Item signed delivered, buyer saying not received

OP, it's possible the buyer is not telling the truth of course. I once had a buyer demand a refund as he claimed his always out neighbour had his parcel that I sent by Special Delivery, when the RM won't leave this delivery type with a neighbour.

When neighbours don't get on they generally refuse to accept parcels for them. They'd also make couriers aware of it as many drivers are on the same route every day. Has he asked for a replacement or refund yet, as the former generally makes me believe them?

I've had buyers write somewhere in their address "do not leave with neighbours" so if he's genuine I'm surprised he didn't leave a note to this effect.

Royal Mail Deliver to Neighbour scheme can be opted out of, you fill in a short webform and they send a sticker to go on the letter box.

mrcol1000 wrote: »

As above is what everyone seems to be missing. Really though its up to the buyer to make a seller aware of any special delivery instructions. Its irrelevant that the wrong postage method was used, it has been delivered. In 2018 you accept if you buy something off the internet, it may well not be delivered directly to your hands.

I don't expect it delivered to my hands but to my address - that's not special that's normal. Do I also have to specify "Leave it at Number 1 except on Wednesday mornings 'cause that's her yoga class - in which case try Number 7 but don't try Number 2 across the road 'cause they are thieving gits and by the way - REMEMBER TO LEAVE YOUR CARD"?

If it has been delivered elsewhere (even with the best intentions) and tracked elsewhere - then I don't accept that as delivered for seller protection purposes. If it has been tracked to my address but delivered elsewhere - that's fraudulent reporting by the courier. Given the number of horror stories about Hermes and Yodel etc - and the fact that the service can vary greatly between individual couriers - there are buyers who would choose a seller because they specified Royal Mail and therefore are justified to object if the seller chose otherwise and an item went astray.

Anyway - well done Nesty for doing the decent thing and sorting it with the courier and not just assuming the buyer is a scammer and hiding behind the almighty tracking number.

ballisticbrian wrote: »

Because it's eBay you are covered by seller protection (as thin as this protection is, it's for this very purpose); you got your tracking / proof of delivery

Proof of delivery to a different address counts?

- eBay will cover you and will probably pay out of their own coffers for it, it's why we pay these huge fees.

I hope so - because neither seller nor buyer should be out of pocket through the actions of a courier or an unconnected person who was given an item by a courier. So it's effectively extra insurance that the seller pays for (and adds into their pricing model) to protect against fake INRs.