have twice lost items of mine, I had to refund the buyer and also, was only refunded postage cost of the satchel ($7.20), no reimbursment for goods, so if you want to avoid a total loss, you have to insure or pay to have signed on reciept.

God only knows what we pay all that money to AP for. They may as well lose everything unless its registered and save themselves the cost of moving mail!

[treasuress.4207]

I know... but at the end of the day, even standing there and taking photos is not actual tracking and I doubt would be taken into account as proof anyway hon.  The Ebay AP satchels are a joke too - the only way to get verification that it's been sent is to take them in to the post office where they're scanned over the counter, and their big sales pitch when they came out was "pop them into a red box" at your convenience.  Those damn things usually arrive at their destination before they ever show up in Aus Post's tracking.

[cq_tech]

Now that all postal items except (large) letters have tracking as standard, you should never lose an INR claim.

[treasuress.4207]

That was my next question too.... how can they open an item not received case just two days after postage? 

[treasuress.4207]

Ahhh now THAT is interesting..... never thought of that, and nobody has suggested it before.  While it may be a pain in the assumptions, it may in fact be very worthwhile if the cases get out of hand....

[ameliardcottage]

This buyer did not open a case just contacted me asking for a refund. Was slow paying in the first case 5 days after purchase. I think that in hind sight the buyer decided that they could not afford the purchase so just thought... why not! They have been a complete pain in ... contacting me every other day with questions even though everything was explained in the first email. Really Melbourne to outback NSW in 2 days. Tell them their dreaming.