Is she a scammer...or should I pay up??

purdita

Hi, hope someone can help - and apologies for the essay!
I am being threatened with a small claims court by a buyer who lost the INR case against me
Parcel showed as being delivered to secure outbuilding. Seller messaged me to say she has no outbuilding and sent me a photo (without me asking her to) of her property to show this....and she had cropped the garage out! (Google and rightmove clearly show it)
This immediately raised suspicions and I said I would query it with Hermes. She kept demanding her money back so I asked if it could have been left in the garage. She then admitted she had one but had checked there and it was locked. A neighbour then miraculously told her she'd seen a parcel left on her doorstep in full view. She was very much of the "I don't know what to do...I've never had this happen before" ilk yet her eBay feedback left for others show several items "not received" where she's left negs. I told her to open a case which I won, but she is now threatening small claims court. I don't believe for one minute that she's not received the item but Hermes have apparently told her and her boyfriend that it's lost and that I "should refund her and then claim from them", and I was shown a screenshot of a live chat convo with her boyfriend where they say to contact me for compensation. This was cropped though with no reference numbers etc and could have been photoshopped for all I know. It certainly wasn't the whole conversation and when I complained to them about discussing it with her and her boyfriend who wasn't even the recipient, they said that they had simply told her that the time had expired for chasing a parcel and to contact the sender. They said no details were discussed.
eBay are adamant I should not refund and say they will provide evidence to support me if it goes to small claims court. So whether she has history, I don't know.
Is she bluffing? The item value is a little over £40
I'm digging my heels in on principle as I am sure she's trying it on but I'm worrying about it.

soolin

Whilst it might not be the case in your example it is worth noting that on 2 occasions in the past 2 months MyHErmes have clearly shown an item i have sent as delivered when they fully admit the courier still has it.

Firstly, contact MyHErmes yourself and ask for delivery details, on my 2 occasions that was enough for them to admit to me that there was a problem. My recent one was 5 days ago and they responded to me at 10 pm which Impressed me as I had only sent them an email at 9.40!

They to.d me that it was not unusual for items to show as delivered in error, and in both my occasions the item was actually delivered within 48 hours of my complaint.

If MyHErmes on the other ha d stand by their delivery status then prepare to defend in court. Personally I think MyHErmes are unreliable and whilst I use them on a daily basis I don't actually trust them. As a buyer I have had a parcel apparently delivered to me which I never saw, so am always prepared to assist my buyers rather than rely on the MyHErmes tracking.

purdita

I agree that myhermes can be unreliable, but most of my problems have been where items are lost en route or when the status simply shows "delivered" The fact that this was to a secure outbuilding and she denied having one and sent me a cropped photo to prove she didn't have one...when in fact she does, makes me think she's telling Porkies about not receiving it.
You can usually tell when a buyer is genuine and I don't think this one is. eBay seem to agree with me too, which is a surprise as they normally suggest keeping the buyers sweet at all costs. They told me that as they made the final decision on the case, her dispute is with them rather than me now and to tell her not to contact me again.
I'm just wondering how I will stand if she does go down the small claims route if I stick to my guns or whether she is bluffing.

theonlywayisup

purdita wrote: »

I agree that myhermes can be unreliable, but most of my problems have been where items are lost en route or when the status simply shows "delivered" The fact that this was to a secure outbuilding and she denied having one and sent me a cropped photo to prove she didn't have one...when in fact she does, makes me think she's telling Porkies about not receiving it.
You can usually tell when a buyer is genuine and I don't think this one is. eBay seem to agree with me too, which is a surprise as they normally suggest keeping the buyers sweet at all costs. They told me that as they made the final decision on the case, her dispute is with them rather than me now and to tell her not to contact me again.
I'm just wondering how I will stand if she does go down the small claims route if I stick to my guns or whether she is bluffing.

If I have a buyer who is disputing a delivery, I dispute it with the carrier, in my experience Hermes are one of the best ones in this situation and almost always pay out. I usually tell the buyer I will dispute the delivery but they will lose the case and explain what happens after the case has closed in my favour. It usually takes 2-3 weeks but they get their full refund. I've not yet had a 'delivered' parcel which has been disputed, not paid out.

eBay are talking from their script. You have tracking, they are happy. Don't read anymore into it.

bxboards

If you are a private seller, then the Small Claims court is nothing to worry about, this is a bluff. You would win that, as a private seller you just need to prove the item was handed to your courier.

It will not come to that however, as again assuming you are a private seller, it will be impossible for the buyer to win, and nothing to fear should it come to it.

You could dispute the delivery with MyHermes. I tend to treat MyHermes tracking as fairly fictitious as I have sent large boxes that show 'delivered - package posted to letterbox' when its impossible for them to fit through. So MyHermes are likely to have delivered it somewhere, but not necessarily where the tracking says it is!

The court stuff is nothing to worry about and you can and have won the Ebay case. Now it depends how much you feel like helping your buyer. Personally speaking as a seller, I will go out of my way to help buyers but the help I offer is inversely proportional to their overall attitude.

Kim_kim

I regularly buy from QVC & they use Hermes.
I ordered some toiletries, they didn't arrive despite being dispatched, so I contacted QVC they had been returned to the warehouse - Hermes didn't try to deliver them, didn't leave a card.
I ordered a replacement, I got an email last Sunday about 5pm saying they'd just delivered, I was in, they hadn't!

So I rang QVC who were going to send me paperwork to sign & say it wasn't delivered.

The paperwork arrived on Thursday - along with the parcel!

usefulmale

If it was me in that situation, with the buyer sending doctored photos of her house and live chat scripts without any cross-referencing numbers, I would stop any further communication and invite them to take me to court. Just those two things alone, along with Hermes saying delivered, would say the balance of probability is that they are scamming you.

If they really are dumb enough to start a claim, have the case moved to your local court, defend it and turn up on the day. Dont forget to claim for your expenses.

mrcol1000

Agree with the above. Stop all communication. Every time you respond, they think they still have a chance of getting a refund out of you.

I am not even sure you could go to the small claims court for £40 and it would cost more than that anyway. It shows as delivered. The buyer has changed their story several times. In the rare chance it did go to court, you have proof it was delivered. Really though, the buyer is desperately trying to get a refund, do not give in The only way they can get their money back is scaring you into giving it to them.

purdita

Thank you for the replies.
I am a registered business seller on eBay. - (very small time but I do declare it all.)
Does this make a difference to her claim?

Kim_kim

purdita wrote: »

Thank you for the replies.
I am a registered business seller on eBay. - (very small time but I do declare it all.)
Does this make a difference to her claim?

I don't hardly ever sell on eBay - but if I did, I'd always post signed for.

fatbelly

She could start a court claim for £40 via MCOL. It would cost her £25.

Civil claims like these are decided 'on the balance of probabilities' - unlikely she would succeed.

As she has 'threatened small claims court', if you feel that all relevant information has been shared, you can just tell her that you are awaiting her claim. If it ever came, you can just use the information you've already given us, with specific dates and times.