Danemoderne
Here are your rights.
All you have to do is prove you posted it. That is, the legal position is, when it comes to delivery, handing it to the carrier (Aust Post) has the same legal effect as if you had handed it over to the buyer.
From the information provided I would say you have sufficient proof it was posted; you have a tracking number unique to that parcel. Therefore this number coupled with your word that the contents of that satchel contained the items purchased by that seller is sufficient to prove the item was sent. As to whether it was posted to the correct address, you have the details of the mail centre to which it was delivered and the contractor who took possession for delivery to the buyer. As such, just as long as both of them (mail centre and contractor) service the suburb in which the buyer lives this is sufficient to prove, for both legal and PayPal purposes, that it was sent to the correct address, and if PayPal says it’s not, then simply lodge a complaint with the Financial Ombudsman Service, who will soon tell PayPal what they can do with their decision. And, if anyone wants proof as to the accuracy of what I have just said, the PayPal Agreement clearly states proof that something was sent to the suburb in which the buyer resides, is sufficient to prove it was sent to the correct address.
As for putting in claim on the buyers behalf under Aust Post’s discretionary claims policy, you could give it a go. However, as the Aust Post data shows the item was delivered, it’s 99.99% certain that that claim will be rejected.
You see there are many reasons why the buyer didn’t receive it.
It could have been lost in transit, but that is an issue between the buyer and Aust Post, with the onus being on the buyer to prove that Aust Post lost it, and to prove that Aust post lost it, the buyer will have to prove the Aust Post record to the contrary is wrong.
The contractor could have delivered it to the wrong address, but once again, the onus of proof is on the buyer. That is, it falls to the buyer to prove it was delivered to the wrong address and not for the contractor to prove it was delivered to right address. That is that way because the law assumes it was delivered to the right address unless the buyer has proof to the contrary.
Then there is of course the equally compelling alternative. It was actually delivered to the correct address but because buyer wasn’t home at the time, and because they chose not to pay for receipted deliver, it was safe dropped into an insecure location. That is, it went missing after it had been delivered because, someone saw it under the front doormat, and took advantage of a five finger discount.
You see none of the above have anything to do with the seller. They have nothing to do with the seller because they are factors over which the seller has no control, and this is the reason why the law has been constructed in such a way as to absolve them of any legal liability after the goods have been handed to the carrier.
Therefore buyers’, if you want your parcels, pay the little extra for receipted delivery, or pay for the installation of a secure safe drop point, as not only will these remove the potential for opportunistic thievery, but the existence of one, or the other, or both, provides you with the very evidence you need to prove, if the Aust Post data says it was delivered then, the most likely reason it wasn’t received is because it was delivered to the wrong address.
However if you do neither and the seller proves postage, you have only have yourself to blame is you don’t receive what you bought.
