Only Half Contents Received

mimi1234

Hi all,

Some advice please.  I sold 6 tubes of 200ml body lotion on eBay and posted the whole lot in a large bubble wrapped envelope sealed with strong duty sellotape.  All posted via the Post Office 2nd class signed for.  Item delivered and signed for last Thursday.

Buyer has messaged today saying only 3 tubes were in the parcel and where are the other 3.  I asked her to send me photos of the package to see if RM had put it inside one of those see through bags due to damage but they hadn't.  There is 1 tiny tear little tear at the bottom of the package but it doesn't seem big enough for 3 large sized tubes to tumble through.  The sellotape was still intact so it's not like the seal had opened up and the lotions had tumbled out.  I wonder how 3 large tubes would have disappeared out of the packaging like that mind you.  I guess stranger things have happened.

Do I just send her a partial refund or do I get her to open some sort of case?  And would I then put in a claim from RM as the sender?

Thanks to anyone who can help. 

mimi1234

Oh, she just messaged back telling me off that I hadn't packed it properly and that the parcel had arrived pre-opened.

I am sure on the RM website it says that if an item is damaged, they put it in a RM bag to avoid further damage, not in this case.

Spoonie_Turtle

If everything is still intact how does she know there are only 3?

mimi1234

No, she said the parcel arrived open and there were only 3 tubes in it and where are the other 3.

Personally, if I had an item sent to me sent signed for and it was already opened, I would have asked the post person what was going on and then just told them there and then, the contents are missing.

mimi1234

She has opened a return request.  Do I just give her a partial refund and then claim from RM? 

She has said in the return request "I agree if a package has become broken in transit it would normally be in a clear larger bag which has happened before with items I have had delivered.  So you can under my surprise and frustration as to when I got the jiffy from post bag on door , it was in there with half contents and the jiffy open".  

She signed for the parcel so not sure what the post bag on the door is?   

Spoonie_Turtle

Bizarre. Did she sign for it though? The posties are supposed to take the name of the person at the door instead of giving them the device to sign. The post bag on the door really does sound very odd though.

mimi1234

It looks like her name on the tracking.  How strange.  

So I had a little chat with eBay.  They said I would be better off accepting the return and when she only sends 3 back, I counter claim as I had sent 6.  He said eBay would rule in my favour.  Does that sound right?

Or would I better off giving her a partial refund and claiming the other half off Royal Mail?  

The buyers story just sounds really bizarre though.  One minute it's in a post bag on her door and then someone has signed for it.  Hmmm.  

forgotmyname

Not been asked to sign for any deliveries. Postman still hands the items over but no pad/tablet to sign.
Had an expensive item arrive from an Amazon purchase and again no signature required.

Doubt ebay would rule in your favour. You said/they said..  Ebay says the Buyer wins. 

Will RM contact the buyer?  Will the buyer actually respond to any requests from RM?  I can see you partially refunding and getting
nothing back.

Partially refund and expect to be out of pocket (bonus if you do get something),
or refund and possibly get the 3 items back?  Which works for you?

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

mimi1234 said:

She has said in the return request "I agree if a package has become broken in transit it would normally be in a clear larger bag which has happened before with items I have had delivered.  ".  

   

How unlucky they appear to be.

[Deleted User]

What's their feedback like? Whilst sellers cannot leave negative feedback I had a previous buyer claim that an item hadn't arrived. I checked their feedback and nearly every purchase had a response from the seller claiming the buyer had claimed the item hadn't arrived...basically fraudulent buyer do not send items to this customer. I wish I had read prior to sending but it was a low value item anyway. I had to refund and the seller also had the cheek to leave me a negative feedback for the item not arriving when I knew it was fraudulent claim. I contacted them and informed them I'd read previous feedback and wouldn't let this go. It wasn't about getting my money back but more to stop this person continuing such activity online. In the end I managed to convince the buyer to retract their feedback and also got an apology that they had in fact possibly missed the parcel. It was all lies but I was just glad to get the neg removed. What I'm trying to get at is your not doing anything wrong by claiming the buyer's story doesn't add up and inform them if you feel there might be fraud that your making contact with Royal  Mail regarding their claims. If this buyer has previous, Royal Mail could quite easily be onto them already. No harm in raising some questions but just be prepared that it could also cost you in getting a negative feedback. 

mimi1234

Thanks all.  I decided to refund her half the amount she paid and the case got closed immediately.

I will be putting a claim to Royal Mail and will see what they say.  The buyers' story doesn't add up but I am neither Sherlock Holmes nor am I Miss Marple so can't really say she is lying.  However, it sounds very random that the delivery person delivered an item which the buyer signed for but the parcel was already torn open before it arrived.  Why would anyone sign for something like this?

The buyers feedback as a buyer is all positive but she does have 5 negatives as a seller

Thanks for all your input folks.  Hope you are all staying safe and Happy Easter to you all.