Royal Mail lost a £1600 item, now what?

[jordan_467]

My buyer says they received an empty box when i sent them a RTX 4090, they provided me with pics including the label so i know its legit, i have tracking number and receipt from the post office. I suppose he could have just taken it out and photographed an empty box but he has a lot of positive reviews and no negative so i don't think so. What do i do now? The method used was "Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed 1pm"

[crg_music]

"Ok we are going to have to go through the police here, this is far too much money in question and a serious fraud/theft has taken place"

That would have been my initial response or similar.

The way he types seems a bit too blaggy and pushy. While his feedback might be good sellers cant leave buyers negative feedback so if hes done it before and been refunded without going through ebay then there wont be any record of it.

Special delivery is elite, its pretty much the only courier on earth or in the country anyway safe to send cash so the idea someone will just pinch a £1000 computer bit along the way seems unlikely. Its going to be extremely heavily monitored every step of the way and if someone has just opened the parcel, pinched the contents and resealed it they will im sure know where. I mean its not some cash or a watch or something you can pocket. To risk your job and prison to pinch a 2nd hand computer bit just seems nuts to me.

Its Royal Mail and the staff are employees rather than hired.

Not saying it isn't possible but something smells fishy here.

[lucy_farmer]

'Special delivery is elite, its pretty much the only courier on earth or in the country anyway safe to send cash so the idea someone will just pinch a £1000 computer bit along the way seems unlikely. Its going to be extremely heavily monitored every step of the way and if someone has just opened the parcel, pinched the contents and resealed it they will im sure know where. I mean its not some cash or a watch or something you can pocket. To risk your job and prison to pinch a 2nd hand computer bit just seems nuts to me.'

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 Yes, agree with this!

And the buyer has left himself a little bit of a 'get out'  : it was delivered to his parent's home, not his own home. Therefore, if it is proveable that the item was delivered properly and he's trying to pull a fast one, he can claim it is all somebody else's fault and just a big misunderstanding......Be that his parents, a familiy member or somebody else who happened to be there who he doesn't know.

I'm very suspicious of this one.

[dancewithadingo]

Good Morning Jordan

I am afraid that what I am about to say you will find unpalatable but this is a 'self inflicted wound'. I cannot believe that you left the posting to an employee.  To send an expensive item out in it's original box with no additional wrapping is beyond belief.

You have advertised  to the world just what it is and it's value. It comes as no surprise that the box was opened and the contents removed. Just who removed and at what stage in it's journey is another matter, which I feel that you will never find out. Your chances of getting any money back are slim to say the least. 

For heaven sake if you do sell anything online again pack it properly ie with extra padding and cover with

brown paper or put it in another nondescript box,in other words hide what it is. Infact  anything of that value I would have made Collection Only.

You may not like my appraisal of your problem, but it is the situation as I see it.

Good luck,you will need it.

PS. Your first port of call is Royal Mail and then take it from there.

[papso22]

"You have advertised  to the world just what it is and it's value. It comes as no surprise that the box was opened and the contents removed. Just who removed and at what stage in it's journey is another matter, which I feel that you will never find out. Your chances of getting any money back are slim to say the least". 

So it is your opinion that the buyer is telling the truth and that one of the following nicked the item?

1. the seller's employee

2. a Post Office employee

3. a Royal Mail employee.

I don't buy that.

The first thing to do is to call the buyer's bluff as advised earlier in this thread and then wait and see what they do.

[alas-70]

I don't suppose they left a landline number on the order? I ask because it was delivered to their parent's house. We once had a payment dispute for an unrecognised transaction. The order had a landline number on it. We gave it a ring and got the customer's dad. He informed us his 18 year old son had definitely ordered and received a starter motor as he had fitted it for him that weekend. Needless to say he was furious with his son and the dispute was quickly resolved.

[w79805]

Maybe it could be the post office employee. For whatever reason, the receipt shows that the item weighs 10000g which is really weird. If they saw the box and knew the items value then maybe they didn't weigh it on purpose and just put in 10kg to cover up the inevitable empty box scenario as nobody would know what it actually weighed when sent out.

[notstopbuying]

What if the seller bought the postage online and simple entered 10kg for the parcel weight and paid for the label?

Need a bit more information.

But my guess the buyer is trying their luck...

[w79805]

from my experience my packages always get weighed at the post office when I've bought postage online

[nat11911]

Those messages are definitely suspicious - they're 'too chummy' in my opinion and designed to make it sound as if the buyer is sympathetic to your situation and hopes you'll crumble when he opens an INR. 

[handmade_by_me]

This is an old scam that has been going round for years. They open the box, take the item out and take a picture of an empty box, then claim it was empty when they received it. Do not refund let them chase it. Royal mail will not do anything as it shows as "Delivered" This is why I refuse to sell anything of value as there are too many scammers. Its basically online shoplifting.

[lookinpandorasbox]

Did you take any pics of the item in the packaging before dispatching? If it does go to a resolution case,at least you can validate the contents before shipping.

[1902elder]

That would not validate anything, a seller could take a photo showing the item in the box, but still send an empty box.

[jordan_467]

These are the 2 options ebay gave me, what to do? 

[moldosgifts]

The bottom photo does not show a sealed box was it not wrapped in a clear wrap, when ive bought anything electrical the original packaging is sealed in a clear wrap.

This leads me to think the item was removed before it was posted.

Unless it was never wrapped in clear cellophane.

[jordan_467]

An empty box does not weigh 10kg. Can i show the post office receipt to ebay to show them that i posted it with the item inside?

[4_bathrooms]

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@jordan_467 wrote:

These are the 2 options ebay gave me, what to do? 

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Accept the return and upload a return label. You can't do anything until the return shipping label shows a delivery scan or an attempted delivery scan. There isn't much point using Special Delivery for an empty box; I'd suggest using Tracked 48 rather than regular 2nd Class Small Parcel as T48 is far more likely to be scanned by the postie on delivery.

[moldosgifts]

Neither does a full box, under 5kg even if placed inside another box, so weight is no an issue here, it is clearly wrong.

[jordan_467]

i don't see much point in accepting a return, he is going to return an empty box lol

[blue-mist]

If you don't accpet ebay will find in buyers favour anyway. And your have a strike against your name. 3 in a year & your out. 

[papso22]

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@jordan_467 wrote:

i don't see much point in accepting a return, he is going to return an empty box lol

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Have you read any of the advice you have been given on this thread?

It is vital that you accept the return if he opens a case and get the empty box back.