Sold iphone 4 on ebay, buyer claims received empty box

an0n1

Hi all

Sold iPhone 4 on ebay abroad and buyer claims to have received an empty box. I have sent it via Parcelforce Global Priority and have bought compensation cover up to £200.

I have definitely sent the phone in the box and the weight shown in the receipt I have from the Post Office backs it up.

Now, I suppose I can claim compensation from Parcelforce and get the amount I need to refund to the buyer but what about the lost phone I am never going to recover? Does eBay cover for these goods in any way?

Thanks
A

George_Michael

an0n1 wrote: »

Now, I suppose I can claim compensation from Parcelforce and get the amount I need to refund to the buyer but what about the lost phone I am never going to recover? Does eBay cover for these goods in any way?

Thanks
A

You refund your buyer the money that they paid you and when the insurance money comes in from Parcelforce, you keep this to cover your loss.
You get your money, the buyer gets their money and the only loser is Parcelforce (or their insurers).

pinkshoes

Make the buyer fill in the stolen/lost item doc before refunding, just in case they do have it...

Block the phone and report as stolen.

SaLoGo

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there a way to get round a blocked phone abroad? Sounds like you've been had

bxboards

an0n1 wrote: »

Hi all

Sold iPhone 4 on ebay abroad and buyer claims to have received an empty box. I have sent it via Parcelforce Global Priority and have bought compensation cover up to £200.

I have definitely sent the phone in the box and the weight shown in the receipt I have from the Post Office backs it up.

Now, I suppose I can claim compensation from Parcelforce and get the amount I need to refund to the buyer but what about the lost phone I am never going to recover? Does eBay cover for these goods in any way?

Thanks
A

You have been scammed I'm afraid - the box was only empty after the buyer opened it up and removed the phone.

It's highly unlikely that Parcelforce will compensate you, as it's highly unlikely someone from Parcelforce opened the box, took the phone, then resealed it. That's not a likely scenario, and I think you and I both know the buyer is trying a scam. I don't see why Parcelforce should fund this scam, and I'd expect them to reject the claim.

Ebay will not protect you in any way - to a large extent I'm afraid their policies enable these scammers.

an0n1

Thanks for the replies. I was looking into the claims process etc and it looked like they would compensate for missing items also...hopefully I can get some luck there :-s Anyone had any experience of similar claims?

Re blocking phone, I don't think it applies here as the phone was unlocked to use with all networks and has no SIM card in it - but let me know if I have misunderstood your advices?

Do you know if I need to report it to the police to back up my claim?

Re my question, obviously I could claim the money from Parcelforce and refund the buyer if claim is successful, but I won't get the lost phone back to sell to someone else etc so would not have lost out in monetary terms but still missing a phone I could have sold to someone else, if that makes sense...

A funny thing is, it does not show as having been delivered to the intended recipient on the tracking system, shows as far as going to the delivery agent and stops there...anyone come across this before?

I am acutely aware of the possibility that I may have been scammed, but so hard to prove anything...

peter_the_piper

Silly question, why would RM pay up? The box was delivered, unopened, undamaged and signed for.

an0n1

Well I bought an insurance for it loss and damage so...

peter_the_piper

But they did not lose it did they??

theonlywayisup

Unfortunately you have sold one of the most scammable items and this is the oldest trick in the book.

To ascertain what happened you need to message your buyer.

Tell them to keep all of the packaging and send you photos via the ebay message system. Tell them you are reporting it to the police and ask them which is their local police station, should they be required to make a statement (this may have an effect on how the buyer proceeds with the loss).

In the meantime, you need to report this to Ebay and to Parcelforce.

Wait and see what the reply is to your request for info from the buyer. In the meantime, see what your buyer has purchased previously and if you can, get in touch with some of the other sellers to see if they had issues with losses.

ballisticbrian

Well I bought an insurance for it loss and damage so...

But it's not been lost or damaged has it? You're being scammed by the buyer.