Contrary to popular eBay/PayPal myth, you do not need to sent something registered or click and send to prove postage.
If you sent the item by parcel post (in a box) you will have been provided with a dated receipt proving you sent something to the suburb in which the buyer resides.
If you sent it by red satchel, when you handed it over the counter, it would have been scanned and you would have been provided with a dated receipt confirming lodgement. This, coupled with on-line information provided Aust post that the item was received at the mail centre which services the buyer suburb proves it was sent to the suburb in which the buyer resides.
In both instances PayPal Policy states postage has been proved. Therefore, if you still have the necessary paperwork, call PayPal, tell them you dispute their earlier decision, and if the money previously deducted from your account are not returned to within 7 days you will lodge a complaint with the Financial Ombudsman Service.
g� s �_��� arly impose a legislative obligation on the seller to assist the buyer to access any entitlements to compensation they, the buyer, may have, and if they don’t and if “goods are lost or damaged in course of transit, the buyer may decline to treat the delivery to the carrier as a delivery to himself or may hold the seller responsible in damages”.
So this is how deemed delivery works in conjunction with the Aust Post Discretional Claims Process.
The Aust Post policy requires the seller lodge the claim for no other reason than it easiest for them (Aust Post) to administration the process if the person who has the documentation lodges it, and SoGA Act places a clear obligation on the seller to do exactly that.
Once the claim has been lodged the seller can do one of two things. They can, get the buyer to provide them with a stat dec stating the item has not been received as well as assigning to the seller their rights to the compensation. The seller and then reimburse buyer out of their own pocket, which of course means, if the claim is rejected, any resultant dispute is between the seller and Aust Post.
In the alternative the seller can lodge the claim and then tell Australia Post, if the claim is accepted, to send the money to the buyer, which of course means, if it’s rejected, any dispute is between the buyer and Aust Post.
However what they can’t do is get the compensation and not pass it onto the buyer, because if they did, this action would fall within the definition of fraud.
Oh and just for completeness sake which option do I recommend. If you are a profession seller and expect to make a living from selling then it is up to you, to within reason, satisfy the needs of your customers.
So this is what used to I do for items sent regular post. (1) Attach a “Do Not Safe Drop Sticker (DNSD)”. (2) If the buyer says it wasn’t received, get them to check with their local post office to see if it’s there. (3) If they come back and say it’s isn’t, get them to provide a stat dec and assign their rights to any compensation me. (4) I then lodge the claim and reimburse the buyer.
Now here’s the important bit. If Aust post reject the claim on the basis that their records show the item has been delivered (5) remind them that the item was covered by a “DNSD” sticker therefore it had to be handed over (not safe dropped) and provide them with a copy of the sat dec which states it wasn’t receive.
From this point onwards the argument is, Aust Post policy stipulated the item cannot be safe dropped. Therefore if no one was home the item had to be carded and returned to the Post Office (PO) for collection.
They have a stat dec from the intended recipient stating it wasn’t received, nor was a card found on the premises (under the door, in the letter box etc), nor was it available for collection from the local Post Office.
Therefore there are now only two possible contenders. Either it was delivered to wrong address or it delivered to the correct address but, contrary to instructions ‘safe dropped’, and it matters not which of the two it was, because either proves loss of goods on account of carrier negligence. So pay up or I’ll file a dispute with ombudsman.
As for what I do if the buyer fails to do their bit. Lodge the claim. Tell Aust Post to give the money to the buyer. As such, the deemed delivery provisions have been satisfied. And is the claim is rejected it’s the buyer’s problem not mine.
