Sold an item, proof of delivery...but not to buyer.

j_netprofit

Hi guys, what will happen here?

So I sold a £200 item on ebay for £100. First of all the shipping option I selected was too small when I got to the post office so had no real choice other than to buy a bigger shipping option when I was there...admittedly my fault. Attempted to claim for unused label however (maybe cause she scanned the label before checking size) ebay is saying they cannot refund as the label is used.

Anyway....I message the buyer with correct tracking, they're understandable. Day or two later item is "delivered" at say 10am. 10:05am the buyer messages me asking where is the item they've not recieved it and immediately opens a case. 

I track the parcel and can see someone holding it. The picture is terrible, there's no visible landmarks and you cannot identify the person.

Buyer is claiming the parcel was delivered to someone unknown to them, and proper kicking off royal mail didn't give it to their "designated neighbour or safe place".

I'm sceptical about believing them buy either way I suppose that makes no difference. I've received the money for the purchase and I've withdrawn it. 

So where does this leave both me and the buyer?

I can't ship another item, because I don't have another. Not only that I'm technically already down £100 cause of the discount on the sale to boot the extra shipping I had to pay for. 

I fell I did everything I could, or at least did my part. But what is general protocol here?

TIA.

 

Devongardener

Did you send it by a “signed for” option?  It’s the only secure way to send something of that value.   If not, I doubt Royal Mail can do anything about it especially as there is a photo of the delivery.

j_netprofit

I had a few shipping options listed and the buyer selected the cheapest which was tracked 48.

Completely agree, but where does that leave me. Say I did ship it with a signed for option and the same thing happened, this mysterious character signed for it? How would that have changed anything?

soolin

Just to clarify , does the tracking added to the eBay sale show delivery ? If so re add it to the open INR case which you will win then by default then assist the buyer.

if there is a case open and tracking isn’t already added to the eBay sale then add it now (you can add a second tracking number and even delete the old one) then re add it to the open case with a message that this was delivered and perhaps even upload the photo to ‘assist’ the buyer and show eBay. I don’t always trust eBay so often phone them if I have an open case to point out that I have full seller protection as I have proof of delivery.

if no case is open add the correct tracking to the sale now and proceed to assist the buyer. 

once the case is closed in your favour then do what you can to assist the buyer.

j_netprofit

No because literally every time I've tried to edit the tracking link I get this message. I've added the new tracking to the text/body of the ebay case though, however the case is now on hold.

soolin

It might be worth obscuring  part of the tracking number in your image as I am not sure if it breaches to no identifying rules here on MSE. 

It might be too late, I note this was sent in early january and I think ebay don't allow tracking to be added after item is deemed delivered.

However if buyer opens an INR then the tracking number can be added to the case as proof of delivery. Make sure you screen shot everything as well in case RM continue to have tracking issues. Also just noticed that under 'image of delivery' it says
'The image is not yet available or may have been removed.'

which does rather suggest an issue. Perhaps a call to RM might be in order. 

soolin

j_netprofit said:

I had a few shipping options listed and the buyer selected the cheapest which was tracked 48.

Completely agree, but where does that leave me. Say I did ship it with a signed for option and the same thing happened, this mysterious character signed for it? How would that have changed anything?

Devongardener said:

Did you send it by a “signed for” option?  It’s the only secure way to send something of that value.   If not, I doubt Royal Mail can do anything about it especially as there is a photo of the delivery.

RM48 is fully acceptable to ebay and no signature is required to win an INR unless item value exceeds (I stand to be corrected by people here as I haven't checked for ages) £450. In fact standard parcels has delivery confirmation, as to LLs if bought on ebay- and both those satisfy the ebay delivery requirement. Obviously the seller needs to use a suitable service to protect themselves anyway, and in this case RM48 was correct, as standard signed for would have only given £20 of compensation if item was lost. 

j_netprofit

Just tracked again myself and image is available. 

GadgetGuru

The fact the buyer immediately opened a case 5 mins after delivery rings alarm bells for me. 

I'm assuming they have tried their neighbours etc?

j_netprofit

My exact thoughts. They say they have, and gave me ott exaggerated description/explanation too.

Smells really fishy to me. I suspect they saw the photo of the tracking and are trying to get something for nothing. 

Of course that’s not guaranteed and I really sympathise if this is genuine, but like I said, other than being personally out of pocket I can’t really see a fair solution. I did everything I could and more here, even before shipping I heavily discounted the item and I paid twice for shipping 🤦‍♂️ 

soolin

Wait for a case and then defend it using your proof of delivery.