on โ01-09-2019 12:46 AM
Solved! Go to Solution.
on โ03-09-2019 11:19 AM
@purplemon18 wrote:Despite what someone at AP may have told you, the reason that AP no longer have your parcel is that they will only hold it for 2 weeks. If you want it held longer, they make you pay for it and you have to oragise it in advance. It is also likely that held mail is not actually kept at the local PO, but rather at the distribution centre. I don't really have any advice regarding getting your item back, other than what someone suggested and asking the buyer nicely.
It's just an unlucky set of circumstances combined with bad timing. Possibly also a less than honest buyer too.
I should clarify that I meant held mail that you pay for. Last time I had my mail held, every item had a yellow barcoded label stuck to it, which I assume was done at the distribution centre.
on โ03-09-2019 12:47 PM
Get yourself a post box at your local Aus Post outlet.
I would be totally paranoid about mail and ID theft in a high rise building, so just for basic security I would do this.
Then, if you're going to go away on holiday for more than a week, you can pay to organise a mail holding service at the post office.
The day after the service ends, everything that has been held back at the distribution centre will be delivered to the box.
Whilst I cannot speak for the intentions of the buyer, if they sent the parcel and you didn't have the proper procedures in place to collect it, it's hardly their fault it was returned. Paypal had no way of knowing you were not around to pick it up, so once it was marked as delivered, the buyer got their money back.
And yes, your original insurance would only have been for the initial sending of the package to the buyer. It has nothing to do with what the buyer is returning to you, which is a completely new package.
on โ03-09-2019 01:56 PM
on โ03-09-2019 05:47 PM
on โ03-09-2019 07:29 PM
on โ03-09-2019 09:58 PM
A week seems to me to be a reasonable amount of time, if they'd seen it.
โ03-09-2019 10:43 PM - edited โ03-09-2019 10:47 PM
Surely they had to upload the tracking number to the dispute. Without a tracking number they couldn't prove they'd sent it back, or that you'd received it, so as soon as that was supplied you should have been keeping an eye on the tracking on AP's website and organising someone to collect it within a reasonable time after it showed as being delivered.
They normally keep items for at least 10 business days so you would have had the days between posting and it arriving at the PO, and then another 14 calendar days to arrange for it to be picked up.
The buyer may have been dishonest and if you had something in an away message indicating you were overseas they may have deliberately chosen to return the item then, but by doing nothing about having it collected you handed them the item on a plate.
on โ04-09-2019 12:10 AM
on โ04-09-2019 09:28 AM
I think the basic problem here is something we can't change and that is that paypal allows claims for 'not as described' for 6 months.
I can understand having 'item not received' open for longer than a month, that's probably useful peace of mind for some overseas purchases.
But item not as described. Either an item is as described when you open it or it is not. It doesn't take 3 or 6 months of use to decide that or to notice it is 'different to what they were expecting'..
So basically, a 6 month window to make a claim is being interpreted I think (by some buyers) as a guarantee.
I've no idea what you actually sold but my suspicion is that something went wrong with it or maybe some part of it broke, hence the claim. If it is an item of clothing, maybe the fit wasn't as they expected (which is not your fault). But in any case, what you would get back is not going to be the pristine article you sent, that's my bet.
I don't believe paypal should allow 'not as described' claims after this amount of time, especially for claims it wasn't what they were expecting. But they do. I believe your buyer was cheeky to open a claim. But she did. Some people have a great sense of entitlement but it doesn't necessarily mean she was deliberately out to cheat you of both item and money. It sounds to me as if she just changed her mind and expected all her money back.
You can't control paypal policies, you can't control the fact some buyers have an over inflated sense of entitlement, but you can control how you respond as a business. None of this is the fault of Aust Post.
I know you were on holiday, but you knew a case had been opened and an item was being returned. All you can do in such situations is have someone in place-a friend or neighbour-who will do you favours if needed. Not just collect mail but also go to the PO in an emergency if they have to.
Hindsight is easy i know, but it would be best to have someone you have an email contact with or who is a facebook friend and you could word them up to expect a card from the PO and what to do.
on โ04-09-2019 08:36 PM