I'm actually pretty annoyed at the moment, and kind of venting before I contact my customer about this issue so that I don't taint my communication with how annoyed I am (the issue is 100% not the fault of the customer, and I will be relying on their honesty to get a good outcome).
So, feel free to just read and either chime in with whatever, commiserate, or (preferably, lol) tell me you experienced something similar and all ended well. (If, on the other hand you're annoyed that I'm mostly venting and not really asking a question, sorry n' stuff).
Ok, so... My issue is with Australia Post.
A customer in the US asked for a bulk order for one of my items ($140 value after bulk discount), which was required for an upcoming event they were hosting. I posted the order via express courier international, 2-4 days delivery time quoted on APs website ($55-odd P&H, $10 extra cover on $100).
Item posted 24th February, left the country 26th February, then..... nothing.
By the 4th of March, both the customer and I were very concerned, so an inquiry was lodged, first online as it was a Friday evening, but then I called the following Monday morning, by this stage, the package had been in transit for nearly 2 weeks. No information, no further tracking, so I said to the rep, given the amount of time that has passed, and based on your experience, how likely is it that the package will eventually turn up and be delivered to my customer. She replied that it was very unlikely, consulted with a colleague while I listened on the phone, and the exact words used were "they won't get it".
Ultimately, they kept the inquiry open, putting a resolution deadline of 24th March, after which point the package would be officially lost and compensation payable. (I bet you can see where this is going now 
).
I related all of this info to the customer and offered 3 options (resend express, resend standard and refund the extra for express, or full refund), they opted to wait until the 17th just in case, and when that date arrived with still no further updates, asked for a refund, which I promptly issued in full, thinking at least I'd get most of it back after the 24th...
Cut to today, 4pm and an email arrives in my inbox....
Aus Post are pleased to inform me that my package has arrived in the US and delivery attempted (yesterday). Oh, and in future, I can subscribe to email alerts so I can be kept up to date on the progress of a package and (presumably) not hassle them as to the whereabouts of said packages.
I know I was looking for a legitimate reason to use this smiley, but I wanted to be amused by it, not actually feel like this:
(I guess if I have one question, it would be - has anyone ever got their money back for postage at least, from AP in similar circumstances? They closed the case, but I sent a message back saying this is so not resolved, and request the cost back in full).
@*tippy*toes* wrote:Have you tried contacting them via their Facebook page? I've got the best results doing it that way.
Has there been an average enquiry - reply time frame?
I'm starting to lose my patience with them sadly the buyer is yet to respond to me and the package was actually delivered about 14 hours ago now (so they either didn't get my message, or decided not to refuse delivery like I suggested / asked).
Aus Post responded to my case comments simply by saying how pleased they were to tell me the package was delivered, obviously it's either an automated message or whoever posts them did not pay one iota of attention to what I was saying. I posted on their FB page 6 hours ago, and they definitely have a high volume of complaints (though a few of them are the same people posting the same complaints over and over because AP haven't replied to them yet), but given the current situation I'm not prepared to wait very much longer before I take it higher.
@amber-eyed-girl wrote:...BUT perseverance paid off.
I'm thinking that's probably the best I can hope for at the moment (I know it could still be considered early days yet, but until I hear differently, I have to presume the buyer now has the package so realistically, one would hope they'd try to follow up on it sooner or later, especially given the value).
It doesn't help that I keep getting an error message when trying to log into My Support so that I can respond to the latest comment on the case, either.
Today was not a good day for the OS part of things. I'm also starting to get a few enquiries about packages sent around the 8th of March to the US, and today at the PO a returned item was waiting for me - sent to the UK last year, buyer contacted to say it never arrived. It was untracked and I had my suspicions about it, but ultimately I re-sent tracked. The original package confirmed my suspicions, as it has stickers all over it noting that the buyer refused to collect due to customs fees. 
I kind of resent the fact that one of my thoughts was at least I got this one back, because that doesn't change the fact the the buyer ultimately cost me $25 (postage cost to resend to the UK) because they tried to avoid VAT (I know there's a possibility they didn't receive notification, but it's a slim one, given the nature of their messages to me - nothing was said outright, but they kept mentioning a couple of things that raised red flags).
The silly thing is, resending a $40 item with $25 P&H rather than the original $7 would have meant higher fees to pay.
Thanks tippy, I'll give them a bit longer I suppose, and hope I hear from the buyer in the mean time - they are probably upgrading systems to accommodate the changes to international post, but even knowing that doesn't stop the rage annoyance.
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@amber-eyed-girl wrote:Yes, the VAT is a "reason" for refused parcels. Not hard really, is it, to check up on all the little taxes beforehand.
Humans...that's what I think in situations like that.
Some time back I had a buyer in UK message to say her order had not been received - when I checked Tracking it was marked to be returned to Australia that very day. Aust Post here were amazing & actually contacted Royal Mail ? and requested they hold for another day or two while I contacted the buyer to try and sort out and get her to collect. When I sent the buyer all the Tracking info, silly lady actually sent me a photo of the VAT document and said she couldn't collect because I hadn't paid it !!! I explained she had to pay, and next thing she opened a case for INR. Of course I was on the phone to CS quick smart & suggested they go through our messages - needless to say, I won that case, but CS did recommend the policy should be included in every listing and that it was OK to copy the policy word for word. It was promptly added to all my listing descriptions & touch wood, I haven't had a problem since.
And yes, the parcel was eventually RTS 
Sorry digi, I know that doesn't help you, but may be some help for others reading the thread.
Best of luck with both your problems - as I said previously, I would persevere with Aust Post if you have the patience, I gave up - was over the anger and frustration after spending nearly an hour on 4 separate occasions on the phone - I'm sure that's exactly what they hope we'll do !
