Do you think this a fraud

[waffey2002]

Hi all,

I sold a camera to what seems to be a company. I posted via the post office and I have a recipet (no tracking).

The buyer then has contacted me to say they cannot idenfy my parcel though I did tell them that I had a return address on the opposite side of the box.

I quote "sorry without tracking number we cant be confirm its your item or <a>not.we&lt;/a> receive so many parcels everyday,so please provide tracking"

I cant provide a tracking number. They have submitted a ticket to say it hasnt been delivered. I have refunded the money. I'll now will go to the post office and put a claim in.

So it seems the buyer gets a camera, I get refund and its the post office out of pocket?

What do you think?

[roger_roger_over_and_nowt]

I would have thought a camera would go as a small parcel in which case you should have a 16 digit code on your proof of posting receipt.This is not a tracking number but should show as delivered if postie bothered to scan it.

I doubt if you could make a claim because of the value,i.e. it was sent under insured.

[jckl1957]

I would guess that the buyer is overseas (you can check where their account is registered) and you sent the camera to a forwarding company.

It was unwise to refund before checking to see if the item was delivered.

You advertised the postage service as RM Tracked 48, which clearly is a tracked service.

On your proof of posting, there will be a 16 digit code (letters and numbers) probably beginning '0210' with 12 more digits separated by dashes.  That is the tracking number.

It is likely that the item has been delivered but the company can't identify it - as they have stated.

If it has been delivered, Royal Mail will not refund you.

You could try contacting the company/buyer to give them the tracking number but whether or not they would pay you again is anybody's guess and there is nothing you can do through Ebay,

[dancewithadingo]

Good Morning Waffey

To be frank I think that you are stuffed.  Even if you sent the parcel Royal Mail 48 as stated on your listing you have refunded your buyer.   The chances of getting any money back from anyone is close to zero.

You should have entered the tracking details on the listing after sending and then you could have fought the claim. Infact you wouldn't have had a claim in the first place.

It's a lot of money to lose but I can't see anyway you can salvage this. Your only possible out is as Jck says study the receipt from The Post Office and gleam the tracking number from that and then tell the forwarding agent who may be able to trace your parcel.  All of that said I still feel that you are going to lose this money.

[*vyolla*]

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@waffey2002 wrote:

Hi all,

I sold a camera to what seems to be a company. I posted via the post office and I have a recipet (no tracking).

The buyer then has contacted me to say they cannot idenfy my parcel though I did tell them that I had a return address on the opposite side of the box.

I quote "sorry without tracking number we cant be confirm its your item or <a>not.we&lt;/a> receive so many parcels everyday,so please provide tracking"

I cant provide a tracking number. They have submitted a ticket to say it hasnt been delivered. I have refunded the money. I'll now will go to the post office and put a claim in.

So it seems the buyer gets a camera, I get refund and its the post office out of pocket?

What do you think?

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I think that you'll find that it's you who's out of pocket for a £100 camera if you just send it via a postage method that offers £20 insurance. As you have a return address on the back, it will hopefully end up back with you.

If the item was being sent to a freight forwarding company there should have been something in the address that identifies the buyer. Did you print a label?

[rjwilmsi]

If you sell an item for £100 then you need to know the appropriate services when you take the item for posting.

The buyer may be trying it on because you didn't upload a tracking number. But you can't be sure either way.

Normally the post office ask the item's value and should direct you to a suitable (Tracked) service for items above nominal value.

Even if you just sent it via cheapest option (2nd class small parcel) then you should still have a reference number on the receipt. Royal Mail normally but not always scan 2nd class parcels on delivery.

You have to be able to prove that the buyer received the item by having a tracking number or Delivery Confirmation for 2nd class parcel. If you can't prove that then buyer gets a full refund at your cost. Your loss claim would be against Royal Mail, but only up to their limit (£20 for 2nd class) and only if their tracking doesn't show item was delivered. Post Office aren't involved.

[jma2815]

I agree with the others. It might well not be an attempt at a scam. You made several errors here, including perhaps not putting the buyers code on the parcel if it was sent to a freight forwarder, (which would explain them not being able to identify the parcel) sending by an untracked, under insured service, and refunding the buyer on the strength of a message, with no case for ebay to adjudicate. 

There’s a chance it will be returned in due course if the forwarder cannot identify the recipient but otherwise you’ve lost the camera and the money. 

I’d advise reading up on the correct way to do things on ebay, there are a lot of things you need to get right, its certainly not as easy as it used to be.