Help ! Suspicious buyer

[om6864]

I sold an item on Wednesday and posted RM Special Delivery on Thursday.  Today (Monday) I've received an 'MC067 Suspicious Buyer' e-mail from Ebay saying not to send the item or to try and stop it if it's already been sent.  I'd already sent the item so am now really concerned I could lose a lot of money.  I expected the item to be delivered on the Friday however the tracking stopped at 'Out for Delivery' on Friday and hasn't updated since so I've no proof of delivery leaving me open to a claim through ebay or paypal.  I purchased the postage via ebay which automatically uploaded the tracking details to ebay but the Post Office only gave me a receipt with the barcode number which doesn't include the postcode/house no and I don't know if this is enough to make a claim through RM if I need to (the PO wouldn't stamp the certificate of posting as they said I didn't need it, the receipt would be sufficient).  Do I sit tight and await an inevitable paypal claim ?

[red_magpie]

Do I sit tight and await an inevitable paypal claim ?

Very likely. Gold sovereigns are a magnet for thieves on eBay, and there are so many easy ways to scam sellers.

Fortunately you were wise enough to use RM special delivery, which at least should ensure that the item won't be dumped on the doorstep or delivered to the wrong address. If it isn't delivered, it should be returned to you.

The worry is that if it's delivered, but the tracking still doesn't show this, a buyer could exploit this delay to get a refund. EBay will go by the tracking record, and gives no support to sellers when items that have been refunded finally arrive, even with proof of delivery.

It's hard to give advice until you know what actually happens. Let us know if you have problems. Next time, it would be better to support your local post office and buy the postage through them. Then you will have the full postal records.

By the way, do remember to keep your proofs of posting for at least six months, preferably twelve. Many sellers don't realise that Paypal gives buyers up to 180 days - that's almost six months!! - to claim that an item didn't arrive. If the seller has lost the tracking number to prove delivery it means an automatic refund. Even if the item was genuinely undelivered, it will be months too late to claim compensation from Royal Mail or any courier. But PayPal still makes the seller refund the buyer.

[om6864]

Thank you for your reply- good point about buying direct from the PO. I only do it online to save time (which in reality it doesn't) so I'll take that advice in future. I tend to keep the receipts for a year but unfortunately, as you say, the RM compensation timelines are a lot shorter than paypals.

[john1297576]

I think you are worrying unecessarily. if buyer opens a case with ebay for not received,you have 8 days before they can escalate and you need to refund.

Special Delivery is pretty secure, but if RM cannot show as delivered then you can claim for loss.

It does work both ways, if you can't prove delivery, then RM cannot either to avoid your claim. It is a next day delivery and if not delivered I believe you can also claim back the postage. for late delivery.

Of course the receipt is all you need, it is dated and timed what extra would a Post Office Stamp make?

[om6864]

Thank you for the reply ! It's the first time I've had a Suspicious Buyer e-mail and coupled with the tracking stuck on 'Out for delivery', I was concerned. RM's site says about requiring the stamped Certificate of Posting to claim but every time I've presented it at a PO counter, they wave it away and say it's not necessary.