No Goods Received - Faked Proof of Delivery

Bodolph

Hi,

here's the background.

Ordered a clothes valet from SelectiveGoods via Amazon back in April. Delivery was for the end of April/start of May. By early May was concerned I hadn't received the item although tracking via Yodel said it had been delivered. E-mail the seller (SelectiveGoods) asking "Where's my stuff". Heard nothing beyond the automated "We got your email" message for 5 weeks.

So I raised an Amazon A-Z guarantee claim. The seller (SelectiveGoods) rejected the claim having obtained a POD (Proof of Delivery) from the courier (Yodel). Amazon then also rejected the claim.

Problem is the PoD is a fake. My family and I were out at our allotment on the date and time stated on the delivery. It states it was not left with a neighbour and the signature is illegible. Unless the dog answered the door this PoD bogus.

The seller (SelectiveGoods) is refusing to refund or resend and claims I must contact the courier (Yodel) or report a theft (that would make an interesting police report - where was it stolen from?). Amazon have also accepted the PoD so have washed their hands of it.

Who should I be chasing in law? After all my contract was with the seller not with Yodel.

Regards

bris

You chase the seller but you would need to do it through the small claims court. Your chances of winning would not be high as they would use the POD as a defense, the court would go on evidence presented to them and this is evidence. It would be a gamble, you might just win, but there is a good chance you wont.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Seller should do this but as they aren't being helpful, you need to contact your local Yodel depot with the tracking number and advise it shows as delivered but wasn't received.

They should interview the driver who should say were the parcel was left but unfortunately after 6 weeks they are less than likely to remember. See what they say and then come back for more advice if no joy.

unholyangel

Could try the above, could also try a letter before action stating it wasnt delivered and that they have 14 days to refund your money/resend the goods or you will file against them in small claims.

Have you checked the address details were correct?

They have proof of delivery yes, but that doesnt mean they have proof it was delivered to your address. Its just proof it was delivered somewhere.

Elsewhere

Seems to me that mail order deliveries need a more secure way of proving delivery to protect both the buyer and seller.

Maybe email the buyer a confidential barcode which the driver has to scan on delivery (a barcode which isn't on the packaging, obviously) - no more faked signatures and also no more cheating buyers saying their goods haven't been delivered. (Won't help if the package has been tampered with and resealed, but it would cut down on opportunistic theft or sloppy delivery).

bod1467

That's a good idea - to some extent.

The only downside is that the buyer would need some way to present the barcode to the delivery driver ... not necessarily everyone will be able to print it out or have a mobile device from which the code can be scanned from the screen. And I doubt people would want a driver traipsing all over the house to scan the code from a desktop monitor. There would also be the additional time to present and scan the code to factor in - drivers are already time-pressured as it is.

Sasahara

Having to give a code number would be sufficient.

cookie365

I'm not a lawyer, but isn't it the responsibility of the vendor to deliver, and surely that includes the responsibility to demonstrate (to the court if need be) that the delivery was to the customer?

I don't see how going to Yodel is going to help. The vendor hasn't delivered. Send them a letter before action. If someone from Yodel nicked the package and faked the signature, that's the seller's problem to sort out with the courier, nothing to do with you.