Scam advice? Buyer Claim that received an Empty Box

From_Cordoba

Buyer Claim that received an Empty Box. I sold and expensive camera for £700. It was posted yesterday by Hermes. Today Buyer claims that received an empty box.

Please Advice.  Can  Police, Small Court, etc  help me anything here?

RFW

How do you know they didn't?

cx6

If they did indeed receive an empty box then you are a victim of crime and effectively have had your camera stolen from you. For £700 I would sue Hermes in the small claims court.

However, if you suspect the buyer is telling porkies then you can fight the claim with eBay although they are likely to side with the buyer - they more often than no do so.

forgotmyname

I have been on the receiving end of an empty box.  Not a scam but the driver obviously knew the package was empty when
he handed it to my wife. He didnt stop and ask for a signature and he was gone like a whippet.

So these things can happen.

steveE2

Cameras and Lenses are on Hermes No compensation list for items being lost, damaged or delivered late

From_Cordoba

RFW said:

How do you know they didn't?

 I request him photos of the box.  Posting Tape and Label clearly Shows that there is not way that box was opened during transportation. 

soolin

How far through the process with eBay are you? As soon as the claim came in you should be on the phone to them, explaining this seems an impossible situation and point out your (hopefully) perfect selling history.

EDIT. with proof of delivery you should have won any INR claim so can you please show a time line as to exactly what happened, how you approached ebay and where you are now in the process please.

RFW

From_Cordoba said:

RFW said:

How do you know they didn't?

 I request him photos of the box.  Posting Tape and Label clearly Shows that there is not way that box was opened during transportation. 

I'm not sure how you can know definitively. I've previously received an empty Ipad box and the parcel showed no signs of being tampered with. It was from a reputable company so had either been stolen by a worker or somewhere on the delivery chain.

I'd also wonder why the buyer would show you pictures if they proved they were lying.

I'd probably try checking with Hermes how often they check the parcel weight along the journey.

As others have asked what you do next depends on where you are in the process.

shapala

Afraid I learnt the hard way OP with basically the exact same thing. Sold my Sony A6500 a few years ago and stupidly shipped with Hermes whom I'll never use again. The camera was 'delivered' with everything other than the actual camera. Packaged carefully with plenty of bubble wrap in a plain brown box and no way of identifying if it was a camera or a cutlery set with hermes other than inputting 'electronics' for insurance purposes.

Had to refund buyer, complained to Hermes with no recourse even mentioning small claims to no avail. To be honest, due to working 7 days a week at the time, I only brought up small claims as a threat hoping they'd pay out as it was covered for the price buyer paid (not what I paid which was a bit more) but I simply didn't have the time and also had health issues at that time.

 Hope you have a better outcome, esp if you can determine the weight when sent and then delivered - though unlikely the buyer will have actually checked and proven this I'm afraid unless they've video'ed opening it, though I don't think Hermes would even entartain that avenue as they seem like the slipperiest of eels. Good luck.

turnitround

From_Cordoba said:

RFW said:

How do you know they didn't?

 I request him photos of the box.  Posting Tape and Label clearly Shows that there is not way that box was opened during transportation. 

Im slightly confused by this reply. If the box has not been opened then how does the buyer know it is empty?

 If the box has been opened then how can you be certain that it was not opened during transportation?

BelMalinois

Have you looked at the photo Hermes took when they delivered the package? You may be able to tell from this whether it appears to have been tampered with. I recently had a buyer claim a parcel arrived crushed and opened but the Hermes photo showed otherwise.

I rarely now use Hermes as their rate of missing and damaged items is excessive compared to the other couriers.